Pasadena Playhouse Presents IN MY CORNER, 5/31

Joe Orrach, US Air Force Welterweight Champ turned tap dancer, was discovered by Gregory Hines and has appeared on stage and television with Joan Baez, Bob Hope, the Smothers Brothers, Michael Davis, Liliane Montevecchi, Bill Irwin, David Shiner, Melissa Manchester, and the Cookie Monster. He's appeared in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You and in the long running Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco. The Pasadena Playhouse is collaborating with Orrach to bring his skills and insight as a communicative performer to support the underserved in the Pasadena community.

In his community workshops, Orrach focuses on how to communicate using both words and body language to share thoughts and feelings - as well as learning to read and learn about others by observing their body language and non-verbal cues. He has created exercises that improve public speaking by using the speaker's unique rhythms to best enhance personality and presence and best serve and communicate the authenticity of messages.

Orrach also demonstrates his techniques, using scenes and sequences from his show IN MY CORNER, written by Lizbeth Hasse and directed by Jeremiah Chechik. IN MY CORNER will play a special engagement on Saturday, May 31 at 8:00 p.m. at the newly refurbished Carrie Hamilton Theatre at The Pasadena Playhouse.

Orrach's community outreach in Pasadena this month includes the Advancement Project Urban Peace Academy's Leadership Instruction Development and the IMPACT Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center.

Director Chechik said, "Orrach has created a very powerful, emotionally charged piece that taps into universal themes of fathers and sons. What's so extraordinary is the way that dynamic creeps up on you because it's played out in such an entertaining way."

Elizabeth Doran, the Executive Director of The Pasadena Playhouse said, "We have been looking for the ideal way to re-open the Carrie Hamilton Theatre after renovating it into a new and intimate black box theatre...we are very happy to be showcasing Joe Orrach and his engaging and dynamic play IN MY CORNER ."

With IN MY CORNER, Orrach has put together a high-powered evening of drama, music and movement. The show tells the autobiographical tale of a Puerto Rican/Italian kid growing up in a family dominated by a violent ex-boxer father. His coming-of-age story is one in which he makes his way out of chaos and violence through his discovery of dance. Orrach's fast-paced narrative riffs shift seamlessly into boxing sequences and driving tap numbers, accompanied by the music of a jazz ensemble.

This moving and transformative work delivers a powerful punch guaranteed to leave audiences breathless. Most recently seen in Los Angeles at the Odyssey Theater in October 2013, The Los Angeles Post called Orrach "an electrifying bundle of pure, smoking energy." Broadway World said, "Orrach's ease with his body and athletic movements make his work seem effortless and so engrossing I could have watched him dance all night!" The Planet said, "A great solo show, with a great performer giving his all."

IN MY CORNER is made possible in part by funding from Dance Creation to Performance funded by The James Irvine Foundation and administered by Dance/USA.

IN MY CORNER plays a special engagement at The Carrie Hamilton Theatre at The Pasadena Playhouse (39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101) on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. All tickets are $30.00 and are available by calling The Pasadena Playhouse at 626-356-7529 or by visiting The Pasadena Playhouse Box Office, Tuesday - Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. during non-performance dates. On performance dates the Box Office is open Tuesday - Saturday from 1:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, visit www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org.

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