The generically titled [title of show] will close at the Theatre Memphis on January 30, 2011 in the black box Next Stage. Anything but generic, this tribute to the creation of the uniquely American art form, the Musical, follows the journey of two friends as they go through the gauntlet of emotions on their journey of creative self-expression. The two struggling writers hear about a new musical theatre festival with the deadline for submissions only three weeks away. With nothing to lose and no concept, they decide to write about writing what to write about. The fun begins as they deliberate and include fellow actors in working out the details of the show. With the deadline looming and no title in mind, the two leave the words already in the title line as it is on the entry form ... therefore, [title of show] is submitted as the title. The joy of collaboration comes through in this Tony Award® nominee for Best Book of a Musical which contains STRONG LANGUAGE.
The cast includes three actors who were Cagelles in last season's La Cage aux Folles. The triple threats, Brennan Villines, Stephen Garrett and Jaclyn Suffel return to TM to take on the challenging new score and are joined by Amy Polumbo, a former Miss New Jersey, who is new to Memphis and who will be performing for Memphis audiences for the first time. Director Cecelia Wingate, who directed the award-winning productions of Little Shop of Horrors and Oklahoma! at Theatre Memphis, directs [title of show] and says, "I was attracted to this show because of its irreverence. I thought it was a cool statement about the art of creating art in a real modern vernacular. I saw a production in New Orleans last year shortly after if closed Off-Broadway and it was just plain fun." She goes on to say, "I knew it would take some strong acting singers to pull this off ... and I gotta say, ‘we got ‘em.' "
Villines, a University of Memphis student, is a musician who is lead singer in two bands and has performed at other theatre venues in the city, sometimes in the role of musical director. Garrett will be graduating from Ole Miss in 2011 with a degree in English and Math and played the lead role of Curly in the Wingate-directed Oklahoma!. Suffel, a Texas native, is a community organizer with the educational non-profit Stand for Children. She will be performing as well in TM's upcoming production of Cabaret in March. Polumbo moved to Memphis in 2010 with hopes to study speech pathology. A singer, Polombo has performed in Las Vegas, New York and Orlando.
[title of show] runs without an intermission, so Theatre Memphis will open the [name your poison] bar one hour prior to curtain for patrons to enjoy a cocktail and showtunes before the show. Each patron who attends the early gathering will also be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card to The Grove Grill (in the Laurelwood Shopping Center), sponsor of the Theatre Memphis weekly eblast.
Theatre Memphis is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization located at 630 Perkins Extended (corner of Perkins and Southern) and is a community theatre whose mission is to provide outstanding theatrical experiences to enrich the lives of our audiences and participants.
Visit our website at www.theatrememphis.org.
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