The Centre Theater brings a series of performances to its fourth floor theater. Each production, a critical success, has been invited to take the Centre Theater stage in Norristown for the first Independent Voices Festival.
Weekend one will include performances of the nationally touring production of Marx in Soho by Howard Zinn on January 16th and the 2009 Fringe Festival hit Citizen Paine by Bill Hollenbach on January 17th .The second weekend will host Krissy in Concert, an evening of a solo vocal performance by KrisSy Johnson on Friday January 22nd and Sunday January 24th and an encore of Marx in Soho on January 23rd.The final weekend, January 29-31, will present in collaboration with Mosaic Theatre, Slave Narratives Revisited to kick off Black History Month. Each performance will cost $15 a seat. There are a variety of discounts available for the first two weekends. Call 610-279-1013 for reservations or further information.Citizen Paine, the one man show starring Adam Altman and written by Bill Hollenbach, brings Paine's progressive thinking into clarity through stories from Paine's own life. hTe work played to sold out houses last January at The Centre Theater, the Philadelphia City Tavern and at this year's Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The City Paper called the production "gripping" and fiery."
Marx in Soho has been touring the country with Bob Weick playing Marx since its sold out 2004 Fringe Festival run. The production has played to thousands of people over more than 170 performances. Howard Zinn called the production the best version he had seen. Zinn's work brought to life by Weick takes Marx into the modern world where he can comment on his own ideas and the state of the nation.KrisSy Johnson is a professional vocalist who has performed in New York and here in the Philadelphia region with a variety of companies. She will present a night of beautiful music including Broadway hits, pop standards and classic vocal works. The Slave Narratives Revisited written by Ed Shockley and performed by Mosaic Theatre is not an examination of slavery solely in the cotton-picking, pre-Civil War sense, but rather diverse variations on a theme, and that theme is freedom, not slavery.
Elements of African-American history play a significant role, of course, but in his script Shockley has assembled a diverse array of sources and stories, from an Indonesian tsunami survivor to a government official preparing to meet Sitting Bull to none other than Nelson Mandela. Mosaic Theatre has collaborated with South Camden Theater and has produced powerful thought provoking work under the steady artistic hands of Lary Moten and Ed Shockley.
The weekend performance will be at 8pm on Friday and Saturday and Matinee performances on Sundays.
The Independent Voices Festival Friday-Sunday JANUARY 16-31 at the Centre Theater in Norristown 610-279-1013 Support the arts in Norristown.
