
On Friday, October 4th, 7:30pm at Johnny D’s, Rhythm of Rajastan will be performing as part of WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts.
On Friday, October 4th, 7:30pm at Johnny D’s, Rhythm of Rajastan will be performing as part of WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts.
The tale of the URO and the lawsuit, brought to us by Sal Clemente and the members of the URO.
***Queen’s Note: If you love rock and haven’t seen the URO in action, SHAME on you!***
Wanna hear an interesting story? Some ‘behind-the-scenes’ band gossip? A tale of woe and dread eight years in the making?
Thought so…
Almost 10 years ago, when Alan and I first conceived (literally and figuratively) the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra, we really could never have predicted all of the amazing things that have happened to us, good and bad.
We’ve had the chance to work with all kinds of great, and good, people in our time with the URO. Great bandmates, incredible family, and some awesome business/theatre people, who’ve been both ethical and generous with us.
We’ve also had to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of others – a few bandmates (that’s another blog) and one person who, after working with us for several years to try to take the URO to the next level of business success, decided to quit, and then sue us for everything we have.
This is that story –
We met this fellow (let’s call him, ‘Bob’) in March of 2006, after a performance at our beloved Regent Theatre – he came backstage, was effusive about the band, and how much he wanted to work with us.
We got together with Bob several times over the next few months to determine the direction of our collaboration, and in that first year, when the economy was booming and gigs were plentiful, we worked to build the foundation of a good relationship. Bob was inexperienced, older, but certainly enthusiastic and hardworking – kinda like us, so we went for it.
Our first few co-productions were a successful run at The Regent Theatre and a very successful single show at The Berkeley Performance Center.
Now what? We wanted to make a bigger splash, but what to do?
Alan and I pushed to complete a documentary film we were making about the URO and our version of Jesus Christ Superstar (hundreds of hours of footage still rest quietly in the vault), but Bob wasn’t interested – he wanted to put on more and bigger shows.
Photo Credit: François Bergeron; the show is excruciatingly beautiful.
Presented by Cavalia, Inc.
Directed by Wayne Fowkes
Equestrian Direction and Choreography by Benjamin Aillaud
Choreography by Darren Charles & Alain Gauthier
August 7 – 25, 2013 (extended by demand)
Under the Big Top
Assembly Row
Somerville, MA 02145
Cavalia on Facebook, twitter
Review by Kitty Drexel
(Somerville) If there were a special Heaven divined for equines and the humans who love them to commune in the afterlife, it would look like Cavalia’s Odysseo. These horses are intelligent and strong. They call to mind the unicorn myths handed down through generations. Although, their human companions are equally as gifted, the show is not about Man. It’s about the sinuous beauty of the horse. This spectacle trades on Man’s obsession with these majestic beasts and provides a glimpse into where the obsession comes from. Continue reading
Credit: www.cavalia.net
WHEN:
August 7 – 25, 2013, evening and matinee shows available
WHERE:
Under the White Big Top, at Assembly Row in Somerville, at the intersection of Interstate 93 and Route 28 — 201 Assembly Square Drive, Somerville MA 02145
TICKETS:
Available at www.cavalia.net or by calling 1-866-999-8111. $34.50 to $219.50 + applicable taxes and fees. Special pricing and packages also available for groups, children (2-12), juniors (13-17) and seniors (65+).
From the website:
The internationally acclaimed Cavalia pushes the limits of live entertainment with its newest production that is now touring the globe. Cavalia Odysseo is a theatrical experience, an ode to horse and man that marries the equestrian arts, awe inspiring acrobatics and high-tech theatrical effects. Set under a 38-meter tall White Big Top, audiences will be transported around the world as more than 50 horses and an international cast play and demonstrate their intimate bond. The 1,393 square meter stage features a real carousel and a magically appearing 302,000-litre lake in front of a stunning video backdrop the size of three IMAX screens. Odysseo is a two-hour dream that will move the heart and touch the soul. It is an evening that the audience will never forget.
Credit: www.cavalia.net
A National Public Radio Production
Hosted by the Huntington Theatre Company
Avenue of the Arts
BU Theatre
June 8th, 2013
Huntington Theatre Co Facebook Page
Review by Craig Idlebrook
Short review: It was great. You missed it. Support your public radio.
(Boston) Kidding, kidding, but really what else is there to say? Take four well-crafted short stories of love, baseball and awkwardness, mix in three superb actors and stir. Watching the touring production of Selected Shorts is a powerful reminder that we are creatures of narrative. Whole societies are shaped by storytelling, be it a creation myth or an endearing belief of what a well-regulated militia looks like. People die for stories, people become president by telling stories. Without stories we might as well climb back up into the trees (unless you believe in the Christian creation story….see?). Continue reading
WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts and Crossroads
Presents PRESENTS COEUR DE PIRATE
with Kandle
Thursday, June 6, 8pm,
Paradise Rock Club, 18+
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook page
Coeur de Pirate Facebook page
Kandle Facebook page
Review by Kitty Drexel
(Boston) Coeur de Pirate vocalist, Béatrice Martin, has a lovely voice and charismatic stage presence. Her music sounds they way Paris in the rain feels; it is touched with lyric and pop influences. She was “under the weather” a.k.a. visibly ill yesterday evening. Therefore, giving her a review based on her performance would be unfair. What I saw was exemplary given the circumstances. You can decide on your own by listening to her CD (which I’ve been listening to on repeat all week) on Spotify, iTunes, or her website. Continue reading
Swiftly Tilting Theatre Project, Inc.
Swiftly Tilting Theatre’s Facebook Page
Kickstarter Page
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
January 9-19, 2014, at The Chain Theatre, 21-28 45th Rd, Long Island City, NY
Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides
March 31-April 13, 2014, at The Secret Theatre’s Poco Theatre, 44-02 33rd St, Long Island City, NY
I passed on my blog to Kitty Drexel when I realized that I could no longer deny my desire to create a theatre company. Long Island City, one of the major residences of New York based theatre people, is becoming an economical alternative for theatrical productions. I was born in New Jersey, so it was only a matter of time before I inched my way back to the area. I want to give artists and audiences the opportunity to be a part of quality theatre, regardless of income. I am trying to do what Whistler in the Dark has done for Boston to the Queens area.
Swiftly Tilting Theatre Project is an artist community that will work towards bringing artists and audiences together while allowing us all to not be crushed by hard economic times.
Please watch the video and even the smallest pledge to the Kickstarter will help my dream become a reality.
Becca Kidwell, Chief Geek. Emerita
In light of the events of this week and specifically of today, April 19, 2013, the Good Reviewers of New England Theatre Geek would like to acknowledge the bravery of the men and women representing the National Guard, Police, Fire and Security Services, Activists and Volunteers. Thank you for risking your lives to keep our city safer. Bless you.
We had considered silencing the blog out of respect but to remain quiet in the face of terror and danger is to allow the people who inspire fear to win. That is what instigators of terror want. Instead, we hope that the arts community and its advocates will continue to stay strong and to focus their energies into powerful acts of creation. We are the light that keeps the dark at bay. There are things that “go bump in the night.” We can be the people who bump back.
Much Love,
Your Geeks
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
David Drake, Samantha Richert, Ellen Adair, Larry Coen, and Laura Latreille in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of RYAN LANDRY’S “M”. March 30 – April 27, 2013 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
Ryan Landry’s “M”
Directed by Caitlin Towland
March 28-April 28
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Boston, MA
Huntington Theatre Co Facebook Page
Gold Dust Orphans Facebook Page
Review by Noelani Kamelamela
(Boston) Fritz Lang’s masterpiece M, released in 1931, revealed much of his hatred and compassion regarding German society at the time. Ryan Landry’s M likewise breaks new ground while being observant of society’s duality. The Huntington’s production is ambitious with explosively funny results. Spoiler alert: nothing written here can be a genuine spoiler, trust me. A real spoiler would be able to point you towards a reasonable expectation of what will actually happen on stage. Ha ha ha! Continue reading
Photo Credit: Care of the Natalie MacMaster Facebook Page
Presented by World Music/Crasharts Festival: Winter/Spring 2013
Sanders Theatre
Cambridge, MA
Saturday March 23, 2013
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook Page
Natalie MacMaster Facebook Page
Review by Craig Idebrook
(Cambridge) When done right, there is something so unpretentiously fun about the Celtic music that comes from the little Nova Scotian island of Cape Breton. Rooted in Scottish musical traditions and honed in kitchen parties on long winter nights, it is a musical form that is vibrant, heartfelt and accessible. And few Cape Breton products so embody the spirit of this musical scene better than Natalie MacMaster, a world-class fiddler from world-class fiddling stock. Continue reading