Saturday, March 30, 2013

Next to Normal ~ The Tony & Pulitzer Prize Winning Musical

The Lyric Theatre presents Next to Normal - April 12-14th, 2013.  FOr tickets call 772-286-7827 or online at lyrictheatre.com

Next to Normal
The Tony & Pulitzer Prize Winning Musical

Starring:
Karin Leone*,
Robert Dawson, Anthony Nuccio, Colleen Broome
Xander James, Michael Hurst II

Director: Jared Walker
Musical Director:  Evan Ferrar    Lighting & Scenic Design:  Marc Clark



http://www.lyrictheatre.com/show/4729-next-to-normal-the-tony-pulitzer-prize-winning-musical

Monday, March 25, 2013

Burt Reynolds back for one-man show at The Lyric

 By Isadora Rangel

When Burt Reynolds walks into the room where he teaches an acting class at Lake Park town hall, he is received by a round of applause from his students. Reynolds — dressed in a fringed leather jacket, tight black jeans, cowboy boots and red tinted glasses — sits in an armchair to analyze two actresses perform a comedy skit on stage.

Reynolds, who will perform a one-man show at The Lyric Theatre on Monday and Tuesday, gives tips to his students, from how to perform comedy without being over the top to how to sip a glass of fake bourbon in a convincing way. Every direction he gives is usually received by one of the actresses with a ‘Yes, sir.”

In the 1950s, Reynolds sat in this same room for his first acting class as a student. The town hall used to be part of Palm Beach Junior College and he was there taking extra credit classes after his career as a football player at Florida State University ended because of injuries.

“One afternoon, after class, (my instructor) said, ‘You’re going to be an actor.’ I said, ‘You’re crazy.’ But he kept after me,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds won the 1956 Florida State Drama Award and a scholarship to Hyde Park Playhouse in New York City. That led to a move to Hollywood.

The rest is more than 50 years of history, which the Hobe Sound resident talked about in this edited 30-minute interview and will reminisce on during his show at The Lyric. The appearance was rescheduled from January, when he had a severe case of the flu that sent him to the hospital. Reynolds said he has fully recovered.

Q: How was the beginning of your career?

A: I had some talent, but the talent was so green that I desperately needed training. I started doing live television in New York and that was pretty scary. That was in 1959. After six months, I had an offer to go to Hollywood for a contract with Universal. I thought it was crazy, but everything else had been crazy, so I thought, ‘What the hell, I’ll go.’

I had no idea that within a year I’d have a television series. I was on the show “Riverboat,” which was terrible and I was terrible on it. I didn’t know what I was doing. I listened hard and worked hard. It doesn’t matter how hard you work if don’t have training ... . After the third year they fired me because I was terrible ... . So I started studying hard and I got a chance to audition for another show in Hollywood.

I didn’t get it, but I met some people and in that business that’s a little jump.

Q: How did your rivalry with Marlon Brando start?

A: I looked a lot like him when I was younger. People used to follow me on the streets in New York thinking I was Brando and after a while it bothered me. Instead of being flattered by it, which I should, I was kind of mad about it.

When I met him, he was rather rude. He didn’t like the idea that someone looked like him. I said, “I’m not going to get surgery

because you don’t like the way I look.” He gave me the impression that I thought I was going to be an actor because I looked like him. He didn’t realize I had a catty sense of humor. I said, “I don’t want to get that fat.”

He laughed a little bit and then he got a little steamed.

Q: You and Jon Voight became good friends after “Deliverance.” How often do you talk?

A: I talked to Jon last week. I talk to him every couple of weeks. We went down that river (in “Deliverance”). We almost drowned about four or five times. I was a fan of Jon as an actor because he has been the cowboy (in “Midnight Cowboy”) and we became super close. We talk all the time. He has an acute sense of humor. I’m constantly trapping him because he’s guileless.

Q: What about your leading lady in “Smokey and the Bandit,” Sally Field?

A: Sure. We are great friends. I think she’s the best actress I’ve ever worked with. She is that woman that’s indomitable. She doesn’t care if she’s 5-foot-1. She’s just a killer. She works so hard at what she does. If she has a script, she’s not going to do it unless she believes in it. She’s going to fight for everything. I admire that.

Q: What about Dolly Parton from “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas?”

A: We laughed too much. We probably blew more money than the studio wanted. I adore Dolly.

Q: You won a Golden Globe Award for your performance in “Boogie Nights,” but you have said you didn’t like the movie. Why?

A: I just had a very hard time saying the words. It was rough for me. I had grown up in the age of innocence in television. I said to the director, “I can’t say this.” He said, “You have to say it.” We had real arguments when I almost walked off the set. Finally, you close your eyes and you say, ‘It’s a character. I’m playing somebody else.’ It worked out well.

I only saw it once. I don’t think I’ll ever see it again. I wasn’t too thrilled about it. Everybody else saw something in my performance they hadn’t seen before. Had I turned it down, it would have been a mistake. I’m glad I did it.

Q: You have a movie theater at your house in Hobe Sound. Do you ever watch your movies?

A: No. I don’t like watching them. I did them. There might be things I don’t want to relive. The theater for me is to discover an old black and white film I love.

Q: Can you give me an example of a movie you thought you were bad in?

A: No, because everybody will agree with it (laughs). ... I have done pictures that I thought were awful and they made a lot of money.

Q: Which ones?

A: I don’t want to stuff America’s taste in the toilet. There are pictures that you do, that for whatever reasons, have a lot of success and it isn’t because it’s a good picture.

Q: You own a model of the Trans Am from “Smokey and the Bandit.” Do you still drive it?

A: Sure. I don’t drive it around daytime because I feel I’m going to pull up at a red light and people are going to go, ‘Oh, look at that bastard. He still thinks he’s in that movie (laughs).’

Q: Do people usually recognize you in this area?

A: Everybody knows me. But they know me in a different way, as Buddy, which I like better. It’s not so much the movie actor but the hometown boy.

Q: Tabloid magazine National Enquirer published a piece about your health titled “Burt Reynolds’ sad last days.” What was your reaction?

A: Stop right there. Stop right there. I’m not interested in what they have to say about my health, about my general welfare, about how I feel about women, about how I feel about men. If you want, quote the National Geographic, quote the Miami Herald, the Palm Beach Post.

Q: How have you been feeling since you were hospitalized with the flu in January?

A: I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in the last 10 years ... . If I wasn’t great I wouldn’t be teaching. Sometimes people feel disappointed when you tell them you feel great.

IF YOU GO

What: An evening with Burt Reynolds

When: 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday

Where: The Lyric Theatre, 59 S.W. Flagler Ave., Stuart

Tickets: $75

Information: 772-286-7827; lyrictheatre.com

© 2013 TCPalm. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  

Monday, March 18, 2013

Esperanza Spalding

Since upsetting Justin Bieber fans everywhere after winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2011, Esperanza Spalding has swept the nation with her cool, controlled jazz riffs and earthy vocals. The Oregon native is a celebrated prodigy, recognized by her teachers and her audience as a powerful upright bassist in tune with her own rhythm. Esperanza’s music has impressed and inspired listeners all over the world, including President Barack Obama, who chose the young musician as the sole artist to perform in his honor at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. 

Esperanza Spalding was raised in Portland, Oregon in a nurturing musical environment. Although her mother’s dedication to music inspired the young girl, Esperanza credits her interest in performing to YoYo Ma’s performance on an episode of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood that Spalding watched when she was 4. Esperanza had taught herself the violin a year later and played with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon until she left as a concertmaster at the age of 15. In high school, Esperanza dabbled with a variety of instruments including the oboe and clarinet, but found her true love when she picked up a bass for the first time. The aspiring musician left high school when she was 16 and enrolled on a music scholarship at Portland State University. Shortly after, Esperanza received a full scholarship to Berklee School of Music and became an instructor by the age of 20, the youngest instructor in the institution’s history. 

Despite her academic involvements as a Berklee instructor, Esperanza Spalding continued to record and produce critically-acclaimed albums over the next few years, slowly rising in popularity. Her Grammy win in 2011 has only further inspired and encouraged Esperanza’s artistic creation. As she insists, “the spotlight can actually directly serve the music.” And, the spotlight is certainly shining. Spalding has released 4 solo albums over her career, impressing audiences with her multi-lingual vocal performances and smooth, soulful bass playing. Esperanza’s album Chamber Music Society was the best selling contemporary jazz album of 2011 and the jazz artist had the honor of performing at the 84th Academy Awards, singing “What a Wonderful World” with the help of the Southern California Children’s Chorus. 
 
Thank you for supporting The Lyric Theatre, see you at the show!


http://www.lyrictheatre.com/show/3679-esperanza-spalding

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

50 Shades! The Musical!

“50 Shades! is a very good laugh and is impossible to resist!" - The Chicago Tribune

A sexy, hysterical musical romp, 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL is a laugh out loud night of fun that you won’t want to miss!


50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL, the hilarious parody of the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon. A resounding hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in Chicago and New York, 50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL opens with a ladies book club deciding to read Fifty Shades of Grey. Through their interpretation of the novel, the audience is lead on an uproarious roller coaster ride of this unlikely bestseller. The show is full of dance numbers, and original songs delivered by an outrageous cast with a live, on-stage band.


Join the global sensation and experience the show that had sold-out audiences in New York and Chicago screaming for more!


Official Website
www.50shadesmusical.com

This production contains adult language and adult content.

Monday, March 4, 2013

50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL parody is coming to The Lyric April 24 & 25th!

The FiftyShades of Grey trilogy has shattered sales records around the globe withmore than 32 million copies sold in the United States alone and a 2013Universal Pictures feature film release is sure to be a cinematicblockbuster.   Now, world-renownedmusical comedy ensemble BABY WANTS CANDY delivers the only theatricalincarnation that gives the brand what it really deserves!   A sexy,hilarious romp, 50 SHADES! THEMUSICAL is a laughout loud night of fun that audiences won’t want to miss! 


The Lyric Theatre presents 50 Shades ~ The Musical!

This video shows some of the great musical highlights of the hilarious new show 50 Shades! The Musical! The parody is at The Lyric Theatre April 24-25 www.lyrictheatre.com