Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Summer Week One: THE FROG PRINCE

IT’S IN HER KISS!
Prince Noble, seen here as a slimy green frog, puckers up for a kiss from the lovely Princess Cassandra (Sarah Pothier of East Providence, RI) in Kaleidoscope Theatre’s original musical The Frog Prince. The Frog Prince will be performed on July 6, 2009 at 11:00 am at Robert’s Hall Auditorium at Rhode Island College, Providence, RI.

Tickets are $12.00 at the door and $10.00 in advance. There is a special group rate for parties over 25. For further information, please call the RIC Box Office at (401) 456-8144. ** Please note that the RIC box office will not be open on Monday, July 5th due to the 4th of July holiday. **

Kaleidoscope Theatre's The Frog Prince is a musical written by David G. Payton of Cranston, RI, the Executive Director of Kaleidoscope Theatre. The Frog Prince starts with a SPLASH! Young Prince Noble seems to be having a really bad day - a smelly Gypsy woman is in love with him, he got pushed down a well, and then he was transformed into an icky green frog! Now instead of traveling the land looking for a beautiful wife, he's short, green, and hoping to catch a fly for dinner! Will Prince Noble learn a lesson in humility and win the lovely Princess Cassandra’s heart? Watch as plots twist, stories intertwine, and all the characters discover that Happy Endings can happen when you least expect them.

Cast members include - Princess Cassandra (Sarah Pothier of East Providence, RI); Prince Noble (Luke Doyle of West Greenwich, RI); his servant, Henry (Bob Macaux of East Greenwich, RI); King John (Mike Daniels of North Providence, RI); Anya, Queen of the Gypsies (Jamie Dellorco of Franklin, MA); and Princess Ariana (Emily Staples of Narragansett, RI).

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tickets available online!

Tickets for our two upcoming summer shows in Saugus, MA are now available online. Check out the Paypal links for both Pocahontas on July 11th and Little Red Riding Hood on August 15th. Buying the tickets online in advance allows you to take advantage of the $9 advance price (tickets are $12 at the door). You can also call (781) 230 - EXPO.

Hope to see you there!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Kaleidoscope returns to Connecticut!

Kaleidoscope will again be performing in the lovely state of Connecticut. This summer, we will be coming to The KATE - The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, CT. On July 29th we will be presenting fan-favorite musical, Goldilocks & the Three Bears. For more information on how to get tickets, check out their website or call the box office at (877)503-1286. CT residents - We hope to see you on July 29th!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Pocahontas remount debuts tomorrow!

Our updated version of Pocahontas (with brand new orchestrations from Dan DeLange) will debut tomorrow! This historically accurate tale follows the life of Pocahontas from when she meets John Smith and the English colonists, to her marriage to John Rolfe, and her journey to England.

Come join Pocahontas as she teaches the audience about preserving nature and respecting the circle of life. This production is a great tie-in to history units and helps illustrate the importance of mutual respect among people and cultures.

Pocahontas is available to tour to schools, camps, and parks! If you'd like to bring the show to a venue near you, please call us at (401) 942-3637.

The public can see Pocahontas in both RI and MA this summer! For Massachusetts residents, we will be performing the show on July 11th at 2pm as part our out monthly series up in Saugus, MA. Call (781) 230-EXPO to reserve tickets! For Rhode Islanders, the Roger Williams National Memorial (on N. Main St. in Downtown Providence) will be presenting a free performance of the show on August 14th at 4pm. Bring a blanket and enjoy a beatuful historical and natural setting for the performance. Waterfire event will follow in Providence, so come on down and make a night of it!

If you have any questions, feel free to call our email us!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

June Newsletter has been released!

This issue will feature a list of all our summer venues and upcoming public performances. If you have any questions about a specific performance or venue, please feel free to contact us!

For a complete list of our upcoming performances, check out our website at:

In this issue:
1. Roberts Hall Auditorium, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI
2. Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis, MA South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset, MA
3. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset, MA
4. North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, MA
5. North Shore Musical Children’s Theatre, Saugus, MA
6. Other Public Performances
7. Supporting Our Members

Let us know if you have any questions!
:)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Buy your tickets today!

Box Office at Rhode Island College is open Monday through Fridays from 10am to 4pm. For tickets, please call (401) 456-8144.

* Please note, the Box Office will not be open on Monday, July 5th... so buy your tickets to The Frog Prince in advance!!

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #15: When In Doubt, THROW IT IN!


Kaleidoscope recently had a trip to New Jersey for a three-show run of Mother Goose at the Kelsey Theater. Trips to New Jersey always prove to be pretty interesting. I had gone to the Kelsey with the gang in the past, and those trips also have some fun memories. Some of the fun was a bit more dangerous than the rest. For instance, I don't think you are allowed, by law, to stop on the highway and contemplate a situation. Don't get me wrong, stopping to observe your surroundings is good now and then, but when your surroundings include heavy, metal-encased vehicles of death, swerving around you at 70 mph, the roses will just have to wait. On a related note, the death vehicles don't like it when you start backing up.

This trip wasn't as deadly, but it is the longest overnight I have done with the company so far. We left on a Thursday evening and came back to RI Saturday evening/Sunday morning, depending on how you want to look at it. Regardless of the length of the trip, it went smoothly. I was lucky enough to be in the "quiet" van for most of the trip. With many long trips at Kaleidoscope, there are usually two vans. One van is the "We're young, we're excited, let's sing Glee the whole trip" van, and the other is the "Shut up and sleep" van. Glee is all well and good, but I felt very fortunate to be in the latter of the two vans, being able to use my new hat (which is getting a surprising amount of approval, if I may say) as a makeshift sleep mask. Between the sleep and a trusty iPod Touch (loaded up with music, an episode of Criminal Intent, and The Sting), I was certainly occupied for the six-hour trek. It should have taken four, but with so many people to deal with at once, delays are bound to happen. I will take this time, however, to say that I was in the noise box on four wheels on the way back, at the helm as it were, and all I will say is that at least there was no danger of being asleep at the wheel.

I have to say that one of the more interesting things to happen on this trip was the meeting with the infamous New Jersey Bridge Troll. She isn't a real troll, however she could be for all I know, seeing that she was hidden from the world in her toll booth. This wasn't a normal toll booth, mind you. This was a $1 booth, however you needed change. The attendant was not even visible. She was in fact hidden behind a sliding screen door that was shut. From what I understand, the lead van (U.S.S. Noisebox) was scrambling for change when they got there, until the attendant yelled to them "Just give me the dollar! If you do this again, I'm giving you a ticket!" How would she? She has to present herself to do so.

Now our van gets there, and Bob, who is driving, doesn't notice the change receptacle. I tell him we need change, but he can't seem to find any either. Finally we here a "THROW IT IN" echo from the bowels of this toll booth. This voice painted an image of a disgruntled toll worker, who perhaps lived in the booth very comfortably with her HD television and Wi-Fi, and here we were disrupting Days of Our Lives. All this time I thought trolls were eunuchs with fun hair.

The shows themselves went very well, and a good deal of that credit needs to go to the Kelsey. The folks there are really wonderful to work with and are very knowledgeable in their craft. Our audiences were good as well. Friday was pretty full, mainly because there were schools coming in the see the show. The two Saturday shows had modest audiences each, so all together it was pretty good. One child in particular got to steal the spotlight a little during the second Saturday show. As the Knave, I have a speech that I do right after the intermission. In this speech, I mention that the king's birthday cake has been stolen. After saying this during the second Saturday show, a young kid shouted at me "It was probably you!!" at the top of his tiny lungs. I couldn't just ignore this statement, particularly because it echoed throughout the whole theater, so I responded with "What do you know?" It got a good laugh.

It's funny that this happened in a children's theatre production, however I wonder if the old "theatre code of conduct" would discourage it. By definition, children's theatre has little to do with the content of the shows. Yes, they usually play for younger audiences, however what truly makes children's theatre is the idea that it is teaching young children the conventions of the theatre. Good children's shows encourage participation and response, however they also encourage it when it is deemed appropriate. On the other hand, if we considered what theatre could be in our society, then this kid is on the right track. I think what I was able to witness that day was someone not stuck in the Deadly Theatre that Peter Brook talks about. This child was not fully aware of the social conventions that are placed in are theatre (for better or worse), and therefore he reacted from his gut. He reacted in a way we should all encourage when we go to the theatre. Sure, we could get into a discussion about respect for the actors and the other patrons, but if the theatre is not a place for all parties to express themselves, then what good is it? However we choose to look at it, I'm glad I got to experience that moment.

All in all, a good trip. But it's always good to come home.

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Emily Luther wins Glee Audition

Kaleidoscopian Emily Luther recently won the Glee Casting Call audition that Fox/ The Rhode show held on Friday, April 16th. She was on The Rhode Show on Tuesday morning for the announcement. We’re all very proud of her!! Here's the clip from the show!

Friday, June 04, 2010

RIC Tickets are now onsale!

Call the RIC Box Office at (401) 456-8144 to purchase your tickets! Our 2010 Series opens July 6th and runs through August 24th. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 day of show. A season ticket for all eight shows can be purchased for only $50! Regular tickets for all eight shows would be $80... so a season pass can save you $30! There is also a ticket rate of $5/ticket for groups of 25 or more.

Here's this season's line-up:

July 13th - Mother Goose
July 20th - Cinderella
July 27th - The Three Pigs
August 3rd - Snow White
August 10th - Goldilocks
August 17th - Rapunzel

For a complete list of all our 2010 Summer performances, check out the "Upcoming Schedule" on our website!

See you this summer!

:)

Summer 2010 Video Preview!

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Look out NJ... Mother Goose is on the loose!


Mother Goose will be on tour in New Jersey this weekend! There will be 4 performances at the Kelsey Theatre (on the Mercer County Community College campus) in West Windsor, NJ. On Friday, local school children can see the show at 10:00am and 11:45am. On Saturday, Mother Goose will be open to the public for two shows at 2:00pm and 4:00pm. To purchase tickets, call the Kelsey Theatre Box Office at (609) 570-3333.

Hope to see you there!

What's your favorite fairytale?