<p>When my daughter was deciding on schools to which to apply and ultimately where to attend, one of the very appealing qualities about UArts was and continues to be its location in the heart of the dynamic and vibrant professional theatre scene in Philadelphia and the opportunities that occur as a result.</p>
<p>The Arden Theatre is an innovative and well respected company in the world of professional theatre. It is currently running a production of Candide that has garnered great reviews locally and elsewhere. For those prospective students exploring UArts and for those new to the school, you may be interested to know that UArts’ presence permeates the show: </p>
<p>Ben Dibble (MT '99, Candide), Deirdre Finnegan (MT '05, Choreographer), Eric Ebbenga (Music Director - is the MT Music Skills professor at UArts), Heather Woodward (MT '08, Ensemble), Mat Burrow (MT '08, Ensemble), Melissa Kolczynski (MT '99, Ensemble). Candide is running through October 19 for those who are in the area.</p>
<p>Michael, thanks for the tip. I checked it out, and Candide will be performed in the round (don't know the technical term for that.) </p>
<p>Arden</a> Theatre Company : 2008/09 Season : Candide, The Royal National Theatre Version</p>
<p>Can't wait to come back to Philly and catch this show!</p>
<p>Ms. Woodward graduated in the Class of '07, actually, MichaelNKat, and was last seen in Media Theatre's production of THE FULL MONTY. </p>
<p>If you're a UArts student, make sure to catch this show! Most musicals at the Arden are well worth the rush you can do ahead of time.</p>
<p>Thanks for the catch on that sheerviolette. Hope all is well with you. Had an opportunity to spend the evening with some fans of yours at the inauguration of the Laurie Beechman Cabaret. D'Arcy was telling me just how much fun she had with you making that not only informative but incredibly funny and enjoyable YouTube MT Speech video.</p>
<p>All is well here, thank you! It's hard to believe I'm only hearing through the grapevine about the happenings at UArts! </p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed the cabaret! D'Arcy and I did always have a blast making videos, and there are two more from the vault that have yet to be released. I can't promise them in the near future, but I can promise them in the future!</p>
<p>Have you checked out the new video, featuring my "little brother" Nitro? It runs in the family. ;)</p>
<p>Haha sheerviolette, I love the new tuesday two-minute tune-ups with "nitro," but i miss "trusty" as well haha!</p>
<p>and yes, everyone says candide is fabulous! i'm seeing it next weekend. According to Eric, the Bernstein family was at opening last week, and loved it! the arden always has a 5 dollar rush 5 minutes before the show. Well worth it!</p>
<p>Yes, Mat and Joel both said the Bernsteins were there, which is very exciting! </p>
<p>Hope your junior year is going well for you!</p>
<p>Saw Candide last night (BroadwayWannabe, were you there?). It was great! The staging of the show, in the round with no scenery to speak of and minimalist props (most of which were rectangular boxes with movable panels that could be configured in a variety of ways), was incredibly innovative. It was like a large scale black box production in some ways but also took adavantage of the resources of a larger theater as a whole. The cast, and of course Ben Dibble as Candide, was excellent and what I found amazing was that not withstanding the absence of scenery, the cast was able to convincingly take the audience on Candide's journeys from country to country. A scene that stood out for me was where Candide is traveling by ship at sea through a storm, the passengers are seated on rows of black boxes, the "bridge crew" of the ship is on the "bridge" (a lowered catwalk?) above and behind the seated passengers, and the choreographed motion of the cast, the music and lighting created the very real and palpable experience of being buffeted in the storm. Having been on the ocean in sailing vessels during heavy seas and storms, the scene really connected for me.</p>
<p>For those in the Philadelphia area, this is a "don't miss" show. Humor, wit, biting social commentary, great musical arrangements, well acted and choreographed, very strong wonderful voices and incredibly innovative staging. For students, rush tickets are available and given the configuration of the theater and the staging, every seat offers a close unobstructed view.</p>
<p>haha no michael. i'm going to go tonight (assuming there are tickets available). i was originally going to go last night, but i stayed in to watch the debate haha! I'm super excited! i'm glad you enjoyed it!</p>