<p>For those of you contemplating visiting UArts after January, what follows is the schedule of shows the school is doing:</p>
<p>2/4 - 2/10: Average Achievers’ Club - Part of the Platform Series (concert style), held at the Arts Bank, one of UArts main stages. Is a work in development, being directed by the casting director from the Walnut St Theater. (Congratulations to bktheater’s daughter and kimoki’s daughter who have been cast. Should be a great experience!)</p>
<p>2/18 - 2/21: Mort - Part of the Studio Series, held at the Caplan Studio Theater, UArts’ newest performance space.</p>
<p>2/25 - 2/28: The Umbrella Play - Also part of the Studio Series, held at the Gershman Hall Black Box.</p>
<p>3/24 - 3/28: On Your Toes - Part of the Mainstage Series, at the Merriam Theater, UArts’ 1800 seat proscenium theater. A major collaboration between the School of Theater and the School of Dance. Directed by Patty Raine, head of the MT program.</p>
<p>4/9 - 4/17: Blue Monster - Also part of the Main Stage Series, held at the Arts Bank. (Congrats to Shellipearls daughter.)</p>
<p>4/22 - 4/25: Illyria - Part of the Platform Series. At the Arts Bank, directed by Charlie Gilbert, Director of the School of Theater Arts. (Congrats to mainstage’s daughter.)</p>
<p>4/29 - 5/2: 9 Parts of Desire: Part of the Studio Series, held at the Caplan Theater.</p>
<p>Tickets are available through a link on the page for the MT program.</p>
<p>Thanks MichaelMKat. Congrats on your D being cast in On Your Toes!!! We are thrilled for our D. My husband and I are both coming to see it. We’d love to get together. Kimoki we’d love to meet you also. This will be our D’s 2nd show together, but first one at Uarts!!!</p>
<p>Congrats to all on being cast and proud to report that my D was also cast in Blue Monster. We were so excited to see her in the fall show, The Dining Room, and are looking forward to visiting Philly again in the spring. Our D. is thriving at UArts and I cannot say enough about the wonderful training and support she is experiencing there.</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter holly06! Sounds like it’s going to be a very creative and interesting experience for her. Here’s the description of the show: “A mystical Blue Monster, a seven-headed Hydra and an evil Knight stand between two young lovers, Taer and Dardane, as they struggle to break an ancient curse. Written in 1764, this rarely performed Italian play, inspired by the characters of commedia dellarte, blends masks, puppetry and physical comedy in an unforgettable tragicomic fable. Director Aaron Cromie is an award-winning member of the Brind School faculty known for his inventive modern take on the traditions of the commedia.”</p>
<p>MichaelNKat,
Thanks for the description. It really does sound interesting and creative. D is excited about the challenge. Enjoy these exciting times with your D in On Your Toes. I assume that show involves dance?? </p>
<p>Shellipearl,
Will you be in Philly for Blue Monster?</p>
<p>Here’s the description of On Your Toes: “Composer and former “hoofer” Junior Dolan makes his way from vaudeville to the Russian Ballet by way of the gangster underworld in this groundbreaking 1936 musical. Its jazz ballet finale, “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue,” remains a repertory staple of ballet companies worldwide. The sparkling score by Rodgers and Hart includes standards like “Glad to Be Unhappy” and “There’s a Small Hotel.” A joint production of the Brind School and the UArts School of Dance.” The cast is very large with a load of dancers from the school of dance as well as MT students filling the principal vocal roles. My daughter, who plays the “patroness” of the dance company, is ecstatic about the show.</p>
<p>Holly06, congrats to your D on being cast in Blue Monster!!! My D was called back for that and would have enjoyed being in that show. There are so many great shows this season. It’s great so many on this board have D’s cast in them. Haven’t heard from any one’s S’s as of yet. </p>
<p>Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Years.</p>
<p>My S who is a freshman MT Major was cast in The Umbrella Play. He is very excited as are we. He is loving U Arts! Congrats to all who were cast. We are local and hope to see all of the productions,</p>
<p>Kimoki,
Your D and Sam were fantastic at AverageAchievers Club. I was so glad to be able to go Friday night as Sat’s show was canceled. We had a great time, enjoyed seeing the snow!!! It was magical. We were fortunate that we flew in just before the snowstorm, and flew out the day after! Our flights back to CA were smooth and were not even delayed. </p>
<p>The show was fun and everyone in the cast seemed to have a great time. We got to meet some of the parents of the kids in the show, and we got to meet Kate Gavelin. The best part was spending time with our kids. We loved hearing our D perform again. It’s been a long time since high school.</p>
<p>Good luck to all of your D’s and S’s in the shows to come. I wish I could come and see them all :).</p>
<p>Last night was the opening of “On Your Toes”. It was, quite simply and at the risk of sounding “dramatic”, a show of epic proportions. A collaboration of the School of Theatre, School of Dance and School of Music, it features 25 MT students, 21 dance students and 15 musicians plus a host of Theater students serving as crew, stage managers, techs, production shop and other critical positions. Directed by Patty Raine, head of the MT program, Music Direction by Owen Robbins and choreography by Nancy Berman Kantra and Scott Jovovich, the show is being staged at the Merriam Theater, owned by UArts, an 1800 seat professional Broadway proscenium theater. </p>
<p>If broken down into its component parts, it would be accurate to state that the cast is wonderful, the choreography amazing, the music, sets and costumes superb - and all of that is true. But it is the sum of all of these parts combined with the enormity of the undertaking and the magnitude of this production that make this show phenomenal. I’ve seen a lot of great shows at UArts but this is one that showcases in a way never done before the vast talent, capabilities and resources of the entire College of Performing Arts which houses the 3 Schools, from those on stage, behind the stage, in the pit and in the production shops. </p>
<p>Anyone who is in the Philadelphia area over this weekend, this is a show to see if you want to see just what UArts has to offer across a broad spectrum of its programs.</p>
<p>Michael,
Congrats to your daughter and her cast and crew on a successful production. Sounds amazing. It is cool for the theater, music, and dance schools to all collaborate their talents on this project.</p>
<p>I can’t agree more with Michael’s description of the U Arts production of On Your Toes. It was exceptional. The talent, music, choreography, costumes and set all made for a fantastic show. Congratulations to Michael’s D who was superb. We last saw her perform in a high school production and were amazed at her talent then. This performance evidenced her growth at U Arts as an actress and singer. We thought she was a soprano ingenue and were amazed to see her range in this role. She was phenomenal and looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself. Our S is a freshman and loving U Arts. Congrats to the entire cast and crew on a fantastic productiion.</p>
<p>My D has many of her friends in the show. She also said it was fantastic. She also said that your D was excellent, Michael, along with the female lead. It sounds amazing. I’m sorry I couldn’t go and see it. All of you living in and near Philadelphia are so lucky.</p>
<p>Thank you sonlovesmt and bktheater! My daughter had told us that her role was unlike any she has previously played but having been cast in the past as the soprano ingenue, she has welcomed the broadened opportunities and challenges. It was funny, after opening on Thursday, we took her out for a bite to eat and were teasing her that she was still talking in character as an alto. She had a voice lesson the next day and texted us not to worry, that she’s still a soprano. . She really is enjoying this show immensely, not only because her role is so different from what she normally does, but also because of the relationships she has formed with so many of the cast from outside of the MT program. Normally the dance and MT students live and perform in different worlds because of their class schedules and shows. This show has really enabled so many of them to get to know each other and by working collaboratively have a fuller appreciation of each other as performers. I think it has been a wonderful experience for all of the students.</p>
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. She really is enjoying this show immensely, not only because her role is so different from what she normally does, but also because of the relationships she has formed with so many of the cast from outside of the MT program. Normally the dance and MT students live and perform in different worlds because of their class schedules and shows. This show has really enabled so many of them to get to know each other and by working collaboratively have a fuller appreciation of each other as performers. I think it has been a wonderful experience for all of the students.</p>