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Featured Theatre
Updated: 18 July 2010
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PULITZER PRIZE
WINNING "A DELICATE BALANCE" OPENS NO STRINGS THEATRE
COMPANY'S TENTH SEASON ON
FRIDAY JULY 23
No Strings Theatre Company opens its
Tenth Season with "A Delicate Balance" the 1967 Pulitzer
Prize winning play about friendship, loyalty and family ties by the
well-known American playwright, Edward Albee, directed by NSTC's
Artistic Director, Ceil Herman. The play runs July 23 through August
8 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N Downtown Mall in Las Cruces.
Born
in 1928, Albee was greatly influenced by Theatre of the Absurd
playwrights Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, and Jean Genet as well as
Henry James and T.S. Eliot. Several of his one act plays, including
"The Zoo Story" and "The American Dream" were
produced Off-Broadway. In 1963, the Pulitzer Prize committee
recommended his play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" for
the prize, but the nomination was rejected and no award was given
that year. He subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize twice more after "A
Delicate Balance," in 1975 for "Seascape" and in 1994
for "Three Tall Women," Albee is a member of the Dramatists
Guild, received a Special Tony
Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005, the Gold Medal in
Drama in 1980 and the Kennedy Center Honors and National
Medal of Arts in 1996. "Seascape," was directed by
Herman for No Strings Theatre Company in September, 2000, with the
opening of the Black Box Theatre.
"A Delicate Balance,"
deals with the meaning of friendship and loyalty. Agnes and Tobias
are an older married couple, relatively content with their life in
surburbia, except for the presence of Agnes' sister Claire who drinks
too much and their daughter Julia who returns home every time her
marriages breaks up. Then their best friends Harry and Edna arrive,
too afraid to stay in their own home. When they express that they
have come to live with Agnes and Tobias, this drastically tilts all
the relationships in the family. Agnes and Tobias need to come to
terms with crisis and Tobias must ask what he owes his friends and
what debt he has to their friendship.
Albee was interested in
the idea of the balance in relationships from very early in his
playwriting career. In "The City of People," an early 3 act
play written by Albee in 1949, "delicate balance" refers to
"that shading between love and hate that exists between anybody
who cares for one another." Likewise, in the play "The
Invalid, a young man says: "I fear for that terrible day maybe
when you're thirty, maybe later, when you find yourself skidding
toward middle age with nothing to show for your youth, all of it a
blank, a waste… The balance has been delicate for some
time."
"A Delicate Balance" contains many
autobiographical elements. Agnes, Tobias, and Agnes' sister Claire
are inspired by Frances and Reed Albee. Albee's adoptive parents and
Frances' sister Jane. Jane was an alcoholic and houseguest. Daughter
Julia resembles Albee's cousin Barbara, one of his Aunt Ethyl's two
adopted daughters. His mother's elegant home in Larchmont was
the setting for "A Delicate Balance." Albee felt very
strongly that the audience to needed understand that the family
presence on stage was very strong as well as the real possibility of
invasion from their friends. There are entertaining, perceptive, and
multi-dimensional roles for all six characters in "A Delicate
Balance." The original cast was Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy as
Tobias and Agnes when the play opened on Broadway in 1966. A later
production on Broadway stared Rosemary Harris as Agnes, George
Grizzard as Tobias, and Elaine Stritch as Claire.
No Strings
Theatre Company's production of "A Delicate Balance" stars
accomplished Las Cruces theatre veterans Wynne Broms (Agnes), Carmen
Call (Edna), David Edwards (Tobias), Cindy Murrell (Claire), Jeff
Peckham (Harry) and Katie Richardson (Julia), all of whom have
performed at the Black Box Theatre, as well as in many other venues
in Las Cruces. Costume design is by Jeanne Luper and Light and Scenic
Design is by Peter Herman.
Performances are Fridays and
Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays, August 1 and 8 at 2:30 p.m. and a
Thursday performance on August
5 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.00 regular, $9.00 students and
seniors over 65 and all seats on Thursdays are $7.00. NSTC's
2010-2011 Season Tickets and discount coupon packs are for sale at
the Box Office.
For reservations call (575) 523-1223 or go
online at
<http://mail.zianet.com/cgi-bin/sqwebmail/login/ceil%40zianet.com.authdaemon/EE2ABAAE78CD9776486957ACCDC49D26//cgi-bin/sqwebmail?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.no-strings.org×tamp=1276799855&md5=EDFEHsFfDrKXriKut7%2FTSA%3D%3D>http://www.no-strings.org.
The photographic exhibit in thetheatregallery by Peter Herman
celebrates the 10 years of productions at the Black Box Theatre. The
exhibit is open an hour before performances and by appointment.
"AN
ECLECTIC EVENING" WITH SHANE STEWART ON SATURDAY, JULY 17
AT THE BLACK BOX THEATRE
No Strings Theatre Company and
Sargoff Sounds present “An Eclectic Evening” with Shane
Stewart, a unique vocalist and cover artist, at the Black Box
Theatre, 430 N Downtown Mall in Las Cruces on Saturday, July 17,
2010, at 7:00 p.m. The performance will include Classic
Country, Classic Soft Rock, and Oldies. Refreshments will be served
following the show. While reminiscent of Johnny
Cash, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and many others, Stewart is
not an impersonator; he incorporates his own distinctive style,
creating an innovative, fresh sound. Not just a vocalist, he is
a songwriter, and plays guitar.
Stewart was born in West Palm
Beach, Florida, on September 23, 1949. His first public
appearance was at the age of eleven, singing with a band at the
Merryland Roller Rink in the Chesapeake area in Maryland. He
sang with garage bands and played guitar for a couple of years.
He formed a band and played professionally in nightclubs when he was
eighteen in New York State. Eventually, his band, known as
Sargoff, The Missing Link, grew in popularity. Sargoff traveled
through New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Then they moved on to Nashville where Shane sang at Ernest Tubbs
Midnight Jamboree. In New York City, they played at the famous Copa
Cabana, Great Gildersleeves and CB-GBs in Manhattan. They
entertained at Toad’s Place in New
Haven, Connecticut, as the opening act for The Jerry Garcia
Band and played at Yale University, Syracuse University, and
Cornell. Sargoff was the opening act, as well, for Journey, Tom
Petty and the Heartbreakers, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Dukes.
In late 1979, Stewart and his lead guitar player moved to California;
after adding a base player and a drummer, they performed in
California and Las Vegas. In Las Vegas they played the
International Hotel, The Dunes, and The Sahara.
Stewart left
the music business in 1984, when unforeseen twists in his life made
it impossible for Sargoff to continue. After working
construction for several years, he became an over-the-road truck
driver until July 24, 2008. He sold his truck, put his life
savings into his equipment, and is now pursuing his dream with
SARGOFF SOUNDS by entertaining others as a cover artist and at times
providing DJ music. When he is not on tour in New Mexico, Texas, or
Arizona, Stewart performs in local venues.
Tickets are $10.00
at the door. Reservations (575) 523-1223.
TO THE
BEACH: AMAZING MAGICAL MUSICAL ADVENTURES ON SATURDAY, JULY 24
The
Amazing Magical Musical Adventure "To The Beach" will be on
Saturday, July 24 at 10:00 a.m. at the Black Box Theater at 430 N
Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. Sunny days and triple-digit temperatures
are just the sort of weather that make everyone dream of hanging out
at the beach. This imaginary outing will be practically as much fun
as the real thing. A story, interactive music and games, and snacks
will be provided and the performance is fun for the entire family.
Amazing Magical Musical Adventures is entertaining arts programing
presented by Mesilla Valley Musical Arts in partnership with No
Strings Theatre Company at the Black Box Theatre. Grab your sunscreen
and shades along with a water bottle and beach towel. But first, make
advance reservations by calling (575) 523-1223. All tickets are
$5.00.
FOLKSINGER VANESSA LIVELY PLAYS AT THE BLACK BOX
THEATRE ON SUNDAY, JULY 25
Austin folksinger Vanessa Lively
will perform Folk and World Music at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N
Downtown Mall in Las Cruces on
Sunday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.00 at the door.
Reservations can be made in advance by calling the theatre at (575)
523-1223. Lively's eclectic blend of folk music beautifully joins
heartfelt lyrics & soulful vocals with world instrumentation and
unique rhythms. Her songs - which are always hopeful, always joyful -
can be soothing, haunting and uplifting all at once. Folks often say
that her music is deeply moving. Information:
<http://mail.zianet.com/cgi-bin/sqwebmail/login/ceil%40zianet.com.authdaemon/EE2ABAAE78CD9776486957ACCDC49D26//cgi-bin/sqwebmail?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanessalively.com×tamp=1276799855&md5=EDFEHsFfDrKXriKut7%2FTSA%3D%3D>http://www.vanessalively.com
BEN CARROLL PRESENTS A MUSIC NIGHT ON AUGUST 10 AT
THE BLACK BOX THEATRE
Musician Ben Carroll will present an All
Ages concert on Tuesday, August 10 at the Black Box Theatre 430 N
Downtown Mall in Las Cruces at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.00 at the
door. Reservations can be made in advance by calling the theatre at
(575) 523-1223.