Little Shop of Horrors Opens Tonite!!!

Theatre Aspen's Little Shop of Horrors opens tonite. Previews of Tuesday and Wednesday were nothing less than spectacular. Following are particulars on the show:

The Musical, written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, is an adaption of a cult film originally produced by Roger Corman in 1960. (I understand the film was shot in only two days.) One of Ashman’s comments on the play: “It satirizes many things: science fiction, B movies, musical comedy itself, and even the Faust legend.”

Everyone on the Show: (Before I continue, let me say that I’m tempted to throw in raving superlatives about each and every one of these people. They are a talented, hard-working, intelligent, dedicated, marvelous assemblage of people. Okay. Enough already with the superlatives. Read on:)

Paige Price—Artistic Director
Mark Martino—Director and Choreographer
Seymour—Production and Stage Manager
Kevin Brainerd—Costume Designer
Markas Henry— Set Designer
David Thomas—Sound Designer
Loren Wilder—Lighting Designer

The Actors/Singers:
Jamie LaVerdiere as Seymour, the ‘nerd’ who happens upon a ‘strange and unusual’ plant.
Kate Fahrner as Audrey, a sweet, somewhat ditzy blonde.
Gordon Stanley as Mushnik, the owner of . . . well . . . the Little Shop of Horrors.
Tom Erickson as Orin, the Dentist from Hell. (Tom has several other roles in the show. Watch for him, cleverly disguised.)
Bobby Mason (the Music Mayor of Aspen) as the Voice of Audrey 2, the Plant from Outer Space that plans to start out eating Cleveland, and ultimately devour the entire world.
Lee Sullivan as the man who brings Audrey 2 to life with his proficiency as a puppeteer. (He makes a brief appearance onstage at the top of the show as a stumbling Wino.)
Anastacia McCleskey, Felicia Boswell & Adrienne Warren as The Urchins. These girls, who carry the plot from one scene to the next, will rock your world with their voices.
And, of course…starring Audrey 2 as (his? her?) its Bad Self.

The Musicians : We’re backstage, so you won’t see us. But where would this show be without us? In Cleveland, that’s where.
Bob Finnie–keyboards/musical director. He’s the guy who auditioned and hired several of the singers, and who coached all musical talent to their present state for the show.
Paul Valentine–drums and percussion. Brilliant player.
Me and Dave - bass and guitar. (Dave also has a slide whistle solo in the first act. Listen for it. Its haunting beauty will break your heart.)

The Crew: Again, you won't see these guys. But where would the show be without them? There wouldn't be a show, that's where.
Stub Allison—Pre Production TD
Kevin Carson—ASM
Colleen Finnegan—House Manager
Kyle Gavell—Master Electrician
Marco Markiewicz—Assistant TD
Brad Moore—Production Manager
Chris Moore—Follow spot
Stephanie Riddle—Sound board
Meghan Stiles—Prop and wardrobe supervisor
Tiffany Wilson

The Story: Shop Owner meets boy. Boy meets girl. Girl also meets boy. They are very attracted to each other, but girl is already involved with a ‘semi-sadistic’ dentist. Boy meets plant. Plant grows large and hungry, makes boy famous. Plant then . . . I don’t want to give away the ending, other than, “BURRRP.”

Show Dates: at the Theatre Aspen Tent are:
June 28, 30
July 1, 2 5, 7, 12, 14, 17, 18, 26, 28
August 2, 4, 5, 15, 16

Tickets: can be purchased at:
Wheeler Box Office (970) 920-5770 (*subject to $4.00 telephone order fee per order)
Or at the Theatre Tent on evening/day of performance

Call Theatre Aspen for directions or any further information 970.925.9313

A Few Backstage Shots

Beautiful Kate (Audrey) with my husband, Dave (Should I be worried?)

Jamie (Seymour) getting into character

Bobby (the Voice of Audrey 2) holding up the fort

Lee Sullivan, Audrey 2's Puppeteer and Stumbling Wino (in the show, that is)

Anastacia, Felicia and Adrienne (the exquisite Urchins)

David Thomas (Sound Designer), me and Mark Martino (Director)

Seymour, our Fearless Leader. (And, yes, we're all aware of the irony that she's Stage Manager on a show with a 'Seymour' as one of the lead characters.)

Bears…Oh, My!!!

With the winter thaw come reports of bear sightings throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. The sightings continue clear through the fall.

After sleeping for several months, black bears awaken with the spring and typically spend two weeks drinking water and warming up their bodies before they start eating normal amounts of food. Then a few of them invariably lumber into town in search of toothsome treats.

On a warm summer evening several years ago, a friend of ours left the patio door of her second-story condo open while she slept. She came into the kitchen the following morning to make coffee, and discovered a bear rooting through her fridge. (As you can imagine, she went to Starbucks for her coffee.)

2007 was a record year for bear/human conflict in the Roaring Fork Valley. A June frost, followed by a hot and dry early summer, killed off the bears’ natural food supply, leading them to raid residential trash cans and refrigerators, and fruit trees in downtown Aspen. Twenty-five of the critters were tranquilized and relocated.

As a rule, the animals are not aggressive—they’re certainly not man eaters. But they’re hungry. And big. Expert estimates of the weights of the bears seem to vary widely. Conservative measurements put the average weight of the animals at around 300 pounds. However, the degree of sexual dimorphism exhibited by the species makes accurate accounts difficult. The largest black bear recorded was a male shot in Wisconsin in 1885. The bear was 802 pounds, far heavier than would be expected.

Following are a few safety tips:

It’s best not to hike alone. Bring a partner with you. If you do chance upon a bear, don’t run. If you can’t help yourself and feel you must bolt, be sure you’ve chosen a hiking partner who runs slower than you. (Get it? Runs slower than you?)

But seriously, folks…

When hiking, it’s a good idea to wear little bells on your wrist. The sound of the bells will alert a bear that you’re coming.

It’s also prudent to bring pepper spray, in the event you come face to face with one.

Most importantly, learn to recognize the difference between baby bear scat (poop) and adult bear scat. Baby bear scat generally has berries and small tufts of fur in it. Adult bear scat has little bells and pepper spray in it.

Earthbeat Choir’s First of Summer Concert Series

Earthbeat, performing at the United Nations

The Earthbeat Choir opens its Summer Concert Series this morning on the Main Stage at the (111th annual!) Strawberry Days Festival in Glenwood Springs. The tunes performed will include several written by the Choir, and a medley of Eagles hits.

Earthbeat, a non-profit organization, has been presided over by its maestro of ten years, KC Johnson. His mission statement: “The Choir embraces a diverse group of children, in which the magic of music flourishes. Where kids feel safe to start where they are and rise to their full potential as singers, songwriters & creative artists, because there is a creative artistic spirit in every child waiting to be released.” He further states: “Whenever an event in our world touches our lives and hearts, you can rest assured that the Earthbeat Choir will be moved to write a song....The inspiration that compelled us to write the song, ‘"Don't Look the Other Way"’ was the Columbine tragedy. It was written with the children, staff and musicians of the Carbondale and Basalt Summer Music Camps.”

The Earthbeat staff this year includes graduates from past Music Camps. Dave and I, having had the privilege of performing with K.C. and the Choir over the last ten years, have watched many of these kids blossom into brilliant young adults. Two kids (Kids? HA! – let me rephrase…) Two young men, both monster musicians, will accompany the choir this year. Van Wampler (who just turned 19!) (and received bagpipes as a birthday gift from his grandparents - how cool is that?) will be on keyboards. Dominic Franklin will provide a strong backbone as the drummer. Oh, and, yeah. Dave and I will be there on guitar and bass. Speaking of which – we’d better get a hustle on. We have a 9:45 soundcheck; the show has a 10:45 downbeat.

Other scheduled Earthbeat concerts are:

July 19 - Burning Mountain Days – New Castle – time to be determined - noonish

July 27 – Carbondale Mountain Fair – Carbondale – time to be determined - noonish

August 16 – Basalt River Days - time to be determined - noonish

If you’d like to reach KC for further information, please call him at (970) 618-8103.

By the way - While at the Festival, take time to browse the many booths. You’ll find all sorts of treasures created by local artisans, as well as major ‘good eats.’ BBQ ribs, corn dogs, funnel cakes, ice cream, tacos, tamales, spanakopita, etc, etc, etc. Cotton candy! Oh, man. I am so all over it.

Other acts appearing today on the Main Stage are:
Big Daddy Lee & the King Bees at 2:30
Atomic Brass Project at 3:30 - With two of Denver's best vocalists and a five piece horn section, they are sure to keep you movin' all night long!