Eisemann Center announces 2007-2008 season

by PegNews wire

The Theatre Comedy Series

Featuring weeklong runs of three hilarious productions all set in the intimate surroundings of the 368-seat Countrywide Theatre, the series begins with The Wonder Bread Years November 15-18, 2007. The Wonder Bread Years is a hilarious two hours of genuinely funny observations of our collective youth: sugar cereals, Toughskin jeans, Jiffy Pop popcorn, Kool-aid vs. pop and those long distance trips in the wayback of the Country Squire wagon. This solo performance by creator Pat Hazell, a former writer for Seinfeld, takes you back to a simpler time in your life - when Kool-Aid stands were big business, candy was currency and the most dangerous kid in school carried a “switch-comb”. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said, "Don’t quote me on this, but this show is hilarious."

Class convenes once again in Late Nite Catechism February 14-17, 2008. Back by popular demand, Late Nite Catechism is an uproarious piece of theater that takes audience members back - sometimes nostalgically, sometimes fearfully - to the children they once were. The irrepressible Sister teaches an adult catechism class to a roomful of “students” (the audience). Over the course of the play, Sister goes from benevolent instructor, rewarding the “students” for correct answers with glow-in-the-dark rosaries and laminated saint cards, to authoritarian drill sergeant. The Los Angeles Times refers to Sister as “The Biblical version of Dame Edna.”

Rounding out the Comedy Series season April 3-6, 2008 is Bunk Bed Brothers, a hilarious journey back into our collective childhood. Audiences are swept away by Bunk Bed Brothers’ engaging all-night bull session between two grown brothers sharing an evening in their childhood bedroom. Surrounded by shag carpet and black light posters they relapse into boyhood and the relationship it forged. Accusations, insults and Nerf balls fly in “this critically acclaimed comedy from two former Seinfeld writers that makes you smile with recognition, grin with pleasure and erupt into outright laughter. The Los Angeles Times refers to Bunk Bed Brothers as “A joyous hayride...” Actor Teri Hatcher calls the show “The most fun I’ve had with two guys with the lights on.”

RICHARDSON — The Eisemann Center and the City of Richardson have announced the 2007-2008 Season of Eisemann Center Presents building on the programming of the Hill Performance Hall Spotlight Series including the return of an audience favorite Five by Design in a new show, Radio Days and presenting three hilarious smash hit shows for the popular Theatre Comedy Series including the original Late Nite Catechism.

HILL PERFORMANCE HALL SPOTLIGHT SERIES

Featuring an eclectic collage of dance, music and theatre in the Eisemann Center’s largest performance space, the season kicks off with Vox Lumiere’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame on Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 8:00 pm. Vox Lumiere is a completely new live entertainment experience combining music, theatre and dance with timeless silent films. Singers, band, dancers and state-of-the-art multimedia and light show, weave together with Lon Chaney’s groundbreaking performance as Vox Lumiere thrillingly retells the movie masterpiece The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Los Angeles Times calls the Vox Lumiere production “Absolutely riveting...”

Second in the series is The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Show on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 8:00 pm. Talent, teamwork and an unerring sense of what it takes to please an audience—these qualities have been the cornerstones of The Oak Ridge Boys’ stellar career. For more than four decades, the famed quartet has helped define popular music with pioneering contributions to both the Gospel and Country fields. Their Christmas show is a holiday treat for the entire family! The Fayetteville Observer says “The Oak Ridge Boys will flat knock you out of your seat.”

Last seen at the Eisemann Center on New Year’s Eve 2002 performing their show, Club Swing, Five by Design returns with Radio Days on Saturday, January 26, 2008 at 8:00 pm. Honoring America’s “greatest generation,” Five By Design recreates a poignant time capsule of American life during the 1940s in a musical tribute to the golden days of radio. Combining the ensemble’s talents for storytelling, elegant stage and lighting design and vintage fashions with lush, signature harmonies, Five By Design’s Radio Days takes the audience on a nostalgic ride over the air waves. The Ottawa Sun said, “...Radio Days teases the imagination and the funny bone...one of the concert delights of the year.”

Coming Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 8:00 pm is the exciting and always compelling Pilobolus Dance Theatre. Pilobolus is an unusual but major American dance company of international influence. Now in its 36th year, the company remains a collaborative choreographic process and a unique weight-sharing approach to partnering giving the three artistic directors and seven dancers a nontraditional but powerful set of skills to create one of the most popular and varied repertoires in the field. NYC Newsday observed, “Pilobolus is a mind-blowing troupe of wildly creative and physically daring dancers who leap, fly, intertwine and break all the rules...”

In partnership with the UTD School of Arts & Humanities, The Romeros will appear in a public performance Friday, February 22, 2008 at 8:00 pm after conducting a series of workshops and master classes in classical guitar on the UTD campus February 21 and 22, 2008. Referred to as "The Royal Family of the Guitar," The Romeros are an institution in the world of classical music. The quartet spans three generations and over 40 years of performances with virtually every major symphony orchestra in the country. The Romeros make regular appearances at major music festivals, performances at colleges and universities and regular tours of Europe and Asia.

Rounding out the Spotlight Series on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 8:00 pm is the spectacular musical production BLAST!. Brass, percussion and visual ensembles come together in a theatrical show which brings the power, passion and precision of outdoor pageantry to the stage in the Tony and Emmy Award-winning BLAST!. The show evolved from the drum corps Star of Indiana, founded in 1984 by businessman Bill Cook to benefit young people in music education. The Boston Globe says, “BLAST! stands, blows, pounds, marches, and whirls with panache. It sent the full house into repeated bursts of cheering and applause [with] the thrill of seeing sheer virtuosity in a different kind of art form.”

Subscriptions for the Hill Performance Hall Spotlight Series and the Theatre Comedy Series go on sale to the public beginning May 21st with a 15% discount on full series subscriptions. Spotlight Series subscriptions range from $111.00 to $268.00. Theatre Comedy Series subscriptions range from $89.00 to $97.00. The Spotlight Focus Mini-Series continues to be available, which allows patrons to create their own miniseries of four or five out of the six Spotlight Series events at a 10% discount. Single tickets for Spotlight Series and Comedy Series shows go on sale to the public August 13th online, by telephone and in person. For more information, call the Eisemann Center Ticket Office at 972-744-4650. The Ticket Office is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm and one hour prior to curtain time for all events. After May 21st, a PDF subscription order form may be downloaded from the event listings in “Upcoming Events” on the Eisemann Center website. The form may then be faxed or mailed to the Eisemann Center Ticket Office. The Ticket Office fax number is 972-744-5830. Series subscriptions are not available online but orders are accepted by mail, fax, telephone and in person at the Ticket Office.

The Eisemann Center is a City of Richardson facility located in the Galatyn Park Urban Center at 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, Texas. The Eisemann Center is easily accessible from Highway 75 North taking the Galatyn Parkway/Renner Road exit going north and the Galatyn Parkway/Campbell Road exit going south or from the DART light rail station at Galatyn Park.

Source: City of Richardson