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| SUBMISSION INFORMATION:The deadline for the Jun 4 issue is Tue, May 25, 5pm. Include name of event, date, time, location, price, phone number(s), a description of the event, and any available photos or artwork. Include SASE for return of materials. Listings are printed on a space-available basis. Send listings to the attention of the appropriate writer. Mail to The Austin Chronicle, PO Box 49066, Austin 78765, fax 458-6910, or e-mail: Kim Mellen, listings editor; Sarah Hepola, theatre; Robi Polgar, performance art, dance, classical; J.C. Shakespeare, comedy; Ric Williams, litera. [ Theatre | Dance | Classical | Comedy | Litera | Performance | Art ] | ||
My Children! My Africa!Zachary Scott Theatre's Whisenhunt Arena Stage
Athol Fugard, the controversial white South African playwright, is internationally famous for his treatment of race and revolution. Written in 1989, My Children! My Africa! is regarded by many as the most powerful of Fugard's political plays. Main characters include an idealistic debate teacher (played here by Theo Jarvis) and two bright, impassioned students (played by Mark Alexander Banks and Helen Merino) -- one a black South African boy, the other a white girl from a nearby prep school. At issue, both in their debates and in the streets around them, is the fast-approaching end of apartheid and the chaos of change sweeping the country. This production from First Stages Productions and Zachary Scott Theatre Center, directed by Ann Ciccolella, will attempt to invoke Fugard's vision of a culture poised on the brink of complete upheaval. Properly presented, My Children! My Africa! is a dramatic and urgent affair. Fugard's characters tend to say things like "I don't want to concern myself with the past. I lived in it too long." It's serious business, this, as Fugard lays bare the prejudices, motivations, and potential for salvation inherent in people and in societies. Jun 3-Jun 27, Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2:30pm, Zachary Scott Theatre's Whisenhunt Arena Stage, 1510 Toomey. Thu & Sun, $12 ($10 seniors, students, ACoT); Fri & Sat, $14 ($12 seniors, students, ACoT). 476-0541 x1. -- Ada Calhoun | ||
New Texas Festival
This is the eighth year of the New Texas Festival, and this annual celebration of vocal music once again features some outstanding talent. Anchored by the Conspirare Choir (conspirare means "to breathe together" as well as "to act together toward a common purpose," both of which figure heavily into their pulling off this remarkable series of events) -- the festival has grown over the years, and includes some stellar local and international singers. Among the major events scheduled for this Summer Season: "A Celebration of American Song" kicks things off with songs by modern and time-honored composers performed by soprano Jennie Olson and pianist Joey Martin. Sat, May 29, 8pm, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 6317 Bee Caves. $20. William Byrd's Mass for Five Voices takes listeners back to the 16th Century for a mass by the last great church composer. Exultant and intimate, this sacred work of the Renaissance is conducted by festival artistic director and Conspirare Choir conductor Craig Hella Johnson. Sun, May 30, 10pm, the Carillon, 2630 Exposition. $20.
For those wishing to gain insight into the background of JFK: The Voice of Peace, a symposium and panel presentation which includes the composer, librettist, conductor, and a returning Peace Corps volunteer will consider the topic "History Into Music," Fri, May 28, 4pm, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, 21st & Guadalupe, UT campus. Kallen Esperian lent her brilliant soprano to the Festival's Verdi Requiem earlier this year and returns for a command performance of material encompassing opera arias, Appalachian folk songs, and more. Tue, Jun 1, 8pm, Bates Recital Hall, UT campus. $25. Lourdes Pérez performs songs from her native Puerto Rico, as well as selections from her current residence, Texas. Hers is a blending of native Puerto Rican and African singing, with hints of the music of Spain, a style known as Nueva Canción. She is aided by pianist Kay Sparks and violinist Javier Chaparro for songs of love, loss, and dreams. Wed, Jun 2, 7:30pm, Jessen Auditorium, Rainey Hall, 21st opposite Dobie Mall, UT campus. $15. Keeping with themes of love and dreams with a Spanish flair, the Conspirare Choir under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson performs Songs of Garcia Lorca. Composed by Festival veteran Carmen Cavallaro from the poet's Andalusian and flamenco-inspired work, Poema de la Cante Jondo. Wed, Jun 2, 9pm, First English Lutheran Church, The Conspirare Choir keeps song flowing with an a cappella evening of Bach, Schönberg, Martin, and Stockhausen. Thu, Jun 3, 8pm, University Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe. $15. Rachmaninoff is the featured composer for a 90-minute All-Night Vigil, which, one can imagine, means the voices of the Conspirare Choir will linger in the ears and heart for quite some time after the performance has ended. Fri, Jun 4, 8pm, First English Lutheran Church, 3001 Whitis. $20. Also on Fri, Craig Hella Johnson partners with Cynthia Clawson to conclude this year's festival with a program of duets ranging from hymns to original compositions. Fri, Jun 4, 10pm, the Carillon, 2630 Exposition. $25. Besides the nine major events slated for the week-long festival, "Around the Town" events, free to the public, will crop up during lunch and late-night hours at cafes, restaurants, and other gathering spots -- watch out for impromptu singing at favorite watering holes all over the city. Look for the Austin Boys' Choir and Julia Armstrong among many more performers at unannounced afternoons and evenings of joyful song. "Supertickets" for all nine scheduled events: $125. 476-5775 (Festival information) or 469-SHOW (tickets). --Robi Polgar |
