|
Event
STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story
Boom Kat Dance Theatre's STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story, lights up the Miles Playhouse this holiday season, offers all generations a witty, modern-day alternative to the familiar holiday repertoire.
After bringing audiences a contemporized fairytale in their 2010 sold-out, Ovation-nominated NeverWonderLand, Boom Kat's intriguing 2011 collaboration celebrates the shared humanity of people in crisis during the holidays. Embracing physical storytelling, dance and, yes, the potential of Los Angeles public transit, STATIONS juggles the struggle of a new family with the stories of an overworked Santa, an unappreciated pastry chef, a basketball hotshot and other characters racing to keep up in the sprawling city.
Featuring numbers recorded by the a cappella group Sonos from NBC's The Sing-Off, the original acoustic and electronic score combines dramatic scoring, sonic textures, and re-interpretations of holiday classics.
Set in the round, the historical playhouse allows you to intimately experience the high-energy dancing and acting of nine of Los Angeles' most talented performers. Each artist in this fresh, young collaborative sets out to explore the possibilities of movement and story-telling, and to create art that expresses and illuminates.
***********************************************************
*LA WEEKLY PICK OF THE WEEK: STATIONS*
12/22/11
"In this modern dance narrative, director Lili Fuller offers us a holly jolly, hip-hoppy Christmas. And one thing's for sure: Your granny's creaky Nutcracker this ain't. Told entirely through balletic jazz, accompanied by Parmer Fuller's jazzy score, Stations tells a kaleidoscopic tale of holiday spirit, focused through the prism of the current dreary economy. A young husband (Andrew Dits) and his pregnant bride (Juliana Tyson) leave a gift for a kindly homeless woman (Diana Vaden) -- an act of good karma that garners future benefits when they find themselves out of work and are forced to make their home in a bus shelter. The amiable young cast assay balletic and breakdance-style moves with energy and passion: Vaden offers a beautifully jazzy turn as the homeless woman, while Nathan Parsons delights as an acrobatically shambolic drunken Santa. Although the plot is occasionally hard to follow -- the result of a tendency to balletic whimsy that sometimes comes across as awkward -- the work's artful mix of tight choreography and energetic performances makes for a genial, upbeat holiday mood. The finale tableau, an image of strangers coming together to help the homeless parents at their bus-barn manger, offers a powerful, Nativity-like image."
http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/2011/12/theater_anecdtoes_anyone_also.php
*StageSceneLA WOW!*
"The gifted young artists of Boom Kat Dance Theatre, creators of the Ovation-nominated, multiple Scenie-winning Neverwonderland, are back at Santa Monica's Miles Memorial Playhouse with the perfect Christmas gift for theatergoers in search of that illusive Holiday Spirit.
Brilliantly directed by Lili Fuller and told entirely in music and dance, STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story centers on a young married couple who find themselves with child at Christmastime (sound familiar?), though the newlyweds in question here are a pair of contemporary Angelinos who find themselves victims of the ongoing economic crisis. Having been given the pink slip at work, Father (Andrew Dits) and Mother (Juliana Tyson) are soon living on the street alongside assorted street dudes, a homeless woman (Diana Vaden), and Santa himself (Nathan Parsons), or in this case a tipsy young incarnation of Old Saint Nick. (For those who might worry about following this Play Without Words, the program features a helpful scene-by-scene synopsis.)
Like the films Grand Canyon and Crash, STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story transports us to familiar L.A. localesThe Grove, the Los Feliz district, West Adams, Beverly Hills, the 3rd Street Promenade, Hancock Park, the Miracle Mile, WeHo, and Crenshaw & Wilshireas the lives of its diverse cast of characters collide and intertwine in this December of 2011.
Ovation Award-nominated choreographers Fuller, Joe Sofranko, Matthew Krumpe, and Tyson are joined here by Adam North ("with help from the cast") in creating STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story's eclectic dance moves, ranging from jazz to ballet to hiphop, performed by an all-around sensational cast, most of whom bring to life a variety of roles both large and small. Mike Garrido, D'Angelo Lacy, and Sofranko (all marvelous) are Lakers fans, movers, sous-chefs, clubgoers, and street dudes. The enchanting Fuller stands out in half a dozen roles, most notably as a pastry chef whose cupcakes provide a contemporary substitute for gold, frankincense, and myrrh. General Hospital heartthrob Parsons proves equally memorable, particularly as that boozy Santa, and the imposing Will Harris moves with grace and agility in a variety of character roles, especially as a Grinchlike executive chef. Dits, Tyson, and Vaden make the strongest and most memorable impressions, bringing equal parts acting chops and dance gifts to their complex roles. Oh, and the entire cast perform barefoot.
Parmer Fuller's original music score takes as its inspiration a dozen and a half classic Christmas carols whose familiar notes interweave throughout the composer's own melodies in a soundtrack which has elements of electronica, jazz, calypso, funk, hard rock, and Irish folk, and features instruments as varied as the cello, electric guitar, steel drums, fiddle, and even the human voice. At times magical, evoking childhood memories of Christmases past, at other times darkly dramatic, at still others as whimsical as the accompaniment for a silent comedy short, Fuller's compositions make for an ideal backdrop for his highly imaginative tale, one which has contemporary Angelinos standing in for leading players in that first Christmas story. (A Lakers fan and two street dudes bring their own gifts of the magi to Father and Mother's newborn babe, while the couple's wealthy Hancock Park friends offer no room at the inn for the homeless family.)
STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story features, among its many oh-so creative touches, human cars and busses (with flashlights as headlights), a striking pink slip ballet with black-garbed company members as "the Father's Weights," and a striking human tableau evoking images of a Statue Of Liberty in crisis.
Staged in the round, STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story has been lit with imagination and flair by Mason T. Barker and Will Sammons, a lighting design which finds numerous ingenious uses for flashlights, various shaped and hued glowsticks, and strings of Christmas lights. Sofranko's sound design, much of it recorded guerilla-style in the streets, malls, and clubs of L.A., is striking and inventive. Music has been produced, arranged, and mixed to perfection by Michael Kramer. The a cappella group Sonos contribute their unique vocals to the production's prerecorded orchestral score. (A soundtrack CD, available in the lobby, makes for an ideal holiday gift, that is if your giftee doesn't mind your having listened to it repeatedly before Christmas.) The multitalented Lili Fuller's credits also include artistic directorship of Boom Kat Dance Theatre and the production's terrific costumes.
STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story is produced by Narcissa Vanderlip. Additional production credits are shared by Nicole Jaffe (graphic design), Jessica Dalva (puppet design), Michelle Lukiman and Rachel Saltzman (associate producers). Sara Nishida is stage manager and Stephanie Cheng assistant stage manager.
Major L.A. regional theaters looking to program the ideal holiday show for 2012 are hereby urged to check out STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story before its final performance on December 30. I can think of no other Christmas production that has so filled me with the joys of the season that this brilliantly conceived and executed, highly original piece of theatrical magic."
-Steven Stanley
December 20, 2011
http://www.stagescenela.com/2011/12/stations-a-los-angeles-holiday-story/
***********************************************************
PLUS, Two Great Restaurant Deals for Boom Kat fans - see below!
***********************************************************
En español:
STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story
¡Este mes de navidades, Miles Playhouse se ilumina con "STATIONS: A Los Angeles Holiday Story," un espectáculo de teatro, danza y música! A todas las generaciones les ofrece un cuento moderno y listo como alternativa a los cuentos tradicionales y ya bien conocidos de la Navidad.
STATIONS cuenta de la gente de Los Ángeles y de qué les pasa cuando las fiestas de este mes mágico no acaban como acaban las pelis. Durante una noche fría de diciembre, a través del sistema ejem, fantástico del autobús en Los Ángeles, unos padres y su bebé encuentran a un San Nicolás agotado, a una repostera harta de su trabajo, a un fanfarrón de baloncesto y a otros Angelinos en busca de un camino seguro por la ciudad. Ellos encuentran aventuras y obstáculos por todas partes de la ciudad y se reúnen al fin, a sentir un poco de la magia de la Navidad.
La danza es dinámica y la música es una reinterpretación de las canciones clásicas de Navidad. La tradición se convierte a una versión moderna con una combinación de acústica y electrónica, de clásica y dramática, y de instrumentos y las voces del grupo a capela Sonos, de la competición cantante, The Sing-Off, en NBC.
STATIONS es bastante simple que los niños lo pueden disfrutar, y bastante complejo que los adultos lo pueden apreciar. Es contado sin palabras de la manera de Boom Kat Dance Theatre, un grupo de actores que bailan. Se usa la danza, el movimiento y la actuación para crear obras de teatro que entretengan, instruyan e inspiren. Su obra más reciente, NeverWonderLand (2010), fue nominada para un premio de Ovation (Ovation Award) dos veces y recibió reacciones fantásticas de las audiencias jóvenes y viejos.
***********************************************************
En Français:
STATIONS - A Los Angeles Holiday Story, un nouveau spectacle musical muet, rempli d'esprit et de tendresse, va illuminer le charmant théâtre historique de Santa Monica, Miles Playhouse, pendant les fêtes. Boom Kat Dance Theatre offre aux spectateurs de tous âges une alternative moderne au répertoire traditionnel de Noël. Le compositeur Parmer Fuller, inspiré du Noël des Santons provençal de son enfance, a créé une version urbaine et contemporaine d'un mystère de Noël. Il met en scène des personnages en crise aux moment des fêtes de fin d'année, venant des quatre coins de L.A. Ils se retrouvent tous autour d'un arrêt d'autobus lors d'une nuit de décembre. L'histoire simple retrace, avec humour et émotion, les aventures d'un jeune couple, d'un Père Noël épuisé, d'une pâtissière frustrée, d'une femme sans logis, d'un fanatique de basketball et de ses copains. Ils s'entrecroisent à travers la ville, et finissent par partager ensemble un moment magique.
STATIONS est assez simple pour amuser les enfants, et assez complexe pour intriguer les adultes. L'histoire est racontée sans paroles, par la danse, le mouvement, et le jeu des acteurs, dans un style unique à Boom Kat Dance Theatre, une troupe de jeunes acteurs qui dansent. Leur but est d'allier le mouvement, l'expression, et la narration pour créer des oeuvres qui divertissent, illuminent et inspirent. Leur production NeverWonderLand (2010) a été deux fois nominée aux prix Ovations, reçevant des critiques et des réactions fantastiques d'un public de tous âges - universitaires, jeunes professionnels, familles, grands-parents.
La danse est dynamique et éblouissante. La musique réinterprète des chants de Noël traditionnels, en alliant des orchestrations acoustiques et électroniques, des textures sonores, de la musique dramatique, et les voix du groupe Sonos, un des groupes de la compétition télévisée de chant a cappella, le NBC Sing-Off .
STATIONS est drôle, profondément émouvant, et offre au spectacteur une nouvelle expérience de Noël.
***********************************************************
TWO GREAT RESTAURANT DEALS for BOOM KAT fans:
On Thursday nights, December 8th and December 15th, MICHAEL'S RESTAURANT, one of LA's premiere restaurants, will host a special Pre-Party in its newly renovated lounge, from 5:30 PM till 7:30 PM. Enjoy three plates of "bar bites" hors d'oeuvres -- more than enough for a pre-show dinner -- for only $15 per person (gratuity, bar tab and tax not included). But you must reserve for the Pre-Party when you buy your tickets to STATIONS. Thursday nights only - limited availability - so book early! Michael's Santa Monica is at 1147 Third Street, near Wilshire.
For the late-night crowd, free traditional nachos are yours at EL CHOLO Mexican Restaurant with an El Cholo/Boom Kat card, which will be given to you when you claim your tickets at the Miles Playhouse. This promotion is good on Friday and Saturday nights 9:30 PM-11:00 PM and Sundays after the matinee performance. An entree or margarita purchase is required to redeem the deal. El Cholo is minutes away from the Miles Playhouse at 1025 Wilshire, at 11th Street.
|
|
 |
LocationMiles Memorial Playhouse (View)
1130 Lincoln Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 7 |
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
|
Contact
|
