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Comedy
Going…Going…Gone at IndyFringe
Ed’s Auction House opens for business again on Dec. 1, this time with acclaimed New York cabaret singer and Indiana native Bill Kinley on stage. Joining him be improv veterans Eryn Bowers and Mike Gospel, and “Going…Going…Gone” co-creator John Thomas.
The cast will join forces to give a wink and a nod to a classic holiday film with “Going…Going…Gone: It’s a Wonderful Auction House.”
The live auction comedy takes place on the final night at Ed’s Auction House. Ed’s dead, and those close to him face the task of selling off his last worldly possessions. How? By having the audience bid using fake money they received when they entered the theatre. The action unfolds as the actors learn along with the audience what items must be auctioned off – and create the stories behind those items. The best part is that audience members who place winning bids take their purchases home.
McKinley, a Muncie, Indiana, native worked in theaters throughout the Midwest before becoming a favorite on the New York cabaret scene. A self-described “Disneyphile,” Bill has been heard in Disney attractions and films (POCAHONTAS and MULAN), recorded a CD of Disney songs and performed in his critically acclaimed Disney-themed cabaret show, “Don’t Tell Walt.”
Eryn Bowers can be seen around Indy at Comedy Sportz and in the new “Eri/yn” show. Mike Gospel, a recent Miami University grad, has been improvising his way around Chicago. John Thomas partnered with Lou Harry to create “Going…Going…Gone” for the 2012 IndyFringe Theatre Festival. Since then, it has become a monthly staple at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre.
WHAT: “Going…Going…Gone” – the live auction comedy
WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 1, and then the first Sunday of every month
WHERE: IndyFringe Basile Theatre, 719 E St. Clair St., Indianapolis
COST: $15; $12 for students and senior citizens. Tickets available at www.IndyFringe.org. Information available for office parties and other private events
BOBDIREX Presents Monty Python’s Spamalot June 14-29
Monty Python’s Spamalot is a musical comedy “lovingly ripped off from” the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways. The original 2005 Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols with Eric Idle writing the musical’s book and lyrics, won three Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004-05 season and received 14 Tony Award nominations.
Bob Harbin’s company, BOBDIREX, with direction from Bob will be presenting the first Indianapolis production of this musical at the Historic Athenaeum Theatre. This is the fourth summer musical presented by Harbin through BOBDIREX following the success of “Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Camp Rock” and last summer’s “Cabaret.” Harbin describes “Spamalot” as “nothin’ but funny from beginning to end.”
All performances are at the Athenaeum Theatre, 401 East Michigan Street at Massachusetts. All performances are at 7:30pm with a 3pm matinee on June 23. Seating is reserved at $25 a ticket with discounts for Seniors and Groups of 20 or more. Reservations can be made by calling 317 / 280 – 0825 (no credit charge) or by going to www.bobdirex.com.
Lee Camp LIVE in Indianapolis at Melody Inn on Monday, January 14, 2013
Lee Camp LIVE in Indianapolis at Melody Inn
Monday, January 14, 2013 at 9:00pm
Comedian Lee Camp, best known for his Moment of Clarity web series as well as for going live on Fox News and calling them a “parade of propaganda and festival of ignorance,” will be performing live in Indianapolis at the Melody Inn on Monday, January 14th at 9pm. The doors will open at 8pm. To learn more about Lee, go to www.LeeCamp.net/about.
Tickets are $10.
Melody Inn
3826 N. Illinois St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Going Going Gone returns to Indy Fringe Theatre Dec. 2
Ed’s Auction House opens for business again on Dec. 2, this time with a former Broadway actor joining one of the show’s co-creators onstage in the live auction comedy “Going…Going…Gone.”
Lynn Stafford has appeared on Broadway in “The 1940s Radio Hour,” off-Broadway in “The Fantastiks,” and in numerous regional theatres across the U.S. The Indianapolis native is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music and the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and president of the management consulting firm LS Stafford & Associates. Indianapolis writer and PR consultant John Thomas collaborated with Lou Harry to create “Going…Going…Gone” for the 2012 Indy Fringe Festival, but this is the first time either Thomas or Harry have appeared in the show.
After attracting sell-out crowds at the 2012 Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, “Going…Going…Gone” opened earlier this year as a monthly show at the Indy Fringe Basile Theatre. Created and produced by Two First Name Productions – aka, Harry and Thomas – “Going…Going…Gone” is featured at 7 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month.
The show takes place on the final night at Ed’s Auction House. Ed’s dead, and those close to him face the task of selling off his last worldly possessions. How? By having the audience bid using fake money they received when they entered the theatre.
The action unfolds as the actors learn along with the audience what items must be auctioned off – and create the stories behind those items. The best part? Audience members who place winning bids take their purchases home.
Some of Indy’s best and gutsiest talents – including actors you’ve seen at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Indiana and the Phoenix Theatre – have signed on. And, as they did at the Fringe Festival, audience members likely will make repeat visits to see how different actors manage the madness. After all, it’s never the same show twice.
“Nunsense” at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre through August 26th
INDIANAPOLIS – Summertime brings a sidesplitting spoof to Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre as it presents “Nunsense” live on stage July 19 through Aug. 26.
One of the most requested shows at Beef & Boards and an audience favorite, “Nunsense” follows the misadventures of five nuns trying to manage a fundraiser. Sadly, the rest of the sisterhood died from botulism after eating vichyssoise prepared by Sister Julia. Thus, the remaining nuns – ballet-loving Sister Leo, street-wise Sister Robert Anne, befuddled Sister Mary Amnesia, the Mother Superior Sister Regina, and mistress of the novices Sister Mary Hubert – stage a talent show in order to raise the money to bury their dearly departed. Of course, nothing is as simple as it should be, and they are running out of time!
This un-“convent”-ional show originated as a line of greeting cards by Dan Goggin. Their popularity caused him to develop them into a cabaret, and later a full-length musical. Goggin based each character on a nun he knew from his own schooling by the Marywood Dominican Sisters as well as his days as a seminarian. The result was almost miraculous. “Nunsense” became one of
off-Broadway’s biggest commercial successes, was translated into 21 languages and became an international phenomenon. Goggin received the 1986 Outer Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Music. “Nunsense” has had six sequels, three spin-off shows, and continues to entertain audiences worldwide annually.
Beef & Boards is proud to welcome a veteran director and cast for “Nunsense”. Leading the production, both onstage and off, is Nancy Carroll. As Sister Mary Regina, Carroll reprises her role from Beef & Boards’ original production in 1991, plus Carroll takes on the roles of director and choreographer, as she has for all previous productions of “Nunsense” at Beef & Boards.
Two fellow cast members from Beef & Boards’ 1991 production also return to their roles. They include Amanda Butterbaugh and Lin Tucci as Sister Amnesia and Sister Robert Ann, respectively. Mary Robin Roth, who was a member of the 1997 cast of “Nunsense” at Beef & Boards, plays Sister Hubert. Laurie Walton, who performed earlier this season as Jeri Neal in “The Dixie Swim Club,” and who appeared in Beef & Boards’ 1999 production of Nunsense: Jamboree, plays Sister Leo. Lynne Perkins, just seen as the Wicked Witch in “The Wizard of Oz,” will step into the role of Sister Mary Regina for the final two weeks of the run.
“Nunsense” has 45 performances scheduled in the intimate space of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Tickets range from $37 to $60 and include Chef Odell Ward’s dinner buffet, coffee, tea and lemonade. Discounts are available for groups and children ages 3-15. For reservations, call the Beef & Boards Box Office at 317.872.9664. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays. For more information, visit www.beefandboards.com.
Jack Milo’s Baggy Pants Burlesque
Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre presents a fun and flirty new show as the perfect antidote to the post-holiday blues. Making its Indianapolis debut Dec. 28, Jack Milo’s Baggy Pants Burlesque takes the stage for just 10 tantalizing performances before the 2012 Season kicks off in January.
Starring Beef & Boards funnymen Doug Stark and Jeff Stockberger, together with Milo himself, Baggy Pants Burlesque takes audiences back to the best of playful Vaudeville entertainment.
Baggy Pants Burlesque has 10 performances scheduled in the intimate space of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, including a special New Year’s Eve performance, which is sold out. All remaining tickets are $49. Tickets include Chef Odell Ward’s dinner buffet, coffee and tea. Parking is free. For reservations, call the Beef & Boards Box Office at 317.872.9664. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays. For more information, including show schedule, visit www.beefandboards.com.
Beef & Boards is giving this production a PG-13 rating.