13 Ekim 2012 Cumartesi

FREE TICKETS for Adam Ant vs Lucias tonight?

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As usual there are a couple of great shows to check out here it the motorcity....
opening for JD McPherson at the Magic Bag tonight is Lucias

Lucius - Turn it Around from Matt Pizzano on Vimeo.

A mix of emotionally-charged & upbeat 60s inspired tracks, NYC's Lucius released their self-titled debut EP showcasing the band's versatility and experimental nature. Today, they unveil the cinematic video for album track "Turn It Around" a bold track with commanding vocals, dance-worthy rhythms, and an addictive melody.

OR take the ride out to The Crofoot to check out Adam Ant who is on his first tour in like 17
years...

Looks like we got a couple of extra tickets to the show tonightwho is coming with us?hit us up - email motorcityblog@earthlink.net

FLIGHT FACILITIES ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE "CLAIR DE LUNE" AVAILABLE OCTOBER 30 + Tour Dates

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Over the past few years, Flight Facilities have flown onto the international radar with hit singles "Crave You" and "Foreign Language." This past year, they once again stirred up the internet with the release of "With You" (feat. Grovesnor). It's now time for the duo's next single, "Clair De Lune," to be released October 30. Flight Facilities have also joined the Glassnote Records family and both Flight Facilities and Glassnote are thrilled to share the news of this partnership.

In support of their new single and label announcement, Flight Facilities heads out on tour this month for a select run of North American dates. No Detroit date, but you can catch them in Chicago on 10/26 at Primary. Stay tuned to MCB for more coverage.

In the meantime, check out www.FlightFacilities.com

THIS SATURDAY: TRASH BRATS 25th Anniversary show at Small's in Hamtramck

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Detroit's infamous TRASH BRATS reunite to celebrate 25 years this Saturday at at Small's in Hamtramck

Special guests will be TROUBLEMAN (first show with original line-up in 6 years) and BREAK ANCHOR (with ex-Suicide Machines' frontman Jay Navarro)
This show is all-ages.

Advance tickets are available NOW from www.smallsbardetroit.com for just $10!
All advance tickets also include a FREE 25th Anniversary Trash Brats best of CD that will not be available anywhere else!

Oct 28 The Gravedigger in Ann Arbor/ Interview with Joe Joe Zettelmaier about The Gravedigger

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"Snazzy is as Snazzy Does!"Gwen Joy is an artist who specializes in colorful folk art paintings. Life experience is her subject matter which is translated in a lyrical/mythical fashion. Follow Gwen's snazzy street reviews weekly here on Motorcityblog
Reach her directly at www.GwenJoy.com

World Premiere of a New Work by Joseph Zettelmaier at Performance Network Theatre
Ann Arbor, MI – The world premiere of Joseph Zettelmaier’s spookiest script ever, The Gravedigger, will be presented as a staged reading at Performance Network Theatre on October 28, 2012 at 7pm. Audiences are encouraged to discuss the script after the performance to voice their opinion on the new work to the playwright!
The Gravedigger is set in the late 1700s, in one of Bavaria’s forgotten cemeteries, a lone gravedigger discovers a hideously scarred man hiding in a fresh grave. What the gravedigger doesn’t know is that the man is none other than the legendary monster created by a mad doctor. What the scarred man doesn’t know is the gravedigger’s hand in his creation. And what neither men know is that they are hunted by their shared past in this tale of gothic horror and suspense. Zettelmaier says the script is inspired by the pages of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The Gravedigger will be directed by Julia Glander, cast includes Alex Leydenfrost, Tom Mahard, and Charlyn Swarthout.
A staged reading is a performance of a new play (often on its first draft) in which the actors perform the piece with actual scripts in hand. Performance Network Theatre is a seasoned facilitator of this type of event with The Fireside of New Works Festival – a triannual festival of four staged readings. Audience participation is crucial to these events due to the open discussion about the piece after the performance. Comments are submitted directly to the playwright who uses the feedback to mold their newest masterpiece.
Joseph Zettelmaier is a Michigan-based playwright and three-time nominee for the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association Award for best new play, first in 2006 for All Childish Things, then in 2007 for Language Lessons and in 2010 for It Came From Mars. Other plays include Dead Man’s Shoes, And The Creek Don’t Rise, The All Childish Things Trilogy, Dr. Seward’s Dracula, First Snow, Blackwater Ballad, Night Blooming, Point of Origin, and The Stillness Between Breaths. He is an Associate Artist at Performance Network, and an adjunct lecturer at Eastern Michigan University, where he teaches Dramatic Composition. Joseph was recently profiled in the March 2012 issue of American Theatre Magazine.
Tickets can be ordered at the Performance Network Box Office at 734-663-0681, online at www.performancenetwork.org or at Performance Network Theatre (120 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, 48104) Monday- Saturday 11-6 or one hour before a performance.
Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre has grown from a fledgling company to Ann Arbor’s only resident, professional theatre. The Network reaches 40,000 theatre patrons and children each year through the year-round Professional Series and the Children’s Theatre Network. Performance Network also presents the Fireside Festival of New Works and a series of classes on theatre-related topics. The Network provides uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produces works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists.

Here is an interview with the author about the upcoming play.

1) How long have you been writing for?
I have been writing for about 15 years.

2) What are some of your other works?
Other plays of mine that premiered in the area: Dead Man's Shoes, And The Creek Don't Rise, It Came from Mars, All Childish Things, Dr. Seward's Dracula, Language Lessons...these are just some of my faves.

3) Who are your inspirations?
My inspirations...when I was just beginning as a writer, I had the pleasure of working with Lanford Wilson. He was a great example to follow. Lee Blessing is another writer I admire greatly.

4) Is all of your work in the horror genre?
No, only a few of my plays are horror-based. I try to write in many different genres, utilizing many different themes. Keeps me from getting bored.

5) What do you have coming up?
Later this month, my play Dr. Seward's Dracula will be performed in the Crypt of the Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. Then in November my newest play, Ebenezer, will open at Williamston Theatre. It's a different take on A Christmas Carol, taking place 15 years after Ebenezer Scrooge's transformation. He knows he's not long for the world, and is wrestling with how to continue his good work.

Review of Brothers of Brazil/ Adam Ant at the Crofoot

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12 Ekim 2012 Cuma

The Ultra Real - North End Gallery Detroit - Oct 12th - Oct 27th

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"The Ultra Real" is an observational study of real in quest for self-gratification with counter-cultural adaptation using video, installation, hand made books and signs, photography, objects, light and sound.

Follow visual paths through the city with unexpected twists and turns crossing imaginary lines a real girl's journey to enlightenment.

"The Ultra Real" created By Katie Craig

Opening October 12, 2012 6:00-11:00

Closing October 27, 2012 6:00-11:00

Gallery by appointment NES (313) 330-0720

northendstudiosdetroit.com

THIS SATURDAY: TRASH BRATS 25th Anniversary show at Small's in Hamtramck

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UPCOMING (Sat. October 20): Zombie Vs Monsters Brawl :The UNDEAD TWA Wrestling Smackdown With Haunted Halloween Sale

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Zombie Vs Monsters Brawl :The UNDEAD TWA Wrestling Smackdown With Haunted Halloween Sale takes place on Saturday, October 20 !

See Zombies take on classic Monsters in the TWA Wrestling ring.
The ultimate experience for horror and wrestling fans alike!
Wrestling takes place between 1PM - 4 PM

And SHOP WHILE THE MONSTERS DROP from 9AM till 6PM at the Haunted Halloween sale ! Great new, used, and vintage Halloween merchandise from assorted vendors including the likes of Rock N Rummage (traveling Rock N' Roll flea market) and Rotten Tots (handcrafted zombie dolls)

FREE ADMISSION for both events ! All AGES welcome !

All the action takes place at Weekend Pickers Indoor Flea Market
located at 1700 Howard Ave, Lincoln Park, Michigan 48146.

Interested vendors can e-mail weekendpickers@yahoo.com

Visit the Weekend Pickers Webiste for more info... http://www.facebook.com/weekendpickers

Tomorrow: Detroit Derby Girls vs. Ohio (DOUBLEHEADER)

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See the Detroit Derby Girls on Saturday, October 13 at the Detroit Masonic Temple! All tickets for this double header event are just $15. Doors open at 5 p.m., first bout starts at 6.

This is the first time that the Detroit Derby Girls' Allstar Travel Team have played at home in over a year!

First bout starting at 6 p.m.: The Detroit Derby Girls Motor City Disassembly Line vs. the Ohio Roller Girls B Team

Second bout starting at 8 p.m.: The Detroit Derby Girls All Stars face off against the Ohio Roller Girls A Team.

The Masonic Temple is located at 500 Temple Street in Detroit.

Concert Review: Adam Ant, Brothers of Brazil Crofoot, Oct 11, 2012

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I go to a lot of shows, maybe too many. Some shows I go to become a distant memory within a few months. Then, there are others, like Adam Ant's show last night at the Crofoot that end up getting time-stamped in my memory so it can be recalled upon fondly for years to come. Reason being, this show was special for Adam Ant and his hundreds of fans in the area that were all chomping at the bit to experience an Adam Ant show. After all, the last one was over 15 years ago.

In front of a sold-out audience that packed the floor to the very back of club, Adam Ant started his set off with his back to the audience, letting the anticipation seep in. Then he turned around and cranked into a furious set of old Adam and the Ants punk songs that included "Plastic Surgery" and "Kick." The set was also peppered with all the hits which the crowd quickly recognized and sang along with like "Stand and Deliver" and "Kings of the Wild Frontier." With a set that packed in over 25 songs, Adam covered the bases throwing in some of his later solo tracks and even a new one, oddly titled and about "Vince Neil."

Adam was backed competently by a band that included bass player, guitar player and of course, two drummers. One of the drummers was female in a silver outfit that was a pretty amazing sight:

He was later joined by a female vocalist that had her own something to add to the show, which I unfortunately couldn't get a picture of, but it's worth the effort to google it. With the band and Adam cavorting around the floor in his pirate garb, the songs flew by with a raw intensity that came near an ending with a brilliant trio of his hits, "Ant Music," "Goody Two Shoes" and "Viva Le Rock." A couple more vintage punk tracks ended his set.

The crowd wanted more and Adam Ant and the Good, the Mad & the Lovely Posse came back for their encore which was a full serving of five more songs, including a cover of T. Rex's "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" and his devastating b-side "Physical." The night was over a little after midnight and just in time to catch the Tigers play-off win. To say it was an excellent night would be an understatement. It was a perfect night!

I'll tack on one post note to the show and let you know that the opening band Brothers of Brazil kicked the show off with some brilliant humor and catchy samba-punk. The two brothers charmed the audience with their songs of hating and loving the Beatles, a cover of "Imagine" and even some songs with Portuguese.

(Actually, one more post note..If you missed the show, don't despair, Adam's already making plans to be back in February!)

This Post by Mikel O.D. of

11 Ekim 2012 Perşembe

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” and Cultural Relativism

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September 28, 2012
Posted by Jay Livingston

The crucial moment in “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” for me at least, was the sight of Hushpuppy in a new purple dress. Hushpuppy, a seven year old girl is the central figure in the film, and up until that point we have seen her, dressed in the same clothes every day, living in The Bathtub, a bayou area south of New Orleans, on the unprotected side of the levee.

Life in The Bathtub is harsh. The people there (“misfits, drunks and swamp-dwellers,” – WaPo) live in shacks cobbled together from scrap metal and wood. They fish from boats that are similarly improvised. They scavenge. The children’s education comes from the idiosyncratic stories of one woman.

They are wild people living among wild things, unconstrained by laws or walls, reliant on ancient prophecies and herbal cures, at home with the water that may overwhelm them at any moment. [New York Review]

After a Katrina-like flood, the authorities force the evacuation of The Bathtub. Hushpuppy and the others are housed in a shelter - a large, brightly-lit room (a high school gym?) – and given new clothes. This is when we see Hushpuppy in her new purple dress heading out the door, presumably to a real school.

No, no, no, I thought. This is all wrong. This is not her. She belongs back in The Bathtub, for despite its rough conditions, the people there are a real and caring community. Her father loves her and prepares her for life there. The people there all love her and care for her, as they care, as best they can, for one another.

That was the voice of cultural relativism telling me to look at a society on its own terms, with understanding and sympathy.

At the same time, though, the voice of ethnocentrism was whispering in my other ear. This is America, it said. These conditions are the things you deplore and want to improve – lack of decent health care, education, clothing, shelter, and basic safety. (In an early scene, Hushpuppy tries to light her stove with a blowtorch, nearly incinerating her shack and herself.) It’s wrong that people in America live like this.

It was not much of a contest. Cultural relativism won.

In turning the audience into cultural relativists, the movie plays on old themes in American culture. We’ve always had our suspicions of civilization and refinement, and we’ve had a romantic attachment to the unrefined and rugged. In “Beasts,” the shelter – sterile, impersonal, and bureaucratic – is contrasted with The Bathtub – rough-hewn, but an authentic community nonetheless.

Then there is Hushpuppy. I’ve commented before (here, for example) that children in American films are often wiser, more resourceful, and more honest than the adults, especially those who would try to change them. Add Hushpuppy to the list.*

In the end, the audience seemed relieved when she and the others make their escape. We don’t want Huck to be civilized by Aunt Sally. And we do want Hushpuppy to light out for the territory of The Bathtub.

-------------------
* I should add that much of the credit for convincing the audience goes to the six-year-old actress who plays Hushpuppy – the unforgettable girl with the unrememberable name – QuvenzhanÃ© Wallis.

Political Donations - Check the Name on the Check

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October 1, 2012
Posted by Jay Livingston

Are people’s first names a clue as to which party they support? Chris Wilson at Yahoo created this nifty interactive graphic from information on contributors of $200 or more. Mouse over a name-circle to see the proportion of Democratic and Republican donors. Or enter a name in the search box. For example, 60% of the 3000 Scotts gave to Republicans.

The most obvious difference is that women (or at least people with women’s names) are all to the Democratic side of the of midpoint. Men are mostly Republican, though several fall to the left of the midpoint. Bob is the farthest left – 61-39 Democrat – though Robert breaks Republican (55-45). Jim and James follow the same pattern, with the 57-43 split going from Democrat to Republican as you go from informal to formal.

Among the women, Ellen is the most partisan Democrat (81-19), Ashley the least (52-48). If you change the view from numbers of people to amounts donated, the whole chart shifts to the right. Republicans pony up more money. Or to put it another way, the political big spenders break Republican (despite what Foxies like Tucker Carlson claim).

Among the women, Ashley, Heather, Tiffany, and Betty all lean to the right on the money scale. The Democratic Heathers may outnumber their Republican sisters, but the Republican Heathers have more money to donate to politicians. And similarly for just about every name, male or female.

Among the men, the Jonathan is now the most liberal, giving 55% of his money to the Democrats. In fact, Jonathan is the only man to the left of the midpoint. But while Jonathan is a Democrat, John gives 63% to the Republicans. The difference here is probably ethnic/religious. Jonathan (Old Testament, son of Saul) is Jewish. John (the Baptist, New Testament) is Christian. Age may also be a factor.

Younger, thirtysomething names like Heather and Ashley, Tyler and Clayton, lean to the right. So perhaps the youth vote, or at least the youth money, is not as firmly in the Democratic party as we might have thought.

Yellow Peril

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October 4, 2012
Posted by Jay Livingston

I could have understood it if Romney had gone after Welfare, which is still not a very popular concept, at least in the abstract. Or if he’d said he was going to get rid of unnecessary Bureaucracy (and maybe Bureaucrats). And of course I understood his promise to eliminate Obamacare, which a majority oppose, at least in opinion polls..

But Big Bird?

The much-loved muppet was the second thing Romney mentioned, right after Obamacare, when he went into cut mode last night’s debate. Romney must also know that PBS is a minuscule fraction of the budget. So surely this was not some spontaneous off-the-cuff remark. It had to be a rehearsed zinger, to be inserted at the earliest opportunity.

Romney also phrased it so that everyone would get a clear picture in their minds – not the abstract PBS, but Big Bird. But why?

Does Big Bird really poll so badly? Is the large yellow creature this election’s Willie Horton?

The Romney people must know something about this that I don’t. But what?

(Almost as soon as Romney had spoken, the pictures of Big Bird – mash-ups or with text added – started showing up all over the Internet. Check Google Images.)

Communication Craft

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October 6, 2012
Posted by Jay Livingston

I couldn’t understand why Mitt Romney would make a point of telling people he was going to off Big Bird. What was the political wisdom in promising to get rid of something everyone likes? But his statement seemed so deliberate, I figure his people must have tested it or at least thought it through, and maybe they have evidence that contradicts common sense.

Here’s another political ad where the strategy seems all wrong. Don’t the communications experts say that everything should to work together? Consultants coach candidates on how to make the body language consistent with what they’re saying. In ads, images should amplify the message stated in words. If the candidate is talking about farm policy, show him in front of a field of cows.

Maybe the ad does work. When I was watching it, I realized, just as the researchers say about cell phones and driving, I couldn’t attend to simultaneously to two different things– the written Kerrey-ad video and the Steve Martin home-crafts instructional video. When I read the writing on the pages, I lost Martin, though if I tried, I could shift my attention quickly from one to the other.

I wondered if the end of the ad would have a voiceover: “I’m Clair Parlance, Professor of Communications studies, and boy, did I not approve this message.”

(For another example of audio not matching video, take a look at this version of “The Shining” with Seinfeld music and laugh-track)

Sore With the Eagles

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October 6, 2012
Posted by Jay Livingston

A 17-year old boy had completed his final project to qualify as an Eagle Scout, but the scoutmaster blocked his application. Why? The kid’s gay. His mother got up a petition and also apparently went to the media. (The USA Today story is here.)

The statement from the troop’s high commander says that the plucky lad “does not meet Scouting's membership standard on sexual orientation.”

Fair enough. Me, I dropped out after Cub Scouts, so I wouldn’t know, but it does make me wonder: What activities or projects do the Scouts require for a demonstration or proof of heterosexuality? And are there merit badges for that sort of thing?

I also refer back to the founder Baden-Powell’s writing that was the basis for the organization - the 1908 book with the delightfully ambiguous title.

Do entendres get any more double?

10 Ekim 2012 Çarşamba

How I Learned to Drive

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One of the first things that hits you in the first monologue of playwright Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned to Drive,” now at Capital Stage under the tight direction of Janis Stevens, is the quality of the writing. There is a Steinbeck-esque quality to the descriptive passages.

“Here on the land the Department of Agriculture owns, the smell of sleeping farm animal is thick in the air. The smells of clover and hay mix with the smells of the leather dashboard …”

It bodes well for what is to come, and the production does not disappoint.

“Sometimes to tell a secret, you first have to teach a lesson,” says L’il Bit (Stephanie Gularte), who uses driving instructions as a metaphor for general behavior, and, as the play progresses, to describe sexual abuse at the hands of her “Uncle Peck” (James Hiser).

There are no superlatives strong enough to describe Gularte’s performance. She plays a woman in her middle 30s looking back over her life, and remembering her conflicted emotions around abuse by Uncle Peck, the only person in her family she felt actually understood her. In chameleon-like fashion, Gularte can be 35 or 11 with only the help of a pony tail and a change in the expression on her face. It is a remarkable performance.

Hiser is disturbingly smarmy as the uncle with whom L’il Bit has a convoluted relationship, yet while smarmy, he is also almost likable, as he exudes Southern charm.

L’il Bit is a lonely girl in a dysfunctional family, longing for love from someone, happy with a grown-up who is willing to listen to her, who tells her he loves her, who seems to understand her but, even as a young child, knowing that things were not quite right.

The action goes back and forth, in L’il Bit’s memory, from childhood to adulthood and back again. The girl is aware that she is not entirely innocent in the relationship. She plays her own cards by being consciously seductive, encouraged by her manipulative uncle.

“Nothing is going to happen between us — until you want it to,” he tells her at several stages of her puberty, implying casually that she’ll give in with enough pressure.

He is the adult in all this, a position of power he uses to ensure that something is, in fact, happening between them.

“You’re crossing the line,” L’il Bit will tell Peck when he gets too close and he will back off … but never entirely.

The cast includes Eric Wheeler, Jamie Jones and Melanie Marshall as a kind of Greek Chorus, keeping the action moving and filling in as several other characters, including L’il Bit’s weird family, who offer a surprising amount comedy in this otherwise dark story.

This play gives a complex look at the subject of incest and molestation, the complicated relationship between a young girl and a man she has known and loved all of her life. But her final monologue reveals for all what it is like to be in her situation and what it does to a girl for the rest of her life. It is chilling.

The brilliant writing of Vogel, who won a Pulitzer Prize for drama for this play; the brilliant direction of one of Sacramento’s true gems, Janis Stevens; and an incredibly talented cast at the top of their game make this a play not to be missed.

Triple Espresso

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There are some for whom “Triple Espresso,” the new “highly caffeinated comedy”at Sacramento’s Cosmopolitan Cabaret, may not be their “cup of tea” (pun intended), but it’s important to remember that a cabaret show is not the same as a show you would expect to see in a theater.

If you are into laughter, an intimate setting, impromptu audience participation, and some broad, low-brow humor, you’re going to enjoy this production.

Early in 1995, Bill Arnold, Michael Pearce Donley and Bob Stromberg, three successful solo performers who admired each other’s work, gathered over coffee, never knowing the full impact that caffeinated brew would have on their future.

They decided to write something they could perform as a trio — something fun, something unusual, something that would make people laugh so hard they’d snort and embarrass themselves.

I didn’t see any snorting at the Continental Cabaret, but there was no doubt the audience was having a great time, and doing more than their share of tittering.

You can’t argue with success. In the past 15 years, “Triple Espresso” has entertained more than 1.7 million people in 50 cities in six countries in three languages (English, German and Flemish). The show continuously ran for 12 years in Minneapolis and 10 years in San Diego.

Arnold, Donley and Stromberg have opened the Sacramento run and will play the roles until July 10, when they are replaced by another trio, to run through July 22. Some 30 actors have been trained to take on the roles, making it possible to have the show running in several locations at the same time.

Hugh Butternut (Donley) is a lounge lizard, who has been the pianist at the Triple Espresso Coffeehouse for some 20 years. He wears colorful sequined jackets, has a big smarmy grin and a patronizing manner as he invites the audience to sing along with some of his favorite musical numbers from the ’70s.

To celebrate his 20th anniversary, Butternut has invited his two former partners, Bobby Bean (Bob Stromberg) and Buzz Maxwell (Bill Arnold), to join him for the occasion. He is hoping to heal the rift that occurred during an embarrassing incident on “The Mike Douglas Show.”

Bean, who has the personality of a used car salesman, is all smiles and joy at seeing his old partner. Maxwell, however, is sullen, angry and determined not to participate in the grand reunion. It all goes back to the TV appearance and little bits and pieces of information continue to drop throughout the show, until finally all is revealed in a hilarious number toward the end.

The trio (well, two of them anyway) try to relive the glory days of their success, though their success was more of a “I coulda been a contender” type of memory. They never really hit the big time … and they blame it on that Mike Douglas incident.

In flashbacks, each man reprises the high point of his talent — Bean’s attempt to hit it big in Africa, doing a funny medley of old songs sung with a tribal beat.

Maxwell is a laid-back, inept magician doing some of the funniest magic you’ve ever seen. (It takes great talent to be that bad!)

This is a corny show that will keep the cabaret crowd laughing. After the show, the audience has an opportunity to meet the performers in the lobby, and pose for photos.

Henry V

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Before I went to review the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble’s production of "Henry V," I rented the Kenneth Branagh movie to get myself in the mood for seeing this epic play. The movie, of course, has a cast of thousands. And as Henry, bloodied but unbowed, wades through the field of bodies at the end of the Battle of Agincourt I wondered how in the world the young Davis group was going to pull it off with a cast of five, all of whom were making their Davis Shakespeare Ensemble debut.

Well, the answer to that question was: surprisingly well. This production, directed by Rob Salas, works because of an amazingly talented cast who each play many parts. Casey Worthington is Henry V and others; Mitchell VanLandingham is the Dauphin, Canterbury and others; Kevin Ganger is Exeter, Pistol, Charles, and others; Misty Day is Nell Quickly, Fluellen, and others; and Cody Ganger is Catherine, Bardolph, and others.

It also works because of the ingenious costume design by Maggie S. Chan, who has woven an intricate set of chains for each actor over which are laid sashes, capes, and other bits of costume to allow for instant transformation into the next character, whether a soldier, a townsman, or a king.

The close confines of the UC Davis Arboretum Gazebo make it possible for the slow motion battles, with real swords flashing uncomfortably close to the audience, yet always under close supervision by the actor, to actually give one the sense of being in a real battle. (And kudos to whoever painted the beautiful French and British shields).

No dialect coach is listed, but the ability to switch from English to French to a broad Scottish accent may seem effortless, but had to have taken great effort to bring it all off so seamlessly. (As a native American speaker, I can’t address the actual authenticity of the languages, but it sounded good to me!)

The story takes place at the death of Henry IV and the rise to the throne of his heretofore high living son, Henry V. The new king, not unlike the current Prince Harry, likes to party and has a reputation, though he surprises everyone by taking very seriously his new role as King. Having been assured by Canterbury (with extensive corroborative material) that England has the right to claim lands in France, because of Henry’s roots in the French royal family, the young king makes his intentions known.

The Dauphin responds with an insult in the form of tennis balls and, in reply, Henry announces that he will invade France. All culminates with Henry’s rousing St. Crispin’s day speech, the battle and the ultimate defeat of the French by the English (history records that some 8,000 French were killed, as compared to a few hundred English).

And, of course, there is a girl, the French Princess Catherine, who is wooed, and eventually won by the victorious Henry. The scene with Catherine and her maid, who is trying to teach the young Princess some words in English is very cute and a nice break from the heavier war plans.

If there was any downside to my evening at this Davis Shakespeare Ensemble production, it was an older British couple sitting nearby who talked and giggled throughout most of Act 2. Such behavior would be rude anywhere, but it was a terrible distraction in a venue as small as the Gazebo.

The Davis Shakespeare Ensemble has a real winner with this production, and what a nice way to spend a pleasantly warm evening in Davis. Spray on some mosquito repellant, though. I didn’t, and made a tasty meal for several mosquitos throughout the night.

Hairspray

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You just can’t stop the beat going on at the Davis Musical Theatre Company these days. A sparkling new production of “Hairspray,” directed by Jason Hammond, opened last week to a sold-out house of cheering fans, whose enjoyment of the show only served to heighten the feeling of joy as the show came to an end.

“Hairspray” is a stage show based on the 1988 John Waters film, brought to the stage with a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman.DMTC has created a big show with a cast of almost 40 and a 17-piece orchestra. Sets by Mark and Christine Deamer are representative of the era (1960s Baltimore) rather than literal, and give the whole stage kind of a “Jetsons”-esque cartoon-like appearance, which allows for moving the various set pieces in and out easily.

This is the story of idealistic Tracy Turnblad (Eimi Taormina) who just loves to dance to the music on “The Corny Collins Show,” modeled after “American Bandstand,” and featuring Matt Taloff as Corny Collins. Her favorite day of the month is “Negro Day,” when black kids take over the set. She loves their music and is staunchly in favor of integration.Though there is a story line of racial inequality, integration, interracial friendship and love, it is Tracy’s story, that of a social misfit who desperately just wants to be herself, that takes center stage.Tracy is a girl with a big dream who isn’t going to let the fact that she can’t fit into a size 2 rain on her parade. She believes in the goodness of people, the equality of everyone and in taking a stand for what you know is right.

I have watched with pleasure as Taormina has risen from bit parts to more substantial roles with DMTC. With “Hairspray,” she has come into her own fully as a leading lady. She simply makes this show, with an irrepressible personality and a sparkle that just won’t quit.

Tracy’s mother is Edna, a laundress who once had dreams of fame and fortune, but as her weight has soared, her self-esteem has dipped so low she “hasn’t left the house since Mamie Eisenhower rolled her hose and bobbed her bangs.”The loves of her life are her daughter Tracy and her husband, Wilbur (Andy Hyun), a novelty store owner. Edna is afraid her little girl is going to be hurt by trying to follow her dreams in a world where thin is in.

The role of Edna was played in the movie by drag queen Divine and on the stage by Harvey Fierstein. Stepping into the house dress and pumps for DMTC is Scott Minor, who puts a lot of oomph into his characterization.

Hyun, is, of course, wonderful in his role as Tracy’s father, the only negative being that the age disparity between himself and Minor can’t be solved with gray for his hair. But if you can get past the visual, he’s great.

Outstanding is Danielle Hansen as Tracy’s best friend, Penny Pingleton. Everybody should have a BFF like Penny. She begins to come into her own when the sight of Seaweed Stubbs (Erik Catalan) sets her heart going pitter-patter.

Seaweed’s mother, the rhyming couplet-spouting Motormouth Maybelle, the host of the show on “Negro Day,” is given a dazzling performance by Deborah Hammond.

Emily Jo Seminoff is another young actress whose progress I have enjoyed watching at DMTC. In this, she becomes the bad girl, Amber Von Tussle, the most popular girl (she thinks) on “The Corny Collins Show” and ready to assume the crown as Miss Hairspray. She plays the role to the hilt.

Patricia Glass is Amber’s mother, the producer of the show, who is certain her daughter will skyrocket to fame and is willing to do anything to make that happen. Together, Seminoff and Glass are the villains you love to hate.

Of all amazing wigs in this production (designed by director Hammond), Glass may have the most bizarre. It’s difficult to look at its sharp angles and not think of the Farrelly brothers’ comedy film, “There’s Something about Mary.”

Alex Cesena plays Link Larkin, supposedly Amber’s boyfriend, but whose life is changed by meeting idealistic Tracy. He sings well and ultimately makes a very ardent and tender-hearted boyfriend.

“Hairspray” takes the audience back to a more carefree time, and when the cast sings the finale, “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” Tracy has won the hearts not only of Baltimore, but of Davis as well.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

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It would be difficult, if not impossible, not to find something to relate to in Sacramento’s Cosmopolitan Cabaret’s sparkling, delightful new production, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”

This musical, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, was the second-longest running off-Broadway musical comedy (“The Fantasticks” was No. 1). It is a celebration of the mating game. Act 1 explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, while Act 2 reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws, newborns, trips in the family car and pickup techniques of the geriatric set.

Who can’t relate to the angst before a first date?

Will my hopes be met? Will my fear dispel?
Will I captivate? Or will I repel?
Will I show him/her just how wonderful I am?
Or will I be a date from hell?

The show, directed by Glenn Casale, stars four talented artists — Michael Dotson, last seen as a member of the barbershop quartet in Music Circus’ “The Music Man”; Jerry Lee, memorable for his performance in the Cabaret’s recent “Forbidden Broadway”; Jennifer Malenke, new to the Cosmopolitan Cabaret, but recently seen on “The Voice,” singing with Florence and the Machine; and Melissa Wolfklain, also part of the “Forbidden Broadway” cast, and recently appearing as Jan in Music Circus’ “Grease.”

These four take on more than 20 roles throughout the evening, and it would be difficult to choose the funniest from among the vignettes, though “The Marriage Tango,” with a young married couple (Lee and Wolfklain) trying to find a way to have an intimate moment without the kids interrupting would be right up there. When Wolfklain asks her hubby how he pulled off the amazing feat of getting the kids to bed on time, he admits he promised to take the little ones to Disneyland.

“I figured we’d wait a few months and tell ‘em it burned down,” Lee says.

Dotson is also very funny in “Tear Jerk” as a macho man dragged to a chick flick by his girlfriend Wolfklain.

My movie satisfaction is mindless violent action,
Some muscle men to tussle with Stallone.
A thriller that would thrill us, with Arnold or Bruce Willis,
And lots of naked shots of Sharon Stone.

… and is then embarrassed to find himself sucked into the plot of the film, and fighting not to show the tears he is crying.

Malenke and Lee are perfect nerds in “A Stud and a Babe,” wishing they were more appealing, he longing for bulging biceps and she wishing for a larger bust (“my breasts would be rounder,” “my pecs would astound her”).

At the other end of the life span is “I can live with that,” featuring a widow and a widower meeting at the funeral of a mutual friend and the dance they do around the notion of dating each other, though they still both love and miss their departed spouses. It is a less funny and more poignant moment that will touch the heart of those of us “of a certain age” who have attended too many funerals lately.

This musical premiered in 1996 and so some of the material is a bit dated, but it is nonetheless very funny and a great way to spend an evening.

9 Ekim 2012 Salı

The Music Man

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Last night I had one of those special theatrical moments that I will remember for a long time. It was opening night of Music Circus’ 20th production of “The Music Man,” one of my favorite musicals. Shirley Jones, who originated the role of Marian Paroo on Broadway and who played the role in the classic movie, was playing Marian’s mother, Mrs. Paroo. Her real life son, Patrick Cassidy, was doing the role of Harold Hill.

At the end of this wonderful production, when all the bows had been taken, Ms. Jones took the microphone and shared memories of making the movie with actor Robert Preston. She then sang a brief duet with her son, to tumultuous applause. It was a real “wow” moment and brought down the house.

There were a lot of “wow’ moments in this rollicking, delightful production, directed by Glenn Casale. After the always wonderful opening number, of traveling salesmen on a train complaining about the swindler Harold Hill, who has ruined so many towns for them, the entire town of River City, Iowa, explodes onto the stage with “Iowa Stubborn.” Such a colorful, tightly knit production number with lots of fresh-faced earnest young people mixed in with all the adult characters.

There follow all the scenes in which Hill convinces the town it needs a boys’ band and collects the money for instruments, uniforms and instruction books, all with the knowledge that he will be long gone from the town before the parents discover they have been conned.

Cassidy is a suave Hill, who plays the role of a slick swindler with great panache. It is easy to understand why he has a girl in every town.

Jason Graae plays Hill’s old partner, Marcellus Washburn, now settling for respectability and a nice girlfriend, Ethel Toffelmier (Diane Vincent), but ready to join Hill in one last swindle. Graae shines in leading the town’s young people in the dance, “The Shipoopi.”

If I confess a guilty secret, Shirley Jones has always been the only Marian Paroo for me, all others paling in comparison. How fortunate, then, that Brandi Burkhardt is so wonderful that I easily accepted her in the role. With an amazing voice and a no-nonsense personality, she makes the perfect match for Cassidy’s Harold.
Jones herself, of course, is great as Marian’s mother, the widow Paroo. Loved her Irish accent and her duet with Marian was lovely.

Young Winthrop Paroo, Marian’s shy, lisping younger brother is played by Carter Thomas, who has a lengthy performing resume and is a member of actors’ Equity. He is simply wonderful. He takes command of the stage in “Wells Fargo Wagon,” and is adorable in “Gary, Indiana.” While perhaps a bit tall for a 10-year-old, it didn’t matter when he began to perform.

The feuding members of the town’s school board, Jacey Squires (J.D. Daw), Ewart Dunlop (Jack Doyle), Oliver Hix (Michael Dotson), and Olin Britt (Joseph Torello) are a wonderful hit as a barbershop quartet.
Music Circus favorite, Ron Wisniski is Charlie Cowell, the anvil salesman, determined to bring Hill to justice once and for all and plays it to the hilt. (My favorite line: “anvils have a limited appeal.”)

The town’s first couple, Mayor and Mrs. Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn (Kevin Cooney and Paula Leggett Chase) are great characters and Mrs. Shinn’s Delsarte dance company is a delight.

“The Music Man” always makes me feel happy and, based on the filled theater last night, and the report that the show is almost completely sold out (though there are still a few tickets left), there are lots of others who agree with me. As productions go, this Music Circus production is one of the best.

Patrick Cassidy and Shirley Jones

Or,

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Aphra Behn was the first professional English female playwright, in the middle of the 17th century. She was one of the most prolific dramatists of her time; she was also a spy for the court of Charles II.

Behn also was wonderfully scandalous, even by modern-day standards. She was famous not only for being a pioneer female writer in a male-dominated profession, but also for addressing issues of gender and sexuality. Her forte was comedy and she created strong, independent female characters who unapologetically made their own choices.

Behn is the subject of a very funny play, “Or,” (the comma is part of the title), written by Liz Duffy Adams and directed by Heidi Volker, which is being presented through Friday by the Barnyard Theatre Company at the historic Schmeiser Barn west of Davis.
Once again, Barnyard Theatre has assembled a stellar cast, headed by Hope Raymond as the ambitious, sensual Behn. Sean Olivares plays King Charles II. Rachel Pinto is Nell Gwynne, one of the first English actresses (previously, women had not been permitted to perform on the stage) and also mistress of both Charles and Aphra.

Behn’s husband William, presumed dead, is played by Geoffrey Albrecht.

The multi-talented Sarah Cohen plays Lady Davenant, the widowed proprietor of an acting company, who rattles off a monologue that runs the better part of two solid pages of dialogue. It’s a performance that stops the show with applause.

The maid Maria is played by Alexandra Moreno, and the “Jailer” opening night was Timothy Smith. Don Saylor, Kane Chai, Jenna Templeton and Sam Wheeler each were assigned the role for one performance.
The action begins in debtor’s prison (a really nice effect by set designer Davin Gee), with Behn composing a letter to the king, who has not paid her for her services. She writes her note in rhyme:

Here in debtor’s prison I do lie
For lack of funds promised me as your spy.
To nag and scold my own adored king
Believe me, pains me more than anything.
But justice to myself demands no less
Than princely favor and full recompense.

Before she can finish her note, she is visited by a masked stranger, eventually revealed as the king, who informs the writer that her debts have been paid and she is free to leave. He wants her as his mistress, an idea about which she is less than enthusiastic. But she needs a place to write, so they strike a bargain, with Behn dictating the terms, which include intimacies that do not extend to the bed.

The rest of the action takes place in the apartment rented to Behn by the king, where we first meet Gwynne, who is eager for both a professional and personal relationship with Behn, who is more than willling. There is opportunity for bedroom farce-like action with a front door, a bedroom door and a closet door, all of which get used for hiding and revealing.

When William returns from the dead, he is plotting to kill the king, unaware of Behn’s relationship with him and his proximity to William. The solution to the problem comes from an unlikely source, which Behn dutifully records in her pages.

Virginia Woolf once wrote, “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”

In “Or,” Liz Adams has sprinkled the grave of Aphra Behn liberally with flowers and given us a wonderful, if not quite historically accurate, picture of a remarkable woman, beautifully interpreted by the talented actors of Barnyard Theatre.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

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The Miracle Worker

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Executive producing director Michael Laun, in his opening remarks to the Sacramento Theatre Company audience, pointed out that the first time STC performed William Gibson’s classic “The Miracle Worker” was 50 years ago, in 1962.

Half a century later, the work still holds up as a powerful, inspiring theatrical work, especially in the capable hands of director Greg Alexander and his talented cast.

The success of this work depends on the actors who play the young Helen Keller, and her would-be teacher, Annie Sullivan.

Courtney Shannon, a ninth-grader at Natomas Charter’s Performing and Fine Arts Academy, has been acting in musicals for several years, but this is her first foray into dramatic acting (she alternates with Bella Bagatelos as Helen). She is 95 percent convincing as the blind/deaf girl (there were a few moments when she obviously “saw” what she was approaching — a step in one case, and her brother’s outstretched hand in another), but overall she did an outstanding job.

The intense battle scenes between Helen and Annie Sullivan, as the latter attempts to teach Helen manners and try to get her to understand the concept of “words,” were wonderful and must have left both actresses exhausted. The audience is taken on such a roller coaster of emotions that when Helen finally “gets it,” there was a lot of sniffling and wiping of eyes in the audience.

Sullivan’s character is in the more-than-capable hands of Brittni Barger. Though director Alexander has eschewed the usual Irish brogue, it is not necessary to get into the soul of Annie, and Barger is full of spunk and fire and, despite her inexperience, is willing to fight for her pupil. She is passionate about giving Helen every chance to fulfill her potential, despite her handicaps.

(I once had a friend who was blind and deaf and who insisted she was not “disabled,” but merely “handicapped.”)

Shannon and Barger are backed by an excellent cast. Gary Wright is a very strong Captain Keller, a role that does not often stand out, but in Wright’s case does. He loves his daughter, but, along with the rest of the family, makes too many allowances for her bad behavior, which undermines Annie’s work with the child.

Michele Hillen is Helen’s mother, who desperately wants to know how to communicate with her daughter, but who also finds it difficult to be strict with her.

Griffith Munn (who alternates with Garrick Sigl) is surprisingly strong as the wise-cracking brother, James Keller, afraid of his father, not willing to accept his stepmother, and the only person in the family who sees that Annie’s approach to the girl is vital to her progress.

Others in the cast include Jeffrey Lloyd Heatherly in the dual role of the Doctor and Anagnos, the man who sends Annie to the Keller family; Georgann Wallace as Aunt Ev; and Tahlema Martin at the Kellers’ cook, Viney. Jordan Taylor and Jacob Navas played blind children Martha and Percy. They alternate in their roles with Carenna Thompson and Rion Romero.

The scenic design of Jarrod Bodensteiner is a multi-level set that includes an upstairs bedroom for Annie, the downstairs family dining room, the outside area that doubles as the cottage where Annie works alone with Helen for two weeks and the water pump area, which is vital to the closing scene.

Annie Sullivan went on to live with Helen Keller until Annie’s death in 1936. Helen’s list of accomplishments as an author, lecturer (she eventually learned how to speak) and political activist is impressive. She was one of the founders of the ACLU, and campaigned for women’s suffrage, labor rights and birth control. She died in 1968 and was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame in 1971.

One wonders what might have happened to that blind, deaf, out-of-control little girl if there had not been an Annie Sullivan in her life.

Enron

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Those wacky Enron guys are back again, singing and dancing their way into your hearts.

Enron, the granddaddy of all bankruptcy cases is remembered using music, dance and video in a clever play by Lucy Prebble, directed by Stephanie Gularte at Capital Stage in Sacramento.

“I didn’t want to write a play about finance that’s boring,” said the playwright. “Enron hired Cirque du Soleil to perform at their company parties, so I thought can we bring that flamboyance to the stage?”

And succeed they did.

Jonathan Rhys Williams has the role of a lifetime as the messianic Jeffrey Skilling, who believed he could change the world by creating a virtual economy.

“If you have an idea, if you sign a deal, say that we’re gonna provide someone with a supply of champagne for the next few years at a set price, every month or whatever—Then that definite future income can be valued, at market prices today, and written down as earnings the moment the deal is signed. We don’t have to wait for the grapes to be grown and squashed.”

Williams is mesmerizing as the man for whom the lives of the people he was ruining was merely collateral damage. “The only difference between me and the people judging me is they weren’t smart enough to do what we did.”

Aaron Wilton is Andrew Fastow, Skilling’s sidekick who achieves his dream of becoming Enron CEO. Fastow provides comic relief, particularly when he interacts with velociraptors in suits, symbolizing the creative accounting practices used to hide irregularities in day to day business.

For those occasions when we need to...’offload,’ we create a company that exists purely to fulfill Enron’s needs. We could push debt, we could push those losses into this other entity, sell it to this entity so we make money and move a loss off the books, wait for it to turn a profit...This is an area where we’re expected to be creative. The regulations encourage it.

(And keeping with the fantasy metaphors, the Board of Directors are played by giant mice.)

While Kenneth Lay may be the name one first thinks of when one thinks of the Enron scandal, in Prebble’s script, as played by Gary Martinez, Lay assumes more of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” role, preferring to step back and let his team handle things. As long as the money keeps rolling in, he doesn’t really care how it’s being made and is more interested in redecorating the company jet and hosting lavish parties.

Shannon Maloney is the seductive Claudia Roe, screwed by Skilling (literally and figuratively) representing several women in Enron’s upper management who were the only ones to see what was going on and to work to expose the corruption within the company.

(Maloney also is listed as the choreographer and, though this is not, strictly speaking, a musical, there is definite choreography and even a chorus or two sung)

The scenic design by Stephen C. Jones, with assistance by the lighting design of Steve Decker and video designers Decker and Will Klundt is minimal, with a set piece or two rolling in here or there, but the projected videos keep the tension high and remind us of the decade in which the piece is set.

The small ensemble, particularly Lucinda Hitchcock Cone and Michael Stevenson, were excellent, partying like there was no tomorrow, until the bottom fell out and they all realized that they had lost everything.

Capitol stage has begun its second season in the new J Street location with a very strong, informative, and entertaining production.

8 Ekim 2012 Pazartesi

REVIEW: Disney on Ice

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Disney on Ice Rockin Ever After is another magical Disney performance.

This show does not disappoint with the amazing ice skating (how do they run
up and down stairs in those skates?), fun and familiar music, and laughs all
around.

What do you get to see this time around?

Of course Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy are there as your ever gracious
hosts and story leaders. Pinocchio makes an appearance. There is a brief
cameo made by Anastasia and Drizella, but no Cinderella. Ariel from The
Little Mermaid is there with her friends Flounder and Sebastian, handsome
Prince Eric and even Ursula, the evil sea witch, makes a dramatic
appearance. Next to appear are characters from Tangled. Rapunzel, Flynn
Rider (otherwise known as Eugene Fitzherbert) tell sing and skate their
story with an icy appearance by mother Gothel. Brave's Merida makes her
debut with Queen Elinor, and her silly triplet brothers. They saved the best
for last with Beauty and the Beast, bringing Belle, Gaston, and LeFou to the
ice with an incredible performance from the Beast himself!

What makes this one stand out from the rest? First, Brave is debuted and we
get to meet Myriad, the newest Disney princess character (she is a princess,
even if she is not a Disney princess as of yet) and she tells a tale that is
so different than any other princess story to date, truly inspirational!
Second, Ariel is one talented mermaid on ice. She wowed the audience with
her amazing moves and she does an unharnessed rope dance that left me on the
edge of my seat! Third, the villains appeared in each story, which is rare,
and may be a draw for the boy set. This show was not all glitter and pink,
so there is no reason boys and girls alike would not enjoy this show. There
were laughs to be had and sparkles in the eyes of all the children watching
their favorite characters come to life on the ice.

If your children enjoy Disney movies, they will enjoy Disney on Ice Rockin
Ever After!

DO NOT MISS EVENT: 5th Annual WORLD ZOMBIE DAY - Royal Oak Sat Oct 13th 2012 3pm

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5th Annual WORLD ZOMBIE DAY

-WALK AGAINST HUNGER- Saturday, October 13th, 2012
MEETING AT 3PM, WALKING AT APPROX. 4PM.

Once again we'll be collecting donations of food and funds for Gleaners Community Food Bank! Keep your eye on our home AND events page for frequent updates about this year's WALK AGAINST HUNGER!

Yay!

Due to overwhelming request and demand, a thriving downtown area full of spectators, ample parking and a 'bloody-the-lawn-all-you-want' extra large meeting place, we have opted to RETURN to GRANT PARK in Royal Oak for the 5th annual World Zombie Day WALK AGAINST HUNGER. This is the same location we met for World Zombie Day 2011.

View Larger Map
2012 SPONSORS ARE LISTED ON THE SIDE BAR

2012 WORLD ZOMBIE DAY PRIZE SPONSORS (so far)
I Heart Skeletons - Adornment Deluxe - Noir Leather
Motor City Haunt Club - Motor City Blog - Starrlight Jewelry
734 Designs - LIFT (Designer Toys & Gallery)
Realm Of Darkness - Amazing Corn Maze -
Panic At Pine Stump Hollow - Scarefest Scream Park
Haunted Blakes - Haunted Farm Of Terror

And Zombie Walk Detroit of course.
more prizes are pending, too....woo hooo!
Official After Party to be held at GUSOLINE ALLEY (21 & over),
immediately following the prize give-aways at the end of the walk.
Beeeerrrrrraaiinnnsssss!!!!!

GORY DETAILS WHY: Not only is it a blast getting filthy and walking around town, we'll be walking to raise awareness about world hunger, and to raise food and funds for Gleaners to help needy families who live right here in Metro Detroit.

HOW: Whether you're walking or not, please bring at LEAST a good handful of non-perishable food items to the walk- more if you're able! Spectators and photographers who know in advance, you, too, please. Food, funds or both if you'd like! Gleaners is a great organization!

NOTE!
Any participating zombie bringing a donation of at least FIVE cans or at least FIVE bucks gets a ticket for a chance to win one of MANY prizes after the walk. Yay!

WALKERS: Want folks to sponsor your walk? You can print out a PLEDGE SHEET by clicking here to open one as a PDF. Then, simply ask friends, family or co-workers to help feed hungry families in Michigan by sponsoring your walk. We've made it easy for you by including that info right on the sheet. We're good like that.

They can pledge a total of $5, $10... even $500. Whatever amount they'd like. Every penny goes to Gleaners Community Food Bank. Cash is fine and any checks should be made payable to Gleaners. Monetary donations are tax deductible.But wait- there's more! There will be a creepy collection of prizes for the zombie AND the zombie TEAM who brings in the most pledges! Folks have gotten some prrrrretty cool stuff in the past. Prizes have already begun to trickle in to ZWD, and they're pretty swanky!Grab your pledge sheet
who says you only have to follow rules until you die?!

RULES of CONDUCT for the UNDEAD

- Arrive sober and plan on staying that way until you're on your own time. This is a family event & fund raiser, you weirdo!

- THERE WILL BE NO ONSITE MAKE-UP ARTISTS AT THIS EVENT!
(our permit does not allow for it.)
Plan on arriving pre-zombified, with the exception of any last minute bleeding,
which can be done in our designated bleeding area.

- There won't be any supplied "victims" on this walk, so be prepared to selflessly shamble in search of someone ELSE'S dinner this time. (Get it? Food drive? Ha ha?) GRRAAAAAINNSSS.....

- Please do NOT make a mess with the fake blood (sorry to ruin the mystery, folks! it's fake.). At the meeting place, there will be a designated bleeding area. On the walk itself, please keep your hands to yourself. Cars, windows, pedestrians, passing strollers; these things should be considered off limits. Please respect businesses, other people and their property!

- During the walk please try to stay in character! Folks want to get some good video, so please stay zombified during the walk, eh? This means try not to crack up. :) ... save the cell call for later... Your friends can wait, and shame on them for not being there with you, anyway. Heh!

- Bringing a friend who's not dressed as a zombie? Please ask them to watch, but not to walk with you. The living don't walk with the dead, you see. Footage has been ruined by that smiling living guy or gal trotting along beside us. Don't be that guy or gal. OR, if they're up for being zombified on the spot, I'm sure we could oblige... ;)

- I think that's all, but I still feel like yelling, so... Go clean your room!
Seriously. It smells like something DIED in there.See you on the 13th!

http://zombiewalkdetroit.com/index.htm