New Beginnings

I love the idea of new beginnings- a time to begin again, a fresh start. That idea is always on my mind this time of year when young men and women are beginning their freshman year of college. This Saturday through Tuesday, August 14-17, thousands of new students will move into residence halls across all four ASU campuses. ASU Gammage will welcome them at Wells Fargo Arena as they check in. It is an exciting time for students and a stressful time for parents!

Many will leave their kids and return to their homes in other parts of the country. Some will cry, others will breathe a sigh of relief, but all will realize that their sons and daughters will be moving forward with the next part of their life’s journey. It is a significant step toward independence. College life is filled with fantastic experiences, growing pains, new relationships, more growing pains, and great fun. The best part of college in my opinion is the diversity. Diversity of ideas, of interests, of socio economic backgrounds ...the list goes on and on. And you get to present yourself to all these new people as your own unique person while sharing in this common event called Fall Welcome Week at ASU. A new beginning- very cool!

Here at ASU Gammage we are committed to the idea of engaging students in the arts- many have never been to NYC to see a Broadway musical or play. The notion that they can have that experience - right here on campus- is pretty incredible.

To introduce our new students and families to Gammage, we will be hosting Broadway Buzz on Monday, August 16 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. ASU students are invited to a FREE event to see what ASU Gammage has to offer. Find out about the 2010/2011 Broadway season featuring shows and actors straight from New York in Tony Award-winning hits like HAIR, MAMMA MIA!, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL, SPRING AWAKENING and more.

In addition to the Broadway series, find out what else ASU Gammage has to offer like its BEYOND series, student rush discounted tickets, student subscriptions, Campus Connection events and so much more.

Broadway Buzz will also feature free food, activities, giveaways, and more. It will be a chance to meet new friends who enjoy the performing arts as much as you. Plus, the first 150 people to arrive will receive a free Broadway gift.

“We are so excited to to open our building to ASU’s newest students—our doors are always open to them and we look forward to entertaining them this year,” says Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, executive director.

The best part is that we are offering a student package this year which will include tickets to four of the Broadway shows coming to ASU Gammage AND the opportunity to meet other students who love Broadway. We will have student events before or after each of the 4 shows where kids can mingle and chat about the show- get to know one another and hopefully make new friends. We are excited to introduce Broadway to another freshman class at ASU, so look for our table at Wells Fargo Arena when checking in- or come Broadway Buzz on Monday at 6:30PM at Gammage. It will be lots of fun and the start of another great season of Broadway at Gammage!

What's Ahead on Broadway

What's Ahead on Broadway

By Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Executive Director

Well the weather is not the only thing that is HOT in New York this summer.
Many of the new Broadway shows are being mounted to open in the Fall and they
are hot, hot, hot. Here is some inside scoop of a few shows to see this fall.
The weather may be cool but these shows will keep the Great White Way sizzling.

After cautiously watching SCOTTSBORO BOYS, OFF Broadway at the Vineyard, I
cheered this musical’s move to Broadway. This John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical
directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman (CONTACT, PRODUCERS and YOUNG
FRANKENSTEIN) takes a 1931 historic civil rights events where nine young African
American men are falsely arrested for a crime involving two white women and thus
starting the American Civil Rights movement. Set as a minstrel show (thus
caution and weary eye). The wonderful talented cast is moving on to Broadway
with the moving, smart, dark humor, enlightened script and made entertaining. I
enjoyed sitting with Tom Hulce and comparing notes on the show.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING is back with Daniel Radcliffe.
Yes, Harry Potter. But all you Broadway buffs will recall the great job Daniel
did in EQUUS. It should be mad, man fun (pun intended)

BLOODY, BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON transferring on to Broadway from downtown having
had an extended run at THE PUBLIC THEATRE. Ever wonder what life was like for
our early American Presidents? This musical, yes another historic romp answers
that question. Making young Andrew Jackson and the times of the day hip and
happening. Thanks in large part to yummy Benjamin Walker who rocks the title
role. Think “SNL” meets the History Channel. An Irreverent, fun, thought
provoking evening, I over heard two young women commenting that this musical
makes them reconsider being history majors (true story).

Under better late than never category SPIDERMAN: TURN OFF THE DARK appears to be
ready to open after a season delay. The creative team of TONY AWARD winner
Director and Creator Julie Taymor and U2’s Bono promises to thrill us from the
moment we walk into the lobby and the Spidey’s den to the stage of magic, wonder
and rocking action.

Classic plays remain a staple of the new Broadway season with James Earl Jones
and Vanessa Redgrave in DRIVING MISS DAISY. Not to be missed, Broadway royalty
on stage in Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize winning play.

And this is just a quick peak of the new Broadway season. There are so many
more shows to come!!!!!!

See you on Broadway and in ASU GAMMAGE!!!!

Big Screen to the Big Stage

Big Screen to the Big Stage
By Carrie Law

You may have noticed when looking at the line-up of Broadway shows coming to ASU Gammage next season that almost all the titles are also major motion pictures. While for most the movie came first, we wanted to take a look at the similarities and differences between the production on the big screen and production on the big stage. This summer we’ve partnered with MADCAP Theaters on Mill Avenue to give you the chance to rediscover these shows on the screen before you see them live on stage at ASU Gammage. The movie screenings are FREE, and this past week, moviegoers enjoyed showings of the movies “Billy Elliot” and “Young Frankenstein.”

“Billy Elliot”, the Oscar-nominated film that hit the big screen in 2000, starred Jamie Bell as the young “Billy.” BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL was later brought to life by the movie’s original creative team – director Stephen Daldry, choreographer Peter Darling and writer Lee Hall, along with music legend Elton John, when it made its world premiere in London in 2005. The plot and the setting are the same in both the movie and the musical: set during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985), the audience follows Billy’s journey as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class where he discovers his dream to dance.

Unlike the movie, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL is split into two Acts and includes 16 musical numbers such as “Expressing Yourself,” “He Could Be a Star,” and “Electricity.” While the movie had one actor playing the role of young Billy, the demanding role on stage requires three young actors (who must also sing, dance, act and do acrobatics) to alternate who performs on stage each night.

You’ll notice a few other differences in the stage version versus the movie, such as in the where Billy’s father has a change of heart about his son’s love of dance and when Billy finds out his friend Michael has feelings for him. There are also some differences in the scene where Billy receives the letter about whether or not he made it into the dance school. I won’t spoil this part for you if you haven’t yet seen the movie or musical!

Please note, there is strong language in both the movie and the stage production of BILLY ELLIOT.

“Young Frankenstein” is the 1974 Mel Brooks smash-hit comedy we all know and love, starring Gene Wilder, but how was this black and white, tongue-in-cheek comedy adapted to play within the proscenium arch? Well for one thing, you can definitely expect to find audience members at the musical remembering many of the classic lines from the film before they’re even recited on stage. And you’ll notice many of the songs created for the musical are born out of the familiar dialogue from the movie, like “Please Don’t Touch Me,” “Roll in the Hay,” “He Vas My Boyfriend,” and of course, the musical wouldn’t be complete without the memorable “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Keep an eye out though, as there’s a new element added to the stage version that wasn’t in the movie, when the ghost of Frederick Frankenstein’s grandfather appears and urges him to join the family business!

The plot is largely carried over from the movie, but some scenes are expanded to musical numbers, and many gags have been added or updated. For example, in Act I of the musical, Frederick Frankenstein is ashamed to be a Frankenstein, insisting his name be pronounced "Fronkensteen" and that he is not a madman but

a scientist. Then, while he lectures his students about the greatest mind of science, he breaks into musical number "The Brain."

The main difference in the stage version of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN versus the movie comes toward the ending, which on stage includes an attempted hanging, an appearance from another Transylvania celebrity, and more!

Join us this coming Thursday and Friday evening at 6 p.m. at MADCAP Theaters for FREE showings of HAIR and MAMMA MIA! and let us know what you think will stay the same from the movie to the stage, and what new elements you predict might be added to the stage version.

Thursday, July 22 – 6 p.m. – HAIR

Friday, July 23 – 6 p.m. – MAMMA MIA!

MADCAP Theaters
730 S. Mill Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85281
www.madcaptheaters.com
**Movies to be shown in the Bookman’s theater.