OnStage

Knight theaterLevine Center for the Arts

Blumenthal performing arts centerBelk Theater • Booth Playhouse

Stage Door Theater

spirit squareMcGlohon Theater

Duke Energy Theater

a Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on: million Dollar quartet rocks the Knight p. 12

introduce Your family to thethe aDDams familY p. 8

West siDe storY: from shakespeare’s pen to the Broadway stage p. 10

onstageFall 2011

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board oftrusteesAmy Rice Blumenthal

Sam Bowles

Sue Breckenridge

James Bullock

Joni Y. Davis

James F. Downs

Charlie Elberson

Walter D. Fisher, Jr., Past-Chair

Dorlisa K. Flur, Chair

Greg Haislip

Charles L. Harrington

Sally Hawk

Rebecca Henderson

Steven A. Hockfield

W. Todd Houser

Sunny Harris Hutchinson

Susan Jamison, Secretary

Lloyd E. Johnson

John Lassiter

Dr. Joan Lorden

Dr. Edith Valladares McElroy

Edwin B. Peacock III

Rick D. Puckett, Treasurer

Jennifer Roberts

Anne Stolz

Gregory L. Taylor

Catherine Warfield

onstageeditor-in-chief Crystal Dempsey

Writers Liz Bertrand Aleigh Acerni Daniel Knaub Greg Lacour Phoebe Brown

graphic Designer Jessica StanleyCover Photo: Million Dollar Quartet original Broadway Cast. Photo by Joan Marcus.

table of contentsFall 2011

3 ......................... Letter from the President

4-7 ...................... Blumenthal News Briefs

8-9 ..................... Family Matters

10-11 .................. Tony + Maria = Romeo + Juliet

12-14 .................. The Magic of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

15 ....................... Blumenthal Highlights

16-17 .................. Good vs. Evil

18-19 .................. Calendar of Events

20 ....................... Award-Winning Students and Educator Achieve Their Dreams

21-23 ................. Development News

2 onstage | Fall 2011 Tickets: 704.372.1000 | BlumenthalArts.org

YouTube.com/NCBPAC BlumenthalArtsBlog.org

Facebook.com/NCBPAC Twitter.com/BlumenthalArts

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This summer our team was busy converting to our new Audience View ticketing system. It has lots of advantages that you’ll notice quickly when ordering tickets online.

Finally you’ll be to choose individual seats. The entire seating chart pops up so that you can see all of the seats available and click on those that you’d like. You’ll find it easier to print your tickets at home so that you won’t need to wait in a box office line. It’s even possible to forward tickets electronically to a friend if you are unable to attend at the last minute. Local arts groups, without a ticketing system, are able to use the new system free of charge.

While technology powers improvements, it also creates new reasons for ticket buyers to be cautious. Internet ticketing has fueled the growth of unauthorized sellers, many of which are not trustworthy.

Online scalpers are very slick in luring ticket buyers by creating web sites using the Blumenthal name, photos of our venues and copies of our seating charts. They sell tickets at prices far above what we do. In most cases they don’t even have the tickets in hand, they are just trolling for buyers who mistakenly go there using a search engine without realizing the site has no relationship with Blumenthal. At best, once they have a potential buyer, they will try to find tickets, frequently buying off our web site, and then reselling them for 3 times what they are being sold for through Blumenthal. At worst, they sell counterfeit tickets that are not useable. It troubles us to see theater fans being taken advantage of, but we have a limited ability to prevent it.

The only way to be certain that you are not being scammed, or paying inflated prices, is to use the BlumenthalArts.org or CarolinaTix.org web sites.

The Blumenthal has for a number of years been an investor and producer of shows on Broadway, in London and touring across North America. We do this to encourage the creation of new shows to come to Charlotte. Our production of TRACES, which played at the McGlohon Theater for 6 weeks in 2008, has now become New York’s hot new off-Broadway show. The cast performed in July on “America’s Got Talent.” We are also

co-producers of THE MOUNTAINTOP, a new play starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that opens on Broadway in October. We’re proud of these productions and others that are part of creating a strong pipeline of new shows for theater fans here.

Each Fall dozens of dedicated volunteers solicit their peers in the business community to support our annual Corporate Campaign. This year we’re blessed to have Elizabeth Austin, of Family Dollar, as the chair. This is our only annual campaign, and it makes a critical difference in our ability to provide education and access programs.

Thanks to their efforts, for instance, we are able to provide a “tab” for Big Brothers/Big Sisters so that “Bigs” are able to bring “Littles” to see a Broadway show sitting in orchestra seats. Their support allows us to offer the “Family First” program in which families who cannot afford to attend, come to 3 shows that are coupled with a pre-show education activity and post-show cast visit. We’re grateful for the effort of our corporate partners, and those companies whose generosity makes it possible for us to enrich the lives of young people and families.

We’re grateful for the support of so many friends who make it possible for us to serve this remarkable community with first-class arts, entertainment and education programs.

Tickets: 704.372.1000 | BlumenthalArts.org onstage | Fall 2011 3

President’swordsTOM GABBARD

Dear Friends:

Tom GabbardPresident

neWsbriefs

Audience, Professionals Continue Talking After the ShowFollowing four performances of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama NEXT TO NORMAL, local mental health professionals lead discussions on how mental health problems affect families. These talks were free with admission, and were held in Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts.

Leading the conversations were representatives from UNC Charlotte’s Counseling Center, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and cast members from NEXT TO NORMAL.

NEXT TO NORMAL tells the story of one family’s struggle with grief and mental illness. The show focused attention on a problem that affects many families, and Blumenthal Performing Arts was proud to continue the discussion beyond the performance with these four post-show discussions.

New Ticketing System Brings Great Updates Blumenthal Performing Arts and CarolinaTix are upgrading to a new ticketing system. And we think you’re going to love it.

The new system offers some great features, including:

• When you buy single tickets, you can select your seats ONLINE! You’ll be able to select exactly the seats you want from a seating chart by clicking on them.

• See which performances have the best ticket availability. A graphic beside each performance date will show you how heavily that particular show is sold. This means you will spend less time hunting for the best available seats.

• You will be able to access and customize your account. The added features include being able to see your order history, your ticket history, your Audience Rewards® information and more.

• Coming soon: No more waiting for the mail or stopping by “Will Call” to get your tickets! You will be able to print tickets at home. However, you can still get tickets delivered in the mail or held at “Will Call” if you wish! Also, if you can’t make it to the show and want to give your tickets to a friend , family member or a co-worker, you can use the “Forward My Tickets” option.


Audience at the NEXT TO NORMAL talkback.

Lights, Camera, Action at Knight Theater, Spirit SquareProduction for the upcoming movie “Hunger Games” caused a lot of buzz around

Charlotte this summer. Trucks carrying technical equipment set up camp outside of the Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts

The movie is based on the novel, and includes actors Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.

The Knight wasn’t the only theater to be involved in the film world. Spirit Square served as base camp for crew and extras during filming of the Showtime series “Homeland.” Starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, “Homeland” is a thriller about a Marine sergeant rescued from Baghdad after being a prisoner of war for eight years.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen on the cover of entertainment Weekly.

Two-legged Felines Help Local Cats The Humane Society of Charlotte and Humane Society of York County benefited from the generosity of fans when Blumenthal Performing Arts teamed up with the national tour of CATS for a special fund-raiser.

A total of $6,765 was raised with $5,310 going to the Humane Society of Charlotte and $1,455 for the Humane Society of York County.

Through a special offer dubbed “Mr. Mistoffelees Night” at CATS, fans saved $10 on their tickets. Then $15 of each ticket purchased through this offer was donated to the Humane Society they selected.

“This donation will help us provide the necessary pre-adoption testing and vaccinations to keep [the animals] healthy and happy during their stay with us,” said Donna Canzano, vice president of development/community relations for the Humane Society of Charlotte.

This fundraiser continued the Blumenthal’s dedication to giving back. Last April, Blumenthal helped AVENUE Q make a $2,100 donation to the American Red Cross to assist in the Japan relief efforts. Also during the year, Blumenthal teamed up with MAMMA MIA! and 9 to 5: THE MUSICAL to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.


Blumenthal Launches New BlogWe are proud to announce the launch of the Blumenthal Performing

Arts Blog. The blog will serve as an avenue for presenting behind-the-scenes features, exclusive photos, on-sale information, casting scoops, FUN giveaways and news about the Blumenthal and the many shows we’re presenting. With the success of our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, we’re very excited to have a new platform to help spread the word about our activities. Check us out at BlumenthalArtsBlog.org.

Open Captioning Helps the Hearing Impaired Hearing-impaired theatergoers have a new way of enjoying live theater. Open Captioning made its debut during the Sat., July 16, matinee performance of NEXT TO NORMAL.

Open Captioning is a service for people with hearing loss that uses a text display to provide a simultaneous translation of dialogue and lyrics during a live performance, as well as a description of any sound effects on stage.

Blumenthal is one of seven new theatre organizations that will take part in the National Open Captioning Initiative thanks to a sponsorship from the Theatre Development Fund, a New York City non-profit service organization.

“It’s considered passive assistance - meaning no one is labeled as having a hearing loss,” said Lisa Carling, with the Theater Development Fund. “You don’t have special equipment that you’re holding. You can sit and take advantage of or not.”

Open Captioning will be offered at the Saturday matinees of WEST SIDE STORY: Nov. 5; MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET: Dec. 3; JERSEY BOYS: Feb. 25; LA CAGE AUX FOLLES: June 2.

Along with the open captioning option, Blumenthal Performing Arts will continue to offer signed and described services on the first Sunday matinee of its Broadway engagements.

neWsbriefs


TickeT-buyers, beware!

To avoid grossly inflated prices and counterfeit tickets, purchase your seats for Blumenthal events only through BlumenthalArts.org or CarolinaTix.org, the official ticketing sites for shows coming to Blumenthal theaters.

Sounds easy, right?

Not if you use google or other search engines to locate tickets on-line. Search engines have made it easy for brokers and scalpers to snag unsuspecting consumers, who can easily mistake ‘secondary ticketing sites’ for Blumenthal’s official ticketing service.

“It’s a phenomenon that’s exploded in the last few years with the increasing dominance of Google and other search engines as a first option for shoppers,” said Blumenthal President Tom Gabbard.

“Buyers are snookered into buying tickets there, not realizing they’re not the Blumenthal,” Gabbard said. “A lot of times, these brokers will buy domain names with, for example, ‘Blumenthal’ or ‘Belk’ as part of the URL, which are purposely intended to lure people in. That’s our concern, when people end up unintentionally on these sites.”

It’s BUYER BEWARE when you purchase through any means other than the official venue ticketing services. Odds are high you’ll be overpaying. Many times the seat locations advertised for hundreds of dollars over face value by brokers can be purchased for face value on the official venue site. During the recent engagement of CATS at the Belk Theater, one unsuspecting consumer lamented they’d paid more than $100 each for balcony tickets only to discover the same seats were readily available on the official Blumenthal site for $55.

The same situation is already occurring for the new season shows. Google “SPAMALOT Charlotte.” You’ll see sites claiming to have front orchestra seats available now for $285. When public sales actually open on Nov. 18, front orchestra seats will be priced at less than $85! Many secondary sites routinely advertise tickets they don’t actually have on hand and—adding insult to injury—charge a premium for this phantom inventory.

“We’re speaking out on this issue to encourage the public to pay close attention to who they are buying from on-line. There’s nothing we can do to help a customer if they overpay or end up with tickets that are counterfeit when they purchase through the secondary market,” Gabbard says. “This is our worst frustration. Customers often have no idea they have

not purchased through us because many of these sites look official, but they are not.”

It’s legal to re-sell tickets at inflated prices, and brokers have frustrated many states’ attempts to regulate them by operating across state lines.

“You’d have to write any legislation in such a way as to take into account the different ways these brokers have of buying tickets in bulk,” said Tom Bartholomy, president of the Better Business Bureau’s Charlotte office. “No matter what restrictions have been put in place by the venues, with no legislation behind it, they’re able to play these games.”

Bartholomy said the Charlotte BBB has been tracking secondary-market ticket brokers for seven or eight years. Gabbard said he became aware of the problem in May 2008, when a man and his girlfriend got ripped off – and she took the story to local TV news outlets.

“This kind of thing happens all the time, every day,” Gabbard said. “As soon as we announce a show, like JERSEY BOYS in March, a lot of these brokers posted that they had tickets. The reality is that we didn’t start sending tickets out until mid-August. There were no tickets before then. None.”

The Blumenthal tries to deter scalpers through a few policies designed to protect consumers: People picking up tickets at will-call have to scan the credit card they used to buy the tickets before agents will hand them over, and it prohibits the resale of group tickets for more than

$5 above face value without permission.

But even those measures would dissolve under a bill pending in the N.C. House of Representatives. Titled the “Admission Ticket Reform Act” and backed by large secondary ticket brokers such as the eBay-owned StubHub, the law would prohibit sellers such as the Blumenthal from placing any blanket restrictions on the resale or transfer of event tickets.

Organizations and businesses could prohibit Internet resale, but only on an event-by-event basis and through the Secretary of State’s office. The bill’s backers say venues have no right to tell ticket-holders what they can or can’t do with their tickets. Opponents say the law would remove any obstacle to scalpers’ ability to gouge the public.

The upshot for consumers: If you want to buy Blumenthal event tickets online, go to BlumenthalArts.org or CarolinaTix.org. “If you buy from any other source,” Gabbard said, “realize that you may be scammed.” - Greg Lacour

Make purchases from BlumenthalArts.org or CarolinaTix.org to avoid scams and inflated prices

“as soon as We announce a shoW, like JerseY boYs,

a lot of these brokers Posted that theY had

tickets. the realitY is that We didn’t

start sending tickets out until mid-august. there Were no tickets

before then. none.” - Center President, Tom Gabbard

Series Will Take You Behind The CurtainHave you ever wondered what it takes to create a Broadway

show? What comes first: the lyrics or the music? What goes into casting for a tour?

Blumenthal Performing Arts and Charlotte Viewpoint will launch a “Broadway: Behind The Curtain:” series later this fall to answer those questions and more.

“We have wanted to do a program for serious theater fans that will provide insight into the industry and the creative process,” said Tom Gabbard, Blumenthal President. “This collaboration with Charlotte Viewpoint is a natural fit. Our goal is to enrich the

Broadway experience and have a deeper discussion about musical theater and the performing arts.”

Charlotte Viewpoint is a web-based magazine (CharlotteViewpoint.org) with commentary from the most recognized names in Charlotte. The site includes essays, reviews, fiction, poetry, photography and video about the civic and cultural life of the region.

The first event will take place mid-fall at Booth Playhouse. Watch your email and BlumenthalArts.org for details about the who, what, where and when!


NYC Feels ‘Traces’ of CharlotteBlumenthal Performing Arts continues its streak of

successfully producing shows for national audiences. 7 Fingers’ Traces, which played in 2008 for six weeks in the McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square, opened off-Broadway Aug. 8 at The Union Square Theatre.

“Traces was launched here three years ago for teh US market during a six week run at the McGlohon Theater,” said Blumenthal President Tom Gabbard. “What Charlotte saw first is now generating huge national buzz with performances in Chicago, Los Angeles and now off Broadway. We’re confident the show will have a long life touring throughout North America.” The Blumenthal is co-producer of the show along with Fox Theatricals and Amanda Dubois.

Traces fuses the tradition of circus with the energy of street performance. The artists use music, song, dance and high-risk acrobatics in a way that is fresh and awe-inspiring.

After captivating Charlotte audiences with its gravity-defining stunts, Traces has taken NYC by storm. Ben Brantley from the New York Times called Traces, “pure urban adrenaline,” a show with “pulse-raising magic.”

And audiences seem to agree. Traces has extended its off-Broadway run through January 1st. For more information, visit TracesUSA.com.

Blumenthal Eyes The MountaintopDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “We’ve got some difficult

days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop.” These were some of King, Jr.’s final words to the nation before he was assassinated. And now this speech is taking center stage on Broadway in The Mountaintop, a new play starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett.

Set on April 3, 1968, The Mountaintop is a gripping reimagining of events the night before the murder of the civil rights leader. After delivering his legendary “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, an exhausted Dr. King (Samuel L. Jackson) retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis while a storm rages outside. When a mysterious stranger (Angela Bassett) arrives with some surprising news, King is forced to confront his destiny and his legacy.

Blumenthal Performing Art is a co-producer of The Mountaintop, which is the 2010 Olivier Award® winner for Best Play. The play was written by Katori Hall, an award-winning female playwright from Memphis.

With an acclaimed cast, and critical buzz for its run in London, The Mountaintop is a must-see show this fall. Previews begin Sept. 22 at the Jacobs Theatre on Broadway in New York. The show officially opens Oct. 13 for 16 weeks. For more information, visit TheMountaintopPlay.com.


Da da da dum, snap snap. Da da da dum, snap snap. Mention The Addams Family and for many of us, it instantly stirs up familiar images. Do you remember Morticia, the epitome of goth glamour, sleekly dressed in black or her husband Gomez equal parts dapper and eccentric in his pinstriped suit? How about their pigtailed and dour daughter Wednesday or bald-headed Uncle Fester in his monk-like robe, and larger-than-life Lurch, the Frankenstein-like butler?

If you can picture them and other members of this iconic family, you’re not alone.

This unusual bunch, who first appeared as drawings by Charles Addams in the urbane pages of The New Yorker magazine, more than 70 years ago, has reinvented itself decade after decade to the delight of audiences around the world. They have masqueraded from one-paneled comics and the popular TV show to animated cartoon series and movies, as well as every genre of merchandise imaginable from action figures to pinball machines.

Now, they’ve finally made it to Broadway, and one could argue, that’s where they were always meant to be. When THE ADDAMS FAMILY comes to Ovens Auditorium Oct. 11 - 16, you can be sure this newest incarnation featuring an original story and a charming musical score will be every bit as strangely wonderful as you would hope.

It’s not the first musical comedy to be born out of cartoon images. THE ADDAMS FAMILY is in fine company alongside classics like Annie and Li’l Abner. Like these predecessors, the easily recognizable and stylized images of THE ADDAMS FAMILY characters make them perfect candidates for a Broadway musical, explains Noel Freidline, a music professor at UNC-Charlotte with an avid interest in pop culture.

“I think a lot of the work has already been done,” he says, noting that the characters we find in musicals are often broad-stroked caricatures with exaggerated qualities. “It’s already a cartoon [so] we’re halfway there. [But] if the tunes were not good, or the play were not well-written, it wouldn’t survive.”

Luckily, THE ADDAMS FAMILY was conceived by a group of Broadway’s biggest talents and is now in its second year thrilling New York audiences. (Charlotte will be the third stop on its National Tour.) Its original story — in which grown up Wednesday dismays her parents by bringing home a “normal” boyfriend and his parents for a surprise dinner party — comes from Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (the libretto writers for the Tony Award®-winning sensation, JERSEY BOYS.) The show’s music and lyrics, reminiscent of an old-fashioned musical, are by Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), one of the most sought after composers in musical theater today.

familY mattersWhat makes The Addams Family clan the perfect subjects for a hit musical?

tHe aDDaMS FaMilY Broadway Cast. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.


The catchy tunes and funny plot line are, of course, part of the recipe for success. But the show’s bizarre assortment of characters also proves to be the perfect subjects for a Broadway musical.

One reason that THE ADDAMS FAMILY characters work so well in this context is their familiarity. “They’re extreme; they’re easily recognized,” says Freidline. “You could have seen them once ten years ago and you’d still know who they are.” He describes them as a “compass point in the world of TV” and suggests that mentioning their names is as evocative as telling a popular music fan that a group sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Diana Ross.

“They’re a point of reference,” he says.

There is also a certain nostalgia appeal that has enabled them to remain popular from generation to generation. Already in its earliest incarnation, as unnamed occasional characters in Charles Addams’ drawings, “the comedy was obviously very ironic.” says Freidline. “It was the parody – looking at the world through a different pair of glasses” – that made The Addams Family memorable.

No matter how we originally discovered them, this collective memory of The Addams Family as quirky and fun has helped them maintain their status as well-known popular culture icons throughout the decades.

If you loved The Addams Family as a kid, you already know what type of antics to expect. But what about kids discovering them for the first time? Freidline thinks that THE ADDAMS FAMILY musical taps into another kind of nostalgia to which people of all ages can relate.

“Everyone has that eccentric uncle, aunt or grandparent or neighbor,” he says.

We can relive that thrill of encountering someone truly different – something that fascinates us, especially as kids – through THE ADDAMS FAMILY. There is something intriguing about a group of misfits in a so-called normal world.

Or, as Freidline sums it up: “It’s Halloween put into real life put into ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show.’” -Elizabeth Bertrand

the aDDams familYOctober 11-16 • Ovens Auditorium original Broadway Cast members adam riegler (Pugsley), Krysta rodriguez (Wednesday) and Wesley taylor

(lucas Beineke) in tHe aDDaMS FaMilY. Photo by Joan Marcus.

original Broadway Cast member Kevin Chamberlin as uncle Fester (with Zarchary James as lurch) in tHe aDDaMS FaMilY. Photo by Joan Marcus.

original Broadway Cast members Jackie Hoffman (Grandma) and adam riegler (Pugsley) in tHe aDDaMS FaMilY. Photo: Joan Marcus

Broadway Cast members Bebe neuwirth (Morticia) and roger rees (Gomez) in tHe aDDaMS FaMilY. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.


WEST SIDE STORY has been one of the most popular musicals since it opened in 1957. It has had four official Broadway revivals and been made into a film that won 11 Oscars®. It received three Tony Awards® and 13 nominations, a Grammy® award for Best Musical Show Album, one Theatre World award and one Drama Desk Award.

So how did the idea for this revolutionary musical come about?

Beginnings

While the Broadway classic is set in the west side of New York City in the 1950s, the show was inspired by William Shakespeare’s classic play, Romeo and Juliet.

Leonard Bernstein, one of the show’s creators, told the Dramatists Guild symposium that WEST SIDE STORY was originally “conceived on the East Side of New York, and was a kind of East Side Story version of Romeo and Juliet involving, as the feuding parties, Catholics and Jews. And the time was the coincidence of the Passover/Easter season, in which feelings in the streets ran very high. And there was a lot of slugging and some bloodletting, which seemed to match the Romeo story very well.”

east siDe story

But East Side Story had already been told in a play that had been on Broadway for five years, made into two different films and been a weekly radio series called Abie’s Irish Rose. This comedy dealt with a Catholic girl who marries a Jewish boy and the oppositions their families have.

Looking to tweak the original concept, Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein, the creators WEST SIDE STORY, noticed that New York in the 1950s had close to 100 gangs of diverse backgrounds, 75,000 Puerto Ricans migrating to the city, neighborhoods with signs in Spanish and turf wars between rival gangs splashing the newspaper headlines.

Consequently, East Side Story was about to become WEST SIDE STORY…set in Manhattan where today’s Lincoln Center was once a Latino neighborhood.

West siDe story

This new show seemed like the story was ripped from the headlines. Staying with the idea of Romeo & Juliet, Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book, used the basic format of the Shakespeare play for this new musical.

While the characters are similar, and the basic love story and rivalry may remind us of Shakespeare, Arthur Laurents did make changes to Romeo and Juliet in order to create the plot of WEST SIDE STORY. The most notable was setting the story in New York during the 1950s and using the ethnic gang violence, which changed everything and helped breathe new life into the classic play.

The WEST SIDE STORY we know today tells the story of two rival gangs who wreak havoc as they fight to maintain bragging rights

tonY + maria = romeo + JulietHow a Shakespeare Classic Became a Broadway Smash.

for their “turf.” The Jets are from the city, while the Sharks are from Puerto Rico.

Uncomfortable with the Spanish language and culture, the Jets want to have a rumble to determine who will rule the land. In the midst of this chaos, Tony, a former Jet, falls in love with Maria, the sister of the leader of the Sharks. Can the two lovers find a way to end the feud and be together?

Kyle Harris and ali ewoldt. © Joan Marcus, 2010.


tonY + maria = romeo + JulietAudiences will find out when WEST SIDE STORY arrives Nov. 1-6 in the Belk

Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. So what exactly is different about this version of the show?

the revival

Arthur Laurents, director of the WEST SIDE STORY revival told The Los Angeles Times, “I couldn’t just do a replica of the original. We had to ask ourselves: Why are we doing it now?... The Sharks are isolated, they face terrible bigotry, and we could illustrate this now by using Spanish in key songs and scenes. It was the kind of change the show needed.”

Consequently, the revival of WEST SIDE STORY is bilingual with some of the lines and lyrics in Spanish as well as English.

To write the Spanish lyrics, Lin-Manuel Miranda was brought aboard. Miranda was no stranger to Broadway musicals and Spanish. He wrote and starred in the Tony-award® winning show about a Latino neighborhood in New York City called In The Heights. Miranda had artistic license in re-writing lines and lyrics. He explained to The New York Daily News, “I could use whatever imagery that would work in Spanish, but the lyrics had to rhyme for the English listener.”

BroadwayWorld.com said of the revival, “This high-energy [show] is as powerful as the original, yet feels refreshed. It’s a beautifully balanced success that straddles honorable homage with authentic, modern sensibilities. You’ll be wowed by the athleticism in the dances and moved by the gorgeous harmonies and musical artistry.”

What started as a story inspired by one the greatest writers in history, set on the opposite side of New York City has stood the test of time. Today, 54 years later, this timeless masterpiece still lives because of the power of its universal tale. •

West siDe storY November 1-6 • Belk TheaterPlease be advised that there is strong language, violence and some sensitive subject matter that is true to the story and plot.

Parental guidance is suggested.

hoW does WEST SIDE STORY comPare to ROmEO anD JulIET?similarities in CharaCters:

The Jets = The Montagues

The Sharks = The Capulets

Tony = Romeo

Maria = Juliet

Anita = The Nurse

Riff = Mercutio

Bernardo = Tybalt

Baby John = Benvolio

Action = Sampson

A-Rab = Gregory

Anybodys - Balthazar

Chino = Paris

Doc = Friar Laurence/Apothecary

Detective Shrank/Officer Krupke = Prince Escalus

national tour of West Side Story. © Joan Marcus, 2010. national tour of West Side Story. © Joan Marcus, 2010.


On December 4, 1956, the stars aligned when a man named Sam Phillips, dubbed “The Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” brought together legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Records in Memphis for an impromptu, once-in-a-lifetime recording session. The result was one of the greatest moments in rock ‘n’ roll history. The recording session is brought to life in the Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Artsthis November in MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, featuring 1950s rock hits including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “That’s All Right,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Walk the Line,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and more. Here, we’ve set the stage for what all five of these musical legends were at the time of the legendary recording.

Where They Were: One night. Four legendary musicians. And an equally legendary producer and studio.

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At the end of 1956, Phillips had owned Sun Records for four years. During that time, he’d discovered talent including Cash and Presley, and had signed Perkins and Lewis. His label would go on to produce more rock and roll records than any other label, even though he’d sold Presley’s contract to RCA in 1955 for $35,000. During the Dec. 4 session, Phillips challenged the quartet to achieve gold record sales, and promised a free Cadillac to the man who did it first. (Perkins was the winner.)

elvis Presley

The “King of Rock and Roll” was 21 and just two years into his career on Dec. 4 — 1956 was his breakout year. When he stopped by Sun Records to say hello (with then-girlfriend Marilyn Evans), it was just one month after his film debut in “Love Me Tender,” and two years before he’d be drafted into the U.S. Army. All told, at the end of 1956, Presley’s merchandise had brought in an additional $22 million on top of his record sales, and Billboard announced that he’d landed more Top 100 songs than any other artist since songs were charted.

Johnny Cash

Cash was 24 in 1956, and just over a year into his contract with Sun Records. Although still married to his first wife, Vivian, he’d already met the woman who would eventually become his second wife, country singer June Carter. Before the jam session, he’d begun to earn his “outlaw” image by being arrested a few times (once for sparking a forest fire in the Los Padres National Forest when his truck broke down and burst into flames) and recorded the classic “Folsom Prison Blues.” His first album, “Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar,” would be released the following year.

Carl Perkins

Like Cash, Perkins was also 24, and like Presley, was two years into his music career. At the time, he was riding the success of “Blue Suede Shoes” (a favorite cover for Presley), after being unable to perform for about a month following a bad car accident in March that had left him with three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a broken collarbone, severe concussion and countless lacerations. On Dec. 4, he was in the studio at Sun Records to cut “Matchbox,” a revamped version of an old blues song.

Jerry lee leWis

The last surviving member of the Million Dollar Quartet, Lewis was 21 years old in 1956. The famed piano player was in the Sun Records studio on Dec. 4 to play piano for a recording of Perkins’ “Matchbox.” The following year, 1957, would be his breakout year, when “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire” were released. In Cash’s book, “Cash,” he writes of Lewis’ talent, saying of the legendary recording session, “no one wanted to follow Jerry Lee, not even Elvis.” - Aleigh Acerni

in DeCemBer 1956, ameriCans Were:• Listening to Elvis, by Elvis Presley (the No. 1 album), and “Singing the Blues,” by Guy Mitchell (the No. 1 song).

• Reading “The Human Drama of Pearl Harbor,” the cover story for LIFE magazine, and “Riding Tomorrow’s Train Today” in Popular Science, a story about the New York Central Railroad’s new lightweight Xplorer train.

• Gaining fashion tips from “How Marilyn Monroe took London” by Fleur Cowles, Glamour’s cover story (the issue cost 35 cents).

• Cheering on Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung as he was named winner of the Heisman Trophy. Hornung would go on to be named to both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame after playing for the Green Bay Packers for nearly 10 years.

• Watching “Lawrence Welk,” “I Love Lucy,” and “$64,000 Question”—the top-rated shows in December 1956.

original Broadway cast member eddie Clendening as elvis Presley. Photo by Joan Marcus.

original Broadway cast member lance Guest as Johnny Cash .Photo by Joan Marcus.


“There’s no amount of brains and dollars and sense... that can bring you around to getting the joy out of doing something in sound that I see and feel until this day and

always will until I’m no longer around physically.”– Sam Phillips

“I never expected to be anybody important.”– Elvis Presley

“If it weren’t for the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no song.”

– Carl Perkins

“Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.”

– Johnny Cash

“If I’m going to hell, I’m going there playing the piano.” – Jerry Lee Lewis

million Dollar quartetNovember 22 - December 11 • Knight Theater

Second Annual Camp Blumenthal is a Success!On May 27-28, 100 girl scouts from across western North

Carolina attended the second annual Camp Blumenthal. The scouts attended the Friday evening performance of CATS, and were greeted by several cast members after the show. After these activities, the girls spent the night in the Belk Theater lobbies to wake up Saturday morning for three workshops. They learned the history of theatrical masks, several techniques on using dramatic makeup and had a behind-the-scenes hands-on technical tour of the Booth Playhouse. Camp Blumenthal has become a very popular event with Girl Scouts and will continue in its third year during a performance in the spring. For more information on Camp Blumenthal, contact Blumenthal Group Sales at 704.379.1380 or [email protected].


highlightsRecord Number Attend 7th Annual Tony Awards® Party

The Blumenthal hosted the seventh Annual Tony Awards® party on June 12 in McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square. Over 325 theater fans watched The Book of Mormon get crowned Best Musical on the big screen. The free event featured heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts from Uptown Catering.

Attendees had the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Blumenthal’s Tony® Award for SPAMALOT. The photos were posted to our Facebook page. Several attendees tagged themselves and made the photo their profile picture.

Guests received a gift bag that contained THE ADDAMS FAMILY Uncle Fester masks, a NEXT TO NORMAL download card, a WICKED button, a SPRING AWAKENING temporary tattoo, a MEMPHIS CD sampler and a flyer with ticket discounts to several Blumenthal attractions and a raffle ticket for special giveaways.

Douglas Young, Vice President of Programming, emceed the event. He hosted a special pre-show event showing clips and behind-the-scenes videos of the nominated shows, many of which may be playing Charlotte in the near future.

During the telecast’s commercial breaks, video highlights of the 2011-12 Duke Energy Broadway Lights Series were shown, and prizes were awarded at random to lucky fans. The average prize package was worth $400 with opening night tickets to one of our Broadway shows as part of the package.

Over the seven years, the Blumenthal’s annual Tony Awards® party has become the go-to event for area theater fans that want to watch the show with other Broadway enthusiasts. •


Two tremendously talented chefs who also happen to be polar opposites and unlikely friends share the stage—and their philosophies on food and life—Oct. 26 at the Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center for Good vs. Evil: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain & Eric Ripert. Here’s a little insight into the makings of a bad boy who’s ferociously gifted in the kitchen and his friend, a saintly chef whose food is a little slice of heaven.

Beginnings

Bourdain: Born in New York City on June 25, 1956, Anthony Bourdain grew up in Leonia, NJ, and credits his love of food to a family vacation to France as a child, where he tried his first oyster on an oyster fisherman’s boat. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 1978.

Ripert: Eric Ripert was born on March 2, 1965 in Antibes, France. As with many talented chefs, he first explored cooking in his family’s kitchen, learning from his grandmother. He spent most of his childhood in Andorra (a small country just south of the French border), and returned to France to attend culinary school in Perpignan.

rise to Fame

Bourdain: After managing various kitchens in New York City, Bourdain landed a gig as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, a French restaurant in Manhattan, in 1998. Two years later, he gained fame (and notoriety) with his first book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, an exposé of the realities of working in a professional kitchen. He’s since written several additional books, including two New York Times bestsellers.

Ripert: Ripert spent his early career in Paris. His career began to heat up when he moved to the U.S. in 1989, working in Washington, DC, and various New York City restaurants before landing at the famed Le Bernardin. In 1994, Ripert became the restaurant’s executive chef, and at the ripe old age of 29, earned a four-star rating from the New York Times. He became part owner of the restaurant in 1996, and has written four cookbooks.

tv time

Bourdain: After a short time on the Food Network with “A Cook’s Tour” in 2002, Bourdain launched a new reality show on the Travel Channel in 2005. As host of “Anthony Bourdain:

No Reservations,” he explores the world through its cuisine. In addition, Bourdain has appeared on Bravo’s reality show and cooking competition “Top Chef,” TLC’s “Miami Ink,” the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” and Nick, Jr.’s “Yo Gabba Gabba!” (We’re not kidding about that last one.)

Ripert: Although Ripert seems to prefer working in the kitchen to being on TV (he still works in the kitchen at Le Bernardin on a regular basis), he has appeared as a guest judge for multiple seasons of “Top Chef,” has been a guest on Bourdain’s “No Reservations” and even played himself on an episode of HBO’s “Treme,” for which Bourdain is a consultant. He also hosts “Avec Eric,” a PBS series that has won Emmy and James Beard awards.

good vs. evilBourdain and Ripert will share the stage and their stories

eric ripert


real-liFe Controversy

Bourdain: Bourdain is both beloved and vilified for his no-nonsense (and sometimes curmudgeonly) attitude: he’s often critical of vegetarianism and makes no secret of his dislike for a long list of celebrity chefs, notably Paula Deen, Sandra Lee and Rachael Ray. In addition, because of his propensity for profanity and frequent references to his past drug use and addiction, a viewer discretion advisory appears before each segment of “No Reservations.”

Ripert: A practicing Buddhist, Ripert has said he gets disappointed and sometimes angry when he sees someone mistreating others. Those beliefs recently prompted a rare criticism from the calm, benevolent chef — he has spoken out against reality show “Kitchen Nightmares” star Chef Gordon Ramsay for what he described on Twitter as Ramsay’s “verbal abuse, humiliation, etc.” of his employees.

on eaCh other

Bourdain: “I can unload my opinion on anybody at anytime. He’s got three Michelin stars to protect and four New York Times stars, a swank restaurant and a high-end clientele. That’s an institution with a lot of employees who he feels responsible to. Plus, frankly, he’s a Buddhist. He’s nicer than me.” – Bourdain on Ripert in a 2011 interview with Boston magazine

Ripert: “We became friends after he wrote Kitchen Confidential. He’s a very smart man who has a very sharp mind. He’s a loyal friend and very generous. We’re very different in our way of thinking — our relationship is kind of like ‘The Odd Couple.’ We have tremendous respect for each other, and though it’s a sort of an absurd relationship, it works.” – Ripert on Bourdain, in a 2010 interview with TodayShow.com

on the siDe

Bourdain: In addition to his other writing gigs (his work has appeared in The New Yorker, Gourmet, Maxim and Town & Country, among others), Bourdain consults and writes for the HBO series, “Treme.”

Ripert: When he’s not at Le Bernardin or filming an episode of “Avec Eric,” Ripert serves as chair of City Harvest’s Food Council, a New York-based food rescue organization, and hosts benefit dinners for the Tibetan Aid Project. - Aleigh Acerni

anthony Bourdain

good vs. evil: an evening withanthony Bourdain & eric ripert

October 26 • Belk Theater


OcTOber2 ira glass: radio stories and other stories Belk Theater5 Kings of salsa Knight Theater6 JJ grey & mofro McGlohon Theater6-22 Xanadu - the musical Queen City Theatre Company Duke Energy Theater7 celtic thunder: heritage Belk Theater7-8 streb: forces Knight Theater8 the Blind Boys of alabama McGlohon Theater11-16 the aDDams familY Ovens Auditorium13 maurice Williams & the Zodiacs Barnes & Warren McGlohon Theater13-15 Director’s choice North Carolina Dance Theatre Knight Theater13 - nov. 6 You say tomato, i say shut up! Stage Door Theater15 trailer park Boys Square Peg/Sherpa Concerts McGlohon Theater15-23 il trovatore Opera Carolina Belk Theater19 the civil Wars McGlohon Theater20 TheBattlefieldBand McGlohon Theater21 Knightsounds: Bearden 100 Charlotte Symphony Knight Theater21 slamcharlotte poetry slam McGlohon Theater23 Béla fleck & the flecktones: the original line-up Knight Theater23 speak up Youth poetry slam Duke Energy Theater25 condoleezza rice Learning Society of Queens Belk Theater25 ledisi: pieces of me tour Sol Kitchen Knight Theater26 good vs. evil: an evening with anthony Bourdain & eric ripert Belk Theater28-29 Wicked Divas of Broadway Charlotte Symphony Knight Theater28 - nov. 12 for the love of harlem On Q Productions Duke EnergyTheater29 the Jayhawks McGlohon Theater29 the phantom of lollipop Charlotte Symphony Belk Theater30 peter Yarrow in concert with Billy Jonas Foundation for Respectability Knight TheaterNOVeMber1-6 West siDe storY Belk Theater4 Jacob fred Jazz odyssey McGlohon Theater4 an evening with Boyz ii men 100 Black Men of Charlotte Knight Theater11 Brandi carlile: solo acoustic tour Knight Theater11-12 mozart requiem Charlotte Symphony Belk Theater 11-13 John tartaglia’s imaginocean Booth Playhouse

Kings of Salsa

The Blind Boys of Alabama

Celtic Thunder: Heritage

coming

STREB: FORCES


13 an evening of hope and inspiration Rosedale ID McGlohon Theater17-19 Beethoven’s fifth Charlotte Symphony Belk Theater18 slamcharlotte poetry slam McGlohon Theater19 an acoustic evening with Josh ritter McGlohon Theater20 speak up Youth poetry slam Duke Energy Theater21-22 aladdin Jr. Northeast Middle School McGlohon Theater22 - Dec. 11 million Dollar quartet Knight Theater 25-26 cirque de la symphonie Charlotte Symphony Belk TheaterDeceMber2-4 magic of christmas Charlotte Symphony Belk Theater2-4 Black nativity Tomorrow’s R.O.A.D. McGlohon Theater6-18 live from WVl radio theatre: it’s a Wonderful life Booth Playhouse 9-18 nutcracker North Carolina Dance Theatre Belk Theater12-19 the Birth Starving Artists Theater Co. Duke Energy Theater14 messiah Charlotte Symphony Belk Theater16 slamcharlotte poetry slam McGlohon Theater18 Jim Brickman’s a christmas celebration Knight Theater18 speak up Youth poetry slam Duke Energy Theater26-31 rocK of ages Belk TheaterJaNuary3-8 memphis Ovens Auditorium7 Disney in concert Charlotte Symphony Belk Theater11 an evening with Wendy mogel Charlotte Jewish Day School Knight Theater13-14 rachmaninoff’s paganini rhapsody Charlotte Symphony Belk Theater13-28 the amen corner On Q Productions Duke Energy Theater19 colin quinn: long story short Knight Theater20 travis tritt Knight Theater20 slamcharlotte poetry slam McGlohon Theater21 paula poundstone Knight Theater21-29 MadamaButterfly Opera Carolina Belk Theater22 speak up Youth poetry slam Duke Energy Theater24-29 love, loss and What i Wore McGlohon Theater28 unc clefhangers Knight Theater

please Visit Blumenthalarts.org for the latest details on all shows.

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

ImaginOceanThe Battlefield Band

soon....

ROCK OF AGESPhoto by Jeff Busby


aWard-Winning students andeducator achieve their dreams

Blumenthal Performing Arts does more than entertain Charlotte, it provides a place for community members to grow and thrive in their own pursuit of the arts. That’s why we are proud to share the stories of three outstanding award winners – students Morgan Wilson and Mandy Wagoner and educator Tiffany Dunagan – who have participated in our programs and now are poised to change the world.

Recent graduates Wilson, who attended Northwest School of the Arts, and Wagoner, who attended East Gaston High, each received a $10,000 Mary Doctor Performing Arts Scholarship. Wilson will study Dance at The Boston Conservatory in Massachusetts while Wagoner will focus on Theater Education at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro.

Both young women participated in The Broadway Experience, an annual behind-the-scenes theater trip to New York City, also funded by The Doctor Family Foundation and sponsored by Blumenthal Performing Arts. Students who have demonstrated a strong interest and involvement in the performing arts but have never had the opportunity to see a Broadway show are treated to a weekend of theater in the Big Apple. (Next year, nominations for the scholarship will be expanded to include students from any of the schools that participate in The Blumey Awards, a new local high school theater competition modeled after Broadway’s Tony Awards®.)

During The Broadway Experience, students also had the opportunity to talk directly to cast members and other theater professionals about the realities of a performing arts career.

“The New York Broadway Experience trip has literally changed my life forever!” says Wilson, who has studied dance locally with the North Carolina Dance Theatre and Piedmont School of Music & Dance. “Information was shared on how to audition, what to look for in a show, what directors and choreographers are looking for and other such tips.”

Sharing this experience with other students was another highlight. “The trip gave me a chance to be with students who worked hard to get where they are just like me,” says Wagoner, whose background in the performing arts includes everything from running lights, singing and dancing to stage managing productions

and presiding over her school’s chapter of the International Thespian Society.

Both students intend to dedicate some part of their future career toward teaching a new generation of performing arts aficionados. That’s something that Tiffany Dunagan could tell them a thing or two about.

Dunagan, a fifth-grade teacher at Queen’s Grant Community School in Mint Hill, recently received a prestigious Freddy G. Teacher Experience Award at the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta. Dunagan’s school was invited to this national musical theater festival after participating in a similar regional event organized by the Blumenthal. While students received professional feedback on their performances of Broadway Junior or KIDS Collection musicals, their teachers participated in a variety of professional development workshops.

At the end of this power-packed festival, Dunagan and a handful of other educators were selected for a weekend of additional masterclasses and special events in New York City, courtesy of Musical Theatre International and iTheatrics.

Dunagan had long been a fan of the performing arts but had never directed a show until she saw a real need at her school. “I got involved at the school mainly because my son loves to act, and we didn’t really have anything for the students who were drama-driven,” says Dunagan. “I also had a lot of students I thought would benefit from learning how to speak and perform in public.”

Dunagan says that the workshops at Blumenthal’s regional Broadway Junior Celebration have helped her build the theater program at her school and connect her with other area educators. “The workshops are fun and interactive and give the students a chance to meet and perform with other schools,” she says. “...Students leave energized and confident and they take that energy back to the school.”

And you never can tell what that spark of energy will bring. Some of Dunagan’s students could very well be the next generation of performing arts professionals. Perhaps scholarship winner Wagoner sums it up best: “With hard work and passion, anyone can achieve their dreams.” - Liz Bertrand

Thanks to The Doctor Family Foundation, our Education Department distributed 32 Broadway

Jr. show kits free of charge to Charlotte area elementary and middle schools. Most of these schools will participate in the Broadway Junior

Theater Celebration in April. tiffany Dunagan with Freddie Gershon, chairman of Music theatre international.

Mandy Wagoner (middle row, second from right) and Morgan Wilson (bottom row, center) on the Broadway experience trip.


membershiPnewsHow to Become a MemberBecome a Member today and start taking advantage of the great benefits! • Visit us online at BlumenthalArts.org/Support, click “Individual Membership,” then “Click Here to Become a Member” • Call the Box Office at 704.372.1000 • Visit the Box Office in Belk Theater lobby at 130 N. Tryon St.

Have you heard about our private Member Services Concierge phone line? It’s no secret, but the phone number is!

All our Members enjoy the benefit of purchasing tickets before they go on sale to the public, but Producer’s Circle Members ($1,000+) have the unique opportunity to purchase tickets for any show through the private Member Services Concierge phone line. Callers learn about the best seats and ticket offers, receive personalized assistance for ticket purchases, exchanges and swaps, and are treated like a VIP each time they call. Our Member Services Concierge is available Monday-Friday from 8:30-5:30 PM and the phone number is reserved for our top-level Members. To find out more about how you can become a Producer’s Circle Member and take advantage of this exclusive membership benefit, please contact Rachel Ellis at (704) 379-1353.

Member Services Concierge Phone Line

chairman’s councilMr. and Mrs. William B. McGuire, Jr.

president’s councilPeg and Jay AdamczykJim and Cathy BailyMrs. Nancy B. Thomas and Mr. William M. BarnhardtArthur D. Becker, Christine K. Becker, Kimberly K. BeckerThe Blumenthal Foundation Amy and Philip BlumenthalBetsy and Alfred BrandMr. William K. Diehl, Jr.Walter and Michele FisherDorlisa and Peter FlurTom and Vickie GabbardGrace, Michael and John GallowayDavid and Barbara GoodmanBeverly and Jim HanceChuck and Diane HarringtonMr. and Mrs. David L. HauserSally Hawk and Tommi LeviJ. Michael Booe and Rebecca S. HendersonScot and Diane PowellJeanne and Rick PuckettRonnie and Paulette SherrillMr. and Mrs. Eric SklutEdgar and Karen Whitener

BenefactorHoward and Margaret Bissell Laura and Sam BowlesLea and Robin BurtAmy and Alfred Dawson

Jeff DemingDaniel and Marilyn DiMiccoCharlie ElbersonScott FullerHarry and Gail GrimBelinda and Timothy GunterMandy and Todd HouserThomas and Nora HughesSunny and Wen HutchinsonDavid and Susan JamisonLloyd JohnsonHoward and Julie LevineMichael, Jaime and Allie MondayTom and Anna NelsonGeorge and Eva RaftelisWendy and Frank RosenBill and Brenda RyanJane and Nelson SchwabThad and Bobbie SharrettMr. and Mrs. Donald J. SherrillLisa and Glenn Sherrill, Jr.Jacqueline SnipesPam and Andy WarlickMr. E.I. Weisiger, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. White

grand patronDr. Monique AbnerLarry AdamsBill and Valerie AlexanderElizabeth AustinMr. and Mrs. John M. BarryDr. and Mrs. Edward S. BaumMike and Renee BaumbachRalph and Linda BeckMr. and Mrs. Milton BerkmanMark and Louise Bernstein

Roy and Amy BivensMr. and Mrs. Alan BlumenthalRay and Peggy BouleyCrandall and Erskine BowlesTim and Pat BrierFrank BrownJames and Sara BuckPeter and Cynthia BuckJames R. BullockBret BurquestJeffrey CarlsonNan and Hal ClarkeSteve and Elaine CoatsHarvey and Muri CorzinBrandon and Amy CroomRoger CuddyBill and Rose CummingsNed and Adelaide Davis James W. DonahuePepper and Roddey DowdMr. and Mrs. James F. DownsMarica and Bob DynkoGreg EwaldJ.C. and Elizabeth FaulknerBeth and Jonathan FeitCurt and Sara FochtmannJoyce Staley FordJohn R. GeorgiusIn Memory of Judy GerhartAnne and George GoodyearMrs. Charles L. GraceRebecca and Carl GuidicePamela G. Hanna, M.D.Ned and Ellen HardisonBlaine and Robin HawkinsMr. and Mrs. Mark HawleyTim and Carolyn HiltonDr. and Mrs. Alex HorchakJim and Peggy Hynes

Lynn JeffreyTom and Michelle JohnsonPatti JulliardMr. and Mrs. Graeme M. KeithVirginia A. KernMary Jean and Howard L. KushnerJanice S. LadleyBeverly and John LassiterJames LedbetterThe Leon Levine Foundation -Sandra and Leon LevineDr. Shannon Moran and Mr. Joseph LovalloDavid MarkoskiGary and Jill MaxwellJane and Hugh McCollT. Bragg and Betsy McLeodMr. Edwin McMahanElsa and Joseph McNamaraAngie MedlinMarie MitchellDaniel NanceEd and Jill NewmanJanet and Peter NixonMadison O’KaneLarry and Dale PolskyMr. and Mrs. John R. Prince IIIJim PutnamSally and Russell RobinsonLisa and Robert RollinsWilliam R. RollinsCarla and Ed RoseKen RothmelRobert and Janie RussellIn Memory of Larisa SamoylovMr. and Mrs. Jason C. SchmidlyDale and Mary Sedivec

Dr. and Mrs. Robert SeymourMr. and Mrs. Charles M. Shelton, Sr.Peggy and Pope ShufordThe Marc and Mattye Silverman FoundationTom and Sherry SkainsMr. and Mrs. Marsh SpencerWalter and Ingrid SteeleDia and Paul SteigerMs. Donita StewartJohn D. and Patricia E. StewartRobert and Ann StolzMr. and Mrs. Jack H. ThomasDavid ThomasonMeredith and Jim ThompsonEllen and Ron VilasGreg and Sandy VlahosLin and DP WashburnLinda and Rex WeltonJill WheelockMary Ellen and Reid WilkersonMr. and Mrs. Richard T. “Stick” WilliamsBill and Pat WilliamsonEric and Jean WilsonRip and Cathey WinfieldSteve V. and Vicki WorthyGillian Albinski and Douglas YoungStephen C. Young

Producer’s circle members

Contributions received August 1, 2010 to August 31,2011

Producer’s Circle Members Barbara and David Goodman.


corPorate partnersThe Blumenthal recognizes the following major donors, corporate partners for their generous support.

Best Impressions, Inc. is a Charlotte, NC catering firm founded in 1989 by owner Dave Byron and operates with three distinct catering divisions: Best Impressions Caterers, The Grill & Picnic Company and Byron’s South End. Best Impressions Caterers provides culinary services for a wide range of elegant corporate, philanthropic, and social events; while The Grill & Picnic Company is designed to handle large-scale company picnics, backyard gatherings, and social events on a more casual basis. Byron’s South End is their 4,700 square foot banquet facility located in Historic South End. Blumenthal appreciates their commitment to providing fresh, innovative cuisine, beautiful presentations and impeccable service.

The Great ImpressionChima Brazilian Steakhouse is a welcomed addition to our

Preferred Dining Partner status. Dining at Chima is a one-of-a-kind experience and the perfect place for a pre-show dinner. When asked about their partnership, Hila Johnson, Chima’s Sales and Marketing Manager said, “Our partnership with the Blumenthal Performing Arts is a good fit because together we provide theater patrons with a full night of entertainment”. Chima offers authentic Brazilian and American favorites with a delicious salad bar and 17 cuts of meat served table side by gauchos. Chima is conveniently located on the corner of 4th and Tryon, just a short walk from the Uptown theaters.

Chima: A One of a Kind Dining Experience

chairman, ceo, Presidential partnersleadershiP gift

signature gift

maJor gifts

2011/12 Broadway Lights Series Sponsor

Official Healthcare Provider of Blumenthal Performing Arts

Preferred Caterer of Blumenthal Performing Arts

Preferred Snack Food Provider of Blumenthal Performing Arts

Preferred Dining Partner of Blumenthal Performing Arts

foundation giftsthe Doctor familY founDation

Education Programs and Student Scholarships

The Arts & Science Council supports Blumenthal Performing Arts’ 2012 Fiscal Year budget with a Basic Operating Grant in the amount of $345,401.

Blumenthal Performing Arts receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

Preferred Dining Partner of Blumenthal Performing Arts

Blumenthal Performing Arts’ Fall 2011 Corporate Campaign got under way Tuesday, September 13 and will culminate Tuesday, December 6. Elizabeth Austin, Vice President

of IT Operations and Infrastructure at Family Dollar Stores, Inc., is chairing this year’s campaign. With 34 solicitors, the Corporate Campaign raises funds that enable Blumenthal to achieve its mission of presenting the best in the performing arts, strengthening education, and building community cohesiveness and advancing economic growth.

2011 Corporate Campaign


Directing partnersCadwaladerRodgers Builders

executive partnersAlston & Bird, LLPBrixx - UptownFamily Dollar StoreFifth Third Bank, NCHubbell Consulting, LLCHunton & Williams, LLPInterCon Building CorporationKPMG LLPKing & SpaldingMidrex Technologies, Inc.NUCORParker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLPShaw GroupSteelFab, Inc.

managing partnersAreva NP Inc.BB&TBelk, Inc.C design Inc.Carolina TractorCharlotte Pipe and FoundryClariantDirect Source, Inc.Imperial PrintingInternetwork Services Inc.Jack and Jill of America Foundation, Inc.Lincoln HarrisMcGrann Paper Corporation

McGuireWoods, LLPModular DesignsMorningstar Mini-StorageNASCAR Media GroupNorth Highland CompanyPreferred ElectricRobert W. Baird & Company, Inc.RSM McGladreyRobinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A.Stewart Engineering, Inc.ToshibaUnited Mechanical CorporationW. B. Moore Company of Charlotte, Inc.

associate partnersAbsolute Fire ControlAcoustics IncorporatedAshley Furniture HomeStoreAster Group CorporationB.E. Holbrooks Co., Inc.Bailiwick Data Systems, Inc.C.M. Steel, Inc.Carousel Capital CompanyCarroll Financial Associates, Inc.Charlotte Engineers LLPChicago Title Insurance CompanyChildress Klein PropertiesChoate Construction Co.Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated

Collins and Wright Inc.Commercial Defeasance LLC Design Strategies LLCDixon Hughes PLLCE.F. Belk & Son, Inc.Ec,a Architecture, PCElm EngineeringForsythe Solutions Group, Inc.Galvan Industries, Inc.Garmon & Co., Inc. Commerical FlooringHendrick Construction, Inc.Herlocker Mechanical Systems, Inc.High Performance Technologies, Inc.HITACHI Data SystemsHood Hargett & AssociatesHoopaugh Grading Co., LLCIKON Office SystemsKBR Building GroupKDCKeith CorporationKingGuinn Associates, P.A.LITTLEMarsh PropertiesMartin Marietta MaterialsMCC Mechanical, LLCMcCombs Steel Company, Inc.McNeary, Inc.Mechanical Contractors, Inc.Mooresville Glass and MirrorMV Momentum ConstructionMyers & Chapman, Inc.NASCAR FoundationNorth Carolina Bank and Trust

PinPoint Safety, LLCReznick Group, P.C.Robert Pittenger CompanyRogers Unloading ServiceSchindler Elevator Corp.Security Forces, Inc.Signature ConsultantsSprintStaley Inc.Sun Belt Office & Data Suppliers, Inc.Tandus FlooringThe Title Company of North CarolinaToler, Bly & Associates, CPA, PLLCTropical Nut & Fruit Inc.Velligan Medical ServicesWarco Construction, Inc.White Knight Engineered ProductsWillis

Contributions received August 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011

corPorate Partners continued

restaurant/hosPitalitY partners

435 S. Tryon St., Suite 180 Charlotte, NC 28202

704.377.9911aquavina.com

100 N. Tryon St.Charlotte, NC 28202

704.376.8880ariacharlotte.com

Hearst Tower (Corner of 5th & College St.)Charlotte, NC 28202

704.927.2583 bluerestaurantandbar.com

201 N. Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202

704.348.1400thecapitalgrille.com

6903 Phillips Place Ct.Charlotte, NC 28210

704.643.1664deandeluca.com


704.332.4141dunhillhotel.com


newks.com


704.334.2739rockbottomsouth.com

10722 Carmel Commons Blvd. Suite 420Charlotte, NC 28226

704.622.9944silverfoxlimos.com

400 S. Tryon St., Suite M-1Charlotte, NC 28285

704.332.5521uptowncateringco.com

onstageFall 2011

Blumenthal performing arts130 N. Tryon St.Charlotte, NC 28202

TICKETS ON SALE NOVEMBER 4!BlumenthalArts.com • 704-372-1000

Groups (20+): 704-379-1380

FEBRUARY 22 – MARCH 11

Phot

o: Ch

ris C

allis

JerseyBoysTour.com

WORKING OUR WAYWORKING OUR WAYBACK TO YOU!BACK TO YOU!

Returning to Charlotte this February.

OnStage

Documents

Transcript of OnStage