— by Jennifer Leigh — The beginning of the fall season means you can soon enough go for a short walk without breaking a sweat, pumpkins will replace pineapples and Pensacola’s arts scene gets kicked up a notch. Not every city is lucky enough to have a quality community theatre, symphony orchestra, ballet company and opera house and yet, Pensacola has all four. And just to make your life a little easier, here’s a breakdown of the upcoming performances in the 2014-2015 season. You might not catch all of the shows you’d like, but we urge you to try something new you haven’t seen or heard before— you’ll be glad you did.
Photo by Samantha Crooke, Model Kayla Bartlett September 4, 2014
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Pensacola Little Theatre The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Oct. 27-31 The PLT’s tribute to the early ‘70s musicalturned-cult-film is a staple on the season calendar. The screenplay is a humorous take on science fiction and horror B movies.
Remembering Larry Butler
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usicals, comedies, dramas, improv—it’s all in the mix at Pensacola Little Theatre. The community run, non-profit theatre not only provides entertainment, but is the stomping ground for locals who have a passion for the performing arts on and off stage.
SHOWS
Improvable Cause
Sept. 6 On the first Saturday of every month, watch local improv troupe, Improvable Cause create a little madness on stage with their unscripted monthly shows.
Nov. 6 A one-night celebration of the life and music of Grammy-award winning music producer and Pensacola native Larry Butler.
How I Learned to Drive
Nov. 7-9 & 13-15 From the PLT Studio 400 Productions, “How I Learned to Drive” follows the strained sexual relationship between Li’l Bit and her Uncle Peck. The show is rated R.
Hayley Heath
Josh Thomas
Frank and funny tales of motherhood told from four separate mothers.
Snow Queen
33 Variations
Heath, who has performed with Pensacola Children’s Chorus and Pensacola State College productions, said she loves to become new characters. “You get to do things you’d never get to do in real life,” she said.
Dec. 12-14 & 18-21 For fans of “Frozen,” this show adapts the Hans Christian Anderson classic tale of two best friends torn about by a mysterious snow queen.
Ordinary People
Jan. 16-18 & 22-24 The production is about a young man, his friends and family and the battles each is fighting. The story follows their relationships and survival.
The Last Night of Ballyhoo
Jan. 30-31 Feb. 1 & 5-8 Set in Atlanta in December of 1939, the story follows the city’s elitist German Jews and their concern for who is going to the social event of the season, while Hitler is invading Poland thousands of miles away.
Short Attention Span Theatre
Annie Get Your Gun
Sept. 12-14 and 18-21 Quite possibly one of the most recognizable musicals, the story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley, who was a sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.
24 Hour Theatre
Sept. 26-27 In this unique approach to theatre, five writerdirector teams will have 24 hours to produce a one-act play. You can audition or just check out the finish products. 212 1
May 15-17 & 21-24 Connections are made between a present-day mom coming to terms with her daughter and a 19th century composer coming to terms with his genius.
42nd Street
“My favorite part of theatre is forgetting about real life.” Josh Thomas
June 19-21 & 25-28 In this adaptation of the 1933 film musical, a young chorus girl gets the chance of a lifetime when she steps in to a starring role after the star breaks her leg.
Pippi Longstocking
July 10-12 & 17-19 Based on the popular children’s book character, the show takes a peak into the life of the red-head girl with the mismatched stockings.
Treasure Island
Feb. 13-15 & 19-21 A Valentine’s Day regular, “Short Attention Span Theatre” is six short plays about love, life and relationships.
Aug. 7-9 & 13-16 Sail to the South Seas with Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver and more swashbuckling pirates for the treasure hunt of a lifetime.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
MEET THE PERFORMERS
March 6-8 & 12-15 See the “Peanuts” comic strip come to life in this Broadway musical.
G.I. Jukebox
April 17-19 & 23-26 A nostalgic retrospective with harmonies straight from the big band and swing era.
MOMologues 2: Off to School May 1-3 & 7-9
Hayley Heath
Hayley Heath’s first performance with Pensacola Little Theatre was an ensemble dancer in a production of “Hairspray” two years ago. This year, she’s starting the theatre company’s calendar as the star of “Annie Get Your Gun.” “PLT is a very unique experience because you get all sorts of actors with different levels of experience,” said the University of West Florida acting student. “Some have just stepped on stage for the first time and some have been acting for 30, 40 and 50 years.”
Josh Thomas
Josh Thomas didn’t know he had a passion for acting until his high school drama teacher, Margie Timmons at Gulf Breeze High School, forced him on stage. Today he’s studying music theatre at University of West Florida. “My favorite part of theatre is forgetting about real life,” he said. “It’s like a destressor from the problems in real life.” Although Thomas credits himself as “the worst musical buff” ever, he does look forward to the classic productions. Some of his favorite performances to watch however take place in the same building, with the Ballet Pensacola. “The artistic director, Richard [Steinert] is fantastic,” Thomas said. “I love watching his choreography.”
PENSACOLA LITTLE THEATRE
WHERE: 400 S. Jefferson St. DETAILS: 434-0257 or pensacolalittletheatre.com TICKET TIP: Flexible subscription packages can be spread out among the season or used for one show.
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Ballet Pensacola Trajectory
Feb. 6-7 In a first-time collaboration with Artel Gallery, Steinert and Ballet Mistress Christine Duhon create choreographed works based on contemporary art.
Aladdin
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s the city’s only resident professional ballet company, Ballet Pensacola has some pretty serious pointe shoes to fill. With dedicated teachers and dancers, the company produces original performances that keep the community coming back for more each year.
SHOWS
The Headless Horseman
Oct. 3-4 & 10-11 The Ballet Pensacola season opens with the tale of a headless horseman, adapted from European folklore. The audience is invited to wear their best costumes for the performance.
Divas
Nov. 7-8 Female artists such as Madonna, Cher, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin will be the soundtrack to new choreography from Artistic Director Richard Steinert.
The Nutcracker
Dec. 19-21 No holiday season is complete without tickets to see Ballet Pensacola’s production of “The Nutcracker.”
March 20-21 & 27-28 The Ballet Pensacola season will close with the premiere of “Aladdin.” The production is described as a “tale of love, trickery and triumph.”
MEET THE PERFORMERS Kayla Bartlett
You might recognize Kayla Bartlett from her role as Clara in the 2011 and 2012 production of “The Nutcracker” among various other roles in the dancer’s three years with Ballet Pensacola. Dancing for almost 20 years, Bartlett says performing is her favorite part of being in a ballet company. “When you rehearse a ballet and work so much on portraying a character, it becomes a very intimate and magical experience to share with the audience,” said the principal dancer. Since coming to Pensacola from Texas, Bartlett said she enjoys being a part of a smaller company that gives her more opportunity to grow as a dancer. “In a bigger company, I would never be able to perform my dream roles,” she said.
Kayla Bartlett
Garret Poladian
Garrett Poladian
let Pensacola allows me to grow as a dancer and artist.” The performance Poladian is most looking forward to on the Ballet Pensacola agenda is its premiere of “Aladdin.” “It’s such a fun and light story that is for every age group,” he said. “But they’re all awesome.”
Garret Poladian isn’t afraid of the hard work that goes in to ballet—in fact, it’s his favorite aspect of the art form. “Everything about ballet is so specific and purposeful,” he said. “So much work and effort has to go in to every movement in order for you to obtain a position and the result is beautiful.” Poladian has been with Ballet Pensacola for a little over a year, but has about five years of dance training under his belt as well as a background in musical theatre. “I hope to just have a long future in arts and entertainment in general,” he said. “Bal-
“When you rehearse a ballet and work so much on portraying a character, it becomes a very intimate and magical experience to share with the audience.” Kayla Bartlett
BALLET PENSACOLA
WHERE: 400 S. Jefferson St. DETAILS: 432-9546 or balletpensacola.com TICKET TIP: Sponsor the non-profit organization for ticket discounts.
Pensacola Opera area while also showcasing local talent in grandiose productions that don’t skimp on drama.
SHOWS
Jukebox Gala
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inging, dancing, theatre—even the orchestra. It’s all included in a Pensacola Opera production. Each season brings accomplished actors to the September 4, 2014
Oct. 11 Be serenaded by Pensacola Opera professional opera stars while enjoying a fourcourse dinner for an experience like no other to kick off the season.
La Boheme
Jan. 23 & 25 Giacomo Puccini’s opera tells the story of
the fateful lives of a group of young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. The opera is based on a novel by Henri Murger.
Pirates of Penzance
March 13 & 15 The comic opera follows a pirate in love who was released from his apprentice-
ship to a group of pirates after turning 21. However, learning that his birthday falls on leap year, he finds himself having to serve the pirates for another 63 years. 13
Wehr said she is most looking forward to the company’s production of “La Boheme” this season as she will be singing the role of Musetta. The role is a long way from Wehr’s first discovery of music singing along to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute for Kids” in kindergarten. “I first learned the role as during my time at Louisiana State University and the opportunity to revisit this role in an opera I love with Pensacola Opera is like a dream come true to me.”
“Opera is everything.” Eliza Bonet MEET THE PERFORMERS Eliza Bonet
Initially Eliza Bonet wanted to pursue musical theatre. Thankfully however, a teacher told her she had more voice in her that she thought. “As a 15-year-old, it was very exciting,” Bonet said of discovering opera. “I never looked back.” Since then, Bonet has worked with Merola Opera program in San Francisco, Kentucky Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis to name a few. Coming to Pensacola, Bonet doesn’t just like the beach, but her opera family. “What do I enjoy most about performing with Pensacola Opera? Let me count the ways,” she said. “I have adored and respected my colleagues, the administration and the artistic team. And I have always
Eliza Bonet
Ariana Wehr
found Maestro Jerome Shannon an inspiring and exciting conductor to work with.” One of Bonet’s favorite aspects of the opera is sensory overload. “I believe opera is the culmination of several art forms,” she said. “It stimulates so many different parts of our brains and inspires so many corners of our soul. Opera is everything.”
Ariana Wehr
PENSACOLA OPERA
Coming from companies such as Nashville Opera, Opera Louisiane, DC Public Opera, Ariana Wehr is looking forward to her first season with Pensacola Opera. “This is a gem of a company that performs at the highest level of diversity of repertoire and is very interested in my development as a young artist,” Wehr said.
WHERE: 75 S. Tarragona St. DETAILS: 433-6737 or pensacolaopera.com TICKET TIP: Become a Friend of the Opera for special discounts and merchandise.
Pensacola Symphony Orchestra
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he Pensacola Symphony Orchestra has a long history, dating all the way back to 1926 when a group of locals joined forces to share their talent and passion of music. Almost 90 years later, classical music still has an audience as PSO shows continue to pack the Saenger Theatre with nationallyknown musical guests.
SHOWS
Opening Night!
Oct. 4 PSO kicks off the 2014-2015 performance year with well-known classic composers such as Mozart and Beethoven. Glenn Dicterow, acclaimed concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic for 34 years will be performing.
Clarinet Bel Canto
Nov. 8 The PSO will welcome Anthony McGill, who served as principal clarinet of the 414 1
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and has just been named principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic starting this month. The evening will feature works that showcase the clarinet such as Copland’s “Clarinet Concerto” and Donizetti’s “Concertino for Clarinet.”
ote” in a completely different way with two pieces. Scott Kluksdahl, professor of cello and chamber music from University of South Florida will be joining the PSO as a cellist.
Celebrate the New Year!
Russian Spectacular
Dec. 31 Violinist Lindsay Deutsch will join the orchestra in ringing in the New Year. Deutsch will come to Pensacola from the Cape Cod Symphony.
Beethoven & Blue Jeans
March 28 Experience works by Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev with special guest pianist Ilya Yakushev from Russia.
Jan. 10 One of the orchestra’s most popular events, this season’s Beethoven & Blue Jeans will feature trombonist Joseph Alessi. Alessi is the current principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as well as a recording artist.
Organ Symphony
Byron Stripling in Sounds of New Orleans: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong
MEET THE PERFORMERS
Feb. 14 From the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Byron Stripling will be joining PSO for a night of celebrating the American art form known as jazz.
Don Quixote
March 7 Experience the classic story of “Don Quix-
Jonathan Martin April 25 The dramatic sounds of the “It has exposed me to some music that organ keyboard will be featured in the PSO’s I had not played before such as ‘Rite of closing show featuring American composer Spring’ by Stravinsky,” he said. Kenneth Fuchs. Alongside PSO, Martin also plays with Perdido Brass. Performing with the orchestra, Martin has had the opportunity to place with wellJonathan Martin known musicians. Trumpet player Jonathan “Jazz saxophonist Chris Martin has been playing Vidala on New Year’s Eve was music for 43 years, 33 of a favorite and Bill Conti was them professionally. fun also,” he said. Performing for the Looking forward to the past few decades, Martin 2014-2015 PSO Season, says his favorite part about Martin has a difficult time playing music is getting to choosing a favorite. play various styles of music. “I’m excited for the entire season,” he Playing with Pensacola Symphony Orsaid. chestra he gets to do just that.
“I’m excited for the entire season.” Jonathan Martin
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in Music from University of Calgary in Canada. Performing as a violinist with Pensacola Symphony Orchestra since 2011, Goker said she loves to connect with the audience. “I love performing music because I can touch the people’s heart with my music and I think that is the most powerful thing in life,” she said. Goker especially likes to share the connection with her fellow musicians and with Maestro Peter Rubardt. “In PSO, we are like a big family and I love that we all want to carry our music for the next generations.”
PENSACOLA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Burcu Goker
Burcu Goker
Burcu Goker’s extensive study of music has led her around the world from Turkey, where she is from, to France, to New York City to Canada and Pensacola, where she became a permanent resident since last year. Playing the violin from an early age, Goker studied music at the Paris Dukas Conservatory, Julliard School and Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. She holds a master’s
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WHERE: 205 E. Zaragoza St. DETAILS: 435-2533 or pensacolasymphony.com
TICKET TIP: Become a new subscriber to Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and get 30 percent off ticket packages.
Gallery Hopping
n your cultural arts quest, don't forget to stop by the art galleries around Pensacola. Here's a few exhibitions to look forward to.
with fellow artists will present a piece that focuses on the transition from darkness to light, using music, dance and light-based sculptures.
PENSACOLA MUSEUM OF ART
ARTEL GALLERY WHERE: 223 S. Palafox DETAILS: 432-3080 or artelgallery.org
Guild Hall: An Adventure in the Arts Selections from the Permanent Collection of the Guild Hall Museum Oct. 4 to Jan. 4 Pieces from Chuck Close, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein will be represented.
Color in Freedom: Journey Along the Underground Railroad Feb. 6 to April 4 A collection of 49 works by painter and printmaker Joseph Holston depicting a piece of American history PENSACOLA MUSEUM OF ART WHERE: 407 S. Jefferson St. DETAILS: 432-6247 or pensacolamuseum.org
ARTEL GALLERY
Artel Goes to the Dogs
Sept. 26 This canine-centric art exhibition is also a fundraiser for Pensacola Humane Society
The Sunshine Cube Project
Feb. 22 Performance artist Chase Jones along September 4, 2014
BLUE MORNING GALLERY Touchable Art
Sept. 28 Most museum exhibits are hand-off, but with 3D pottery, wood and fused glass pieces, you can enjoy sensory overload. BLUE MORNING GALLERY WHERE: 21 S. Palafox DETAILS: 429-9100 or b luemorninggallery.com
512 GALLERY
With Eyes Wide Open— Portraits of the American Road
Sept. 21 Local photographer Megan Stewart shares shots of the 14,000 miles she traveled with her husband and friends this past spring. Stewart used several different cameras on the trip including Fuji Instax 210, Canon AE-1 and a few Polaroid cameras. 512 GALLERY WHERE: 512 E. Gadsden St. DETAILS: 261-0833 or facebook. com/512gallery 15