REAGLE MUSIC THEATRE TO COLLECT TOYS
NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATED MATERIAL, December 3-11, 2011
CONTACT: JAN NARGI
jan@reaglemusictheatre.org
617-962-4127
REAGLE MUSIC THEATRE TO COLLECT TOYS FOR WALTHAM HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENT SANTA PROGRAM AT “CHRISTMAS TIME” DECEMBER 3-11
Patrons May Donate Toys in the Robinson Theatre Lobby Prior to Each Performance
WALTHAM – Once again Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston will be collecting toys for the Waltham High School Student Santa Program at each performance of “Christmas Time” December 3 through 11. Patrons wishing to donate are asked to bring new, unwrapped toys suitable for boys and girls ages 6 months to 10 years. Students from Waltham High School will be present to collect donations in the Robinson Theatre lobby before each show.
The Student Santa program annually collects toys for more than 300 children living in Waltham. High school students collect, wrap, and distribute the toys, assigning them according to age and gender appropriateness. According to Stephen Goodwin, one of the faculty organizers of the program, a variety of affordable toys rather than one expensive item are desired so that each child may receive multiple gifts on Christmas day.
“We are thrilled that Reagle Music Theatre is joining in our effort again this year to provide toys for economically challenged families,” says Goodwin. “Each year nearly 10,000 people attend ‘Christmas Time.’ If just one percent of those audience members bring toys, that’s another 100 children who can share in the joy of the season.”
This year the Student Santa program will be collecting toys beginning the weekend after Thanksgiving through December 21. Donations may also be dropped off at the Main Office of Waltham High School during school hours.
“Christmas Time” performs Saturdays, December 3 and 10, and Sunday, December 4, at 1 and 5 p.m.; Friday, December 9, at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, December 11 at 1:00 p.m. The RobinsonTheatre is located at 617 Lexington Street, Waltham.
Tickets are available in person at the Reagle Music Theatre Box Office, by calling 781-891-5600, or online at www.reaglemusictheatre.org. Box Office hours are Mondays through Fridays 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and performance days 9 a.m. to curtain.
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For immediate release Contact Dan Lombardo
413-336-0764
Lombardo.what@gmail.com
To attend WHAT Lab’s next reading on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 pm., please call the box office at 508-349-9428 or go online at www.what.org for tickets. (Suggested donation: $8). Visit www.what.org for a full schedule of WHAT Lab presentations.
WHAT Lab launches its third season on Nov. 19-20
Features readings from alumni of the Boston Arts Academy
Winter is arriving, but it’s still hot at WHAT.
Its innovative Lab is entering its third year of cultivating cutting-edge theater by opening its doors to new playwrights. Last year, one of eight experimental scripts emerged from the Lab to be a featured play - The Ding Dongs, or What is the Penalty in Portugal - at WHAT’s Harbor Stage this summer.
Another of last year’s scripts appears headed for WHAT’s Harbor Stage next summer. “This one’s a musical called The Consequences, and it’s a new fresh treatment that is something like a rock and roll Fantasticks,” says Dan Lombardo, WHAT Lab’s director and the newly announced artistic director of the Harbor Stage.
“The Consequences, written and composed by Kyle Jarrow and Nathan Leigh, is a love story with a Janis Joplin touch. It’s packed with raucous rockers, as well as ballads. It’s a young, bright, exciting show that has you leaving the theater humming its melodies,” says Lombardo. Ripped apart when they were teenagers, Ellie and Jeremy are thrust into each other's lives 10 years later and are forced to discover if maybe they're meant to be together after all. It theme is universal – about the road not taken, dreams not followed, and whether you can start over again.
“This season, the WHAT Lab begins with a November 19 and 20 visit by the TC Squared Theater Company, which will feature new works written and performed by Boston Arts Academy alumni,” said Lombardo.
A public reading is scheduled at WHAT’s Julie Harris Stage at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.
“This month, we will be hosting a broad representation of playwrights from Provincetown and Boston, as well as from the Dominican Republic, Africa and Asia,” said Lombardo. “They all are graduates of the Boston Arts Academy. We anticipate a very wide diversity of works to share with our audience on the 20th.””
Lombardo has volunteered most of his time – and even contributed his own money – to help finance the three-year-old venture. WHAT’s dramaturg, he is a frequent director on its stage and others such as the American Stage Theater. His work as a dramaturg/research consultant in television and film includes The Irish (a PBS series), The Belle of Amherst (with Claire Bloom for ITV, England), Malice (with Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman),Voices and Visions (a 13;part PBS series), The Afterglow (with Burgess Meredith), and several Florentine Films documentaries. Lombardo has appeared in films on PBS and on BBC TV, including Loaded Gun (with Julie Harris), and a BBC film about literary forgery. He also has authored 10 books, including the new Cape Cod National Seashore: The First 50 Years.
This month, he was named artistic director of WHAT’s Harbor Theater, located by the town pier. “We are returning to our radical roots at the Harbor,” said Lombardo. “This way, we not only nourish WHAT’s quarter-century of cutting edge theater, but also distinguish ourselves from the larger Julie Harris Stage, which is becoming a year-round performing arts center for the Lower and Outer Cape.”
“This makes WHAT Lab even more critical to our future, since it represents a well-spring of innovation and new talent that we can share with our summer audiences as part of our blend of offerings at the Harbor Stage,” said Lombardo.
As with most things at WHAT, the Lab started on a shoestring. “We had to hire actors to work with the playwrights and directors; we also have had to house everyone. We are seeking grants constantly, but the Lab so far has depended on the generosity of donors,” explained Lombardo.
Beyond funds, the Lab has benefitted from an advisory group of other artistic directors from New York to Amherst to Minneapolis, which has generously contributed counsel and feedback, Lombardo noted. They represent many new perspectives – from feminist to Latino.
Why conduct the WHAT Lab?
“It’s part of our shared mission to be at the forefront of regional, professional theater,” explained Lombardo. “It helps us remain cutting-edge and creative. It’s what we have done for more than 25 years.
“There is very little that is more rewarding than discovering new talent for the theater, whether it is a young playwright, actor or composer,” he said. “The fact that we can do it here in Wellfleet, even in the middle of the winter, contributes to the cultural quality of life of the Lower and Outer Cape – especially when we can share our work with our neighbors now, and visitors next summer”
“Most theaters don’t have the luxury of putting on brand new shows and developing new talent,” he noted. “But because we have the 90-seat Harbor Stage, which has low overhead, we can take more chances. Hopefully, next summer, the risks will be rewarded for our audiences’ benefit.”
