The Aurora Fox and Stapleton MCA present
 Hairspray – the Musical AT STAPLETON’s FOUNDERS GREEN (just east of Quebec on 29th)
May 31, June 1, June 7 and June 8, 2013 at 7pm

 Join us on the lawn at Stapleton’s Founders Green (just East of Quebec on 29th) for this Tony Award-winning Musical based on the John Waters film.  

In 1962 Baltimore, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad is obsessed with The Corny Collins Show and one of its dancers, Link Larkin.

Though rejected at auditions, when Tracey shows off some wicked moves at the Sophomore Hop, Corny Colins gives her a place on the show. Tracey is soon launched to stardom, but can’t stand that the show won’t allow integration and does everything in her power to make it happen. 

Admission is FREE. Just bring a blanket and your best pals, and enjoy the show!

Vintage Theatre presents
RFK – A Portrait of Robert Kennedy by Jack Holmes
May 31 – June 23, 2013

In the Fox Studio Theatre

This tour-de-force one-man show breathes new life into the backstory of the Kennedy family.  RFK creates a very human portrait of a politician and revisits some of the darker moments in U.S. History.   Author Jack Holmes expands the well-known facts of a politician’s life into a stirring metaphor for the struggle to believe in our government and our leaders.

 Purchase tickets through the Vintage Theatre Box Office online or call 303-856-7830.

Athena Project presents
Tell Martha Not to Moan by Clinnesha D. Sibley
July 5 – 21, 2013 

In the Fox Studio Theatre

Tell Martha Not to Moan takes place in a family home in Detroit, 2007. As the presidential election campaign plays out on the national stage and the 40th Commemoration of the Detroit Riot is marked, a series of memories takes us on a unique and personal journey with a devoted and desolate elderly couple. With compelling dialogue and complex relationships, Tell Martha Not to Moan is a glimpse into the changing world as viewed from one African American home.

Scripts that we are excited about and that might be a good fit for The Fox make it into our Staged Reading Series. From there, the producer decides if it’s something the Fox should produce in an upcoming season.

Read and Rant scripts that have gone into full production so far include Wooden Snowflakes and Consider the Oyster.

Interested? Contact Angela Astle, our Literary Manager: aastle@aurorafoxartscenter.org

UPCOMING STAGED READINGS:

Cheese (a pungent new comedy) by Laurel Ollstein
April 29, 2013

Love/Sick (a collection of small sad and (hopefully) hilarious plays) by John Cariani
June 3, 2013

Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith by Yussef El Guindi
August 26, 2013

Beets by Rick Padden
October 21, 2013

Scenery is flowing out of the shop – the Godspell roller coaster, Harpo’s Juke Joint, dozens of cabaret tables and a huge pile of rusty old shovels (I have no idea what they are for).

Sound engineers are stringing cables, workers are setting up extra dressing rooms in every corner of the building.

And if that is not enough, Leadership Aurora is nearing completion on new seating risers for the Studio (to be debuted in the Fall).

This is a great time to work at the Fox and a great time to be in the Aurora Cultural Arts District. You have got to be here April 12^th to catch the opening of The Color Purple or Cabaret. Meet everybody at the party onstage after the shows!

Charles Packard
Executive Producer

For the full newsletter, click here.

A whole lotta auditions coming up:

• Metamorphoses – our 29th Season Opener in the Fox Studio
• Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – just in time for Halloween!

Men, women, young adults, kids….  Check out all the opportunities!

Book by Marsha Norman
Music and Lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray
And the Warner Bros./Amblin Entertainment Motion Picture

April 12 – May 12, 2013

The Color Purple is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world.

The musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (and the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film) spotlights Celie, a downtrodden young woman whose personal awakening over the course of 40 years forms the arc of this epic story.

With a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music and blues, The Color Purple is a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love and a celebration of life. With a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, The Color Purple premiered at the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia and opened on Broadway on November 1, 2005. It was nominated for eleven 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score.

I remember summers in the 70′s, riding bikes and running around barefoot. My mom was at home. But it’s not like that anymore for a lot of families. Maya and I both keep working full+ time in the summer. We would love to stay home but that’s just not a viable option for us. So we struggle to find a balance of daycare and activities, plain old fun stuff mixed with things to keep them actively learning (and that we can afford).

 Ok, now I am really panicking.  

 My kids are not actors but maybe yours are. We have ½  day summer camps in June and July and auditions for the summer kids shows are in April. If they get cast they’ll hang out at The Fox for over 100 hours and you’ll pay just $50.

 Our camps are priced low to fit most people’s limited budgets. It’s a great way to keep kids’ imaginations working even when they can’t run around barefoot in the street chasing bugs.

 4^th of July is just around the corner! Did I mention I’m panicking?!

Charles Packard
Executive Producer

Click here for the full newsletter

I had a great treat this week when Lindsay invited me into Consider the Oyster rehearsals to stage the moment when Gene snaps his femur while celebrating a Super Bowl victory.  It’s a tricky moment early in the show. Ben Dicke plays Gene — you might remember Ben as the guy who was seriously injured at the Fox last fall. We had some laughs at his expense while we were building the prop cast.  It is true that all comedy comes from tragedy.

You’ll see lots of familiar artists working on this show: Rhonda Brown, (Picasso, Amateur Night at the Big Heart) Ben Dicke (Wedding Singer, Skin of our Teeth) and you’ll recognize Jude Moran (Rashomon, K2) but it might be the first time you’ve seen him smile. Veteran Shannon McKinney designed the lights for this show and Bev Newcomb-Madden is the glue that holds them all together; she is directing her 8 millionth show at the Fox. Thank you, everyone. 

Charles Packard
Executive Producer

Click here for the full newsletter.

Winner of 12 Tony Awards and 8 Academy Awards, this musical from the creators of Chicago and Kiss of the Spider Woman brings to life the decadence of 1930′s Berlin, beckoning the audience into the Kit Kat Klub on the eve of Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. Defiant and melancholy, brazen and gleeful, Ignites production will sizzle and provoke you. Join Matt LaFontaine as the Emcee as he beckons you to “leave your troubles outside”, and experience the steamy, seedy world of Ignite Theatre’s Cabaret.

Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2:30 pm
Industry Night – Monday, April 15 at 7:30 pm

Purchase CABARET tickets here: Ignite Box Office