Peter Pan the Musical Closes August 23.  We’re nearing 4,000 audience members over the course of the 5+ week run – and we’re hoping to continue selling out all the way to the end!  Reviews have been spectacular, from all over the SF Bay Area and the theatre community.  Here are a few samples:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/richmond/detail?entry_id=44753

http://www.theaterdogs.net/

http://sfbaystyle.typepad.com/blog/2009/08/berkeley-playhouses-peter-pan-the-musical-takes-flight-at-the-ashby-stage.html

http://www.frog-mom.com/2009/07/peter-pan-musical-at-berkeley-playhouse.html

Read the Berkeley Daily Planet article about Urinetown, coming this weekend at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts.  You gotta go!

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-08-13/article/33496?headline=Playhouse-s-Youth-Perform-Urinetown-

Here are some recent stories and reviews about Berkeley Playhouse’s summer production, Peter Pan the Musical!

http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/07/theater-review-peter-pan-musical-sun-moon-stars-berkeley.html

http://www.insidebayarea.com/timesstar/localnews/ci_12902511

http://www.frog-mom.com/2009/07/peter-pan-musical-at-berkeley-playhouse.html 

http://www.berkeleydaily.org/issue/2009-07-16/article/33333?headline=Julia-Morgan-Center-Berkeley-Playhouse-Merge

Peter Pan is a hit!  Audiences left opening weekend performances raving about the last show in our 2008-2009 season.  Peter Pan the Musical is the largest, most complex show in our history, and it’s no wonder, with the beautiful aerial motivity, exciting fight choreography, amazing set design and brilliant performers, that the show is selling out.  All four shows during the opening weekend were sold-out, and there are only a few seats left next weekend.  Attached here are some photos by one of our resident photographers, Ralph Granich, from opening weekend.  Enjoy!  Oh, and get those tickets quick before it’s too late!  www.berkeleyplayhouse.org/tickets

Summer is our busiest time, believe it or not! While others are taking vacations, winding down, and relaxing, the Berkeley Playhouse team – teachers, designers, directors and staff – are working harder than ever. Of course, there is our summer professional production of Peter Pan the Musical which is loading into the Ashby Stage as I write this (and for which ticket sales have been amazing – some shows are sold-out already!). And summer camps are now in full-swing, with about 50 kids on-site this week and 20 additional added nearly every week between now and the end of summer. We’re also preparing to unveil our 2009-2010 season and subscription packages, which will include assigned seating in our new home, the Julia Morgan Center. And we’re getting ready to open sign-ups for fall classes on July 20. Oh, and did I mention the design and building of the new website, a new ticketing software system, and training a whole new corps of volunteers? I’m sure I left many things out.

Today I walked the campus and visited classrooms, where I saw Casi Maggio’s 6 and 7-year olds singing “I Gotta Crow” with gusto–like they were born to sing and dance. And I saw Matthew Graham Smith teaching our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in Laura and Fuz’s class professional fight choreography techniques. It reminded me that we offer something special here.

Our teachers and staff are the best at what they do. And our kids will gain skills and experiences that they’ll carry with them throughout their lives.

As busy as we are, I also take pride knowing that everyone on our team loves what we do.

Enjoy these photos from the summer camp fight choreography instruction.  And Happy Fourth of July!

-jerry

Welcome to the BP Blog, our way of taking our community of friends and supporters behind the scenes! Please visit this blog site often, and if you’re interested in contributing to it, let us know. We’d love to hear from our teachers, parents, actors and technicians about their personal experience with our programs.

Coming in August, a brand new Berkeley Playhouse website, with many new bells and whistles as well as a beautiful, user-friendly design.

Looking forward to getting to know all of you better in the months and years ahead as we continue to grow our programs and bring the magic of live theatre to more and more children and families here in the East Bay!

-jerry

Bubblegum Pie

In children’s theatre there’s a lot of distraction and noise, but professionals are completely different. They’re even louder!

The real difference between youth and adult is patience. Young people are pretty stubborn and don’t like a lot of waiting… which just happens to be a great part of theatre. So you’ll often see young actors getting frustrated quickly and just giving up, but the real biz will have none of it.

Today was the last day of aerial, which was a bit of a disappointment for all of us. We’d all assumed that the classes would continue over the next two weeks, meeting Wednesdays and Mondays, but turns out this was the final class.

There’s such a range of experience/skill in the group that there’s obviously a bit of frustration paired with it. Today, I finally managed to do half a pullover, a somewhat simple move where you throw your body over the second bar and pull yourself onto your hips.

The summer production of Peter Pan the Musical at Berkeley Playhouse uses a beautiful artform called “aerial motivity.” It is a combination of aerial dance, acrobatics, and trapeze techniques. Recently, one of our talented designers, Mathew Graham Smith, took his camera to rehearsal and captured some silly moments from our youth company members (most of whom play “lost boys” in the show) on the slings and trapeze equipment at Studio 12 – our rehearsal space in West Berkeley.

Week two of rehearsals, and the cast is really getting to know one another. Sweet Alona, who we have found can basically do anything, drew all the youth characters pictures today. Here are ours. Sachi and I are playing the “Lost Boy” twins, which has been pretty fun. Today, we were preparing to rehearse fighting off some pirates, and got makeshift weapons from the props cupboard. Sachi and I were stuck with a pair of giant utensils, me with the spoon and Sachi with the fork. This inspired us to scream, “We eat pirates for breakfast!”

We had quite the time in rehearsal practicing the a scene. When our cast was captured by the pirates for the first time, the ruckus drove Myla (our stage manager) insane. Being the youngest, we’re often blamed for any noise or mess in the space, even when it’s very often the adults who are the perpetrators!

When we rehearsed going to the top of the bungalow, Gabriel (Hook) would yell, “Merry Christmas!” or a similar nonsensical comment as his pirate cronies captured us. As the lost boys giggled back, Myla would tell us to be quiet, saying she’d take away our “weapons.” When she realized it was the big guys making all the noise, she threatened to take away their “weapons”, to which Gabriel responded, “I’d like to see you try!”

When we were tied up and gagged, the pirates circled us with their Styrofoam swords, tickling our chins and, quite literally, poking fun.

A particularly hilarious actor to watch is Jimmy. He plays Noodler, the lovable, bumbling and ill-coordinated pirate, who just can’t seem to get anything right. Noodler has absolutely no sense of pitch, let alone timing and is never looking where he’s supposed to be. So, under his “watch,” three indian warriors manage to escape the pirates with the help of the animals.

         Gabriel’s Hook is also great, lovable and menacing. I can never quite decide whether to run up and hug him, or run away and hide! Once Gabriel hits the stage, he’s Hook through and through. Whenever the director’s are conferring, Gabriel will always be swaggering about, contorting his face in Hook-like expressions, or singing popular 80’s hits in a pirate’s bellow with Megan, our local rhythm master.