—Linda York, Tabard subscriber & donor
Elvis Has Left the Building—Sept. 21–Oct. 14, 2012
South Bay Premiere
Tabard's season gets off to a rollicking start with ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING, featuring some of The King's unforgettable music. The screwball comedy by mother/son playwrights Virginia Cate and Duke Ernsberger (authors of the similarly whacky Don't Cry for Me, Margaret Mitchell) takes an off-the-wall look at a true incident: In 1970 Elvis not only left the building but really did disappear for three days off the radar of his overbearing manager, Col. Tom Parker.
Come early to get in your "Blue Suede Shoes" mood by participating in or enjoying a lively "Karaoke Elvis" session as volunteer audience members croon and gyrate to The King's music.
It gets wild and whacky faster than the Lisa Marie (Elvis' jet) could make a deep-fried peanut butter and banana sandwich run from Memphis to Denver.—Bristol Herald Courrier
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Designated Charity for Elvis Has Left the Building:  Arts Angels placing arts mentors in local schools |
Trying— November 2–18, 2012
San Jose Premiere
Download the TRYING program and
an Interview with Joanna McClelland Glass
(PDFs).
Heartfelt, humorous, and very human, TRYING is Joanna McClelland Glass' award-winning play based on her experiences as the 25-year-old personal assistant to retired statesman Francis Biddle in 1967–68. Biddle—personal secretary to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, attorney general under FDR and chief American judge at the Nuremberg war crimes trials—is a patrician octogenarian determined to intimidate yet another of the secretaries his wife has hired to help him put his things in order and write his memoirs. In failing health but still fiercely stubborn about everything from grammar to furniture placement, Biddle finds his latest assistant to be a plain-spoken girl from the Canadian prairie whose intelligence and quiet resolve are a match for his prickly, faltering genius. As the two struggle to find common ground and get the job done, they overcome class and age differences and reach an awkward but eventually harmonious place of mutual respect. Kurt Gravenhorst and Alexandra Bogorad star in this touching tour-deforce. Cathy Spielberger Cassetta will direct.
A collision of ideas, politics, ages and personalities.
— The San Diego Union-Tribune
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Designated Charity for |
Big Band Christmas Surprise!— Nov. 30–Dec. 16, 2012
Featuring
Sing and sway the Santa way!
Celebrate the holidays with fabulous arrangements of classic and new holiday tunes done up Big Band style. Each performance features surprise guest singers and a local celebrity to share a holiday moment. Directed by Gus Kambeitz. PLUS a surprise local celebrity guest and singers every show!
Each performance is a different show! — Gus Kambeitz
Looking Over the President's Shoulder— Feb. 8–24, 2013
Bay Area Premiere
Times certainly have changed. It used to be
that the only way for an African-American to
get into the Oval Office was as part of "the
help." Today, one resides there as Chief
Executive. During Black History Month in 2013,
Tabard presents LOOKING OVER THE
PRESIDENT'S SHOULDER, James Still's play based on the memoirs of Alonzo
Fields, who served four administrations as chief butler at the White House.
Elegant, educated, and classically trained as a musician, Fields wanted only to
become an opera singer—but the Great Depression intervened. In 1931 he took
what he thought would be a temporary position to support his family—but he
stayed on and thrived for 21 years observing the upstairs/downstairs residencies
of the Hoovers, Roosevelts, Trumans, and Eisenhowers, as well as guests such
as Winston Churchill, Marian Anderson (Fields's idol), and Errol Flynn. Economic
turmoil, war, and social and racial unrest are acknowledged—from the
perspective of a man who oversaw the most prestigious address in America. LOOKING OVER THE PRESIDENT'S SHOULDER stars Tabard favorite James
Creer as Alonzo Fields and is directed by Tabard Associate Artistic Director
Doug Baird, who previously directed Creer in the company's acclaimed
production of Driving Miss Daisy.
Ample insights, some hilarious, others poignant."
— Metro Weekly, Washington, D.C.
Starring James Creer
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Babes in Hollywood — April 12–May 5, 2013
Download the Babes in Hollywood program here (PDF).
Tabard's 2012–2013 mainstage season concludes with BABES IN HOLLYWOOD, a fond look back at the music and lives of legendary stars Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. "Hey, kids: Let's put on a show!" And, boy, did they ever! Few youngsters in Hollywood went on to have the amazing careers that Garland and Rooney enjoyed—but, of course, it all included its fair share of heartbreak. Young Judy and Mickey—and sadder but wiser older Judy and Mickey—are depicted in this revue with honesty but affection. Songs performed include the glories of the golden days of MGM: Babes in Arms, Over the Rainbow, Strike Up the Band, I'm in the Mood for Love, I've Got Rhythm and many more. Directed and choreographed by Dorene O'Malley, with music direction from Karen Adkins, this is a supremely entertaining way to bring the curtain down on Tabard's truly winsome and winning season. And with a nod to how Garland and Rooney got their start as child stars, Tabard will invite real kids from local music and dance schools to put on a show before each show.
Adding more excitement to the lineup for Tabard's 12th season is a salute to the songs of the Bay Area's favorite son, the legendary Tony Bennett. A limited engagement, but "you'll wanna be around...."
Sweetly evocative and enormously entertaining. Broadwayworld.com Nashville
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Designated Charity for
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