A Classic Theatre presents “Sweet Emmaline – the Musical Journey of Debbie McDade” from May 8th to the 12th. Sponsored by Romanza St. Augustine, the show tells the story of Debbie McDade, born Emmaline Maultsby, who journeyed from her home in St. Augustine’s Lincolnville to New York City — the city she dreamed of as a child listening to the weekly radio broadcasts from The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. There she found a career on the stage, performing and touring as a vocalist with the likes of Earl “Fatha” Hines and Count Basie. Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille became friends, with Satchmo giving her the stage name Debbie Moore. She recorded an album aptly titled “My Kind of Blues” which captured her sweet and sassy style along with her signature whistling skills. The production features many of Debbie’s own compositions along with musical standards of the American songbook.
Category: Theater
A Facility for Living — March 4-26
“A Facility for Living” is a very funny dark comedy by Katie Forgette and directed by Margaret Kaler.
Joe Taylor, a retired actor, moves into a prison-turned-elder care facility shortly after the demise of Medicare and the election of Dick Cheney as President.
PG-13 (Adult themes and language.)
Gregory Bright (born 1954) is a New Orleans native who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1974 at the age of 20. He was sentenced to life without parole, served at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. After several years of appeals, Mr. Bright was granted a new trial in 2001 on the grounds that the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defense in his previous trial. On June 24, 2003, after 27 ½ years in prison for a crime they did not commit, Mr. Bright and Earl Truvia were both released after the Orleans Parish district attorney dismissed all charges. When Bright was released from prison, the State of Louisiana only provided a US$10 check and garbage bags full of legal paperwork.
Bright speaks around the country about his wrongful incarceration and life since prison. He can also be seen on HBO’s Tremé and TNT’s Memphis Beat.
Never Fight A Shark In Water: The Wrongful Conviction of Gregory Bright is an original dramatic production written by NOCCA Creative Writing Chair Lara Naughton. Never Fight a Shark in Water is based entirely on the words and recollections of Gregory Bright who spent 27 ½ years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The play, performed by Bright himself, tells the remarkable story of Bright’s wrongful conviction and exoneration, and explores the universal experiences of anger, forgiveness and compassion. It exposes the criminal justice system failures that lead to wrongful convictions and challenges us to rethink our understanding of freedom. St Augustine had the opportunity to see this play this last Friday (Feb. 12th) at the Ringhaver Student Center at Flagler in the Virginia Room, and First Coast.TV was there.
Lara Naughton has taught students K-12 as well as adults. As a writer and documentarian, she assists individuals who wish to tell their own stories, and has led writing workshops with people who have faced challenging circumstances including homelessness, HIV/AIDS, wrongful conviction, incarceration, and torture. Her writing has appeared in The Sun, Salon, and on stages across the country. Her one-man documentary stage play, Never Fight a Shark in Water, about the wrongful conviction of Gregory Bright, is currently being performed by Bright himself.
In The Grapes of Wrath a desperately proud, but reduced to poverty by the loss of their farm, the Joads pile their few possessions on a battered old truck and head west for California, hoping to find work and a better life.
Directed by Dave Alan Thomas
January 22 – February 14
“LOVE, LOSS and WHAT I WORE”
Proving that a great show is always in fashion, First Coast.TV got to speak the director of “LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE”, Anne Kraft. This international hit uses clothing and accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny and often poignant stories that all women can relate to, creating one of the most enduring theatergoing experiences.
The two performances are on Saturday January 23rd / 7:30pm &, Sunday January 24th / 2:00pm. All performances are at the Gamache-Koger Theatre in the Ringhaver Student Center of Flagler College at 50 Sevilla St., downtown St. Augustine. Tickets are $25 Adults. Tickets on sale now at www.aclassictheatre.org Reservations at aclassictheatre@hotmail.com
Lighthearted and witty, “LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE” is perfect for a girls night out, a mother-daughter outing, or even a date night. Some have called it a chick flick for the stage, and it’s a fair assessment. It has all of the qualities of a great chick flick: relatable characters, quotable comedy and the right amount of sentimental moments mixed in. A show about matters of the heart and matters of the closet! -The New York Times.
Don’t miss this tribute to the women in your lives… you’ll recognize them… and you’ll love them!
First Coast.TV has some words with the cast and director of Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
A couple struggles to produce a church Christmas pageant. They must cast the Herdman kids — the most inventively awful kids in history.
You won’t believe the mayhem!
Lee Weaver reprises “Piercing the Darkness.”
The definitive St. Augustine play at two venues
In the past year Lee Weaver has performed his “The Secret,” a play about The Spanish Inquisition, in the NYC Off-Broadway Fringe Festival; his movie on homelessness and PTSD, “The Box,” is now in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. In his most recent original play,“The Witness,” he portrays a self-confessed, former racist who tells the story of the Civil Rights Struggle in the 1960’s, particularly in St. Augustine. Many local engagements TBA. He has recently presented his Stand- Up comedy routine, “SRO,”and his “Story Weaver,” a collection of tales about “growing up.”
Now, Weaver is dusting off his St. Augustine Story (2012) – “Piercing the Darkness.” Weaver says it is the history of St. Augustine from Ponce to the Present day in which three Light Keepers (Weaver plays all three!) from our own St. Augustine Lighthouse give the “history lesson.” It is historically accurate, humor-laced and with its own music for a sing-along, “Come Up the Steps of the Lighthouse With Me.” He says, “folks laugh and learn at the same time.”
Playing in two different venues:
Nov. 14; 7:15 p.m. at DOS Coffee and Wine – 300 San Marco Ave. St. Aug. Order food and drink from the menu starting at 6 p.m. – Admission $15.
Nov. 21; 7:30 p.m. in The Cordoba Room at The Palencia Club; 600 Palencia Club Dr. St. Aug; Admission $20; Reservations: 904-687-8779.More info: LeeFWeaver@gmail.com
Sept. 18th – Oct. 18th 2015
Johnny Cash hits! In 38 musical numbers, a mosaic of American experience is pieced together in Ring of Fire!
First Coast.TV got to talk to some members of the cast.
CAST
- Amy Farmer as Trenna
- Britt Corry as Jason
- Rob Langston as David
- Michael Lagasse as Eddie
- Susan Roche as Sue
- Dakotah Roche as Cash the Dog
Directed by Beth Lambert
Musical direction by Shelli Long
“The Witness” was performed by playwright and actor Lee Weaver at the Saint Paul Church (A.M.E.) in Lincolnville this last Saturday evening. The church was packed and the audience was a mix of latinos, blacks and whites. The play had an impact on the audience and gave way to interesting dialogue after the end of the play.
This play by Christopher Durang focuses on Prudence and Bruce, two Manhattanites seeking stable romantic relationships with the help of their psychiatrists, each of whom suggests they place a personal ad. Their first meeting is disastrous and the two report back to their respective therapists – who are clearly more troubled than their patients!
Directed by Joe Kemper
Beyond Therapy cast:
Prudence: Caroline Brady
Bruce: Marc Anthony Toro
Bob: James “Dez” Desmond
Stuart: Jim Cadigan
Charlotte: Jessica Ferris
Andrew: Alex Metrakos