Playhouse Post Evita March 2015

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Tacoma, WA
Permit No. 1317
TACOMA MUSICAL PLAYHOUSE
7116 Sixth Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98406
253-565-6867
[email protected]
www.tmp.org
March
2015
VOLUME XVIII, ISSUE IV
TMP Box Office
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF TACOMA MUSICAL PLAYHOUSE
Tue ˗ Fri | 10AM ˗ 6PM
253-565-6867
Order Online
www.tmp.org
American Express
MasterCard
Visa
Proud Sponsor of
EVITA
What’s Playing at the Playhouse...
Tacoma Musical Playhouse’s fourth Mainstage
musical of the 2014/15 season is Evita. Winner of seven Tony Awards, and one of the
most popular collaborations between Andrew
Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
Enriching lives through the art form of musical theater!
Tacoma’s Award-Winning Musical Theater
Upcoming TMP Events—Save the Date!
May 6, 2015
11:30 AM
SPRING AUCTION &
LUNCHEON
A fun afternoon to meet new
people, lunch at La Quinta, in
Tacoma and have fun bidding
on various items that you
really need!
May 10, 2015
Sunday, 11:00 PM
MOTHER’S DAY
CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH
Celebrate Mother’s Day in style
at TMP with a lavish brunch and
wonderful entertainment.
May 10, 2015
Sunday, 7:00 PM
BEHIND THE CURTAIN!
BUDDY HOLLY STORY
Attend an entertaining, informative
and free preview presentation of
TMP’s upcoming production of The
Buddy Holly Story.
May 15 - June 7, 2015
BUDDY HOLLY STORY
The true story of Buddy’s meteoric rise to fame, from the
moment in 1957 when “That’ll
Be The Day” hit the airwaves
until his tragic death less than
two years later.
May 20, 2015
7:00 PM
SWING REUNION
ORCHESTRA
Big Band night featuring Tacoma’s own Swing Reunion Orchestra. Come hear your favorites:
Glen Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie,
Duke Ellington, among others.
June 19, 2015
Friday, 8:00PM
T-TOWN CABARET
Don’t miss out on this fun
event including a no-host bar,
appetizers and an incredible
evening of cabaret style entertainment.
June 20, 2015
Saturday, 8:00 PM
THE THREE LOUIES
Lance Buller presents The
Three Louies; Louie Armstrong, Louis Prima & Louis
Jordan.
July 5, 2015
Sunday, 7:00 PM
BEHIND THE CURTAIN!
WEST SIDE STORY
Attend an entertaining, informative and free preview presentation of TMP’s upcoming production of West Side Story.
July 10 - August 2, 2015
WEST SIDE STORY
When Tony goes to support
the Jets at a school dance he
meets Maria, the sister of the
Shark's leader, Bernardo, and
falls in love.
April 10 – May 3, 2015
Fridays & Saturdays | 8PM & Sundays | 2PM
&
Saturday Matinees
April 25 & May 2, 2015 | 2PM
About the Show
EVITA is both inspiring and tragic in that it
tells of Eva Peron’s unlikely rise from an Argentine slum, where she is the child of a single
mother—to her career as an ambitious actress—and ultimately to her securing a place in
the nation’s seat of power, the Presidential
Palace. There, the once destitute girl who has
become Argentina’s First Lady, wins the adoration of her people by displaying concern for
the poor and disadvantaged, despite her own
failing health. Eva’s inability to control her
greed and ambition, however, lends an overriding element of Greek tragedy to the story,
which nonetheless manages to work as a thoroughly absorbing musical.
About the Leads
ALENA MENEFEE (Evita)
Alena is a former Navy Band vocalist and lifelong performer turned student of speechlanguage pathology. While continuing her
studies at the University of Washington, she
sings in and coaches competitive a cappella
groups, and is learning to write and arrange
music. Evita is her fifth show at TMP, and she
is thrilled and humbled to be working with
such a fantastic cast and crew.
No service charges
for online or phone
orders.
RAFE WADLEIGH (Che Guevara) A music teach-
er at Holy Names Academy in Seattle, Rafe grew
up in a theater household, performing each summer
with his family in the summer stock company his
father founded at WSU. Past roles at TMP include
Nine (Guido Contini), Guys & Dolls (Skye Masterson), She Loves Me (Kodaly) and South Pacific
(Emile).
JONATHAN BILL (Juan Peron)
Jonathan a high school teacher, is enjoying his second
show at TMP, previously appearing in The Sound Of
Music (Capt. Von Trapp). Other favorite roles in the
last several years include Spamalot (King Arthur), The
Drowsy Chaperone (Aldolpho), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Lawrence), and The Odd Couple (Oscar).
TMP’s last two shows of the season are The BUDDY
HOLLY STORY (May 15 - June 7, 2015) and WEST
SIDE STORY (July 10 - August 2, 2015). Tickets are
still available.
If you didn’t purchase season tickets you can still purchase a 3-show FLEX pass. This would include Evita,
Buddy Holly and West Side Story. Even if you already
purchased one of these shows tickets, you can still
purchase a 3-show FLEX pass.
3-Show Flex Pass Pricing
Adults | $76
Sr./Military/Student | $71
Children (12 & under) | $55
But what is a Flex Pass you ask? Flex Passes are just
that: flexible! Give us a call 253-565-6867 or e-mail
our Box Office [email protected] to purchase yours
today.
2014 ˗ 2015 Season Partners
Advanced Stream Broadband Internet Access | Alaska Airlines | Boeing Corporation | The Dimmer Family Foundation
The Florence B. Kilworth Foundation | Horizons Foundation | The Gottfried & Mary Fuchs Foundation | Greater Tacoma Community Foundation
Russell Family Foundation | Pacific Office Automation | Pierce County Arts Commission | IBM | Edward Jones’s Jason Light
News from the Artistic Director’s Chair…
THEATER DIRECTORY
COME JOIN US
Saturday, April 11
8:00 PM
$25 each ticket
COME JOIN US
Saturday, April 18
8:00 PM
$40 a couple
(For couples age
40 and under)
“Please spell cow!” Audiences
roared at our production of 25th
Annual Putnam County
Spelling Bee. Some of you
came three times to see this
clever show. Our talented cast
had to be quick on their feet
with all of the necessary improvisation. Every show was
slightly different making it really fun for the actors and our
audience.
Our next show, Evita, is an
opera-line musical based on the
life and times of Eva Peron.
Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, it is considered one of their best shows
with a challenging and hauntingly beautiful score. We have
an outstanding cast lined up for
this show with Alena Menefee
(Eponine in Les Miserables)
playing the title role and Jonathan Bills (Captain Von Trapp
in The Sound of Music) as Juan
Peron. Other cast members include Rafe Wadleigh (Nine),
Jeff Barehand (Les Miserables)
as well as a brilliant ensemble.
We have received a
$10,000 matching challenge grant from Ken
and Nancy Keiter. This means
Don’t forget Behind the Curthat for every dollar our patrons
tain at TMP for Evita. This free give us, they will match up to
event gives you a sneak peek at $10,000! Thank you Ken and
the upcoming show. Behind the Nancy for always being such
Curtain will be on Saturday,
generous supporters of TMP.
April 4th at 7:00 p.m. This is
Help us reach our goal of
due to Easter on April 5th. Mark $55,000 and put TMP’s name
that on your calendar so you
up on the marquee and make
won’t forget. It lasts only an
other improvements to the front
hour and a half.
of our theater.
Would you like to see a new
marquee in front of the building
with TMP’s name on it? We
would! We have contracted a
local designer to create a new
marquee and box office sign
that reflects who we are and in
the style of the 1949 Art-Deco
building. You can see the new
design in our lobby display. To
date we have raised $16,500.
It’s not too late to purchase a 3show Flex pass for new subscribers. Enjoy the discount of a
season subscriber for the three
remaining shows of the season—Evita, The Buddy Holly
Story, and West Side Story.
Jon Douglas Rake
Managing Artistic Director
TMP Cornerstone
by Diana George
Dancing with the Tacoma Stars was a fabulous TMP fundraising event to celebrate with
your love on Valentine’s Day. Thank you to
everyone who attended and supported the
Stars and Amateur couples who competed. A
big THANK YOU to our sponsors Wells
Fargo Private Bank and Courtyard at the
Marriott for their support of the arts in our
region.
Congratulations to our Greatest Tacoma Star
-Kathy Kluska and our People’s Choice StarNancy Keiter as well as the Amateur Best
Couple- Lynnea Tweed and Mike Garello
and People’s Choice Couple -Jeanne Tran
and John Stray.
If you didn’t attend this time, you missed
some wonderful performances by Ballroom
Youth Teams from around the Puget Sound
as well as many TMP favorites including
some of the best of our Youth Education
programs. So many people make this event
happen each year-thank you to everyone who
helped.
Did you know when you attend our fundrais- tions and raffles. They’re a wonderful way to
give to TMP and support the arts community
ing events you:
in the South Puget Sound region while hav* help pay for 25% of TMP’s elaborate sets, ing fun. For more information about ways to
support TMP programs, please call Diana at
costumes and props that you enjoy on the
253-565-6867 or [email protected].
mainstage
* help support the free senior theater program-The Young At Heart Players
* give to the youth scholarship program.
With your help, we gave 23 children a
chance to shine under the stage lights last
season
Speaking of events, the Ladies Fundraising
Auction and Spring Luncheon is coming up
May 6 at La Quinta again. Do you have
your tickets yet for this very popular event?
We are also looking for unique and fun
items for the live and silent auction. Have
an idea or an item to donate? We’d love
your help!
Please support TMP by attending our fundraising events and participating in the auc-