For Immediate Release
June 1, 2012
Press Contact: Marilyn Langbehn
510.809.3290
510.910.3129 cell
CALIFORNIA SHAKESPEARE THEATER CONTINUES
ITS39TH SEASON WITH A BLUESY, DYNAMIC LOOK AT LOVE IN SPUNK,DIRECTED BY PATRICIA MCGREGOR,JULY 4-29
Harlem Renaissance icon Zora Neale Hurston’s tales of early 20th-century African-American life, adapted by Obie award-winner George C. Wolfe, come to vivid theatrical life in a production choreographed by noted New York-based dancer Paloma McGregor, withlive music performed by Tru
Special pre-performance events hosted by The Triangle Lab
include onstage dance parties and blues “holla jams”
All Performances at the Beautifully Renovated Bruns Amphitheater
Tickets on SaleNow; Call 510.548.9666 or calshakes.org
Berkeley, CA –California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2012 season with a spirited production ofSpunkfromJuly 4 through July 29,directed by Patricia McGregor, with choreography by Paloma McGregor, and live music performed by Anthony Michael Peterson a.k.a. Tru.
The productionfeaturesCal Shakes Associate Artist and Artistic Director of African-American Shakespeare Company L. Peter Callender as Sykes and Slang Talk Man, and Campo Santo Founding MemberMargo Hall (Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet at A.C.T.; Seven Guitars at Marin Theatre Company) in her Cal Shakes debutas the long-suffering Delia. The company of Spunk also includes: Aldo Billingslea (title role in Othelloat MTC; …and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippiat Cutting Ball;Piano Lesson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, andBlues for an Alabama Sky at Oregon Shakespeare Festival)as Sweet Back and Joe; Omoze Idehenre (last seen at Cal Shakes as Lady MacDuff in 2010’s Macbeth; Clybourne Park at A.C.T.) asMissy May;Dawn L. Troupe (In the Red and Brown Water at MTC, Caroline, or Change and Ragtime at TheatreWorks) as Blues Speak Woman; Tyee Tilghman(2013 MFA candidate at A.C.T.;) as Jelly and Slemmons; and singer/songwriterAnthony Michael Peterson a.k.a. Tru (Vibo Music Center, East Bay School for the Performing Arts) as Guitar Man.
With the music of Chic Street Man framing the stories of Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston as adapted for the stage by George C. Wolfe, Spunk celebrates the lives of early 20th- century African-Americans in a trio of very different tales: “Sweat”, in which a long-suffering washerwoman gives her husband his just desserts; “The Gilded Six Bits”, about a tender young husband who must learn to forgive the wife who betrays him; and “Story in Harlem Slang”, which Frank Rich of the New York Times called “a jamboree of 1940’s uptown slang…perfectly echoed by their burlesque zoot suits and the struts with which they percolate down Lenox Avenue.”
Drawing on a variety of influences and inspirations from African-American folk art to the sleek lines of contemporary Harlem bistros, director McGregor and her design team have created a world that is at once nostalgic and vibrantly modern. The team includesMichael Locher (set design),who recently designed Troilus and Cressida for Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Happy Days for the Guthrie, and has done sets for several Bay Area companies, including Magic Theatre, Cutting Ball, Traveling Jewish Theatre, and Lorraine Hansberry;Callie Floor (costume design),who has designed numerous productions for A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, and Aurora Theatre;York Kennedy (lighting designer),whose lights have graced such Cal Shakes’ productions as Candida, Uncle Vanya, The Pastures of Heaven, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession;Will McCandless (sound designer),creator of soundscapes fornumerousBay Area productions including Cal Shakes’ Candida; and Paloma McGregor (choreographer),a Harlem-based choreographer whose work has been presented throughout New York, as well as Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.
Patricia McGregor (Director) is a Harlem-based artist. Herrecent credits include: Hurt Village by Katori Hall (Signature Theatre), book and direction ofBlood Dazzler(Harlem Stage),and Burnt Sugar Freaks James Brown(the Apollo). She has directed for BAM, Public Theater, Second Stage, and the Kitchen; her favorite projects include Jelly's Last Jam, Romeo and Juliet, Juan and John, Four Electric Ghosts, Cloud Tectonics, Eleemosynary, French Play, Lady Day, Sidewalk Opera, In the Cypher, and Marco. Ms. McGregor is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama; she served as the artistic director of Yale Cabaret, and is the cofounder, with her sister Paloma, of Angela's Pulse, which creates collaborative performance work rooted in building community and telling undertold stories
The Triangle Lab ( a joint partnership between Cal Shakes and San Francisco-based Intersection for the Arts + Campo Santo,will be hosting a variety of pre- and post-show activities to enrich the audience's experience of the play and to invite participation into the creative process. Offerings include an interactive art installation created by April Banks, audio excerpts from two plays by Oakland playwright Chinaka Hodge on the Cal Shakes BART shuttle (also available for download as a podcast from the Cal Shakes website), a blues “holla jam” on Thursday nights to invite audiences to learn about the history of call-and-response and to create their own blues chant, and onstage dance parties following the Friday night performances, where audience members can enjoy dancingin the stylefeatured in the production.
Single tickets for Spunkrange from $35-$71, with discounts available for seniors, students, persons age 30 and under, and groups. Prices, dates, titles, and artists subject to change. For information or to charge tickets by phone with VISA, MasterCard or American Express, call the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666. Additional information and online ticketing are available at
California Shakespeare Theater’s 2012 season is supported in part by the generosity of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Dean Margaret Lesher Foundation, The Bernard Osher Foundation and The Shubert Foundation, Inc.Corporate partners supporting this production include BART, City National Bank, Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa, Meyer Sound, Peet's Coffee & Tea, and San Francisco Magazine.Triangle Lab activities are funded, in part, by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Photos are available from Cal Shakes in ouronline press room.
ABOUT CAL SHAKES
Founded in 1974, now under the leadership of Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone and Managing Director Susie Falk, Cal Shakes is an award-winning regional theater, acclaimed as “one of the most beautiful outdoor performing spaces in America” by the Wall Street Journal. The recently renovated, architecturally stunning grounds surrounding the classic Bruns Amphitheater, are nestled in the Siesta Valley of the East Bay Hills between Berkeley and Orinda on a protected watershed. The grounds open two hours before curtain for picnicking in the lush eucalyptus and oak groves; the on-site café in the new, environmentally-sustainable Sharon Simpson Center offers gourmet meals on-site, or patrons may bring their own to enjoy. The Theater offers free shuttle service from the Orinda BART station, beginning ninety minutes before the performance,and plentiful free parking onsite. Picnicking audiences enjoy stunning works of California sculpture and can listen to enlightening pre-show talks by our resident dramaturgs before every performance.For more information on the entirety of Cal Shakes work on stage, in schools and in communities, go to us.
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ATTENTION CALENDAR EDITORS
WHATCalifornia Shakespeare Theater’sseason-opening production of Spunk
WHO Three tales by Zora Neale Hurston
Adapted by George C. Wolfe
Music by Chic Street Man
Directed by Patricia McGregor
Designed by Michael Locher (sets), Callie Floor (costumes), York Kennedy (lights), Will McCandless (sound designer),Paloma McGregor (choreographer), Dave Maier (Fight Consultant), and Lynne Soffer* (dialect coach),with Laxmi Kumaran* (stage manager).
Featuring Aldo Billingslea* (Sweet Back, Joe), L. Peter Callender* (Sykes, Slang Talk Man); Margo Hall* (Delia); Omoze Idehenre* (Missy May); Tyee Tilghman* (Jelly, Slemmons); Dawn L. Troupe* (Blues Speak Woman); and Anthony “Tru” Peterson (Guitar Man).
*Member of Actor’s Equity
WHENJuly 4 through July 29, 2012
Previews July 4, 5, and 6 at 8pm
Opening July 7 at 8pm
Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm
Saturday Matinee, July 28 at 2pm
Sundays at 4pm
Grounds open two hours prior to showtime for picnicking.
WHEREBruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way. (formerly 100 Gateway Blvd.),
Orinda, CA 94563
(just off Highway 24 at the California Shakespeare Theater Way/Wilder Rd. exit, one mile east of the Caldecott Tunnel.)
Complimentary shuttle from Orinda BART beginning 90 minutes prior to curtain.
Complimentary parking onsite.
TICKETSSingle tickets range from $35 to $71, with discounts available for seniors, students, persons age 30and under, and groups. Prices subject to change.
All tickets are available through the California Shakespeare Theater Box Office,
701 Heinz Avenue, Berkeley CA, 510.548.9666,or online at
GROUPSGroups of 10 or more save $10 off the adult single ticket price; complimentary ticket available for groups of 15+. For more information, call 510.809.3290.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Inside Scoop, Monday, June 18, 7pm, Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA
Audiences are invited to meet and converse with the director, actors and designers to learn about directorial points of view, actors’ methods, and design ideas for the upcoming production. Complimentary sweet treats and Peet’s coffee is served. This event is free and open to the public.
Grove Talks, 45 minutes before each performance
Led by resident Grove Talks speakers, these free, informal 20-minute talks are held on site 45 minutes before each and every performance, offering invaluable insight into the play and the production.
Tastings, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, beginning at 6pm
Taste the best of the Bay Area’s wine, beer, coffee, sweets, and savories for free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays before the performance.
Meet the Artists, Sunday, July 8 and July 22, following the 4pm performance
Audience members enjoy an opportunity to engage in a lively discussion about the production with cast members following select 4pm matinee performances.
Cal Shakers, Thursday, July 12, 6pm event, 7:30pm performance
Pre-show cocktail party for the 20-40 crowd; admission includes party and ticket to that evening’s production. Call 510.809.3290 for tickets and more info.
Blues Holla Jam, Thursday, July 12, 19, 26, 6:45pm in the Grove Talk Grove
Tru Peterson (Guitar Man in Spunk) presents a hands-on Grove Talk tracing the history of the blues and teaching audience members how to create the kind of call-and-response chant featured in the play.
Teen Night, Friday, July 13, 6:30pm event, 8pm performance
A special event just for teens ages 13-18. Come hang out in the Upper Grove; we’ll provide the pizza and soda, a special backstage tour, and a cool, interactive pre-show engagement with one of our Teaching Artists before the show. Call 510.809.3290 for tickets and more info.
Onstage Dance Nights, Friday, July 13, 20, 27, following the 8pm performance
Stay after the show to get a Spunk-era dance lesson – onstage!
InSight, Sunday, July 15, following the 4pm matinee
Explore the world of the play through an informal dialogue with the production’s dramaturg following select 4pm performances.
INFO: 510.548.9666, calshakes.org, or .
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