ADA – A unique Christmas gift idea is being provided by East Central University where, for a single bargain price of $30, a ticket package can be purchased to see two touring shows at the Ataloa Theatre in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center. To purchase tickets, click on the link: http://tickets.ecok.edu/
On Jan. 24, Chicago Tap Theatre will perform, beginning at 7:30 p.m., and on March 6, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, will be staged by Aquila Theatre, also at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact the ECU Box Office at 580-559-5751 or go to tickets.ecok.edu.
The acclaimed Chicago Tap Theatre will bring the Chicago Jazz Club experience to ECU, by recreating the sights and sounds of a smoke-filled Chicago supper club with internationally acclaimed dance works and music. Chicago Tap Theatre was founded in 2002 by Artistic Director Mark Yonally, an internationally acclaimed dancer with experience with the Bill Evans Dance Company and E.T.C. Yonally believed that the time was right for tap dance to expand its artistic horizons and formed a company with a mission to innovate tap dance while simultaneously helping preserve its rich history.
Chicago Tap Theatre performed as a guest in numerous Chicagoland productions while also self-producing five full-length shows during its first three years, and produced its first three-show season in 2004. Since then, CTT has toured cities in the south of France, worked with Bill Evans, told the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, performed numerous secular holiday shows and appeared at events including Lollapalooza, the Jazz Dance World Congress and the Ravinia Festival.
The company's works have included "Changes," a science fiction tap dance opera set entirely to the music of David Bowie; "Mixology," which incorporates a mixture of tap dance to live music; and a collaboration with comic book artist Andrew Pepoy ("Superman," "X-Men," "Fables") for "The Hourglass in the Stop-Time Chronicles," a tap opera with a comic book/superhero theme.
One of the most revered novels of the twentieth-century, “Fahrenheit 451,” will be brought to life by the Aquila Theatre Company.
Written in 1953 by Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451” is the tale of a bleak future where literature and knowledge are on the edge of extinction. The main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman with the job of starting fires to destroy books and the houses that contain them. When his eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, forces Guy to confront the emptiness of his life, he begins to question his job and the oppressive society he lives in.
Considered a work of science fiction when first published, “Fahrenheit 451” has been debated for decades – issues of censorship, the effects of technology on society and literature, and the means by which knowledge is gained – continue to be concerns today.
With its skill at creating innovative and modern productions of great works of literature, the Aquila Theatre brings new life to Bradbury’s visionary parable of a society gone awry. The New Yorker describes Aquila’s productions as, “The classics made relevant with superb acting and clever staging,” while The New York Times exclaims, “The excellent Aquila Theatre, an extraordinarily inventive and disciplined outfit.”
The mission of Aquila Theatre is to make classical works accessible to the greatest number of people. Founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck, Aquila is now based in New York City. They are a major part of New York’s theatrical landscape, producing a regular season of plays. Aquila is also the foremost producer of touring classical theatre in the United States, visiting 60-70 American cities per year.
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