TERRE HAUTE —
Two of The Shawnee Theatre of Greene County’s alumnus have reconnected in Hollywood at Noah Wyle’s The Blank Theatre Company. Former producing artistic director, Matthew Graber, and former actor, Nick Vienna, first collaborated in 2006 in Bloomfield. Now they find themselves in similar roles as Nick acts for The Blank Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., where Graber serves as producing director. Vienna has acted in three staged readings for the theater and is serving as understudy for the part of Father Canary in the world premiere of five time Tony Award nominee Michael John LaChiusa’s play “Sukie and Sue: Their Story,” produced by Graber. The play runs until June 3.
On top of their work together on “Sukie and Sue,” Graber directed Vienna as the lead role in a staged reading of “Jersey Shore House” by Michael Ferrell. Vienna got to share the stage with such actors such as Eugene Byrd (“8 Mile,” “Bones”), Deborah Van Valkenburg (“The Warriors”) and Don Stark (“That ’70’s Show”). More recently, Vienna appeared as a eastern European gangster opposite Robin Weigert (“Deadwood”) in a reading of the play “Bourgeois Pig” by Brighde Mullins. Both plays were part of The Blank’s Living Room Series, where the theater has done workshop readings of more than 30 plays a year. For more information on The Blank theater visit theblank.com.
“Nick and I were just talking about it at the opening night party for ‘Sukie and Sue,’ there we were hanging out at a restaurant near Hollywood and Vine surrounded by actors like Mackenzie Phillips [“One Day at a Time,” “American Graffiti”], Lindsey Broad [“The Office,” “21 Jump Street”] and Lenny Jacobson [“Nurse Jackie”] it’s all hard to believe sometimes. We’re a long way from Indiana, but in some ways it’s all the same. We’re just making theater. Just doing what we love to do.” Graber said.
“Getting the opportunity to work with Matt at The Blank has been awesome. It’s funny when other artists around the theater first see the two of us interact, because they have no idea that we have 6 years of friendship between us,” Vienna said. “They just think we’re really rude to each other! But the truth is, the bond we made making theater six years ago in rural Indiana is one of those that’s almost like family. I can say the same of other folks I met at Shawnee, including current artistic director Kevin Guthridge. We were doing our very best to create something special for the audience then, just like we are now. It’s just the palm trees that are different.”
Graber credits his home state with his success.
“I’m having a great time. It’s been outstanding getting to work with Nick again, as well as getting to know people like Noah Wyle,” Graber said. “I would have never got the chance to be in charge of Shawnee if it wasn’t for Arthur Finesod and all the amazing people in the Indiana State University Theatre Department. I also have to say that I’d never be doing this if it wasn’t for the board of directors of The Shawnee Theatre taking a chance on putting a 27 year old guy in charge of their theater. I will always be in their debt.”
Graber has not cut all his ties with Shawnee. He is one of the writers of “Zombie’s in Greene County: In 3D” along with current Shawnee producing artistic director Kevin Guthridge and associate producer Josh Carroll.
Tickets may be purchased for Shawnee’s 53rd season at shawneetheatre.org. The Shawnee Theatre, Indiana’s oldest continuously running summer theater, is a mile south of downtown Bloomfield at R.R. 6 Box 36, Bloomfield. For more information contact shawneetheatre@
hotmail.com or go to www.shawneetheatre.org.
• • •
Shawnee Theatre 2012 Season
• “Clue: The Musical,” June 14-17, 21-24, Book by Peter DePietro, Music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker and Vinnie Martucci, Lyrics by Tom Chiodo. Based on the Parker Brothers’ Board Game
The internationally popular game is now a fun filled musical murder-mystery which brings the world’s best known suspects to life and invites the audience to help solve the mystery: Who killed Mr. Boddy, in what room, and with what weapon. Bring the whole family and put on your thinking cap as you play along with the action on the stage. (RATED PG)
• “Moon Over Buffalo,” June 28-July 1, By Ken Ludwig
Charlotte and George Hay, an acting couple not exactly the Lunts are on tour in Buffalo in 1953 with a repertory consisting of Cyrano de Bergerac “revised, one nostril version” and Noel Coward’s Private Lives. This backstage farce by the author of Lend Me a Tenor brought Carol Burnett back to Broadway co-starring with Philip Bosco as her megalomaniac husband and leading man. (RATED PG-13)
• “Rounding Third,” July 5-8, By Richard Dresser
The hilarious journey of two Little League coaches through an entire season, from their first tentative meeting to the climactic championship game. The audience is the stand-in for the team, so the coaches speak directly to the audience about competition, character, punctuality, and the importance of wearing the right equipment. If you like little league baseball, you’ll love this play! (RATED PG-13)
• “The Haunting of Hill House,” July 12-15, By F. Andrew Leslie, Based on the novel by Shirley Jackson
A chilling and mystifying study in mounting terror in which a small group of “psychically receptive” people are brought together in Hill House, a brooding, mid-Victorian mansion known as a place of evil and “contained ill will.” Led by the learned Dr. Montague, who is conducting research in supernatural phenomena, the visitors have come to probe the secrets of the old house and to draw forth the mysterious power that it is alleged to possess — powers which have brought madness and death to those who have lived therein in the past. (RATED PG-13)
• “Shawnee Variety Show,” July 16
The 2012 Shawnee Company will be performing a series of songs, sketches, monologues, etc for our patrons. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.
• “Zombies in Greene County” (in 3D), July 19-22, A Melodrama by Kevin Lee Guthridge, Josh Carroll, and Mathew Graber
Shawnee Theatre is thrilled to bring back our family-friendly melodrama this year with an original piece by both past and present company members. Get your throwing arm ready to chuck some tomatoes at the villain and boo at the bad jokes in this zombie-filled tale of a an unlikely hero. (RATED PG)
• “Dial ‘M’ for Murder,” July 26-29, By Frederick Knott
You’ll be on the edge of your seat every moment of this quintessential thriller. It’s a dark, dangerous, delightful whodunit of forbidden love, delightful suspense, blackmailers, and backstabbers — figuratively and literally. Made famous by the 1954 Hitchcock Film. (RATED PG-13)
Entertainment
Shawnee alumni performing in Hollywood; theater announces season
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Rapper Drake leads BET Awards with 12 nominations
NEW YORK — He started from the bottom, but now he’s on top at the BET Awards: Drake has 12 nominations. BET announced the nominees Tuesday. Rappers Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz are up for eight awards each.
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IHS announces lineup for Concerts on the Canal, reprise of 'Museum Nights on the Canal'
INDIANAPOLIS —There are plenty of ways to enjoy downtown Indianapolis in the summer, and the Indiana Historical Society is offering two — both time-honored favorite Concerts on the Canal and its Museum Nights on the Canal program.
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Work stalls on rebuilding Little Nashville Opry
NASHVILLE, Ind. — No construction has started at a southern Indiana concert hall destroyed in a 2009 fire even though a sign there suggests a 2013 reopening.
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George Jones, 81, dies today in Nashville
Nashville, Tenn. – Country Music Hall of Famer, Grand Ole Opry member, and Kennedy Center Honoree George Glenn Jones died today, April 26, 2013, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He was hospitalized April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.
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Scenes from Robin Hood adaptation, “The Untold Story of Little John” April 21 at Children’s Museum
We all know the story of Robin Hood, the man who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor and defeated the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, freeing his people from the tyrannical reign of Prince John. We also know how this could not have been accomplished without Little John, Robin Hood’s loyal side-kick who stayed by him through thick and thin. But do we know what happened next?
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REVIEW: ‘42’ movie hits home run
Unlike Jackie Robinson’s daring base-running style, the new film “42” takes few risks with the storyline of his life’s pivotal moment.
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Terre Haute native Corenflos wins ACM Guitarist of the Year
The resume speaks for itself.
J.T. Corenflos’ guitar virtuosity has put the sparkle in hit songs and albums by legendary singers, from Alan Jackson to Bob Seger, Brooks and Dunn, Don Henley and George Jones, as well as country music chart-toppers such as Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts. When the greats are ready to record a single or a CD in Nashville, Corenflos’ phone usually rings first. He’s one of Music City’s most well-regarded session guitarists. -
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NEW YORK — Annette Funicello, who became a child star as a perky, cute-as-a-button Mouseketeer on “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s, then teamed up with Frankie Avalon in a string of ‘60s fun-in-the-sun movies with titles like “Beach Blanket Bingo” and “Bikini Beach,” died today. She was 70.
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Terre Haute's J.T. Corenflos named ACM Guitarist of the Year
The resume speaks for itself.
J.T. Corenflos’ guitar virtuosity has put the sparkle in hit songs and albums by legendary singers, from Alan Jackson to Bob Seger, Brooks and Dunn, Don Henley and George Jones, as well as country music chart-toppers such as Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts. -
Tickets to ISU’s presentation of Spoon River Anthology go on sale April 8
The Indiana State University theater department will present “Spoon River Anthology” April 10-13 beginning at 7:30 p.m. each day in the Dreiser Hall Theater.
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Laser and light to accompany Pink Floyd music at April 20 show
Paramount’s LaserSpectacular, the smash hit multi-media laser and light show featuring the music of Pink Floyd, will come to the Effingham Performance Center at 8 p.m. on April 20.
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Comic bringing 26 pets to Effingham for show
Gregory Popovich and his Comedy Pet Theater is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. on April 12 at the Effingham Performance Center in Effingham, Ill.
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Willie Nelson & Family to play IU Auditorium on April 6
New Covenant Productions will present “An Evening with Willie Nelson and Family” live in concert at 7:30 p.m. on April 6 at Indiana University Auditorium in Bloomington.
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Cellist to perform March 29 at Coffee Grounds
Shannon Hayden, a Yale School of Music graduate, will perform her own compositions for amplified cello at 8 p.m. March 29 in the Coffee Grounds at 423 Wabash Ave.
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Weather forces postponement of Maya Angelou lecture
Due to the weather, Dr. Maya Angelou’s lecture scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, in Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, has been postponed.
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'Quartet' at Honey Creek West 8 March 1
The comedy/drama “Quartet” opens March 1 in Honey Creek West 8 behind Honey Creek Mall in Terre Haute. Shows are at 7:40 and 10:05 p.m.
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Affleck’s ‘Argo’ wins best-picture Oscar
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” a film about a fake movie, has earned a very real prize: best picture at the Academy Awards.
From the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama joined Jack Nicholson to help present the final prize. -
Singer-songwriter, Hutsonville native to perform in home county
After the January release of her new single, “I’m Not Gonna Let You,” Nashville singer-songwriter Roxie Randle will perform Feb. 7 in the Illinois county where she grew up.
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At Home on Stage: Upcoming concert brings Grammy-nominated band and singer-guitarist back to Terre Haute
A club in New York City or the front room of the Eldredges’ house near West Terre Haute. The setting never fazed Terry Eldredge, even as a teenager. He could play music anywhere, bold and confident.
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Mid-West Archery, Whitetail Deer Expo Jan. 12
Wintertime blues getting you down? Hunting season over, lose that cabin fever and come visit us at the Mid-West Archery and Whitetail Deer Expo. Vendors will have on display quality hand made crafts, ATVs, new trucks, log cabin, taxidermy and many other must see vendors.
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Children’s Choir auditions begin Jan. 9
The Terre Haute Children’s Choir will stage auditions from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Jan. 12 in Room 161 of the Landini Center for the Performing and Fine Arts on the Indiana State University campus.
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‘The Wabash’ varies in style, pace, heritage and feeling
In 13 cuts, an album simply titled “The Wabash” varies in style, pace, heritage and feeling as much as does the river itself.
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Rapper Common to deliver lecture at Butler in January
Rapper/actor Common will speak about “Lessons of Life: One Day It’ll All Make Sense” at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 in Clowes Memorial Hall, part of the 25th anniversary of Butler University’s Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series.
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Battle of Bulge Exhibit features artifacts, lectures
The Museum of 20th Century Warfare and the staff at Fort Harrison State Park will host the Battle of the Bulge Exhibit through Jan. 26 at Fort Harrison State Park.
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Celebrate New Year’s Eve with the family at Indiana State Museum
As the time ticks toward bedtime on New Year’s Eve and little eyes begin to droop, how do you fill the hours before midnight with entertainment for children? The Indiana State Museum makes New Year’s Eve easy for families to celebrate together.
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Good Feelings Band to perform under new name on New Year’s Eve
After a couple of decades or more of performing, Good Feelings has decided to change its name to reflect a more modern sound. The result is The Band Tichenor-Jeffries.
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Classic biblical epic on stage in Carmel
This holiday season, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre in Carmel will celebrate the return of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” through Jan. 5.
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Party kicks off New Year at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre
Looking for a killer night out for New Year’s Eve? Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre presents a special performance of “Arsenic & Old Lace,” complete with party favors and more.
- Live Events: Dec. 20, 2012
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