News Release

Gregg Allman center stage in Fanfare's third week


Contact: Christina Chapple

10/10/07


(1) Gregg Allman (2) Pilobolus Dance Theatre (3) Missoula Children's Theatre (4) Charles Elliott (5) Hanan Alattar

 

(6) The Second City


Captions …

(1) GREGG ALLMAN HEADLINES FANFARE – Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Gregg Allman will perform at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts as the Fanfare 2007 headline guest artist Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

 

(2) PILOBOLUS AT COLUMBIA -- Pilobolus Dance Theatre, the unique dance troupe that enchanted audiences at the 2007 Academy Awards, will be in the spotlight at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Columbia Theatre on Oct. 15.

 

(3) FANFARE FAVORITE MISSOULA -- After a fun, but intense week of rehearsals, local children will star in the Missoula Children’s Theatre’s “Jack and the Beanstalk” staged at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, and 2 p.m. on Oct. 20.

 

(4) HERE COMES THE SUN KING – Learn all about Louisiana’s namesake, the Sun King Louis XIV, at an Oct. 17 Fanfare “Then and Now” lecture by Southeastern Louisiana University history professor Charles Elliott at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.

 

(5) ENCHANTING SOPRANO – Young American soprano and Julliard graduate Hanan Alattar will be Fanfare’s guest Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.

 

(6) IMPROVISATIONAL COMEDY -- The Second City, the improvisational comedy troupe that has launched some of the careers of comedians such as John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner, will be Fanfare's guests at Vonnie Borden Theatre on Oct. 17.


     HAMMOND – Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Gregg Allman, one of the founders of the legendary Allman Brothers Band, headlines the third week of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University’s October arts festival.

     As Fanfare’s 22nd season hits mid-stride, the week will also include the unique Pilobolus Dance Theatre, a hit at the 2007 Academy Awards telecast; local children starring in the Missoula Children’s Theatre’s “Jack and the Beanstalk”; acclaimed young American soprano Hanan Alattar; and The Second City, the comedy troupe that launched the careers of comedians such as John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner.

     Fanfare/Columbia Theatre Director Donna Gay Anderson said tickets are going fast, but still available for Allman’s concert on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. The concert, she said, will feature a crowd-pleasing mix of Allman Brothers classics and Gregg Allman’s own blues originals that will showcase his critically acclaimed solo talent.

     A natural artist gifted with a soulful and distinctive voice as well as brilliant keyboard and guitar expertise, Gregg Allman has been making music for three decades. In the early days of his career, Allman’s powerful lead vocals, songwriting and keyboard prowess complemented his brother Duane’s guitar virtuosity. The Allman Brothers Band’s unique blend of rock, blues, country and even jazz flourishes expanded the boundaries of rock music, kick-starting the genre of Southern Rock and defining an era of ‘70s rock ‘n roll with a freewheeling yet musically masterful sound.

     In addition to his singing and playing, Gregg Allman wrote many of the band’s most memorable signature hits, including the classics “Whipping Post,” “Dreams,” “Please Call Home,” and “Melissa.”

     “Laid Back,” released in 1973 and the first of Allman’s six albums outside of his work with the Allman Brothers Band, put him on the map as an accomplished touring solo artist. In 1987 the title track of his second gold album, “I’m No Angel,” generated a number one album radio hit.

     Tickets, available online at columbiatheatre.org and at the Columbia box office, 220 E. Thomas St., are $55, Center Orchestra, Loge, Balcony 1, and $45, left and right Orchestra, Balcony 2. A one dollar handling fee will be added to each ticket.

     Fanfare’s third week is also the week of Missoula Children’s Theatre. The unique theater company, a perennial Fanfare favorite, arrives in town on Monday, Oct. 15, to hold auditions for “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Area children in grades kindergarten through high school can try out for dozens of parts on stage and backstage in the musical fairytale at 4 p.m. at the Friendship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church, 103 N. Pine St., in Hammond.

     After a week of rehearsals, two performances of “Jack and the Beanstalk” will be staged at the Columbia Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, and 2 p.m. on Oct. 20.

     Tickets are $12 if purchased online. Discounted tickets are available at the box office only for senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni ($10), non-Southeastern students ($8) and Southeastern students ($5).

     Pilobolus Dance Theatre will be in the Columbia Theatre spotlight on Oct. 15. Featured at the 2007 Academy Awards, the avant-garde dance troupe has been twisting and contorting their way through the dance world for more than 30 years.

     Begun by accident at Dartmouth College when dance students experimented with weight sharing and entwining their bodies, Pilobolus soon grew into an internationally recognized dance troupe that has created a technique unlike any other. The athleticism and ingenuity of the dancers creates a living organism of its own as human forms meld together to construct breathtaking images and gravity defying feats.

     Because the 7:30 p.m. performance is also part of the Columbia Theatre 2007-2008 season, ticket availability is limited. Tickets, available online and at the Columbia/Fanfare box office, are $39, Orchestra 1 and Loge; $34, Orchestra 2 and Balcony 1; and $26 Orchestra 3 and Balcony 2.

     Satirical, irreverent and wildly funny comedy will take center stage Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m., in Vonnie Borden Theatre when The Second City presents “One Nation Under Blog,” a night of wacky antics and fun delivered by some of the finest improvisational actors around.

     An institution in Chicago, The Second City and its original, daring and hilarious stand-up comedy has served as a starting ground for some of the country’s funniest and most famous comedians. Incorporating candid audience participation, “One Nation Under Blog” is The Second City’s newest touring show mining comedic gold from current headlines and cultural trends.

     The performance is rated “R” for adult audiences. Advance tickets, available at the Columbia box office, are $18, adults; $15, senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni; $12, group rate; and $10, non-Southeastern students. Tickets are $18 at the door. Southeastern students are admitted free with their university I.D.

     Fanfare continues its tradition of showcasing outstanding classical performers with a concert on Oct. 18 by young American soprano Hanan Alattar. A 2004 graduate of The Julliard School, Alattar has been described as “a singer of obvious promise” with “a resounding voice and a sense of drama to match.”

     Her musical gifts combined with her sultry physical presence create a compelling presence on the opera and concert stage. For Fanfare, she will perform a group of rousing melodies by Ravel based on Greek folk songs, an exuberant Spanish cycle, Poema en forma de canciones, by Joaquin Turina, Schubert’s Mignon songs, a rousing group of Rachmaninoff pieces – and several surprises.

     Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium are $15, adults; $12, senior citizens and Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni; $10, group rate; and $5, all students.

     Also during Fanfare’s third week:

     ■ The Sunday with the Arts concert series continues with a performance on Oct. 14, 3 p.m., by the LSU Gospel Choir at Hammond’s Greenfield Baptist Church, 100 J.W. Davis Drive.

     ■ The Contemporary Art Gallery, located in East Stadium, will host “The Light Boxes of Elizabeth Sher,” Oct. 15-Nov. 2. Sher creates multi-media works with visual and audio components. Her prints and paintings as well as her films and videos have been widely exhibited and broadcast. Gallery hours for the free exhibit are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., weekdays; and Wednesdays until 8 p.m.

     ■ The lobby of Southeastern’s Sims Memorial Library will host “The Photographs of Marita Gootee: Sand Shadows and Shifting Landscapes, featuring Gootee’s evocative and beautiful photographs of landscapes and figures made with pinhole cameras. An opening reception is scheduled Oct. 15, 5-6:30 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through Nov. 9.

     ■ Spain will be highlighted in the Foreign Film Festival with the 2004 film “The Motorcycle Diaries,” scheduled for Oct. 16, 5 p.m., in the Student Union Theatre. Based on a true story, the movie follows two daring friends, who hop on the back of a beat-up motorcycle for a breathtaking and exciting road trip across Latin America. The 127-minute film is rated R for language; admission is free.

     ■ The Department of History and Political Sciences’ “Then and Now” lecture series features well-known Louisiana historian and Southeastern professor Charles Elliott. On Oct. 17, 1 p.m., in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium Elliott discusses the Sun King, Louis XIV, one of history’s most famous, revered, and reviled monarchs. Elliott will reveal how the Sun King cultivated a particular image in popular culture as a grand gesture in propaganda and power, and how his modern reputation suffers from Anglo-American bias against the French and wider misperceptions of the nature and reality of Bourbon absolutism. The lecture series is free.

     Columbia/Fanfare box office (985-543-4371) hours are noon to 5 p.m., weekdays. For a complete Fanfare schedule, contact the Columbia/Fanfare office at 985-543-4366 or visit the Fanfare links at columbiatheatre.org.



More News...

 CONTACT USCAMPUS MAPSEARCH & DIRECTORIESBLACKBOARDLEONETWEBMAIL