The most syndicated show in television history is setting sail on its first National Tour and will be
DOCKING IN JACKSONVILLE
MARCH 6-8, 2009
WILSON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
JACKSONVILLE, FL – Look out America, Gilligan's Island The Musical is docking at a desert island near you and the hilarity found in America's most cherished sitcom is in full effect in this larger than life stage musical. Bringing back all those well known and beloved characters from one of the most popular television shows of all time, this lovable musical comedy is sure to please the generations of audiences that the television show first inspired. Gilligan's Island The Musical is coming to Jacksonville’s Wilson Center for the Performing Arts March 6-8, 2009 for four performances only.
"Gilligan's Island" has been a series, three TV movies, two cartoon series, a reality series, and the subject of more comedians' jokes than the mother-in-law. "Gilligan's Island" is an icon whose theme song and characters have become pop culture icons. It has been syndicated on more cable stations than any other series in history and continues to run on both Nickelodeon and TV land. "Three hour tour," "Ginger or Mary Ann," are just a few nuggets from the Gilligans Island television show that remain part of every-day vernacular.
Gilligan's Island The Musical debuted in Flat Rock, North Carolina with Director Steve Rothman after a workshop presentation first seen in the early 1990's. From there, it went to Chicago, San Diego, and Thousand Oaks. And every production was lauded by critics and audiences alike.
"You've got to love it….Timeless" said the Today Show.
"A great time…..Fabulous!" reported CBS Morning News.
And People Magazine described it as "Love and lust among the coconuts."
The creators of the musical- Lloyd Schwartz and Hope and Laurence Juber- have continued to hone and develop the play over the years. Loyd is the son and long-time collaborator of Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of the "Gilligan's Island" television series, as well as "The Brady Bunch" television series. Hope Juber is Sherwood's daughter.
Gilligan's Island: The Musical is a straightforward story of relationships and survival. Beginning with the #1 TV theme song of all time, Gilligan, The Skipper, Mary Ann, Ginger, The Professor, and The Millionaire and his wife are shipwrecked and trying to get off the island. Natural disasters befall them, hurricanes, quicksand, etc., as they learn to get along and survive. Their biggest challenge comes from the U.F.O. and its Alien, who monitors their behavior. By the end of the play, the castaways manage to defeat the extraterrestrial and save the entire planet, while staying marooned themselves. Updated somewhat to reflect the times, Gilligan's Island: The Musical still has comedy, heart, love, drama, nostalgia, and sing-able songs that stick true to the characters that audiences have fallen in love with for the last 40 years.
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND THE MUSICAL will be performed at the WILSON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS March 6-8, 2009 for four performances only. Tickets cost $40.50. Discounts are available for groups of 10+, 20+, or 40+ by calling (904) 632-3228.
To order by phone with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover call the FCCJ Artist Series Box Office at (904) 632-3373 (toll-free outside of Jacksonville 1-888-860-BWAY.)
Tickets are also available online with Instant Seat Selection by visiting the
FCCJ Artist Series’ website, www.artistseries.fccj.org.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
MOMIX
Review by Mia Carlin
MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton. For over 25 years, MOMIX has been celebrated for its ability to conjure up a world of surrealistic images using prop, light, shadow, humor & the human body.
With its hypnotic imagery, fluid movements and overall mysticism, MOMIX is both provocative and mesmerizing. Hypnotized by each piece in the program, you forget that you are watching the actual dancers live. Some of the pieces are so magical that you wonder how on earth they pulled it off. Being in the 2nd row you would think that one would be able to identify a little bit of realism, but not me. Everything about the performance completely stunned me, leaving me awestruck about what I had just witnessed. From a very wide & creative range of ideas, MOMIX had the ability to re-invent snakes, fire, galaxies, mythology & body part separation from just a few pieces of gym equipment, lights, one screen & ribbon.
The lighting & sculpture props spellbind you in such a way that you really feel part of the story – that somehow you have been transcended in time into this foreign hemisphere. And not only are the dancers skilled but they are beautiful. I mean, strikingly, angelically beautiful! Their bodies are perfectly sculpted and it feels as though you are viewing a real life God or Goddess in action. Zeus, Athena, Triton, you name it – these dancers look like the work of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.
Not to mention the precise & captivating choreography. This is not just a dance performance of skill & acrobatics, but fluid movements of dynamics, muscle & strength.
The dancers use all of their body weight, holding it in mid air while being twisted, turned & glided for several minutes at a time, and for a moment you really feel as if they are actually flying. There are no strings involved – no tricks of any kind, just the dancers and their one prop – gliding them through mid air like mystified beings from another universe, another plain in time.
Although alluring in nature, MOMIX excerpts also found ways to humor the audience. In one piece, several dancers are connected head - to – ass, as they writhe on the floor to form a completely wacky centipede; making you wonder just how far one will go for the love of dance.. Another piece has the stage lit up by a black light, giving the illusion of flying seagulls, mouths, and television sets rather than dancers dressed in all black with white arms. One of the last pieces, 4 silhouetted dancers eventually morphed into one via the illusion of a giant screen & light projection. This piece went from a beautiful version of Adam & Eve to them morphing into one body & Eve’s head coming out of Adam’s crotch.
Imagination is a funny thing – a wonderful thing. It’s one of the most important outlets in life that keeps us centered when things to wrong or when life gets tough. Imagination is something that expands our minds while in the midst of boredom. It can be our friend when we have none, our teacher when we’re craving to learn, the lighted path from our hearts to our future. For Moses Pendleton, it was just that. An imaginative boy born & raised on a lonely dairy farm in North Vermont, who wanted to find a way to share his childhood fantasies with the world – and so he did.
This is not to say that we should escape from all responsibilities that adulthood has brought to our doorstep, but damn it if we can’t be excused for being absentee from it for a couple of hours.
MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton. For over 25 years, MOMIX has been celebrated for its ability to conjure up a world of surrealistic images using prop, light, shadow, humor & the human body.
With its hypnotic imagery, fluid movements and overall mysticism, MOMIX is both provocative and mesmerizing. Hypnotized by each piece in the program, you forget that you are watching the actual dancers live. Some of the pieces are so magical that you wonder how on earth they pulled it off. Being in the 2nd row you would think that one would be able to identify a little bit of realism, but not me. Everything about the performance completely stunned me, leaving me awestruck about what I had just witnessed. From a very wide & creative range of ideas, MOMIX had the ability to re-invent snakes, fire, galaxies, mythology & body part separation from just a few pieces of gym equipment, lights, one screen & ribbon.
The lighting & sculpture props spellbind you in such a way that you really feel part of the story – that somehow you have been transcended in time into this foreign hemisphere. And not only are the dancers skilled but they are beautiful. I mean, strikingly, angelically beautiful! Their bodies are perfectly sculpted and it feels as though you are viewing a real life God or Goddess in action. Zeus, Athena, Triton, you name it – these dancers look like the work of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.
Not to mention the precise & captivating choreography. This is not just a dance performance of skill & acrobatics, but fluid movements of dynamics, muscle & strength.
The dancers use all of their body weight, holding it in mid air while being twisted, turned & glided for several minutes at a time, and for a moment you really feel as if they are actually flying. There are no strings involved – no tricks of any kind, just the dancers and their one prop – gliding them through mid air like mystified beings from another universe, another plain in time.
Although alluring in nature, MOMIX excerpts also found ways to humor the audience. In one piece, several dancers are connected head - to – ass, as they writhe on the floor to form a completely wacky centipede; making you wonder just how far one will go for the love of dance.. Another piece has the stage lit up by a black light, giving the illusion of flying seagulls, mouths, and television sets rather than dancers dressed in all black with white arms. One of the last pieces, 4 silhouetted dancers eventually morphed into one via the illusion of a giant screen & light projection. This piece went from a beautiful version of Adam & Eve to them morphing into one body & Eve’s head coming out of Adam’s crotch.
Imagination is a funny thing – a wonderful thing. It’s one of the most important outlets in life that keeps us centered when things to wrong or when life gets tough. Imagination is something that expands our minds while in the midst of boredom. It can be our friend when we have none, our teacher when we’re craving to learn, the lighted path from our hearts to our future. For Moses Pendleton, it was just that. An imaginative boy born & raised on a lonely dairy farm in North Vermont, who wanted to find a way to share his childhood fantasies with the world – and so he did.
This is not to say that we should escape from all responsibilities that adulthood has brought to our doorstep, but damn it if we can’t be excused for being absentee from it for a couple of hours.
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