Symphony on the Prairie 2014 Lineup

Jim Curry

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s 33rd annual Symphony on the Prairie season includes Beach Boys, Blue and Beethoven. Beginning June 20 and running through August 31, ISO presents 26 concerts for the popular outdoor summer series. This year the orchestra performs the first five weekends and brings in their musical guests for the remainder of the shows.

Located at Conner Prairie, the outdoor music series is perfect for family, single or couples. Grassy areas are available for those wishing to bring a blanket or lawn chair. For those preferring it, tables for 10 are available at an additional cost. Food, alcohol and candles are allowed also.

2014 Symphony on the Prairie Schedule

June 20-21
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
David Glover, Conductor
Eric Zuber, Piano
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra kicks off the summer series with a classical, all-American themed program featuring works by Copland, Ives and Gershwin’s jazzy Rhapsody in Blue and I Got Rhythm variations.

Friday, June 27
The Music of the Eagles
Saturday, June 28
The Music of Led Zeppelin
Brent Havens, Conductor
Known for his popular symphonic arrangements of legendary artists Queen, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson, guest conductor Brent Havens and the ISO combine forces for TWO symphonic rock tributes: The Music of The Eagles on Friday, and the Music of Led Zeppelin on Saturday.

July 3-5
Star Spangled Symphony

Alfred Savia, Conductor
The ISO celebrates America’s birthday with its annual patriotic performance and fireworks finale. This year the performance features a special musical tribute to the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.

July 11-12
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7
Teddy Abrams, Conductor
Time for Three, ISO Artists-in-Residence
Before concluding the concert with one of Beethoven’s greatest masterpieces, the ISO shares the stage with Time for Three, for one of their signature, genre-bending performances.

July 18-19
Classic FM: Radio Hits of the Decades
Jack Everly, Conductor
Guest Vocalists, TBA
Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly and the ISO take a musical journey through four decades of hits up and down the FM dial – from Elton John and Billy Joel to Aretha Franklin, Chicago, Adele and more.

*July 25-26
Classical Mystery Tour: Music of the Beatles

Members of the Classical Mystery Tour pay tribute to the Beatles and their arrival in America 50 years ago, including a repeat performance of the group’s Indianapolis concert on Sept. 4, 1964.

*Aug. 1-2
Glenn Miller Orchestra

One of the finest orchestras of the Big Band era presents an evening of swing and timeless classics.

*Aug. 8-9
The John Denver Songbook
Jim Curry, Vocalist
Back by popular demand from his Prairie performance in 2010, Jim Curry presents an authentic musical interpretation in the spirit of singer-songwriter John Denver.

*Aug. 15-16
ABBA – The Concert featuring Waterloo
The Swedish tribute band, Waterloo, returns to the Conner Prairie Amphitheatre for a concert of ABBA’s hits from the 1970s including “SOS,” “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia,” among many others.

*Aug. 22-24
The Beach Boys!

The Beach Boys – led by founding member Mike Love and Bruce Johnston – surf their way to the Conner Prairie Amphitheatre for chart-topping favorites from the group’s multi-decade career.

*Aug. 28-29
The Hit Men: Studio Legends of

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

The former performing and recording members of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons take audiences on a walk down memory lane to the 60s, 70s and 80s with mega hits “Oh What a Night (Dec. ’63),” “Sherry,” “Bad Bad Leroy Brown,” “You’re so Vain,” “Mony Mony” and more.

*Aug. 30-31
Preservation Hall Jazz Band

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band brings the rich traditions of New Orleans-style jazz to the Conner Prairie Amphitheatre. Fireworks close the Symphony on the Prairie season on these two nights.

*The ISO does not perform in these concerts.

Single tickets for Marsh Symphony on the Prairie are $24/adults and $12/children in advance at the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office or online at IndianapolisSymphony.org or $28/adults and $14/children at the Conner Prairie Amphitheater gate.

There are three Premium Concerts; Star Spangled Symphony, Classical Mystery Tour: Music of the Beatles and The Beach Boys!, which have an advance ticket price of $30/adults and $12 children. The gate price for the Premium Concerts is $32/adults and $14/children.
Patrons can save an additional $1 per Adult ticket when purchasing with a Marsh Fresh Idea card at all Marsh Supermarket locations.

10-Ticket Value Packs, which offer 30 percent off gate admission, also are available for $190 at Marsh Supermarket locations, through the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office, online or by calling 317-639-4300.

Single tables, seating 10 people, are priced at $59 each and can be purchased through the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office only. Premium Concert tables are $79 each. Table reservation fees do not include concert tickets.

Images: provided by ISO

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated fine-living, travel, food, wine and spirits columnist, freelance writer and photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic for Gotta Go. Catch her as Indy’s Personal Lifestyle Adviser on Indy Style, WISH8 (CBS). Read Infused, her spirits, wine & beer lifestyle column, at www.GottaGo.us and www.FoodDigital.com Gotta Go is published on www.Gottago.us, and in magazines. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Broadway in Indianapolis Announces Jersey Boys Schedule Shortened

*Press Release*

Indianapolis, IN (November 27, 2012) – The return engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical JERSEY BOYS, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, will play the Old National Centre January 9-20, 2013 instead of the originally scheduled January 9-27.
"We can confirm that the Indianapolis return engagement of JERSEY BOYS has been shifted due to tour scheduling issues beyond our control. The show's itinerary has changed, and this change has resulted in the new schedule for JERSEY BOYS in Indianapolis," explained Leslie Broecker, Broadway in Indianapolis president.

(Read review of Jersey Boys ~ Indianapolis 2010 ~ here.)

                  Jersey Boys Will Now Run for 2 Weeks Only, January 9-20

Ticket holders for performances originally scheduled for January 22 through January 27 can exchange tickets through their original point of purchase. Every attempt will be made to facilitate comparable seating.

If not exchanged, tickets will be automatically refunded if purchased directly through Ticketmaster either by phone or online. Those who purchased in person at a Ticketmaster outlet should return to point of purchase for their refund. If purchased through Broadway Across America, call 866-880-9572 or email IndianapolisService@BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com to receive a refund.

To purchase tickets to a new performance, patrons can contact Ticketmaster customer service at 1-800-982-2787.

Catch a sneak peek of Jersey Boys at JerseyBoysTour.com/watch.

JERSEY BOYS is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons ~ Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi ~ a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide ~ all before they were 30.

Tickets for JERSEY BOYS are available at TicketMaster.com and BroadwayinIndianapolis.com.

For more information on JERSEY BOYS, go to JerseyBoysTour.com.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated fine-living, travel columnist, freelance writer and photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic for Gotta Go. Read Infused, at GottaGo.us and FoodandDrinkDigital.com and catch her as Indy’s Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC. Gotta Go is published on Gottago.us, BroadwayWorld.com, in magazines and several Indianapolis area newspapers. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Broadway Across America: Grease

Sliding onto stage in Indy like Greased Lightning, Broadway Across America's presentation of Grease was fast-paced version and full of song and dance. First performed in Chicago in 1971, the musical become a hit on Broadway a year later, then a large percentage of vulgarity and rawness was deleted and turned into the blockbuster 1978 film starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, Frankie Valli, and Stockard Channing, among others.

Still dealing with teenage pregnancy, social outcasts, and high school dropouts, BAA brought in some strong talent for the Pink Ladies, including Lauren Elaine Taylor as head pink girl, Rizzo. The Gotta Go spotlight shines even more on Taylor for having the talent to forge through sound problems. Her powerful vocals and strength of presence on stage completely carried through the personality of the teen from the wrong side of tracks.

Alicia Kelly as Marnie, Lauren Turner as Jan, and Ashley Rubin as Frenchy, along with Taylor's Rizzo turned in great song performances with Freddy, My Love, and, with the T-birds, You're the One That I Want. Other songs which stood out were with Dominic Fortuna's Teen Angel and the girls in Beauty School Dropout, and Fortuna's Vince Fontaine and ensemble in Born to Hand-Jive.

Bottom Line: Lauren Elaine Taylor shines as Rizzo in Broadway Across America's Grease.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, music, restaurant and theater critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC and follow her on Twitter @ejmusgrave1 and Facebook.
Photos: Broadway Across America
Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, New Palestine Reporter, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.

Broadway Across America: Jersey Boys

If you are fortunate enough to review theater long enough you will come across performances which sail above the majority. I have been that fortunate, on a few occasions, to witness the short list of shows setting a standard to which others strive to match.

Broadway Across America's Jersey Boys is one of those shining stars. Four boys from the wrong side of Newark (is there a right side?) Walk Like a Man onstage at The Murat Theatre, 502 N. New Jersey St., through July 3. The Tony and Grammy award-winning show hits every note and every emotion at full throttle and with an Italian sledge-hammer intensity.
In the gritty New Jersey jungle where you, "Join the Army, get mobbed up or become a star," four street thugs scratch, bribe and threaten their way up the ladder of pop idol stardom. Golden egg and falsetto-voiced teenager Francis Castelluccio-Frankie Valli (Joseph Leo Bwarie) becomes lead singer for the ever-turbulent band which eventually settles on the name The Four Seasons. Other members of the group include bad boy Tommy DeVito (Matt Bailey), neurotic, brooding Nick Massi (Steve Gouveia) and songwriting child prodigy Bob Gaudio.
With a street-tough stage and an in-your-face approach, the audience is delivered a documentary musical ripe with behind-the-scenes juicy details including, prostitutes, failed marriages, fights, jail time, blood, booze, certain Italian affiliations and loan sharks...kind of like a mob movie, complete with Joe Pesci, set to amazing music.
Shed your rose-coloured, dreamy pop icon glasses at the door, folks, 'cuz this ain't no group of Catholic choir boys. These almost-wise guys have each others' backs, secrets and loyalty. Their rise to fame was no walk in the park.
Each of the four members takes a metaphoric season giving a blow-by-blow account interjected with several of the 29 No. 1 hits. Belting out the songs (Sherry, My Eyes Adored You, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man) in rapid-fire, concert-style succession, gives definition to the lyrics' origins, including Oh What a Night, about Gaudio's loss of virginity.

Swearing like, well, guys from Jersey, the finger-snapping, dapper-dressed, well-choreographed group lays it all out there...judge them and take a chance on their wrath, because they are not ashamed. Like them or not, they are who they are...American born and American proud. Rising to fame and fortune was not easy and they earned every penny.
Selling 175 million albums, the Hall of Fame inductees parted ways when financial disaster, through De Vito's gambling mishaps, was brought to light...by the loan sharks. After pledging to the mob that he would pay back every penny owed by his Jersey buddy, Valli, along with Gaudio, continued on with touring. Massi departed from the group at that time, citing a need to be home with his family.
The show's final 'season' was narrated by Valli's account of going solo. Always the idealists, Gaudio and Valli continue their handshake partnership, dividing all monies gained through solo ventures, remaining best friends to this day.
Whether over, or under, the appropriate age to remember this group's rise to fame, chances are you know the music, lyrics and songs. Although not as great as the real thing, this version of Valli and the Four Seasons is as close as you could hope to find.
As a writer, you may find it strange when I say there are not enough words in Mr. Webster's dictionary to explain the phenomenon going on at The Murat Theatre, so I will put it succinctly.

Bottom Line: DO. NOT. MISS. Jersey Boys...for any reason. Lie, cheat, steal...whatever it takes...Jersey Boys is the one you do not want to miss for the 2009-10 season.
For tickets and information, visit http://www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/shows/jerseyBoys.html

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, theater critic, and travel writer. You can now follow her on facebook and catch her as Indy's Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC's Saturday Morning News Show, giving a quick Gotta Go list of things to do in the Indy area, including restaurants, festivals, events, theater, and films.

**This column appears in its entirety, or in an edited version, in the following newspapers:
South Sider Voice, West Side Community News, West Indianapolis Community News, Pendleton Times-Reporter, Fortville-McCordsville Reporter, New Palenstine Reporter