The Phoenix Theatre Announces 2011-12 Season

The PHOENIX THEATRE ANNOUNCES

2011-12 SEASON

Indianapolis – The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis proudly announces the 2011-12 season. It includes three World Premieres, two Tony Award winners, a Pulitzer Prize winner, four Midwest premieres and another entry in the ever-popular holiday variety show.    

Spring Awakening

September 22-October 23, 2011

Music by Duncan Sheik, Lyrics and Book by Steven Sater

Mainstage – Midwest Premiere

Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1891 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. Set in late nineteenth-century Germany, it is all about teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality. The original play was banned in Germany for a while due to its portrayal of abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score. Spring Awakening received 11 Tony Award nominations in 2007, winning eight, including Tonys for best musical, direction, book, score and featured actor. The show also won four Drama Desk Awards, while its London production won four Olivier Awards.

Jericho

October 27-November 20, 2011

By Jack Canfora

Frank and Katrina Basile Theatre – National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere

 As we approach the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, this comic drama that deals in a sharp and witty way with where we are as a nation in regard to this tragedy and more specifically the process of grief, forgiveness and healing. Beth’s husband Alec died in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and she sees and talks with him often.  In fact, she sees him when she speaks with her female Korean therapist. Beth is dating for the first time since her husband was killed and through her relationship with Ethan, she meets Ethan’s brother, Josh.  On the verge of divorcing, Josh’s mother Rachel is putting her life together after the death of her husband, ironically in the same tower as Alec on 9/11. 

A Very Phoenix Xmas 6: Our Goose is Cooked!

December 1-December 23, 2011

By Various Artists

Phoenix Mainstage 

The Phoenix Theatre continues its “tradition” of providing counter-programming to the traditions of other arts organizations, starting with all-new sketches. After receiving submissions from playwrights across the country, Fonseca will once again shape the show with the selection of sketches – mostly humorous, but some poignant – which send up the winter holidays. Add to this music and dance and you have A Very Phoenix Xmas.   

Current Economic Conditions

January 12-February 12, 2012

By Don Zolidis

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre – World Premiere 

Current Economic Conditions is a charming, yet bitingly sarcastic, look at the serious social message of how skewed our society’s perceptions of our work force have become. Lily Booker is trained as a writer and has an entry-level job at a publishing company. She soon finds out that her job is being eliminated and she has the option of staying on at the company as an unpaid intern or leaving entirely. Rather than go backwards in her career, she leaves and begins a journey that will take her through various scenarios as she must move back in with her parents (at 26), contemplate graduate school, and go on one miserable failed job interview after another while her parents judge her for staying out at night at clubs.

August: Osage County

February 16-March 11, 2012

By Tracy Letts

Phoenix Mainstage – Midwest Premiere

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for Best Play, Tracy Letts’ darkly comic drama August: Osage County is set on the plains of modern day, middle-class Oklahoma. The Weston family members are all intelligent, sensitive creatures who have the uncanny ability of making each other absolutely miserable. When the patriarch of the household mysteriously vanishes, the clan gathers to simultaneously support and attack one another.

Freud’s Last Session

March 15-April 15, 2012

By Mark St. Germain

Suggested by The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre – Midwest Premiere

This exciting and thought-provoking drama centers on legendary psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud who invites the young, rising Oxford Don C.S. Lewis to his home in London. On the day England enters World War Two, Freud and Lewis clash about love, sex, the existence of God and the meaning of life, just weeks before Freud takes his own life.  Freud’s Last Session is a deeply touching play filled with humor and exploring the minds, hearts and souls of two brilliant men addressing the greatest questions of all time.

 

TBA

April 19-May 13, 2012

Phoenix Mainstage

Special Presentation

May 17-May 26, 2012

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre

 We will soon be announcing details about our sixth annual bilingual play to be seen during this time slot.

   

Next Fall

June 7-July 8, 2012

Geoffrey Nauffts

Phoenix Mainstage – Midwest Premiere

Next Fall takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. While the play’s central story focuses on the five-year relationship between Adam and Luke, Next Fall goes beyond a typical love story. This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to “believe” and what it might cost us not to.

With A Whimper

July 12-August 12, 2012

By Pete McElligott

Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre – World Premiere

Pete McElligott continues his postmodern superhero tale with the second in a trilogy that started with last season’s With A Bang.

Ticket Details:  The Phoenix FlexPass

The Phoenix FlexPass will be available through October 31, 2011. A FlexPass for $100 gets a patron five vouchers that can be traded in for any combination of tickets for any of the 2011-2012 productions.

CheapSeats performances will continue on Thursdays with tickets remaining at $15 per person. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday performance tickets will be $25 for all shows. The Phoenix will continue to offer a youth rate of $15, for those individuals aged 20 and younger.

Tickets for the new season may be purchased by calling the box office at 317.635.7529 to charge by phone, and will be available to purchase online at phoenixtheatre.org beginning August 1, 2011. All seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis. Performances are Thursdays at 7 pm; Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, unless otherwise noted on our website. Doors open 30 minutes prior to curtain. The Phoenix Pub, located inside the theatre, offers beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and bottled water, as well as treats. Refreshments are allowed into theater during performances.

ABOUT THE PHOENIX THEATRE

The Phoenix Theatre is Indiana's only professional contemporary theatre, and has presented productions to challenge and entertain the Indianapolis community for 29 years. An Equity house, the theater presents the Midwest and Indiana premieres of many popular Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, and has presented more than 83 world premieres in its quarter century.

The Phoenix operates the 130-seat proscenium Mainstage as well as the 75-seat cabaret-style black box Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre. Both venues are housed along with administrative offices in a renovated 1907 church in downtown Indianapolis' historic Chatham Arch neighborhood, part of the Mass Ave Arts & Theatre District.

The Phoenix Theatre is a member of the National New Play Network and the League of Indianapolis Theatres. It is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission, the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as local corporate and foundation funders and more than 400 individual donors.

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

White River State Park Concert Series 2011

The Lawn at White River State Park
Announces 2011 Summer Lineup

  Arcade Fire & The National  *  The Black Keys  *  Ray Lamontagne & The Pariah Dogs  *

*  Florence + The Machine  *  Umphrey's McGee  *  Ke$ha  *

*  Alison Krauss & Union Station feat. Jerry Douglas  *  The Decemberists  * The Avett Brothers  *

 (INDIANAPOLIS, IN) The 1-800-Quit-Now Concert Series at The Lawn at White River State Park today unveiled its summer 2011 season with its strongest and most eclectic lineup to date. The popular music venue is located in White River State Park in Indianapolis and has quickly become one of the Midwest's hottest concert destinations; annually hosting some of the biggest names in entertainment.

The Lineup: The 1-800-Quit-Now Concert Series at The Lawn at White River State Park welcomes a host of recent GRAMMY® award winners with Arcade Fire and The National on April 27, The Black Keys on June 10 and Ray Lamontagne & The Pariah Dogs on June 14. A special Independence Day concert will feature Florence + The Machine onJuly 4.  The just added Alison Krauss and Union Station feat. Jerry Douglas live on June 9 and summertime favorites Umphrey's McGee on June 25. The late summer lineup is also taking shape with performances by The Decemberists on August 5, pop superstar Ke$ha on August 23 and The Avett Brothers on October 1. More amazing shows will continue to be added in the next several weeks.

Ticket Information: Tickets for concerts at The Lawn at White River State Park are available through LiveNation.com, the Old National Centre Box Office (except day of show), Ticketmaster outlets or 1-800-745-3000.

Premium Seats (Tweet @VIPSeatsIndy): For VIP Box and Season Ticket information at The Lawn at White River State Park or other Live Nation Indianapolis venues, call 317-249-2752 or by email at vipseatsindy@livenation.com 

About The Lawn at White River State Park (Tweet @LiveNationIN): The Lawn at White River State Park is located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. It has been recognized by Pollstarmagazine as one of the top 100 outdoor concert venues for the past five years and has attracted the likes of Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers Band, The Roots, Moody Blues and Indigo Girls. The Lawn has also hosted major concert multi-day events for the NCAA Men's Final Four among others.  

About White River State Park (Tweet @WhiteRiverStPrk): White River State Park is the center of Indianapolis culture, offering unique experiences with a variety of educational and recreational world-class attractions. The Park is home to several venues, providing entertainment for a wide range of audiences, including the Indianapolis Zoo, Indiana State Museum, IMAX® Theater, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, NCAA Hall of Champions, Indianapolis Indians Baseball at Victory Field, The Lawn at White River State Park Concert Series, and the Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial to name a few. To learn more about the Park and its many happenings, visit inwhiteriver.org.

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

Restaurant Review: N'awlins Creole Cafe'

Photo by N'awlins Creole Cafe'

I was invited to test the newest eatery in the area, N'awlins Creole Café, 1118 N. State Road 267, in Avon. Opening just a week or so, ago, the café is already showing a promising start. Owners Brian and Jeri are originally from the pelican state and have run a catering business prior to opening the restaurant.

Tasting several items from the menu, I am happy to report that it is not only possible to get authentic Creole cuisine in the Indy area, it is also possible to do so without breaking the bank. The catfish was flaky and moist, the breading even and not too thick. The shrimp Po Boy sandwich was stacked high with the little guys and dressed as it’s done in New Orleans – mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles.

The jambalaya was as good as it can get this far north. The spices were noticeable without overpowering the traditional chicken, smoked sausage, and for an extra buck, shrimp. All seafood is brought in from Louisiana. was also tipped to the fact that crawfish is only good in the months with the letter “R” in it…which means no crawfish until September.

The gumbo file was a hearty soup delicious in its combination of shrimp and spices. The side dishes, Cajun corn, and red beans and rice, were hot and delicious. Future plans are for wine and beer to be added to the menu, but for right now, soft drinks are available. The décor was reminiscent of the former occupant, a coffee shop, and there is Dixie music in the air.

Outdoor seating is available, as are catering and delivery options. I have been invited back to check out the lunch menu. That sounds like a great idea, since I want to try the pralines from the dessert menu. The prices are reasonable and the steady stream of customers gives the distinct impression that this eatery has a very bright future.
T:  (317) 272-1077; Website: Nawlinscreolecafe.com Address: 1118 N State Road 267, Avon, IN
Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC, and follow her on Twitter @ejmusgrave1 and Facebook. Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, New Palestine Reporter, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.