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MNM Theatre Company to present Maltby & Shire’s CLOSER THAN EVER on Demand!

13 Tuesday Oct 2020

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MNM Theatre Company will present

Maltby & Shire’s
Closer Than Ever
Correctly Socially Distanced!
Available for Streaming on Demand
November 27 – December 31

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

October 13, 2020

BOCA RATON, FL:  MNM Theatre Company, like almost every theatre company around the world, has been drastically affected by COVID-19. All scheduled productions have either been cancelled or postponed indefinitely, with no re-start date in sight.  However, the company’s Producing Artistic Director and CEO Marcie Gorman and Director Jonathan Van Dyke have come up with an innovative way to provide audiences with theatre, and the company’s first production Maltby and Shire’s Closer Than Ever will debut on November 27th and be available for On Demand streaming through December 31st.

“Since we haven’t been together for a long time, we knew it was time to be Closer Than Ever,” Gorman says. “Just the name of this show seemed to be a perfect fit for these times – so many of us are still so far apart and yet in many ways, Closer Than Ever. 

“And Jonathan has developed a safe and incredibly creative way to present it to audiences”, she continues.  “I’m excited about this on so many levels, not the least of which is to provide work for our actors and technical people, most of whom haven’t worked for months, and are so looking forward to once again ‘making theatre’”.  

Closer Than Ever will be filmed at MNM’s Boca Raton warehouse/studio, which will be cleaned and sanitized regularly. Maximum safety precautions will be observed from the start of rehearsals through the final performance: Individual show segments will be filmed separately; actors and tech crew have been asked to observe COVID protocols and remain as isolated as possible unless rehearsing or performing. They will be COVID tested frequently; their temperatures will be taken each time they enter the building; and they will be required to hand sanitize multiple times every day.  They will maintain at minimum a 6-foot social distance whether on stage or off; and masks will be worn at all times unless the actor is on stage or being filmed.  A very small invited audience will be present at one taping – but everyone will have his or her temperature taken, audience members will also be properly socially distanced, and each audience member must be part of the show’s participants’ ‘bubble’.

Closer Than Ever is a nonstop exploration of everyday struggles in the “modern world”. Topics ranging from unrequited adoration… to aging… to Muzak are tackled with resounding sincerity and precisely placed hilarity. Each song is a unique story told by a new character, taking audiences into the minds of the individuals facing these completely relatable challenges. Lyricists Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire based many of the songs on real-life experiences of their friends, or stories told to them.  The show won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical.

“Knowing what we are facing in live performance logistically and what would resonate artistically, for me the choice was Maltby & Shire’s Closer Than Ever,” says Jonathan Van Dyke who will direct and stage the production.   “The title alone says so much of where we are. While unable to be close physically, in our hearts and minds we are Closer Than Ever.

“Working with MNM and our integrated video concept, we hope to have found a way to navigate safety measures and still execute some intimate moments in an artistic way,” he continues.  “The humanity and honesty of the songs delivers such a layered theatrical experience. Maltby and Shire have created over a dozen Broadway shows, film and television scores, and are the recipients of Grammy, Tony and Academy Awards.  I’m so looking forward to working on this material with this team.”

Closer Than Ever will star Johnbarry Green, Aaron Bower, and Carbonell Award-winners Shelley Keelor, and Elijah Word, all of whom have worked with MNM Theatre Company in the past.   The technical crew, also all MNM alumni, includes Eric Alsford as the production’s Musical Director, and Emily Tarallo as the Choreographer, as well as Lighting Designer Clifford Michael Spulock, Sound Designer by Mike Kelly, Scenic Artist Cindi Taylor, and Scenic Designer Jordon Armstrong.  Johnbarry Green will serve as Technical Director, Cliff Burgess as Videographer, Michael Joseph as Assistant Videographer, wigs by Tease & Floof Custom Wig Boutique, and Amber Mandic and Andrea Guardo will be the production’s co-Stage Managers and co-Props Mistresses.

The award-winning duo, lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. (Miss Saigon, Fosse, Ring of Fire) and composer David Shire (film scores include The Conversation, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, All The President’s Men, and parts of Saturday Night Fever), began working together as students at Yale University. Their first Broadway credit as a team was in 1968, when their song “The Girl of the Minute” was used in the revue New Faces of 1968. Their shared credits include Baby (1983), Big (1996) and Take Flight (2007).  Richard Maltby conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical:  Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1978) and Fosse (1999). David Shire won the Oscar for the theme song to Norma Rae “It Goes Like It Goes”; as a pianist Shire played for the original productions of both The Fantasticks and Funny Girl.

Closer Than Ever will begin streaming on November 27th and will be available On Demand through December 31st on Music Theatre International’s (MTI) streaming platform www.ShowTix4U.com via MNM Theatre Company’s website www.mnmtheatre.org or on the company’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/mnmtheatrecompany . Once tickets are purchased, patrons will receive a link to view the production.  The link will be active for 48 hours from the first click.  Tickets are $20.  

MNM Theatre Company is an award-winning not-for-profit 501(c)(3) theatre company whose mission is to produce high quality professional live theatre that inspires audiences and enriches the cultural life of the community while creating Florida based jobs in the Arts. 

For more information about MNM Theatre Company please visit www.mnmtheatre.org.  To speak with Marcie Gorman or Jonathan Van Dyke, please contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~

Closer Than Ever
November 27 – December 31
Music by David Shire
Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr.
Conceived by Steven Scott Smith
Directed by Jonathan Van Dyke
Tickets: $20
Tickets available at https://www.mnmtheatre.org/  and/or  www.facebook.com/mnmtheatrecompany or
https://www.showtix4u.com/events/closerthanever  

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Kevin Black’s BALLROOM: SOUTH BEACH STYLE! At the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton – January 9 – 11 Only!

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

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Kevin Black Productions
presents
Ballroom poster 1Ballroom: South Beach Style
January 9-11

Straight from the streets of Miami comes the hottest party in town!

December, 23, 2014:
BOCA RATON, FL: The Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park will resonate with the sounds of music in January. No… not ‘those’ sounds of music, but sounds unique to South Florida… fast paced, exciting, and exotic.

51462f62be1b8Renowned producer/director/choreographer Kevin Black’s Ballroom: South Beach Style will run at the Willow for four performances only, from January 9th through January 11th. Stylish and sexy, full of the Miami beat and heat, the show features intricate ballroom dancing, along with Salsa, Merengue, Rhumba, Mambo, and Jive, all accompanied by carefully selected popular music appropriate to each style and era.

Beginning 1940s, the heyday of South Beach night life when stars like Frank, Dean, and Sammy graced the stages of large showrooms at The Fontainebleau Hotel and other popular tourist attractions, Ballroom: South Beach Style progresses chronologically, featuring music by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, KC and The Sunshine Band, Madonna, Phil Collins, Gloria Estefan, and Santana. Evoking the sounds of Miami Vice, Whitney Houston (who filmed The Bodyguard at The Fountainebleau), Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, into the 90s when Latin music crossed over to the pop chart, led by The Miami Sound Machine – the entire production is rooted in South Beach and Miami.

Singers Mimi J. and Shelley Keelor, and dancers Rome Saladino and Marina Putane, along with Teddy Talbot, Luke Stockton, Kelly Pryor, Jenny Hegarty, Andreas Lutzner, and Craig Strang are slated to participate in the production.

Ballroom: South Beach Style has toured and thrilled audiences throughout the United States for the past three years. These four performances are the show’s first at the Willow – invited there because of its well known artistry and popularity.

“Audiences love this show,” says producer/choreographer Black. “With the continued popularity of Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, more and more people are aware of how difficult, yet how very entertaining this kind of production is. Our cast is immensely talented, the music is amazing, and our costumes are gorgeous,” he continues. “We’ve had nothing but the most positive feedback and reviews since we began.”

kevin_blackKevin Black is the owner and artistic director of Kevin Black Productions. His expertise, experience, and creativity in directing and choreography, as well as in set, costume, and lighting design have built him a solid reputation as one of the top ‘go-to guys’ in South Florida. Kevin’s most recent work includes 8 Track, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, and Rags at The Plaza Theatre in Manalapan. He directed and choreographed Spamalot, Tommy, and The Rocky Horror Show for Entr’Acte Theatrix performing at The Crest Theatre in Delray Beach.  Kevin has also produced South Florida tours of La Cage Aux Folles, The Jazz Singer, Smokey Joe’s Café, Funny Girl, Victor/Victoria, Cabaret,  and Dreamgirls. And his recent creations for Stage Door Theatre, On the Radio, starring Ballroom’s Mimi J. and What’s New Pussycat? The Soundtrack of an Era, were extremely successful and well reviewed. Kevin’s work can currently be seen at the Villa de Palmar Resorts in Cabo, Mexico; Kevin is also the Artistic Director for CAST (Career in the Arts, School of Talent) located in Cooper City, Florida.

Mimi J. was born and raised in Miami. She is a professional singer currently performing in the South Florida tri-county area, and has been the recipient of numerous awards in vocal performance. She received her degrees in Musical Theater from the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theater in Orlando, where she attended on the Walt Disney Scholarship. Mimi has been a member of the gospel recording group, Revelation S.E.E.D. founded and led by Margaret Reynolds of KC and the Sunshine Band, and has sung background for a number of award-winning artists including Gloria Estefan, Bobby McFerrin, Betty Wright, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill of the R&B group New Edition, and Quan Howell of the gospel group Sounds of Blackness. Some of her regional theatre and Broadway National and International Tour credits include Ain’t Misbehavin’, Smokey Joe’s Café, Fame, Nunsense, and Rent. Mimi was the first woman of color to play Teen Angel in the classic 70’s hit, Grease during the show’s Pan-Asian tour. She recently starred in On the Radio at the Broward Stage Door Theatre.

11Rome Saladino has performed with a number of prestigious companies including the Sacramento Ballet, Icelandic Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. He has worked with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Fernando Bujones, Jürgen Schneider, Alonzo King, Jon Engstrom, Ann Reinking, and Sonja Haney (Bob Fosse’s Assistant).

Marina Putane trained as a rhythmic gymnast; she was a member of the Latvian National Team, which competed in many cities all over the former USSR. Her dancing career began as a show ballet dancer with Latvian magician, Palchevsky, at the National Latvian Opera House. She has performed all over the world for many cruise lines as an Adagio and show dancer. She starred, along with her husband, Rome Saladino, in the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, Song and Dance.

shelleykeelor-119Shelley Keelor has been entertaining audiences regionally and internationally, on stage and in concert for nearly two decades. She has performed in more than a dozen countries including Italy and Turkey, and performed with the Istanbul State Symphony in both Istanbul and the famed Aspendos Amphitheater in Antalya,Turkey touring as a soloist in the revue show, Broadway Nights. Shelley’s musical theatre roles include that of Cindy in Waist Watchers, and Penelope in Rock Odyssey – a rock musical by Emmy-winning composer Billy Straus and writer Stephen Cole. She was nominated for a Cabonell award for her performance in Kurt Weill’s Berlin to Broadway at Palm Beach Dramaworks, and was the recipient of glowing reviews in Slow Burn Theatre Company’s recent production of Carrie the Musical.

Ballroom: South Beach Style will run at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park from January 9th through January 11th, 2015. The theatre is located at 300 South Military Trail in Boca Raton, just south of Palmetto Park Road. Tickets are $30, and are available at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948 or on line at www.willowtheatre.org.

Ballroom: South Beach Style
Friday, January 9 – 8 pm
Saturday, January 10 – 2 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, January 11 – 2 pm
Tickets: $30
For Tickets: www.willowtheatre.org/ 561-347-3948
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 S Military Trail
Boca Raton FL 33496
http://kevinblackproductions.com/ballroom