Bootless Brings Monty Python's "Not the Messiah" Oratorio to Town for a Praise-worthy Fundraiser

Some companies put on The Messiah for Christmas. Bootless Stageworks, always marching to its own drummer, is putting on Not the Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy), an Oratorio by Eric Idle and John DuPrez, based on Monty Python's Life of Brian, in late January. We had the opportunity to sit in on an early rehearsal for the show, conducted by Bootless Music Director James W. Fuerst and featuring two dozen singers from Bootless, NewArk Chorale and other area theater companies as well as 20 orchestra musicians from Bootless, Wilmington Community Orchestra, Newark Symphony, Diamond State Concert Band, First State Symphonic, Chesapeake Brass Band and University of Delaware Orchestra. Everyone involved in this fundraising production is doing it on a volunteer basis, and the enthusiasm for the piece shows through. You may remember soloists Geoff Bruen, Kimberly Christie, Cynthia Ballentine, and Michael Popovsky from Bootless' 2012 production of Jerry Springer: The Opera (among other area Opera Productions), and Justin Walsh from the always-popular Evil Dead: The Musical. That so many talented folks have come out to donate their time is a testament to both the appeal of Not the Messiah and the small theater company that has not been without its struggles in the past couple of years.

About a year ago, it looked like Bootless, a nomadic "pop up" theater company, had found a permanent home in Newport, Delaware. The location had one major problem: it lacked a parking lot, and the company couldn't get the go-ahead to build one. Homeless again, Bootless struck a deal with OperaDelaware to utilize its Black Box theater, but scheduling conflicts with that space's longtime resident, City Theater Company, have prevented it from becoming its permanent home (though Bootless' next show, Venus in Furs, will be performed there in March).

For Not the Messiah, the company is utilizing one of Wilmington's best kept secrets: the Down's Cultural Arts Center at Ingleside Retirement Apartments, located at 1005 North Franklin Street."It's a great deal for non-profit organizations," says Bootless Executive and Artistic Director, Rosanne DellAversano. "It's free to use for non-profits. They're working to bring programs to the venue, where a percentage of tickets go to the residents." In addition to enriching the lives of the residents, the venue is open to the public.

Not the Messiah will have just two shows, on Friday January 31, and Saturday February 1. Both shows will be at 7:30 pm. Tickets for are $25 General Admission, $20 for Seniors and Military, and $18 for Students, and include complimentary refreshments at intermission. All proceeds will benefit Bootless Artworks. To purchase tickets, and for more information about Bootless, go to bootless.org.

Our Bloggers' Best Of 2013

Last year was an amazing one for the Arts in Delaware. We had so many great experiences, and we’d like to share some of them with you. Below are each of our blogger’s picks for Delaware Arts Info Blog’s Best Of 2013 (in random order). We hope you’ll check out these organizations in 2014!

Blogger Charles “Ebbie" Alfree, III
My Best of 2013 were Wilmington Drama League’s Avenue Q; Delaware Theatre Company’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore; City Theater Company’s On the Air and First State Ballet Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
 
The Wilmington Drama League did an amazing job producing Avenue Q. The actors, sets, and puppets were superb — it was a perfect production! The wonderful female cast of Delaware Theater Company’s Love, Loss and What I Wore made me laugh and tear up. It’s impossible to not like this wonderful piece of theater about the trials/tribulations and the FUN/happiness of being a woman. It was so refreshing to see a new musical—On the Air—produced by City Theater Company. Joe Trainor and Kevin Regan wrote a witty musical that boasted a fantastic cast. A Midsummer Night’s Dream produced by First State Ballet Theatre was sumptuous. I was enthralled by the stunning dancers who gave enchanting performances while wearing ethereal costumes!

Blogger Margaret Darby
My Best of 2013 were the Delaware Chamber Music Festival, the second University of Delaware Master Series Kavafian Concert and City Theater Company’s production of Gypsy. 

Of the four incredibly excellent concerts of the Delaware Chamber Music Festival, my favorite piece was the Elegiac Trio by Sergei Rachmaninov. The beginning of the piece was a subtle cello bowing so soft, I thought Clancy Newman was simply tuning, until Music Director and violinist Barbara Govatos joined in with a second soft rumble. The University of Delaware Master Players hosted Ani and Ida Kavafian and their excellent pianist, Jonathan Feldman for a concert so good, it kept me in goosebumps for the next three days. As to Gypsy, the cast of City Theater Company gave a small-scale production that had all the pizzazz of Broadway — giving a masterful portrayal of ambition and love with the Company’s signature humor and intensity.
 
Blogger Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald
My Best of 2013 had to be the Delaware Art Museum’s American Moderns exhibit; City Theater Company’s Jesus Christ Superstar In Concert; Umberto Crenca’s Wilmington visit; and the WSTW Homey Awards at World Cafe Live.

The American Moderns exhibit (which closed on 1/5/14) was a rich, colorful trip through treasured American visual masters, including my all-time inspiration and favorite, Georgia O’Keeffe (seeing her originals, lent from the Brooklyn Museum, nearly took my breath away). The kickoff of City Theater Company’s 20th anniversary season with a blowout performance of Jesus Christ Superstar In Concert was awe-inspiring. Music Director (and role of Judas) Joe Trainor gave us a memorable and standing ovation-worthy celebration of one of Wilmington’s ‘little gems.’ Meeting artist/visionary Umberto Crenca — founder of AS220, an arts non-profit organization in Downtown Providence, Rhode Island — was such a treat. Crenca visited for Wilmington Renaissance Corporation’s Big Ideas Meeting, lending his insights and expertise on ways we can move Wilmo to the next level of a thriving Arts-centric city. In March, the WSTW Homey Awards at World Cafe Live was a power-packed Who’s Who of Awesome Local Music — psyched to see so many of my faves came home with honors. I’ve never felt prouder to be a Delawarean in the Arts in 2013! Now, how can we top it in 2014?!
 
Blogger Holly Quinn
My Best of 2013 included City Theater Company’s Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert; Delaware Theatre Company’s Love, Loss and What I Wore; OperaDelaware’s L’elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love); Wilmington Drama League’s Butterflies Are Free; New Candlelight Theater’s A Chorus Line; and Hot Breakfast’s new CD, 39 Summers.

What do YOU want us to cover in 2014? Email Arts in Media with your suggestions!

A Christmas Tradition Continues with Carols in Color

Photo: Eleone Dance Company

Few holidays shows are as inspiring as Carols in Color, a Holiday Dance Music Celebration, performed in Wilmington by Eleone Dance Theatre and presented by Christina Cultural Arts Center and Revive the Village. For 22 years, the show, a spectacular telling of the Biblical Christmas story with an African American Gospel flavor, has graced area stages. Whether the show is performed in a high school auditorium or a big proscenium theater, it always delivers. This year, the Wilmington show was performed at The Grand Opera House downtown to a packed room, including many local children and families, some of whom were gifted with tickets through CCAC.

That generosity is part of Eleone Dance Theatre Artistic Director Shawn-Lamere Williams' mission. "We must invest in our children," he said after the show. "There's a saying, 'It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.' Today it takes a World to Raise a Child."

Funds raised from Carols in Color and its sponsors, including United Way of Delaware, Delaware Division of the Arts, AstraZeneca, Black Heritage Education & Theatre Group, Center Wilmington Early Learning Readiness Team, and Delaware Office of Early Learning, help to support Christina Cultural Arts Center Education Programs.

For the uninitiated, Carols in Color is an original production of the Eleone Dance Company in Philadelphia, conceived by the company's founder, E. Leon Evans, II. It combines modern dance and a live Gospel chorus, as well as music from various gospel artists, to tell the Christmas story starting from Gabriel's first visit Mart?. Several local students of Christina Cultural Arts Center? also participate in the show.

The first act of Carols in Color focuses on the confusion, helplessness and hardship Mary and Joseph faced as they dealt with her very unexpected pregnancy. Most of the first act is comprised of beautiful solo dances -- performed this year by Anthony Rhodes as Gabriel, Dara J. Meredith as Mary, Matthew Thomas as Joseph and A'aliyah Khan as the Angel of God -- with their voices sung by Jeremy Isaac, Tina Finks/Germaine Downing, Kairi Guinn and Tia McNeil, respectively. Songs include "What Shall I Do," "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" and "No Place To Go."

The second act opens with "Go Tell It On The Mountain," as Mary presents the baby Jesus, played by little Dakota Meredith. The celebration continues with "Hallelujah" from Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration, "The First Noel," "Silent Night," with "Angels We Have Heard On High" finishing the show with the entire cast of dancers and singers on stage.


If you missed this year's celebration, be sure to catch it next year, when the company will continue the tradition for the 23rd year. For more information on how to support Christina Cultural Arts Center and Carols in Color, go to ccacde.org and eleonedance.org.