Topic: Roxy Regional Theatre

Frolic on Franklin festival draws crowds for downtown shopping, entertainment

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 22, 2008 |

Saturday was the perfect day for the annual Frolic on Franklin, a celebration of local arts and artisans. Partly sunny skies and a cooling breeze drifted over Franklin Street as vendors set up their tents and sidewalk displays for the event, which featured demonstrations of painting, wood-turning, and other crafts.

The sidewalk in front of the Roxy Regional Theater became an impromptu stage, with ample seating under a canopy for those who chose to watch dancers, or listen to vocalists and musicians who offered non-stop entertainment.  The days activities were capped by the Gala Opening of the 2008-09 Roxy Season and the initial production, The Robber Bridegroom.

Though crowds of browsers seemed evident throughout the day, a number of merchants noted that both attendance and purchasing was down from last year, with some speculating that economic factors including high gas prices across the region  continue to impact retail and discretionary sales. Nonetheless, those who attended seemed happy with a day spent at an old-fashioned “Main Street” fair.

Photos by Bill Larson

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‘Frolic on Franklin’ celebrates music, dance, theatre and the arts

September 17, 2008 |

On September 20th, the 100 block of Franklin Street will come alive with music, dance, theatre and art. This marks the Second Annual Frolic on Franklin: A Celebration of the Arts. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Franklin Street will be teaming with artists displaying and selling their creations. They will be sharing the event with performing artists, bands, singers, dancers, players. In all, the Frlic will host  twenty-five booths and more than 50 artists.

The Frolic on Franklin: A Celebration of the Arts, a portion of the festival, is free and open to the public. The artists will display and sell their work, including art, jewelry, wood crafts, pottery and more. In addition, a minimum of five demonstrations including pottery, wood working/turning, a letterpress and painting, will be showcased, offering parents and children alike the opportunity to watch and learn. Interactive opportunities for the children will be made through activities such as sidewalk chalk and face painting.

This event was conceived by the Downtown Clarksville Association (DCA) members to bring arts to the streets on the same day The Roxy Regional Theatre hosts its annual Gala. «Read the rest of this article»

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Lack of handicapped parking spaces can be a “deal breaker” for downtown shopping

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 16, 2008 |

Upon hearing of the City Council decision to eliminate the traditional parking meters and implement a “park and display” to pay for downtown parking fees, I felt my stomach curl. That is a second reason NOT to go downtown. Nothing is more annoying that than the back-and forth run those infernal machines.

The first  reason, and by far the stronger reason, not to go downtown is the abyssimal lack of handicapped parking, Designated handicapped parking.

Let me preface with the statement that I am a huge fan of old-fashioned Main Street shopping. User friendly Main Street shopping. Shops such as Hodgepodge, streets such as Franklin Street,  are a “breath of life” for someone like me, used to and loving huge unique Main Streets with a marvelous diversity of shops,  manageable, accessible parking and park benches galore. I love small locally owned businesses. I avoid malls as if they dispensed bubonic plague. «Read the rest of this article»

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Roxy revs up for 26th season of theatre

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 3, 2008 |

John McDonald (l) and Tom Thayer in front of the Roxy Regional Theatre

The Roxy Regional Theatre’s 26th Season will enrich all the senses!

Although the 2008-09 season opens September 19, the annual gala is slated from September 20. The first play to hit the stage: The Robber Bridegroom, book and Lyrics by Alfred Uhry, music by Robert Waldman, adapted from the novella by Eudora Welty.

One of the only genuine bluegrass scores ever heard in a Broadway musical, this unusual tale of the Natchez Trace has a distinctive sound all its own. The Robber Bridegroom is the story of the courting of Rosamund, the only daughter of the richest planter in the country, by Jamie Lockhart, a rascally robber of the woods. The proceedings go awry, thanks to an unconventional case of double-mistaken identity. Throw in an evil stepmother intent on Rosamund’s demise, her pea-brained henchman and a hostile talking head-in-a-trunk, and you have the recipe for a rollicking country romp. Play dates are September 19, through October11. «Read the rest of this article»

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‘Fostered Ideal’ to play in theotherspace

August 11, 2008 |

Bradley Vile from the Roxy Regional Theatre has written and is currently directing a one-act piece entitled Fostered Ideal, which will be presented in theotherspace on August 15-16 at 6 p.m.

The play concerns the Foster family and their perpetual struggle to maintain the ideal family image throughout the last five decades. They ravenously defend their obligatory family relationships despite their total lack of communication or recognition of love.

The play features (pictured at left) Bryan Davis as the Son, Harmony Livingston as the Mom, Brendan Cataldo as the Dad, and Beth Koperwhats as the Daughter.

theotherspace at the Roxy is a smaller theater dedicated to presenting alternative plays and staged readings of new anddeveloping oworks, and has hosted some superior works in development .

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“ArtWalk and Wine” offers a refreshing break as the summer heat settles in

August 6, 2008 |

First Thursday Art Walk and Wine, hosted by the local businesses in the downtown area,will be held Thursday, August 5 from 5-8 p.m. Businesses stay open late, many host artists and have refreshments.

The Downtown Artists Co-op will host an art talk featuring Betty Liles and Nada Fuqua regarding their Retreat from the Heat show, now hanging at the Downtown Artists Cooperative. They will discuss techniques and inspiration for their paintings and style. Refreshments will be provided. Art talk is from 6 – 8 PM.

Jim Hancock’s photography exhibit is hanging at The Front Page Deli.

Judy Lewis will have her work hanging in Rogate’s Boutique. Judy is an extremely talented artist who recently returned to Clarksville. While she busily restores an older home, she makes time for her commission works of portraits and other studies. «Read the rest of this article»

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Impeccable cast ’shakes up’ the Roxy stage with repertoire of Elvis hits

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 26, 2008 |

The Roxy Regional Theatre’s new production, All Shook Up, is a rollicking romp through our musical “yesterday.” It’s an Elvis Presley fantasy set in a small town where all the action is played out through a score that could be subtitled “Elvis Presley’s Greatest hits.”

Natalie (Maria Maloney) falls instantly in love with Chad (Bryan Davis), who’s ridden into town a bold Red Harley.

It’s the third show I’ve seen in a year that has taken this route of mixing one singer or groups’ music and parlaying that playlist into a new form, integrating the music as part of the storyline. The film Across the Universe did a masterful job with the repertoire of the Beatles’, while the Mama Mia movie fared less well with its ABBA soundtrack. This live theatre production, All Shook Up, and this fabulous Roxy cast come out on the highest end of that scale.

• First, as we baby boomers know, you can’t go wrong with a good Elvis song.
• Second, this Roxy cast was perhaps its strongest ever ensemble of singers/dancers/actors/comics.
• Third, they had clever material and fine hand in direction and choreography.

«Read the rest of this article»

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Headin’ South, Goin’ North

By Bill Larson | July 14, 2008 |

The second event of the 4th annual Clarksville’s Writers Conference was a play at the Roxy Regional Theater. Headin’ South Goin’ North written by John McDonald mixes local historical sites and personages into a fictional story to give an engaging account of the Civil War era.

The story is of Charlie Lurton, a Clarksville boy.  The play follows Charlie (Brad Vile) and his companion Peter (Humberto Figueroa) through their escape from a Union prison camp, to their fate when they arrive back home. The story also follows Mrs. Lurton (Jill Whittinghill) as she makes her way to secure authorization for the release of another son, Horace (Joe Sonenshein) who was suffering from tuberculous. «Read the rest of this article»

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