The Best of 2013!

2013 was an exciting year for Artes de la Rosa Cultural Center for the Arts - full of art, creativity, family, and community! Of particular excitement were our theatre productions of Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET and The Tony Award Winning Musical, IN THE HEIGHTS. Yesterday, The 2013 "BEST OF" list was released and Artes de la Rosa received 19 "Bests" from 5 Theatre Critics including Editor & Senior Chief Theatre Critic John Garcia! We are so humbled by the outpour of love ADLR received and are so proud that our audiences have been apart of this amazing journey! 2014 looks to be just as an exciting year as musical, INTO THE WOODS just started rehearsals! Be on the look out for all the fun and excitement in the coming weeks as members of the cast of INTO THE WOODS blogs about their journey to "happily ever after..."

A list of all the recognitions from The Column follows:

 

JOHN GARCIA- Senior Chief Theater Critic/Editor/Founder Picks:

BEST NON-EQUITY PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR:

IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa  Theater). When I saw the national tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical about Latinos living Washington Heights in New York, I was enthralled and  savored every moment of this musical. So when the rights were released for theater companies to mount this Tony Award winning musical, I thought to myself, “Oh dear. I smell major trouble here”. Because the fact is there aren’t that many Latino actors in the DFW area. Plus to stay true to the potpourri score of Cuban, rap, pop, and soul and bring it  to full vocal artistry, that’s another major issue I saw facing local theater companies. Director Adam Adolfo faced these challenges head  on and brought to the stage a sublime production. The choreography of hip hop, jazz, popping locking, and other elements of today’s genre of dance was executed with great finesse by this cast. The staging and direction never fell off its tracks as the evening went on. It was a very smart move by Adolfo in casting the role of “Benny” with a Caucasian actor (normally it is played by an African-American actor). This casting switch added much rich new subtext to the score and book involving the romance and racism involving this character. The stage was overflowing with resplendent performances, from the ensemble to the principals. And here’s the ironic part-I was not the one on my staff to actually review it. I simply went to go observe it at the invitation of the director.  But what impressed me the most was that Adolfo was able to find an armful of Latino actors to bring this musical to life. When I saw this musical way back in May, I posted on Artes de la Rosa’s face book page that this was one of the best musicals of the year that I had seen so far. Now I feel it was indeed the Best Non-equity musical of the 2013 season.



OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR:

 

Joshua Sherman

Lorens Portalatin

Matt Ransdell Jr. as “Usnavi”, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theatre)

Joshua Sherman as “Benny”, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theatre)

Lorens Portalatin as “Nina”, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theatre)

Pilar Ortiz as “Abuela Claudia”, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theatre)

 

BEST DIRECTION OF THE YEAR:

Adam Adolfo, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theater)

 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR:
Elise Lavallee, Michael Sylvester Maegan Marie Stewart, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theater)

 

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF THE YEAR:

Matt Ransdell

Sarah Salazar, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theater)

 

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF THE YEAR:
Aaron Sanchez, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theatre)

 

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR:
Matt Ransdell, Jr., IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theatre)

 

BEST ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:
The cast of IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theatre)- Kevin Acosta, Michael Alonzo, Austin Ray Beck, Jeremy Coca, Jordan Ghanbari, Benicka Janae Grant, Gina Gwozdz, Courtney Harris, Aigner Mathis, Darren McElroy, Addie Morales, Mark Quach, Rebekah Ruiz, Meagan Marie Stewart, Michael Sylvester, Rashad Turley

MARY L. CLARK: Assistant Editor in Chief/ Associate Theater Critic's Picks:

 

Michael Alonzo with choreographers Austin Ray Beck & Rebekah Ruiz

"Juliet" - Courtney Harris"

BEST PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR:
Michael Alonzo –Balthasar The Balladeer – Romeo Juliet – Artes de la Rosa. His stage presence, his spectacular tenor voice made Alonzo the play’s heartthrob, but his role as the narrator lent the important ominous flavor to the play.

Courtney Harris– Juliet – Romeo Juliet – Artes de la Rosa. Harris beautifully played all of Juliet’s emotions and showed the character’s realistic transition into womanhood.

BEST DIRECTION OF THE YEAR:
Adam Adolfo– Director – Romeo Juliet – Artes de la Rosa. Adolfo’s staging was naturalistic, moving actors easily and quickly, and set changes without blackouts and fades.  Actors played characters with a more realistic air than most Shakespeare productions I’ve seen.

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR:
Austin Ray Beck and Rebekah Ruiz – Choreography – Romeo Juliet – Artes de la Rosa. While not highly difficult dance moves, Beck and Ruiz created work that made each dancer shine and every dance look spectacular.  Precision over flash was the order of the day and it was well worth the effort.
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RICHARD S. BLAKE- Associate Theater Critic's Picks:

 

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS:
Lorens Portalatin as Apothecary/Dancer, ROMEO JULIET, (Artes de la Rosa)
As one of DFW’s most exciting up-and-coming young actresses, Ms. Portalatin commanded the stage in the show, yet never when the focus wasn’t on her.  It was a truly stunning performance and I’m sure we’ll see this rising star on some of the area’s largest stages very, very soon!
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LK FLETCHER-Associate Theater Critic's Picks:

BEST DANCER: Michael Anthony Sylvester “In The Heights”, Artes de la Rosa
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JOEL TAYLOR-Associate Theater Critic's Picks:

BEST DIRECTION:
Adam Adolfo for In the Heights, Artes de la Rosa Theater

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Elise Lavallee, Michael Sylvester Maegan Marie Stewart, IN THE HEIGHTS (Artes de la Rosa Theater)

To read the full article; follow this link: http://thecolumnawards.org/columnonline/articles-Best-of-theater-2013.asp

The Mystery of Romeo - Take Time with Kevin Acosta to Find it Out

When In The Heights closed, almost 2 months ago, it was heart wrenching and bittersweet to go through - seeing as we as a cast had bonded and truly become a familia.  No one was left out or forgotten in our bond - from our techs to the ensemble to the leads; a truly, beautiful experience.  Even for someone who has been consistently been doing show after show for almost 2 years straight, I knew this show would leave a mark on my heart and life in general, as it has.  So of course it could and would cause one to become depressed not being able to the  see the people you had spent every minute of everyday for the past 3 months with.  In the theatre world, when we go through a break up like this there is only one thing you can do... Audition for another show.  Except this one would be completely different from anything I had ever done before.

For one, up to this point, I had exclusively been in musicals.  Not a shocker since I've never had an acting class or anything of the sort and had been in choir since I was in sixth grade; so it just made  sense.  And not only was this Romeo and Juliet, the most famous love story of all time, but for me it was SHAKESPEARE!  I don't know if I've ever been as nervous as I was for this audition.  I was  taking a leap of faith on this one.  Right before I went to my audition I had a in-depth conversation with my best friend about who I wanted to be as an entertainer and how this show just felt right to me.  I am  always trying to push myself as an individual and a performer and this was the step in the direction that I wanted for myself.

I'd be lying if didn't say that Romeo wasn't similar to the other roles I have played (Link Larkin in Hairspray, Ren McCormick in Footloose, etc), but there is just so much more to Romeo.  He is complex - More than just face value  to him.  And I think that's why this was the role I wanted.  As an actor and a person, I want people to take me seriously and not just see me, but to truly see me.  The undertone of Romeo is present throughout the whole play.  You know there is something more to him, almost like he is hiding something from you.  The mystery that is Romeo.

But when I think about it, that's the whole reason I love theatre and acting in general.  The ability to be someone you aren't.  To breath and give life to a complete and separate individual from yourself.  For me, I have truly been blessed to have been in the shows that I have been in.  I have had the amazing journey of finding myself through my characters.  I learn a little about myself every time I am someone else.

I am beyond words to express how excited I am to start this journey with Director Adam Adolfo, my darling Juliet, Courtney Harris, and the rest of this amazing cast.  From the self-proclaimed Domingo of Washington Heights, I grow once more and find myself as the highly acclaimed Romeo of Havana.

JUST JULIET: A few minutes with Courtney Harris

When a show that was really special to you closes you go into what seasoned professionals call “post show depression”. This was definitely a reality when my dream show, In The Heights, had its final performance on June 9th and suddenly I was practically familia-less and purposeless.

Knowing that this was the only possible antidote for my feelings of incompleteness, and also knowing I was going to be out of town for the Romeo and Juliet auditions, I essentially begged Adam Adolfo, ADLR's Artistic Director, to let me come in and audition early.

 

I was completely completely terrified. Every audition I had ever done before has been a musical theatre audition, so where normally I would just prepare 16 bars of my usual stuff and be set, I instead had to prepare an entire Shakespearean monologue. 

Even though I’ve done Shakespeare monologue competitions at my school and even a vignette style one act, I have never been in a real full length play (let alone in iambic pentameter). But after some frantic searching online for an age appropriate monologue I settled on the Jailer’s Daughter from Two Noble Kinsmen and just hoped for the best.

 

I know some actors shy away from Shakespeare, but for someone who is used to expressing herself musically, I love it and it makes sense to me. So to be cast in Romeo & Juliet was a dream come true, but to be cast as Juliet is still unfathomable. 

 

Within the realm of musical theatre I usually fall into what I call the “the brat, the rat, and the weirdo” type where I usually play the brat or rat, most recently - the witch (in Into The Woods), or the weirdo (roles admittedly very Kristin-Wiig-esque). Thus the classic romantic ingénue (because really, what’s more classic and romantic than Romeo and Juliet?) is very much uncharted territory for me- a challenge I am not going to take lightly or passively. 

 

But I identify with Juliet, as most teenage girls do, in a sense that she is in that critical time of her life where she is no longer a child but not yet has the freedoms of an adult. Juliet is not frail and passive, but resilient and passionate and true to her convictions. The courage she has to risk and leave behind everything for what she believes in (love) is why I’m beyond excited about this opportunity to try my hand at playing her.

 

And that's the beauty of being a performing artist: apart from having the ability to share a story or character with an audience, you are capable of unlocking an element of your identity. You get to use your imagination to find yourself in someone you maybe thought wasn't like you. Even offstage, that is an experience that broadens your mind and opens up your perspective of other people as human beings. 

 

And on top of all that, I’m exceedingly lucky that in my first play I get to share the stage with this immensely talented cast and my first stage kiss ever with the amazing Kevin Acosta, all under the direction of the brilliant Adam Adolfo at Artes de la Rosa - which is a theatre that will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Meet the Cast of Romeo & Juliet

Artes de la Rosa is proud to announce casting for Romeo & Juliet, directed by Artistic Director Adam Adolfo. The world’s most famous story of an impossible ‘star-crossed’ love told against a violent political rebellion in the streets of Havana, 1958, comes to life on the Rose Marine Theater stage. It is a story of desire in a place for pleasure, power, and passion wrapped in the loving words of th...e world’s greatest poet, William Shakespeare... But behind this dazzling world of nightlife, glamour, and romance, the country is fraught with corruption. On the eve of the Castro revolution, you can feel the heat from the winds of Havana. Fall in love with Romeo & Juliet.

Taking the stage in the leading roles of the star crossed lovers are two alumni from Artes de la Rosa’s critically acclaimed production of the Tony Award Winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS. Starring as the poetic and sensitive young lover Romeo is the dashing Kevin Acosta. His counterpart, the strong but often misunderstood romantic Juliet is the beautiful Courtney Harris.

Making their Artes de la Rosa debut is Fort Worth ISD Theatre Teacher Clyde Berry as Father Laurence and Texas Wesleyan University Senior Kristi Taylor as the Nurse.

Returning to the Rose Marine stage for the first time since the inauguration of the American Classics Theater Initiative with the production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is Adrian Godinez as Mercutio. He is joined by Parker Fitzgerald as Tybalt and Kyle Trentham as the Prince, both most recently seen in ethereal staging of Oscar Romero’s life, THE FIFTH SUN.

Other IN THE HEIGHTS cast members take the stage for this production set in 1958 Havana Cuba including Austin Ray Beck as Benvolio, Rebekah Ruiz as the rarely seen Rosaline, and Michael Alonzo as Balthazar. Many will remember Mr. Alonzo for his soaring vocals as the Piragua Guy in IN THE HEIGHTS, and here he takes the stage again to show us his phenomenal vocal techinique in several special musical numbers that the Production Team are excited to bring to this Shakespeare classic.

Rounding out the cast making their Artes de la Rosa stage debut are Cameron Allsup as the vicious and contestable Abraham, Jacob Harris as the charming and handsome Paris, and Jule Nelson-Duac as the plotting and manipulative Lady Capulet.

Additional casting still to come. Tickets for Romeo & Juliet go on sale Thursday August 1st and will be available online by visiting www.ArtesDeLaRosa.org. To celebrate the greatest love story ever told, Artes de la Rosa will be offering a special discount to its patrons who buy their tickets on the first day. On that day ONLY, when you use the promo code TRUELOVE you will receive a $5 discount on each ticket purchased including the gala opening night event.

 

#RomeoAndJulietFW