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

MYSTERIES OF MARIA; Inside Artes de la Rosa's Maria De Buenos Aires - BLOG 8 - "Hay Dios Mio"

Today we blog with Wes Cantrell, one of the Stars of Maria de Buenos Aires. You may have noticed Wes steaming up the press photos - but he's more then a pretty face. Wes is a wonderful artist and a charismatic actor. You'll be really suprised what he's doing with the role of Father Luce, a priest with a dark secret. Let's hear what Wes has to say... make sure to purchase your tickets, opening night is less then three weeks away!

"HAY DIOS MIO"

I am very excited to be returning to the stage in the city of Fort Worth. I’ve lived most of my life over in Weatherford, and Fort Worth was always the big city for me. Whenever we needed to go shopping or do something fun, we’d always jump on I-20, and start heading East. In a way, getting back to the Artes de le Rosa stage is a homecoming for me. When Adam approached me about working as a principal in a “Tango Operita” I wasn’t so much skeptical as I was absolutely terrified! Dancing? Tango?! Spanish?!? Hay Dios mio… I knew if I said yes I would have my work cut out for me. But he gave me the Original Cast recording, and within five minutes of listening to the tracks I had fallen in love with the music. It’s tantric, sexy, and takes these twists and turns that I’ve never heard from anything else. I knew right then and there that I had to be a part of this production. Before too long I had made friends with the rest of the cast, and I knew how special this production was going to be. There are some shows that you do out of obligation, or because you’re trying to get your Equity weeks, and typically you don’t remember much from the rehearsal process or the run of those shows. But then there are shows that you do that blur that line between work and play. The ones that you’re involved in simply for the love of it. Those are the shows that stay with you forever. I know that this particular show has been a journey for me. I’m very excited to bring Father Luce to life in a way that no one has ever seen before… I hope you get to come see it.

Maria de Buenos Aires
A Tango Operita
May 11th - May 27th

Photos by Shannon Atkinson

Artes dela Rosa Announces Principle Castin for the Regional Premiere of the Tango Opera, MARIA DE BUENOA AIRES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fort Worth, TX – February 27th – Artes de la Rosa is proud to announce principle casting for the Regional Premiere of Astor Piazolla’s Tango Operita, MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES which is receiving its Regional Premiere this May at Artes de la Rosa’s home The Rose MarineTheater.

Starring as Maria, is Grace Neeley making her Artes de laRosa debut. The actress has been seen through out the North Texas theatre community taking the stage at Circle Theatre (The Great American Trailer Park Musical) and Casa Manana where she played Linda Lou in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, starring Ruta Lee & Ed Dixon. “The role requires an epic journey ranging from youthful naïveté, to rambunctious sensuality, to frailty and despair without ever loosing a sense of hope. When we found Grace, we knew we had a woman who could not only embody the role, but truly define tango itself,” says Director Adam Adolfo.

Returning to the Rose Marine stage after glowing reviews for his turn as Valentin in Artes de la Rosa’s critically praised Kiss of the Spiderwoman is Keith J. Warren in the lyric tenor role of Maria’s love interest, El Payador. Most recently Keith was seen in Rags at Lyric Stage, under the supervision of maestro Jay Dias and Broadway composer Charles Strouse. A fixture of musical theatre stages regionally, performing with Casa Mañana, WaterTowerTheater, Garland Summer Musicals, ICT Mainstage, Bass Performance Hall, and The Jefferson Performing Arts Society in Louisiana, Keith rejoins the Artes de la Rosa family for this, his first “little” opera.

Rounding out the principle cast is JP Cano in the role of the Goblin Ghost Storyteller, El Duende. A trained dancer, JP has been seen on the stage at Teatro Dallas in La Máscara que Hablaba, Don Juan, the Vampire, Blue Beach, and last year’s The Maiden of the Used Books. Other stage credits include MBS Productions at Adam and Eve… and Kiss the Boys. TV appearances include the Bravo’s show Most Eligible Dallas, My Style’s Big Rich Texas, and NBC’s Chase. Cano debuted at the ADLR Cultural Center last year as part of the American Classics Theatre Initiative production, A View from the Bridge.

When asked to comment, Maria… star Grace Neeley offered, “"When I heard Piazzolla's score, I knew I just had to be part of this production. The music, the art, the dancing, it's one of those once in a life time opportunities for a performer."

“The production team and I are so excited to bring together three of the most talented individuals in this singular storytelling event. Their poise, passion,and perfection are precisely the traits we so tirelessly searched for in performers. Grace, Keith, and JP are stars, and their performances will be North Texas epics,” offers Artistic Director Adam Adolfo. Production begins May 11th at the Rose Marine Theater in Fort Worth for a strictly limited 3 week engagement through March 25th.



About MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES

Born in the slums, luredby the city, surrendered to the bordellos, Maria's life is the story of the tango. Through song, dance, and poetic narration, Artistic Director Adam Adolfo transforms the historic Rose Marine Theatre into a dark haunted bordello in Argentina. The ill-omened María, born "one day when God was drunk", heads to the center of Buenos Aires, where she is seduced by the music of the tango and becomes a streetwalker. Thieves and brothel keepers, gathered at a black mass resolve her murder. After her death, Maria becomes a wandering ghost, until she is spectacularly reborn through the power survival, freedom, and above all things, love.



Artes de la Rosa’s Adam Adolfo directs with Elise Lavallee choreographing. Joshua Bradford serves as music director and conducts the 7-piece orchestra, who are part of the staging of this production, which has set design by Artes de la Rosa Technical Director Oliver Luke, costume design by Justin Kailer, lighting design by Michael Cole, and sound design by Adam Adolfo.



TICKET INFORMATION

MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES opens Friday May 11th and plays Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sunday Matinees at 2:30 pm through Sunday May 27th. Opening Night Gala Tickets are $25 for which includes Maria’s Midnight Milonga: a Private Gala after Party with the cast, staff, and donors of Artes de la Rosa. General Admission tickets for the rest of the run are $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors, matinee prices are $15 and $10 respectively. For tickets or more information, call the Rose Marine Theater Box Office at (817) 624-8333. Special ticket prices are available for groups of 10 or more. Tickets can be purchased online at www.artesdelarosa.org.

Rehearsal Pictures from Kiss of the Spiderwoman

Marta, Michelle Foard and Keith J. Warren as Valentin


Chorus Member Ian Lewis and Spiderwoman Emily Kate Hardy