Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MAY 30-JUNE 5, 2018 UCW 13 Alpha & Omega Dance Academy is bringing Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the Lost Boys to the Sandhills with its spring recital, "Nev- erland." The AODA team welcomes the community to enjoy this unique, dance- driven presentation of Peter Pan's story Saturday, June 9, at Fayetteville State University's J.W. Seabrook Auditorium. A scaled-down children's recital, featuring dancers ages 3-6, begins at 10:30 a.m. "Nev- erland," the larger production showcasing students ages 7 and older, begins at 3 p.m. "Instead of holding a typi- cal dance recital, our artis- tic staff and dancers work hard to provide a theatrical and thematic production, complete with a cast of main characters, narration, acting, costumes and creative sets and props," said AODA owner and instructor Rachel Choi. AODA offers classes rang- ing from pointe to hip hop, and each of those classes will tell a part of the story – from ballerinas f lying to Neverland to tap-dancing crocodiles to musical theatre performing the iconic song "Ugg-A-Wugg." "Whether you're attending our (production) to support your friends or decide (if) our studio is right for you, we're excited to give you a sneak peek into our world of dance," said Sarah Pages, artistic and production director and dance instructor. Choi said, "I hope this will be an entertaining show, but even more so, I hope 'Neverland' will serve to inspire everyone, young and old, to never forget the beauty and power of imagination, hope, belief and friendship – and perhaps a little bit of pixie dust." AODA is a Christian studio and one of the only local non-compet- itive dance studios. Its ratings on popular platforms like Facebook boast 5 stars. Past AODA produc- tions include "A Puppet to a Boy" ("Pinocchio," 2012), "Oz" ("The Wizard of Oz," 2013), "Narnia" ("The Chronicles of Narnia," 2014), "Alice" ("Alice In Wonderland," 2015), "Adventures with Mary and Bert" ("Mary Poppins," 2016) and "Belle" ("Beauty & The Beast," 2017). Tickets to "Neverland" on June 9 cost $10 and include entry to the morning children's recital. They can be purchased in advance at AODA, 201 S. McPherson Church Rd., or at the door the day of the production at J.W. Seabrook Audito- rium. AODA students and children under the age of six enter free. Seating begins 30 minutes prior to each show. Visit alphaomegadanceacademy.com or call 910-860-1405 to learn more. Dance studio brings Neverland characters to life a STAFF REPORT Play wright Tennes- see Williams wrote often about the human condi- tion. Cruelty, suffering and yearning for love in a lonely world consumed his writing. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," which he wrote in 1955, is no different. The Southern classic fits perfectly as the last show of the Gilbert Theater's 2017-18 season, punctuating a theatrical journey of wild, caged hearts. Perfor- mances of the show run June 1-10. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" tells the tale of a husband and wife, Brick and Maggie, who are at odds both physically and emotionally. They don't sleep togeth- er. Brick, a copious drinker, is still in shambles over the suicide of his best friend. Maggie is concerned with whether or not Brick's siblings will inherit Big Daddy's fortune. Meanwhile, everyone except Big Daddy seems to know he is dying of cancer. Knee-deep in the sludge of greed, familial dis- cord and lies, the whole clan gathers to pretend and to smile and to "celebrate" Big Daddy's birth- day. Yet as often happens with family, past slights explode to the surface. In Williams' original play, he critiques the ho- mophobia and sexism rampant particularly in the South. But these critiques don't quite make it into the 1958 MGM film version, starring Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. The film was produced in the height of the Hays Code era, when sexual repression on film was the standard. According to director James Dean, the Gilbert Theater adapted Williams' 1974 version of the play, which contains more overt portrayals of the origi- nal undertones. "(Williams') plays are usually about how difficult communication is between people," said Dean. "This one is really about this one rich family and their lack of communication in that core, the dys- function of this family." One of Williams' earlier plays is subtitled "A Prayer for the Wild of Heart That are Kept in Cages." It is also a good working summary of the Gilbert Theater's season. The season opener, "Evil Dead: The Musical," is a playful ref lection of the wild being caged in a dead zombie body. A cage is a cage. The Gilbert's follow-up was the classic story of "It's a Wonderful Life." George Bailey so embodies the idea of a caged free spirit. He wanted to build things. Go places. Be somebody. But he becomes trapped in his small town, destined to take over his father's banking business and live a life of quiet desperation. The ending sees George accepting and becoming almost grateful for his cage. To paraphrase the candid Williams: you either ac- cept it, kill yourself or stop looking in mirrors. By adapting David Ives' play "Venus in Fur," the Gilbert continued the theme of a trapped wildness aching to be free. Thomas wants to put Vanda in a certain kind of box: submissive to the director's ideas and ego, demure, not headstrong. Still, Vanda is the one to turn the tables and put Thomas in that very box designed for her. "Antigone," on the other hand, shows the wild heart of an activist, a revolutionary, trapped in the cage of simply being born in the wrong time. With "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," one hopes the Gilbert captures the desperation of Williams' characters to connect beyond the steel cage of our individual selves. If so, it will be the cherry atop a well-crafted season. "Every single person can relate to the things go- ing on in this play," said Dean. "We all have prob- lems within our family units. You might love them and at the same time you just can't believe they're saying or doing the things that they do." To support the Gilbert and its 25th anniversary season next year, the theater is hosting a fundraiser featuring classical chamber music June 10. Tickets are $30 per person. For more information, visit www.gilberttheater.com. 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ' concludes Gilbert Theater season by LAUREN VANDERVEEN EVENTS LAUREN VANDERVEEN, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. From left: Angel Choi, Rachel Choi, Lynnae Williams, Collette LeFavor, Trinyti Dozier, Sophia Seklejian. Photo courtesy Bryanna Punches Photography.