End of the Year Love!

We woke up this morning to an unexpected and wonderful bit of end-of-the-year love in the Duluth News Tribune. Fellow artists and critics selected their favorite moments and events of 2010, and Renegade is honored to have several of their shows make those lists and to find themselves once again in the company of artists and organizations they so deeply admire.

Plus, Renegade Improv was selected as one of the week’s Best Bets. In case you forgot, Improv returns with our first show of 2011 this Saturday, January 1st at 10:30 pm.

Click the links below to check out the articles at the DNT’s website, or read the self-congratulatory excerpts we’ve posted below each link.

2010 Theater Season One To Remember – by Lawrance Bernabo

This is not a list of the best shows staged in Duluth during 2010, but rather a chronological look at the moments I am most going to remember from this past year:

Emily Book (Jenna Kase) uses her superpowers to turn dissection day in a high school biology class into a jaw-dropping production number set to the music of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” in Renegade’s “The Sparrow.” True, they were just lip-synching, but we are talking lip-synching with a chorus of puppets of dissected piglets. (February)

In Andy Bennett’s original comedy “Sex Change” at Renegade, once Jennie Ross is no longer playing Robin Elbe but husband Luke in Robin’s body, “she” explores the great mystery of a certain feminine product in a high moment of silent comedy. (August)

Artists Share Their Favorite Events of 2010 (part 1)

The News Tribune asked a collection of actors, directors, musicians and dancers to submit an A&E highlight from 2010, specifically one they were not involved in producing. Some found it tricky to pick just one, and we let that slide.

“This is a tough one! There was a lot of really great stuff this year. Can I have a tie? ‘The Sparrow’ was moving, innovative in its staging and heartfelt. Great ensemble work. ‘Reefer Madness’ was totally committed to re-creating the essence of the source material and jangled with energy.”

Julie Ahasay is a director most recently associated with Lyric Opera of the North’s production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” Both “The Sparrow” and “Reefer Madness” were produced by Renegade Theater Company.

Artists Share Their Favorite Events of 2010 (part 2)

“The Who’s ‘Tommy’: Renegade Theater Company with Cars & Trucks. This was a great marriage of two major areas of Duluth arts and entertainment. Having a local band helped get nontheater goers out into the seats, and the show was very entertaining and well performed. I sincerely hope there are more collaborations like this in the future.”

Adam Depre, aka Old Knifey, of Old Knifey and the Cutthroats.

“Loveage & Kate Bush covers during Ides of September (or whatever Heiko called it) and ‘Tommy’ at Renegade with a Cars & Trucks’ live score and, of course, the entirety of Homegrown.”

Walt Raschick, AKA DJ Walt Dizzo, has a weekly show at 9 p.m. Thursdays on 93.1FM KUWS. Eric “Heiko” Edwardson regularly organizes events where local musicians cover nationally-known bands old and new.

Best Bets for the Week of Dec. 30th

Evening at the improv

On the other hand, if New Year’s Day has you hankering for even more socializing, Renegade Theater Company’s improv troupe will hold its regularly scheduled show at 10:30 p.m. Saturday at Teatro Zuccone, 222 E. Superior St. (No show Friday, though. These people have lives, too, you know).

The group squares off into two teams of improvisers and a referee that also provides a few yucks and they compete for big laughs from the audience. It’s fast-paced, it’s current event-y, it sells out more often than not. And there is an element of crowd participation.

Tickets are $5.

Give Till It Hurts!

In just a few days, 2010 will come to an end. For Renegade Theater Company, it was a truly banner year. And we owe most of that to people like you. People who donated their time and talents to our productions, people who paid to see our productions and people who read our incessant facebook posts and still keep us on your friends list. So thanks.

But, we have one more favor to ask you before 2010 is in the books. Any donations you make to Renegade between now and 11:59 on December 31st will be MATCHED DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR.

If you donate $10, it immediately becomes $20. $100 becomes $200. $10,000 becomes $20,000 (and we become your new best friends). You get the idea. If you have anything left to give after the holidays, please consider giving to Renegade Theater Company.

Why should you donate? You mean aside from all donations being tax-deductible? Supporting Renegade Theater Company means you’re not only making a difference to one of the Northland’s premiere theater companies, but you’re also making a difference to the Duluth/Superior community.

Your donation means we can continue to provide high-quality arts programming. It means we can continue to pay local artists for their incredible talents. And that in turn means local artists have another reason to stay local and plant roots in this wonderful place we call home.

Lastly, your support means that Renegade can continue to offer local audiences the type of bold, cutting-edge theater they’ve come to expect when they step inside the Teatro Zuccone. We pride ourselves on taking risks – on being the first to introduce local audiences to a new play or playwright. But those risks can come at a cost.

Producing shows that lack the built-in box office of warhorse musicals and plays that everyone knows and loves means we are putting our company’s fate in the audiences’ hands each and every night. But your donation, no matter the amount, helps give us the strength and security to produce these fantastic new or little-seen works, and to provide Northland audiences with some of the boldest and bravest theater in town.

For your convenience, there are four different ways to donate: online through Network for Good, online through Causes on Facebook, or physically through good old fashioned mail.

Please give if you can, and thanks again for a great 2010. And here’s a little secret: 2011 is going to be even better.

The Leo Frank Case – CNN Report

The link below will take you to a fascinating, in-depth video and article about the Leo Frank case that is the basis for PARADE, the Tony Award-winning musical that will kick off Reneagde Theater Company’s 2011 season.

We highly recommend you spend a few minutes looking at this well-researched and impartial video and article. We don’t recommend, however, that you spend much time reading the comments. We can sum them up for you: People like to use all caps and exclamation points.

The Leo Frank Case

Renegade L.A. – Jake Speaks #3

Hey blog readers! After this post we’ll be going radio-silent until Monday, December 27th. So Merry Christmas everybody. We hope you get everything you wanted. Unless your name is Jody Kujawa. Cause screw that guy.

As an early Christmas gift to you, we present the third in an ongoing series of musings, blatherings and bitchings from our favorite L.A. transplant, Jake Neuman! Enjoy. And don’t try to return it, there’s no receipt.

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PARADE – Thoughts from the Composer

For today’s blog, we thought we’d re-print some fabulous thoughts from the Tony Award-winning composer of PARADE, the musical that will kick off our 2011 season. This is taken from the website of Jason Robert Brown (jasonrobertbrown.com, natch) and if you haven’t checked his site out, please do. It’s a fantastic treasure trove of information and insight from one of the sharpest and most talented composers working today.

That’s JASONROBERTBROWN.COM. Check it out.

What follows is excerpted from his blog entry of October 7, 2007, “REVIVAL.”

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Stuff We Like – December 17th, 2010

This weekend is the final weekend of FEZZIWIG’S FEAST! And next Friday is Christmas Eve. So, since we’re officially in the spirit, we’re dedicating this week’s “Stuff We Like” to our favorite Christmas movies, television specials and carols. Check these out, they are awesome.

We’ll see you at the FEAST and/or IMPROV this weekend!

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What’s PARADE all about?

We’re deep into music rehearsals for the first show of our 2011 season, PARADE, and we couldn’t be more excited for February 3rd, 2011, when we finally open the doors and let you see this incredible show.

And, if you’re wondering just what exactly PARADE is about, don’t worry: you’re not alone. It’s one of those musicals that has been unjustly overlooked for too many years, and it’s one few people have heard or seen.

Renegade was lucky to receive the rights to the stripped-down and re-focused version the writers debuted at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2007 and then again at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2009. This version retains all the power, beauty and emotional impact of the Broadway version, but strips down the cast and orchestra to levels that make it possible for a company like us to produce the show in our intimate space.

But that still doesn’t help answer the question of what PARADE is all about. So we’ll leave that to the experts. Watch the video below and keep checking the blog for more updates. And we’ll see you at the Teatro in February.

2011 Season Brochure – SNEAK PEEK!

Our fabulous graphic designer, Matt Olin, is hard at work putting the finishing touches on our 2011 season brochure. As always, he’s doing an incredible job with it, and we wanted to give you all a sneak peek of a bit of the brochure. Once it’s finished we’ll have copies printed up and we’ll post a pdf version on our website for you to download, enlarge, frame and stare at every night. I’m mainly talking to Jody, here. He’s weird like that.

At any rate, here’s a first glimpse into Renegade Theater Company’s 2011 season brochure:

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Cast Lists!

First of all, thank you to everyone who came out and auditioned for THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE and REASONS TO BE PRETTY this past week. You were wonderful and made our jobs very, very difficult. We’re constantly amazed by the depth and breadth of talent in this town, and are so grateful to all of you for sharing your time and talent with us. If we weren’t able to match you to a role this time, please come back and audition for us again. We think you’re great.

That said, we’re pleased to announce the cast lists for shows #2 and #3 in our 2011 season:

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Stuff We Like – December 10, 2010

Recently, we here at Renegade opened FEZZIWIG’S FEAST, our first production as Renegade Theater Company away from our home at the Teatro Zuccone. With a cast and crew of over 2 dozen lovely Renegade friends, it has become a big success and a show that we’re very proud of. So this week, that cast and crew is the stuff we like.

They’ve put up with all of the demands and challenges that a new space and co-producers bring with good cheer and hard work. They’ve made our risky venture very rewarding, and we couldn’t be happier that they chose to spend their holiday season with us. Merry Christmas cast & crew of FEZZIWIG’S FEAST – you guys are the knock-down, drag-out best.