5.5.09 Piccolo Spoleto Festival Quick Links

Only 2 1/2 more weeks till Festival Time! Here's the latest list of what tickets are hot so far for this year's Piccolo Spoleto Festival. Get your tickets at the Gaillard Auditorium Box Office (no service charges!!!) from 10am-6pm, Monday through Saturday. While you're there, pick up a festival Ticket Brochure or you can download your very own copy by clicking on the button to your right called "Ticket Brochure." Be sure and visit the Arts in Charleston Information Booth in Marion Square every Saturday from 8am-2pm to pick up the latest info on Piccolo Spoleto, drop off your donation of used books/cd's/dvd's/video games for the AbundaTrade.com fundraiser and purchase your FunSaver Coupon Book, chock full of coupons for your favorite downtown restaurants and attractions and much, much more! Questions? Call the Office of Cultural Affairs at (843) 724-7305 or email ocaintern@ci.charleston.sc.us. See you at the festival! QUICK LINKS ABOUT PICCOLO SPOLETO HOTEL INFORMATION Piccolo Spoleto Theatre Series Hot Ticket RING OF FIRE - THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH (Musical, 90mins) A South Carolina PREMIERE of the Broadway hit. An exhilarating, foot stomping celebration of America's legendary Man in Black. From the heart of the songs of Johnny Cash comes a unique musical featuring Walk The Line, A Boy Named Sue, Folsom Prison Blues, I've Been Everywhere and many more. By Richard Maltby, Jr. May 22, 31, June 3 at 8:00p.m.; May 23, 24 at 7:00p.m.; May 25 at 3:00p.m.; May 30 at 6:00p.m.; June 7 at 5:00p.m. Village Playhouse Theatre, 730 Coleman Blvd., #E, Mt. Pleasant. Admission: $27 Adults; $25 Students/Seniors Piccolo Fringe Hot Ticket COMPLETE HISTORY OF CHARLESTON FOR MORONS Over 300 years of Lowcountry history in 70 minutes! A comedy history lesson accessible enough for morons to enjoy -- forever answering the hard to ask questions like: can you still perform in black face? What took Mel Gibson so long to join the Continental Army? Charleston City Paper says the Morons "dazzle the audience with their ignorance." May 23, 24 at 3:00p.m.; May 30, 31, June 6 at 2:00p.m. Theatre 99, 280 Meeting St. (above The Bicycle Shoppe) Admission: $15 Spotlight Series: Mepkin Abbey Concerts Hot Ticket ENSEMBLE OF ST.CLARE AT MEPKIN ABBEY SPONSORED BY: McCrady's Restaurant; Roper St. Francis Healthcare; Herzman-Fishman Foundation; Charles & Celeste Patrick; Mindelle & Norton Seltzer; Ted & Tricia Legasey; USC Symphony; John & Jean Chase; Town of Kiawah Island Arts Council; Spectra True Colour (75 minutes) The Ensemble of St. Clare at Mepkin Abbey performs Vita Nova by Gavin Bryars, Marcello Concerto in d minor for oboe and strings and Brahms Horn Trio. Featured soloists include John Cunningham, countertenor; Mark Gainer, oboe; Brandon Nichols, horn; Yuriy Bekker, violin and Andrew Armstrong, piano. The Ensemble of St. Clare at Mepkin Abbey is comprised of the Lowcountry's leading Chamber musicians, many of whom are members of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. May 25 at 4:00p.m. Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, located one hour from downtown Charleston. (Printed directions are available with ticket orders) Admission: $35 Early Music Series Hot Ticket VIVALDI'S FOUR SEASONS Enjoy this 18th century masterpiece performed by Amos Lawrence and Charleston Baroque. May 28 & June 4 at 3:00p.m. First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, 53 Meeting St. Tickets: $15 Traditional Music of the Old South Hot Ticket RED CLAY SUNSET: AN EVENING OF OLD TIME (FIDDLE) MUSIC Sponsored by: Kiawah Island Resort Charleston's own South Carolina Broadcasters present an evening of old-time Cajun and Appalachian string band music featuring Pain Perdu and The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters. May 31 at 5:00p.m. Charleston Maritime Center, 10 Wharfside St. Admission: $10 Early Bird Blues Hot Ticket DRINK SMALL South Carolina's iconic 76-year old blues legend has been on the international scene since the mid-1950s. Razorwire guitar and inimitable basso profundo vocals have made this unique artist a blues favorite for generations of Carolinians. May 22 and June 5 Blues happy hours from 4:00-7:00p.m. Mad River Bar & Grille, 32 N. Market St. Admission: $10 (Food and drinks available for purchase) Spotlight Concert Series Hot Ticket BEETHOVEN, HIS WOMEN & HIS MUSIC SPONSORED BY: McCrady's Restaurant; Roper St. Francis Healthcare; Herzman-Fishman Foundation; Charles & Celeste Patrick; Mindelle & Norton Seltzer; Ted & Tricia Legasey; USC Symphony; John & Jean Chase; Town of Kiawah Island Arts Council; Spectra True Colour (1 hr.) The wildly romantic heart and soul of Ludwig van Beethoven is celebrated in this evening of words and music. This unique collaboration between the Actors' Theatre of South Carolina and Chamber Music Charleston captures the maestro in a new light, revealing secrets from his journals. *Note: 30 minutes before concert, there will be a short lecture on the history and architecture of the venue. Presented by The Charleston Art & Antiques Forum. May 30 & 31 at 8:00p.m. Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St. Tickets: $20 A World of Jewish Culture Hot Ticket SIMKHE SPONSORED BY: Herzman-Fishman Foundation SIMKHE-Program features The Jewish Choral Society followed by SIMKHE, known for their performance of traditional Klezmer music, scores by Jewish composers featured in Broadway musicals and on the silver screen, and music made famous by Jewish performers, all while addressing the future of Klezmer music. May 31 from 3:00-4:30p.m. Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, 90 Hasell St. Admission: $10 John Street Jazz Hot Ticket ANN CALDWELL & LOOSE FITT SPONSORED BY: Gallery Chuma; Gullah Cuisine Restaurant Listen as Charleston's first lady of jazz and finest vocalist, Ann Caldwell and her ensemble "LooseFitt Band" interpret the emotions, rhythms, spirituals and experiences encountered in the Gullah paintings of Jonathan Green through her musical improvisations. Complimentary wine and Gullah hors d'oeuvres provided by Gullah Cuisine Restaurant in a mature party atmosphere before each performance. May 24 at 3:30p.m. and 5:45p.m.; June 5 at 6:00p.m. and 8:00p.m. Gallery Chuma, 43 John St. Admission: $20 Charleston Ballet Theatre Hot Ticket LULLABY OF BROADWAY (1hr) CBT revisits the Golden Age of the Broadway musical with a collection of show stopping numbers from some of the most cherished musicals of all time including 42nd Street, Cabaret, South Pacific, The King and I and many more. A non-stop heartpounding extravaganza. May 29 and June 6 at 7:00p.m. Charleston Ballet Theatre, 477 King St. Admission: $30 Dance at Noon Series Hot Ticket ANONYMITY DANCE CO. Come and forget your troubles for an hour! Experience a wide variety of movement and music with this group that has been in Charleston for more than 20 years. May 26 at Noon Footlight Players Theatre, 20 Queen St. Admission: $15 Adults; $12 Students/Seniors Choral Artists Series Hot Ticket ANDERSON UNIVERSITY CHAMBER SINGERS The Anderson University Chamber Singers presents a concert featuring songs of Spain and Latin America along with classics, spirituals and traditional choral arrangements. The Chamber Singers, a group of 25 voices, is the newest and most select choral ensemble of Anderson University in Anderson, S.C. May 23 at 5:00p.m. St. Philip's Church, 142 Church St. Tickets: $10 Theatre Series at Footlight Hot Ticket EUBIE! (Musical, 90mins) The hit Broadway Musical Revue featuring the music of Eubie Blake will tantalize you as you are thoroughly entertained with songs like Shuffle Along, Daddy, My Handyman Ain't Handy No More and Gee, I Wish I Had Someone to Rock Me in the Cradle of Love. The music is from the 1920s and 30s, but it is truly Hot Buttered Soul, with a Lowcountry twist. Directed by Art Gilliard, Musical Direction by Howard Brown, Choreography by Myra Chamble, Produced by Art Forms & Theatre Concepts. May 22 at 3:00p.m.; May 25, 26, 28 at 6:00p.m.; May 29 at 8:30p.m.; June 1, 2 at 11:00a.m. Footlight Players Theatre, 20 Queen St. Admission: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors Stelle di Domani Series Hot Ticket SKINNY WHITE COMICS A spotlight on the people of the College of Charleston's award-winning Department of Theatre. (Stand-up Comedy, 90mins) New York Stand Up Comedians David Lee Nelson and Isaac Witty (David Letterman, Comedy Central) return to Piccolo Spoleto with their smash hit stand up comedy show. Ever left a Chinese restaurant and thanked someone who didn't work there? See *Skinny White Comics.* Ever been afraid of burglars hiding underneath your bed? See *Skinny White Comics.* Do you have a pulse. Are you breathing? See *Skinny White Comics* "A," Charleston City Paper. "Very FunnyWhite People," Post and Courier. *Skinny White Comics* is back. Funnier and Whiter then ever. May 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 31, June 1, 6 at 8:30p.m. May 23, 30, June 3, 4, 5 at 5:30p.m. Chapel Theatre, 172 Calhoun St. Admission: $15 Piccolo Harbor Cruise Hot Ticket ROLLING ON THE RIVER REVUE Delighting Charleston audiences for more than three decades, Rivers and Company is known throughout the state as the premier beach music and Motown band. June 4: Boarding at 7:30p.m.; Cruise 8-10p.m. Spirit of Charleston, 360 Concord St., Fountain Walk Dock Tickets: $15 (Food and drinks available for purchase) Save Money and Support Piccolo Spoleto!