In Case You Missed it...

If you have ever seen a Broadway show at The Hanover Theatre, you know that our ticket-takers always are dressed to impress!  Since the opening of the theatre Meghan Patrick, Operations Manager, has done a great job of outfitting our volunteers with the best costumes to reflect the nature of each show.  For Peter Pan the ticket-takers wore pajamas, for Young Frankenstein they wore Frankenstein masks, and for Mamma Mia they were decked out in the best 70's gear!

I love going upstairs (the theatre offices are all located in the theatre basement) on a Broadway show night and seeing what the volunteers will be dressed as.  For Rock of Ages I was very curious to see with Meghan would come up with.  It could be anything - grungy jean jackets, leather, tie-dye... but no, their costumes were WAY better than just a leather jacket!

If you did see Rock of Ages then you already know how great the volunteers looked, but if you missed out here are a couple shots to illustrate the brilliant costume choice!

Photo Credit - Charlene Baron

Photo Credit - Charlene Baron

Photo Credit - Charlene Baron

Photo Credit - Nadia Naco

Photo Credit - Nadia Naco

Can you hear the sound of hysteria?

It's calling out to Idiot America!


Even though the goal of this blog is to give you a behind the scenes look at The Hanover Theatre, there are times where I feel the need to share other theatre-related content.  In this case, I made a trip into Boston tonight to see American Idiot and was blown away.  To relate this to our behind the scenes look at the theatre - I can say it is one of the Broadway shows the theatre is looking to book in the next few seasons. No answer as to when it will debut at The Hanover Theatre but I cannot wait to see it again!


For me, seeing live theatre - especially a musical, is an experience that can never be replaced.  Durring a regular concert often times the audience doesn't get the chance to make a true connection with the artist - many times the feelings behind the words are lacking...  But with live theatre you can feel the passion behind every lyric.  If you haven't seen a musical before it is a hard sensation to explain but I always feel a strong connection with person singing and American Idiot was no exception.


The cast was exceptional at this show.  I am slightly biased as I knew one of the main characters from one of my favorite teenage TV shows - but even without him, the singing was amazing.  I am a huge fan of Green Day ever since Dookie was released, and as they have grown and I have continued to love their new material.  And when I heard about American Idiot on Broadway - I knew I had to see it. The Broadway interpretation of the AI album was fantastic, adding violen, cello, and accordion to the instrumentals to add new dimension, with beautiful vocal harmonies throughout the score.


For Green Day fans the show is perfect, and for someone who has never heard any of their music it is just as great.  The story told, is a post 9/11 look at youth trying to figure out their futures.  Three young friends who start off together but choose very different paths - pregnancy at a young age, drugs and city life, and joining the army.  There isn't much dialogue through the show, but you don't need it!  The lyrics, dancing, and gestures tell the story in a way that was so powerful.  When the ensemble came together to belt out "Are We the Waiting?" I got goosebumps!


Here is a clip of the above-mentioned song performed by the Broadway Cast on AOL Sessions:

The show has a little bit of everything - rock, interpretive dance, acrobatics, sex, flight, fights, heart and soul.  Again, I really can't wait for this show to come to our theatre.  I wanted to give one more teaser clip of what this show really has to offer, this is one of my favorite GD songs - 21 Guns.  Again - you will have goosebumps!  Enjoy:

Bodacious Bracelets!

Time for some 80's nostalgia!!


Hopefully by this point you have heard that Rock of Ages is coming to The Hanover Theatre!  As a matter of fact, the opening night is THIS Friday!


As a special treat for all of you 80's music fans out there, we have coordinated an 80's Karaoke Contest at both The Lucky Dog in Worcester and The Celtic Tavern in Northborough.  Each contest will have one winner who recieves two tickets to opening night of Rock of Ages, cast party passes to the post show party at Ceres Bistro & the soundtrack to the show.  It's a pretty sweet prize just for getting on stage and singing a classic 80's tune.


I happen to LOVE karaoke so I am especially sad that I cannot enter to win in this contest - after all, it probably wouldn't be fair for a theatre employee to enter a theatre contest...  But I will still be their to cheer on our contestants.


Perhaps what I am most excited for at these two karaoke nights is the special gift we have for all participants and audience members.  I should probably let this remain a surprise, but I can't contain myself given the fact that the gift is so totally 80's!  We got Rock of Ages SLAP BRACELETS.


Thats right - those bands that were banned from schools, that you spent hours slapping and straightening out all over again, that never loose their shape no matter how many times you slap them!  I literally have been slapping one every moment my hand is not typing on the keyboard.  They are so addictive and fun, but most importantly they are so totally tubular and awesomely rad!


So get your 80's on at our karaoke nights.  Even if you don't want to get on stage and sing, come out and have a good time slapping your band all night long!


Check out the promotion section of our home page to get full details on the contest!


January 25, 2012 at 8:30pm
Lucky Dog Music Hall- 89 Green St, Worcester
(21+ venue, requiring valid photo ID)


January 26, 2012 at 9:30pm
Celtic Tavern- 45 Belmont St, Northborough

PS  Just in case you missed out on this fabulous fad of the 80's here is a picture of a slap bracelet. I was going to post an image of our slap bands but there has to be some element of surprise with this gift.  

20,000 Envelopes

As many people know The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts is a non-profit organization, depending on the generosity of many to build, run and maintain the theatre.  The theatre relies on the membership, annual campaign contributions and corporate sponsorships to sustain operations and ensure success.  Long story short: without raising money to run the theatre- I wouldn't have the job I have today, which is why our annual campaign is so important to me.


Our mission at the theatre is to foster a love and appreciation for the performing arts in audiences of today and tomorrow.  I have always been a theatre lover, since the first time I was on stage, but I was never afforded the opportunity to see real Broadway caliber theatre until much older.  Each time I see a show, the spark I used to get on stage reignites, and I love knowing that the theatre mission is to help spread that joy to others.

The theatre supports this mission directly with our annual Access to the Arts fund.  The Access to the Arts fund supports many programs including the internship program which takes on at least four local college students each year and the motivational speaker program which brought in Erin Gruwell (Inspiration for the film, The Freedom Writers) to speak to Worcester Public School Students.  It also funds the donation of 1,500 tickets to A Christmas Carol every year to kids and families in partnership with the United Way.


With all of that said, one of the main components of this campaign is to raise awareness of where the donation dollars go to and ask for a donation for the next year's operations.  This includes writing a personalized letter to current members and past donators, mailed with an informational rack card and a theatre-addressed envelope.  


One might think this is a small task, but it is a lot more complex than I had ever imagined.  I have been involved with this mailer since the very beginning and I am responsible for much of the design of the piece.  This is a small task for a single printed piece, but when it is being mailed to such a large list - the stakes are much higher.  


Now, most of the letters never actually make it to the theatre, the get printed and mailed from the mail house, but the envelopes and rack cards on the other hand are sent to the theatre as only a portion of that supply needs to go to the printer... In today's case, the envelopes were delivered: 20,000 of them.  That is a TON of envelopes.


I am happy to say 10,000 of the envelopes will be mailed out in the next few weeks, while another 10,000 will be distributed at both Rock of Ages and Shrek the Musical.  So the supply closet will empty our quickly.  In the mean time its a tight fit for all of our promotional materials and stationaries.

Need a Good Laugh?

So as promised, I finally got (part of) the video of me flying with Peter Pan!  This is only the second half of my flying experience.


You'll notice there is a lot of me holding onto my chest - I literally was out of breath at this point, partly from screaming but also from trying to keep my composure.  If you just want to laugh, skip to the :27 second mark - that is where the biggest scream takes place and it will give you a good idea of why I was holding onto my chest.


I wish I had the entire video to show you, but due to technical difficulties of emailing large files I haven't been able to receive the first half - which includes the entire cast and crew laughing at my screaming!


Enjoy!

The Gingerbread Man Comes to Town

The Hanover Theatre Gingerbread Man

Oh the weather outside is... well, actually quite warm.  But you wouldn't know that looking around The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts.  If you made it out for The Nutcracker this holiday weekend you already know we have decked all of our halls.  If not, here is a taste (yes, pun on words) of what The Hanover Theatre has in store for you.  Nutcrackers, Christmas trees, and Gingerbread Men are all around, thanks to the hard work of Operations Manager, Meghan Patrick & her team of steadfast volunteers.

I didn't want to bog down this blog with too many pictures, though with all of the theatre's decorations - I could have... But I did include two shots of my favorite edible decoration.  Meet Gingy!  No, he's not the same lovable cookie from Shrek, that gingerbread man will be coming later in February 2012.  Gingy was delivered today by the fine folks at Hanover Insurance.  In case you were wondering, he is 100% edible.  With donuts on his hat, crushed oreo cookies for hands, beautifully crafted hard candy buttons & eyes, and candy cane trim, Gingy is larger than life and I'm told he's just as tasty!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of him today.  Then, box office assistant manager, Brendan Donnellan, was kind enough to come out of his box to take a picture of myself, marketing specialist, Laurie Carr & office manager, Stacey Leigh O'Dell posing with Gingy as well.





The Hanover Theatre Ladies & The Gingerbread Man

I can't blaim you if you are dying to take your picture with Gingy too!  Take the opportunity to see a wonderful holdiay show this week and get your picture with Gingy, the Giant Gingerbread Man.  In just the next six days you have the option of The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller on 12/1, Diane Kelly's Holiday Spectacular on 12/2, Warren Miller's Like Theres No Tomorrow on 12/3 or Sister's Christmas Catechism on 12/4

Hope to see you there!







Flying with Cathy Rigby

So, as promised, I have something really fun to share this week.  In preparation for Peter Pan we ran a contest on a local TV station, where the winner got tickets to the show & the chance to fly with Cathy Rigby - yes folks, Peter Pan, herself!!! Its a pretty sweet contest, and as an added bonus, myself and one lucky reporter from the Telegram & Gazette also got the chance to fly!


I have to say, never in my WILDEST dreams did I think I would ever take flight, but today (with a blizzard underway) things are a bit out of the normal, so I suppose flying isn't so far fetched.


Let me start from the beginning, our enthusiastic reporter arrived at the theatre first, so he was first to get hooked up for flight

 

As Shawn was strapped in, the tour's Flyman told us that on average Cathy flies at about 20-25 mph, but we would only be flying 10-15 mph.  I also found out (to put things in perspective) the troublesome Broadway show, Spiderman, has him flying at almost 50 mph!  Based on my experience flying - I can say 15 mph is FAST ENOUGH!

One of the best parts of flying, is that to fly - you MUST be sprinkled with some fairy dust :)  So before each flight Cathy made each flyer grab a handful of dust for themselves and then proceded to work her magic by showering us with dust & away we went!

As Shawn went flying through the air, occasionally screaming with fear joy, I became more and more eager for my flight.  And after he was lowered to the ground Cathy looked at me with a mischievous smile, she said, "Your next!"

So, I was strapped in, and let me tell you:  I have a HUGE admiration for Cathy, and the three children who fly during the show... The harness is EXTREMLY uncomfortable, and has to be SUPER tight to be safe.  Quite frankly it was hard to even walk in it, and yet the cast made it look effortless.   The fact that Peter Pan does summersaults, jumps, runs, and sings while wearing the harness is amazing

The key to flying, I learned, is arching your back backwards and pointing your toes... Which sounds really easy in theory... but as I found out, flying is extremely strenuous, you have to work hard to stay aimed at the crowd because gravity just wants you to spin around in the air.

I flew around quite a bit - they did a couple drops for me, which is where they take you really high and let go of the rope for a second so you drop really fast. It made my heart jump when they did it the first time with no warning, but I screamed and then told him - Yah, do it again!

The entire experience was so great. It gave me a whole new perspective on the show!

The last flyer was our contest winner, and I was probably most excited for him to fly, because he was only 11!  His name is Jared, and he was such a good flyer, he like the drops even more than I did!

I have to give a huge thanks to the crew and to Cathy Rigby for being so wonderful throughout the entire process.  Everyone had a blast and with the exception of my bruised legs (yes, from the harness) I walked away completely unharmed and can officially say I flew with a little bit of help from some fairy dust.

Speaking of fairy dust, heres a fun fact:  

Guess how much fairy dust Peter Pan goes through?!

In 6 weeks, Peter Pan will have used 40 POUNDS of fairy dust!  

Which will cost about $1,500, those fairies don't work for cheap you know!!

So, that was my Peter Pan experience.  It was a blast!  If you didn't make it out to the show and the after party last night, I encourage you to see it tonight or tomorrow.  What I did for flying was NOTHING compared to what Cathy does.  Her flips, spins, and dips are spectacular and she really is the perfect "boy who never grew up."  I asked her how she felt about reprising Peter Pan and she told me it was so natural for her, she feels so connected with the character that she knows him almost as well as she knows herself.  Kudos to the entire cast & crew  -  the show was fantastic! 

One last shot from the Cast Party last night of us theatre employees and the wonderful, Cathy Rigby!