SketchBook: News 'n' notes on Gulf Coast arts

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — “Menopause the Musical” got an extended run before it opened at Alabama Shakespeare Festival at 1 Festival Drive in Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park.

Demand for tickets to the raucous hit show prompted ASF to add five performances to its encore presentation: 7:30 p.m. July 28-29; at 2 and 7:30 p.m. July 30; and 2 p.m. July 31. “Menopause the Musical” opened its run at ASF on Friday.

Tickets start at $30 and are available at the box office, by phone at 800-841-4273 or online at www.asf.net .  

This year marks the 10th anniversary of “Menopause the Musical” and the 25th anniversary season of ASF. In 2007, “MTM” became the biggest selling summer show in the history of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. It ran for two and a half months and grossed approximately $950,000.

The show tells the story of four middle-aged women of different backgrounds who meet in Bloomingdale’s department store. They soon discover they have much in common including memory loss, night sweats, hot flashes, chocolate binges and more.

Tune parodies from the 1960s, ¤’70s and ¤’80s include “My Thighs” (“My Guy”), “Hot Flash” (“Heat Wave”) and “Stayin’ Awake” (“Stayin’ Alive”).

The 2011 production features Pammie O’Bannon (Earth Mother), Patti Gardner (Soap Star), Sandy DeWoody (Iowa Housewife) and Emily David (Professional Woman). O’Bannon was a member of the original production 10 years ago in Orlando, Fla.

Eudora Welty photo exhibit on view at the Carnegie

DECATUR, Ala. — Carnegie Visual Arts Center is showing “Eudora Welty: Exposures and Reflections” through Sept. 2 at 207 Church St. N.E., Decatur.

Welty has long been recognized as one of the great Southern literary voices of the 20th century. However, to this day many Americans do not know of a body of work she began long before her first published written work appeared in the popular American spotlight in 1936: photographs taken during and after Welty’s time as a junior publicist for the Works Progress Administration.

Artful and truthful, the photographs create a record of the Great Depression South through the eyes and the camera lens of one of its own.

The author and photographer claimed her art forms were parallel activities, with photography never directly affecting the product of her pen. “Exposures and Reflections” explores a unique relationship the written and photographic catalogs share despite Welty’s assertion to the contrary.

FEATURED: Shakespeare Hamlet Quote Women's Dark T-shirt « Eating ...

: “This above all: to thine own self be true” is currently proving to be highly popular here at The Shakespeare Shoppe – and it’s not just available on tees – you can get it on caps, mugs, pajamas and more!

Part of our “Carnivale Mask” collection of Shakespeare’s Quotes,  this is one of 17 designs currently available, with more on the way.  The t-shirt itself is a standard fit 100% cotton, preshrunk, durable and guaranteed and comes in four colors: black, red, Caribbean blue and violet.

As we said, we love it.  If you’ve loved it and bought it, feel free to let us know and send us some pics to share with others too!  We’d love to hear from you.

Till next time …

The Shakespeare Shoppe Team

After graduating from The Actors’ Institute, London, Sally McLean co-wrote and co-produced the successful 45 minute feature A Little Rain Must Fall, which premiered at Ealing Studios, London in July 1997. She made her debut film as writer/director with the short film fixNATION in 2004 (aired on Foxtel), going on to complete her second short film Brigit & Benny (a modern faerietale) in 2005. Prior to this, she worked in production with the BBC in both their Music & Arts and Commercial Channels Depts., during which time she Chaired the BBC Alternative Program Development Unit, submitting several successful television program proposals to the Controllers of BBC1 & 2. Since her return to Australia, she has worked in production for Channel 9, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Endemol Southern Star and Grundy Television. Her first play as writer/director, Chasing Pegasus: A Play in Ten Chords (written and workshopped in 2003), premiered in October 2006 as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Her second theatre production, again as writer/director, PS I Love You, premiered in July 2004, again to full audiences, with a return season planned in early 2008. Excerpts from her current work-in-progress Bayonets and Bully Beef, were showcased under her direction at the Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne in July 2005. As an actor, Sally’s film credits include leads in numerous independent short and feature films in both Australia and the UK. She has also played leading roles in over thirty Australian and UK stage productions including the Australian Premier of the off-Broadway hit, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at the Athenaeum Theatre, during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Her television credits include Neighbours, Flying Doctors, Bingles, Blue Heelers, Channel 9’s Comedy Inc., BBC’s The Bookworm and the BBC mini-series Bootleg in the role of “Angie Powers”. Sally is currently Creative Director of Salmac Productions and Incogntia Enterprises, dedicated to commercial television, theatre and film production, and recently became a publisher of screenplays and plays. Other projects on her slate for production include the docu-drama Franz’s Squad, the feature film Dalny and her Australian history feature film trilogy: Christie, Jean and The Last Gangster. For more information, visit her official website: www.sallymclean.

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