Opera Theater Oregon's Cavalcade of Beautiful Losers returns to Someday Lounge

March 29 and April 10

OTO's new opera cabaret group, the Cavalcade of Beautiful Losers, continues its first show, "Will Kill For Vaudeville," March 29 and April 10 at the Someday Lounge (8:00 pm, tickets $10 at the door). The evening, dedicated to the slightly shabby grandeur of end-era vaudeville, includes performances by Coney Island Cartel and Czech cabaret artiste Helena Greathouse.

The Cavalcade is a new OTO project to produce opera at bar venues, sharing a bill with local bands and performance artists. The shows, written by Artistic Director Katie Taylor and arranged by Maestro Camelia Nine, include music from opera, vaudeville, cabaret and modern throwbacks, like Tom Waits and AC/DC.

"Will Kill For Vaudeville" runs once monthly, February through April, with guest artists. The group's second show, "The Carnie's Confession," a Dust Bowl opera melodrama, opens in May and runs monthly through July.

ABOUT "WILL KILL FOR VAUDEVILLE"

"Will Kill" is a dark comic elegy for vaudeville, filtered through the demented perspective of aging former child star Ethel Million (soprano Elizabeth D. Bacon).

The show includes music by forgotten vaudeville greats like Victor Herbert, A. Baldwin Sloane and Albert von Tilzer, soaring arias and ensembles from French lyric opera, and a bit of AC/DC, for flavoring.

Acts include "The Sensational Truth About Bluebeard's Wives," "Greg the Magic Biker," "Five-minute Faust," "Ta Ra Ra BOOM De Ay!" and "Johann Strauss' Nightmare." The show runs about 60 minutes.

MARCH MUSICAL GUESTS

Squish and the Flat Sharp Saw, with Coney Island Cartel '20s and '30s retro jazz, ragtime and swing band, fronted by musical saw and ukulele player, Squish.

http://www.myspace.com/coneyislandcartel

From Czechoslovak National Television: Cabaret Artiste Helena Greathouse, backed by accordionist Mark Greathouse. You haven't heard 'Mack the Knife' until you've heard it in Czech.

http://www.greathouseofmusic.com

Madame Régine Brosse-à-dents, 8 Ball Prognosticator The act that, quite rightly, only sees the backs of the audience's heads as they leave.

MARCH EVENING SCHEDULE:

8:00 pm -   Five-minute Faust
8:15 pm -   Coney Island Cartel
9:00 pm -   Will Kill For Vaudeville

after 10:00 pm - Helena & Mark Greathouse -- 20 minute cabaret set

THE CAVALCADE OF BEAUTIFUL LOSERS

The Beautiful Losers are:

Vox

Elizabeth D. Bacon (soprano)

Beth Madsen Bradford (mezzo)

Matt Dolphin (tenor)

Erik Hundtoft (baritone)

Paul Cathey (silent as the grave)

Orchestra

Camelia Nine (maestro, arrangements, vox, keys, violin)

Brian Casey (upright bass)

Shawn Freeman (drums)

Mark Greathouse (accordion)

Squish (musical saw, ukulele, sound effects)

ABOUT OTO

Small and alternative, Opera Theater Oregon delivers showy, entertaining performances of opera in English, as well as original musical and cabaret productions. Our goal is to produce innovative and accessible shows, preserving the beauty of the music while playing shamelessly with format, and offering affordable ticket prices. We're also committed to using local talent and non-traditional orchestration.

2007 SEASON

Monthly, February - April at the Someday Lounge:

WILL KILL FOR VAUDEVILLE 60-year-old "Baby" Ethel Million's triumphant return to Orpheum Circuit. OTO Cavalcade of Beautiful Losers, various venues and guest artists.

Monthly, May - July at the Someday Lounge:

THE CARNIE'S CONFESSION A Dust Bowl Opera Melodrama. OTO Cavalcade of Beautiful Losers, various venues and guest artists.

September 14, 15 & 16 (venue TBA):

MUSCLE-MAX A new take on Donizetti's 'L'Elisir d'Amore," set in the mall circa 1985. Hot Dog on a Stick, men's competitive aerobics, big, big hair, and Bel Canto.

CONTACT OTO

For more information, visit www.operatheateroregon.com, or contact Artistic Director Katie Taylor, operatheateroregon@yahoo.com or 503.234.4515.

__________________________

From WILLAMETTE WEEK:

THEIR LIPS AREN'T SEALED The shabby, dusty era of vaudeville meets highbrow French lyric opera in the Saturday, Feb. 10, debut showing of Opera Theater Oregon 's new "opera cabaret troupe," the New Bellini Cavalcade of Beautiful Losers . According to OTO artistic honcho Katie Taylor, this PG-13 scripted revuesical (at the Someday Lounge) includes a slate of guest stars, including Helena Greathouse , a former darling of Czech National TV who performs in Liza Minnelli-inspired spangles with her husband on the accordion.

www.wweek.com/editorial/3311/8482/

Imago Theatre: 
 
The Cuban Missle Tango

In his last production Apis, or the Taste of Honey, Jerry Mouawad crossed the world of the honeybee with that of a military prison. In The Cuban Missile Tango Mouawad crosses a halloween night dinner party with the Cuban missile crisis. Call it fusion theatre, call it explosive dance mime performance, call it opera beyond words – whatever you call it, it’s still difficult to peg. The Cuban Missile Tango plays Aug 27, 28, 29 @ 7:30, and Aug 30 @ 2:00. All ticket are $10. Shows will take place at Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8^{th Avenue. Tickets are only sold at the door one hour before show time. For more information visit: www.imagotheatre.com}

The Cuban missile crisis took the world dangerously close to a nuclear disaster. Robert McNamara ironically called the politician’s responsible - rational men. The rational men were Khrushchev, Kennedy and Castro. Each became victims of a game of chicken that threatened the annihilation of all nations. A Google search can give you the basics of the thirteen days of terror in October 1962. Those who were old enough to remember can tell you what they were doing when Kennedy’s televised speech shocked the country into fears of World War III. It wasn’t until an international conference in Cuba in 2002 that the world understood how close we came to a nuclear holocasut.

Mouawad’s cast of fourteen actors, dancers and movers throw plates, toss guns, play sex games and eat dinner to create The Cuban Missile Tango. To tell the story, teletype projections blast away above the set: Early in the play the

type reads "Fidel Castro overthrows brutal dictator to liberate Cuba. ….Castro dumps on capitalist ideology…. CIA attempt assassinations with with LCD laced cigars…." Below these headlines Mouawad stages a cantankerous celebration that turns sour then deadly. The action is both literal and abstract.

Mouawad says, "I’m into my third week of rehearsal and we open in three weeks, so everything is as crazy as the crisis. I’m trying to piece together two different events to become one. The historical data on one side of my brain, and the events of this strange party at the other. It’s tricky and complex, however what I’m after is simplicity." Not unlike Apis, Mouawad will design lights and set and incorporate the design elements into his second of what he is considering a canon of movement plays without words.

Another headline in The Cuban Missile Tango

" 1961, American Nuclear War Head: 6,312; Soviet Nuclear War heads: 401" What does Mouawad do with this data? He serves the Kennedys a horde of hors D’oeuvre, while across the room Khrushchev’s clan is served very small portions.

We asked the director one more question: And is there tango? His response: "Ah, yes, with guns in hand."