Berkeley Rep Blog
More hot, hot, hot off the presses!
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, Sep 7, 2011
in Our shows
Today Berkeley Rep’s staff is putting the final touches on opening-night festivities for Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup – including installing a glamorous life-size cut-out of Rita herself in the lobby, ready to pose with you for a photo. Check out our Facebook page for info on the pretty snazzy photo contest.
A brand-new photo from dress rehearsal! Rita Moreno with Salvatore Vassallo and Ray Garcia. Photo by Kevin Berne
So, we thought we should dress up our blog with the fabulous press Rita’s been receiving so far. The archival photos alone make these pages worth checking out…
Rita’s spitfire personality really sparkles in the Bay Area Reporter’s insightful and honest feature written by Richard Dodds. Sound bite (in reference to not playing stereotypical ethnic roles): “At least I wasn’t saying, ‘Why you no love me no more?’”
The Examiner just joined us a production sponsor and, in addition to this article, their “street hawkers” will be handing out free papers on Monday, September 12 while decked out in Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup show art. Who knows, maybe we’ll also have a special offer in those papers? (Not promising anything yet. Stay tuned.)
KQED’s Spencer Michels offers up this terrific article featuring great quotes by both Rita and Tony Taccone. Plus, this page also features video and rare archival photos.
Rounding out the pre-opening night press is this fun interview on Theatermania, a feature plus a Q&A on AARP Viva (also available in Spanish), and this feature in Diablo magazine.
And, did you know that we’re offering a free download of a Rita Moreno song to all ticketholders? (All ticketholders who join our email list, that is.) So, check out more info about the show, see a performance calendar, and reserve your seats now!
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Introducing our specialty drinks
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Sep 6, 2011
in At the theatre
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing our drinks created especially for the run of Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup! (It opens tomorrow night, by the way!)
Rosita Rum & Cola
Puerto Rico meets the Bronx…and gets dressed up for Broadway. Bacardi says hola to Coca-Cola and tops itself off with a bright red cherry. Cool and hot – just like Rita! $8
Singin’ in the Rum
Bacardi white rum dances with splashes of lime juice, grapefruit juice, and maraschino liqueur. One sip and you’ll kick up your heels – who needs an umbrella anyway? $8
Plus: Tres Agaves MargaRita!
It’s a hit! Don’t miss the encore performance of the Tres Agaves Margarita, starring Tres Agaves Tequila and its certified Organic Margarita Mix. $8.
And, we have some new treats at our concessions counter: Love at First Bite's peanut butter cookies, Raymond's cabernet sauvignon, Boont Amber Ale, and Anchor Steam lager. See our concessions counter menu.
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Complete your Rita Moreno collection
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Sep 2, 2011
in Our shows
Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup starts previews tonight and officially opens next Wednesday. And just in time, we have fabulous new items in our gift shop so you can complete your Rita Moreno collection:
The self-titled CD from Rita Moreno -- $19
DVD of The Ritz, starring Jack Weston and Rita Moreno -- $20
Book: Something’s Coming, Something Good: West Side Story and the American Imagination
By Misha Berson -- $17
And, of course, the West Side Story DVD -- $20
So, stop by the gift shop in the Roda lobby before or after the show. See you there!
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Hot, hot, hot off the presses...
posted by Terence Keane on Mon, Aug 29, 2011
in Our shows
We're thrilled that Rita Moreno -- who begins previews for her new show here on Friday -- is featured on the front page of lots of local newspapers today.
As Karen D'Souza reports, "Dishing on the treasure trove of Hollywood trivia that is her life -- she once dated Elvis to make Brando jealous and it worked -- is the spice of Life Without Makeup, which Moreno and [Artistic Director Tony] Taccone are crafting together... Ever the temptress, she waits a beat before adding: 'If you want to hear the rest of the story, you've got to come see the show, honey.'"
You can read the whole (hot) article and watch a fantastic slide show of Rita's career by clicking below:
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"Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup" tickets on sale
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Aug 25, 2011
in Our shows
Rita Moreno is in the house! Rehearsals are heating up, and we’re all humming tunes from West Side Story – some of us are even demonstrating the choreography. Yep, the world premiere of Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup begins previews on September 2!
Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup is an unflinchingly honest and spectacularly entertaining new show about her amazing life and career. Backed by an onstage band and two charismatic dancers, the incomparable Rita Moreno delivers a sensational performance that's part autobiography, part old Broadway, and all fabulous.
Watch a video of Rita introducing Life Without Makeup, learn more about the show,
then reserve your seats online!
And, check out this new interview with her on Latina.com!
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A Tres Agaves debut at Berkeley Rep
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Aug 9, 2011
in News , Our shows
We have a brand-new specialty drink for the encore presentation of Let Me Down Easy -- and it's making a bit of a debut! Don’t miss the Tres Agaves Margarita, starring Tres Agaves Tequila and -- making its world premiere debut right here at Berkeley Rep --- Tres Agaves’ USDA certified Organic Margarita Mix. For a mere $8, you too can savor this tasty beverage.
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And the winners are...
posted by Karen McKevitt on Mon, Aug 8, 2011
in News
How did the following people win such fabulous prizes? They gave us great feedback on our big patron survey and were randomly selected among all the particpants -- well, those particpants who gave us their name and contact info so they could be entered, anyway.
Sheila S. and Marcia G. won the grand prize: they each picked up a free full 2011-12 season subscription!
Wendy S. and Bonnie H. got a pair of premium seats to In Paris with Mikhail Baryshnikov.
And the following people got a pair of premium seats to any subscription show in the 2011-12 season: Brad M., Rick R., Catherine L., Carol K., Robin S., Stuart F., Judy O., Ellen S., Corina A., Diane T., Marilyn L., Marvin H., Jane R., Judy G., Karla S., Carol W., Kay B., Meredith E., Betty H., and Dianne F.
Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who participated in our survey. We really do love to receive feedback, and your input will help us provide more superb Berkeley Rep experiences!
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Anna Deavere Smith in the Huffington Post
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Aug 5, 2011
in News , Our shows
In case you haven't already heard, Anna Deavere Smith returns to Berkeley Rep next Wednesday for a limited encore presentation of Let Me Down Easy. And just yesterday, she published a fascinating essay in the Huffington Post about her 2005 trip to Africa to research her show, particularly around the HIV/AIDS crisis.
While she was in Africa, Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. She later conducted interviews with people in New Orleans, including Dr. Kiersta Kurtz-Burke, whose monologue is one of the most affecting in the show. While Anna says that much of the interviews she conducted in Africa did not make it into the version of the show we see now, her Huffington Post essay offers, among her own personal observations, excerpts of interviews with two AIDS activists. She says their words "still play like music in my ears."
Read Anna's essay in the Huffington Post
Buy tickets to Let Me Down Easy
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East Bay Express readers can't be wrong
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Jul 22, 2011
in News , Our shows
Anna Deavere Smith's Let Me Down Easy was voted Best Theatrical Production by East Bay Express readers in the Best of the East Bay issue. Aww, thanks everyone! You have terrific taste in theatre, if we do say so ourselves.
Did you miss Let Me Down Easy? Don't worry, you can still find out what East Bay Express readers already know -- that this show rocks! It's coming back to Berkeley Rep starting August 10 for a really short encore presentation. It must close September 4. What's more, this time the show is on our intimate Thrust Stage, so you can get an even closer view of Anna's artistic genius.
See Let Me Down Easy for the first time, or again. (So many people came more than once to the original run.) Buy your tickets here!
Photo of Anna Deavere Smith by Joan Marcus.
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Let Me Down Easy's moment at Grace
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, Jul 13, 2011
in Our shows
Anna Deavere Smith's Let Me Down Easy concluded its amazing regular run last weekend (the encore performances start up August 11 on our intimate Thrust Stage), and we had some community leaders in the audience: the Very Reverend Dr. Jane Shaw (Dean of Grace Cathedral), as well as the former Dean Alan Jones.
Dr. Shaw found the show so inspiring that she even preached about it the next morning, comparing Anna Deavere Smith's process to that of a parable: neither tells you exactly what to think or what the "right" answer is.
Says Dr. Shaw: "Anna Deavere Smith does not tell us what to think about the healthcare system; she gives us stories to startle us into thinking in new ways about it -- and thus about life and health and death. Through our experience of the play, she prompts us to think and feel differently, as all good art does, about something we thought we already knew."
She goes on to say, "I related not simply to one of Anna Deavere Smith’s twenty characters in the play last night; I found myself finding parts of each of them understand-able, and parts of each of them strange, in ways that prompted me to think anew about health, living, dying. It was in that way that the play changed me, and will go on changing me."
We're really thrilled that discussions of the issues raised in Let Me Down Easy are taking place outside the Theatre--out in our communities. If you've had similar discussions in your community, let us know!