‘The King And I’ will be in JAX all the way from Siam

Wonderful music and costumes on one stage.  NETworks Presentations LLC announces that the national tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I, based on the 2015 Tony Award ®–winning Lincoln Center Theater Production, will come to Jacksonville at the Times-Union Center for eight performances, November 13-18, 2018 as part of the FSCJ Artist Series Broadway in Jacksonville 2018-19 Season.

One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest works, THE KING AND I boasts a score that features such beloved classics as: “Getting To Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance” and “Something Wonderful.”  Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

In the words of Bartlett Sher, director of the 2015 Broadway production and the first national tour, “Great classics come back to us when we need them the most.  In order to live up to the scale of its ambition, we have to go both backward and forward in time.  It’s like having one foot in the past as deeply as we can, one foot in the present, and our eyes looking out as far ahead as we can to see how it resonates.”

Tony Award®–winning director Bartlett Sher was reunited with the award-winning creative team from the Lincoln Center Theater Productions of South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza.  The creative team for this new production includes direction by Shelly Butler, based on Bartlett Sher’s original direction, featuring sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber (seven-time Tony Award® winner, including The King and I), lights by Donald Holder, sound by Scott Lehrer, musical supervision by Theodore Sperling and casting by Jason Styres, CSA.  Tony Award® winner Christopher Gattelli’s choreography, based on the original choreography by Jerome Robbins, will be recreated for this tour.  The production features the musical’s original 1951 orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennet with dance and incidental music arranged by Trude Rittmann.

“I doubt I’ll see a better production in my lifetime.”—The Wall Street Journal; “Five stars. Grand and glorious.”—Time Out New York; “Absolutely stunning.”—Variety

 “The King & I”
by Rodgers & Hammerstein
DATES:      TIMES:
Tues., Nov. 13, 2018 7:30 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 14     7:30 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 15    7:30 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 16      8 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 17    2 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 17     8 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 18    1:30 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 18    7 p.m.

LOCATION: Times Union Center Performing Arts
      Moran Theater
      300 West Water St.
      Jacksonville, FL 32202

TICKETS: start at $42 plus applicable fees, and may be purchased online at FSCJ Artist Series, sponsored by VyStar Credit Union (the official presenter of the Jacksonville show), or by calling (904) 632-5000 between 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.  Discounts for groups of 10+ may be available by calling (904) 632-5050.  Performance schedule, prices and cast are subject to change without notice.

‘Toto’ coming to JAX for 40th Anniversary Tour

“TOTO” is pleased to announce 21 new North American shows in support of their 40th Anniversary. The “40 Trips Around The Sun Tour” will come to the historic, nonprofit Florida Theatre on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 8pm.

It’s without question, that TOTO are currently in the middle of a major resurgence around the world.  The band’s brand-new greatest hits package titled 40 Trips Around The Sun (Legacy Recordings - Sony) debuted in the Top 40 in eight different countries.  Their European tour earlier this year saw them performing to packed houses every night including sold out stops at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam and Royal Albert Hall in London.  Most recently, Weezer’s covers of the classic TOTO hits “Rosanna” and “Africa” have attracted a ton of media attention along with over five million plays of the tracks.

Few ensembles in the history of recorded music have individually or collectively had a larger imprint on pop culture than the members of TOTO.  As individuals, the band members can be heard on an astonishing 5000 albums that together amass a sales history of a half a billion albums.  Amongst these recordings, NARAS applauded the performances with more than 200 Grammy nominations.  Toto has over 400 million streams on Spotify alone along while views on YouTube far exceed over a half billion.

With more than 40 years together and literally thousands of credits, including the biggest selling album of all time: Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and accolades to their names, TOTO remains one of the top selling touring and recording acts in the world.  They are the benchmark by which many artists base their sound and production, and they continue to transcend the standards set by the entire music community, being simply synonymous with musical credibility.  Their repertoire continues to be current via high profile usage on broadcast television.  They are pop culture, and are one of the few 70’s bands that have endured the changing trends and styles to a career enjoy a multi-generational worldwide fan base.

The “40 Trips Around The Sun Tour” is the band’s most extensive run in years.  Look HERE for a venue near you.

    “ToTo”
40 Trips Around the Sun tour
DATE: Saturday, November 3, 2018
TIME: 8 p.m.

TICKETS: are on sale now for Florida Theatre Friends, e-club members can buy with their code word.  Everyone is invited to purchase their tickets by calling the box office at 904.355.2787(ARTS), or at floridatheatre.com, the official site for Florida Theatre event tickets.

LOCATION: Florida Theatre
      128 E. Forsyth St.
      Jacksonville, FL 32202
      (904) 355-2787 (ARTS)

Premium ‘Tailgating for Georgia-Florida’ Games

Georgia and Florida Fans traveling to TIAA Bank Field now have access to premium, reserved pre-game tailgating packages through Tailgate Guys.  Tailgate Guys is expanding its presence in the state of Florida as the official tailgate provider for the historic Georgia-Florida football rivalry at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville on October 27, 2018.  This partnership will provide Tailgate Guys’ renowned, hassle-free premium tailgating service to Georgia Bulldog and Florida Gator fans traveling to Jacksonville for the 2018 game and beyond.  These offerings will bolster the game day experience for fans and reinforce one of the best pre-game environments in college athletics!

For the first time in Jacksonville, Tailgate Guys’ premium tailgating service will be located in theoutfield of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.  Their tailgating packages are suitable for various group sizes and needs ranging from corporate hospitality events to small groups of family and friends.  Georgia and Florida fans will now have access to various gameday packages in Tailgate Guys’ reserved community which include amenities such as tents, DISH Media packages, coolers of ice, tables, chairs and more.  All packages also have access to bellhop services, onsite concierge, exclusive catering by the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and a unique tailgating atmosphere before, during and after the game.  Only steps away from the TIAA Bank Field, the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville is the ideal location for this inaugural Georgia-Florida Tailgate experience.

“We love serving Gators and Jags fans already, so it’s only natural that we would open up our premium experience and services to Georgia-Florida in Jacksonville,” said Parker Duffey, CEO of Tailgate Guys.  “We also look forward to introducing Georgia fans to our premium services, and it’s exciting for us to be part of one of the best rivalries in all of sports!”

“On behalf of the City of Jacksonville and SMG, we look forward to another exciting year of Georgia-Florida Football,” said Bill McConnell, General Manager of SMG Jacksonville.  “In an on-going tradition to create unforgettable events for fans, we are thrilled to partner with Tailgate Guys to offer a one-of-a-kind tailgating experience – which fans won’t want to miss.”

Georgia-Florida tailgate packages can be reserved now by calling (904) 710-1544, email or online.

About Tailgate Guys: Founded in 2009, Tailgate Guys is known for offering superior tailgating service to guests across the nation by working with athletic entities across the country. Tailgate Guys has set the standard for the tailgate service industry and continues to expand their offerings and their geographic footprint. With the ability to host over one million tailgate guests a year, Tailgate Guys is committed to providing outstanding attention to detail to all partners and guests.

2018 - 2019 happenings ‘Around Town with Ms. V’

So that you will be able to purchase those Christmas Stocking Stuffer tickets, Ms. “V” will post some future events NOW!  Please check back often to see what in coming to Jacksonville, Florida; Orange Park, Florida and the surrounding areas.  All venues and shows coming to town may not be listed, but some of the ones that she receives information on - will be posted on her Blog.  Because of time restraints and travel, some events will not have a Review.  Come to JAX for fine arts and great entertainment.  Around Town with Ms. “V”

A storm is coming to ‘Players by the Sea’ for Oct/Nov

This Halloween season will include a psychological thriller at Players by the Sea.  “Pontypool” is set to open on the Jacksonville Beach community theatre’s Studio Stage from October 26 and runs until November 3rd., for eight impactful shows.

A massive storm sends reports of people developing strange speech patterns and committing horrendous acts of violence in small-town Pontypool. Radio D.J. Grant Mazzy and the small staff at CLSY, trapped inside the radio station, desperately try to warn listeners about the virus and its unlikely mode of transmission.

Director Stephanie Natale Frus says that Pontypool “…is about the human condition — putting people in extreme circumstances and seeing how they are going to react.  I like to look at it as a snowball play — it’s the time of thing where once that actions start, it just rolls and rolls until ‘bam!’ it just stops.”  She continues to explain that Pontypool explores communication.  “The show specifically looks at communication through public broadcasting, public radio, media — which is really appropriate for our society right now.  The question is ‘why are we communicating this way so heavily?”

Pontypool looks at the psychological concept of flight vs. fright.  This play is an adaptation of Pontypool Changes Everything, a book and film by Tony Burgess.  His stage play is now being edited for this production to include local Jacksonville factors by Kelby Siddons.  The production in the Studio Theatre aims to be a truly immersive event — the production team is partnering up with folks from Sally Corporation to create an experience that draws from dark ride concepts.

“Pontypool”
DATES:      TIMES:
Fri., Oct. 26, 2018  8 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 27      8 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 29    8 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 30    8 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 31    8 p.m.
Thurs., Nov. 1    8 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 2     8 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 3     8 p.m.

TICKETS: Regular tickets are $28, with a discounted price of $25 for Senior/Student/Military.  Showtimes are 8 p.m. from Thursday - Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.  The Thursday night performance is a Student Night, wherein students can receive half price tickets with a valid student I.D.  Advance ticket purchases are strongly encouraged.  Tickets are available on line, or by calling the Box Office at (904) 249-0289.

LOCATION: Players By The Sea Theatre
      106 6th Street North
      Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
      (904) 249-0289