Idols on Broadway

A lot of American Idols have found themselves on Broadway. Adam Lambert is taking a detour to pop from what looked like a path to Broadway. If Idol history is any indication, he'll be on the Great White Way soon enough.

Tamyra Gray, who Idol contestant way back in Season 1, just signed on for The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea, a new African-set version of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Princess and the Pea," will be seen in a private workshop presentation in Manhattan July 20. Prior to this she has made a name for herself in Rent and Bombay Dreams.

The beleaguered Frenchie Davis from Season 2, still managed to pick up the pieces and star in Rent.

Season 2 runner up Clay Aiken did his turn in Spamalot. Then he came out and started a family. Broadway can be cathartic like that.

Season 3 Fantasia has performed “Celie” in The Color Purple and is reprising the role in D.C., Chicago and Atlanta this summer and fall.

Season 4 was FULL of Broadway talent – most notably the Tony® nominee Constantine Maroulis who is currently performing in Rock of Ages.

There have been others, and I encourage all of you American Idol fans to publish my omission in the comments below.

But most importantly – Taylor Hicks the Season 5 winner of American Idol is performing in Grease at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Aug. 18-23. The chicks will…

…you know the song.

-Kari G.

Season Celebration

Every year TBPAC hosts a VIP event to celebrate our upcoming season.

Tonight we are offering a free cocktail party and a backstage sneak peek of the 2009 – 2010 season by invitation only. This event is highly anticipated each year by members of the press and other VIP guests. Want to get on the invite list for next season, but the press isn’t hiring? Consider becoming one of TBPAC’s valued group leaders.

A group can be as few as 12 to 20 people attending the same performance and received many fabulous special advantages such as: discounted prices on most shows, priority seating, convenient motor coach parking, personalized service, catering advice and more. Some shows even offer complementary tickets to group leaders and TBPAC often hosts VIP events specifically for top sellers.

You'll find more information about bringing a group to upcoming TBPAC shows here. We’re taking reservations now for TBPAC’s 2009 – 2010 High-Flying Season! Book early to receive the best seats at a great discount!

-Tracey M.

Audio Description

For the visually impaired, attending the theater can be challenging.  Commonly they bring a sighted friend to "describe" the physical action occurring on stage.

Visually impaired patrons are aware that this could be disturbing to fellow guests, but what option do they have if they want to enjoy the theater?

Enter the TBPAC's Audio Description Program.  Part of our Open Doors program to ensure that all people, regardless of physical challenges, can enjoy the theater.

Our team of audio describers (7 women, 2 men, all local) will be audio describing the first Sunday matinee of every Broadway show next season!  While we were all going through training (yes, I am an audio describer as well, because I need more things to do in my life), John Flemming of the St. Petersburg Times covered our process.  His article appears in the Floridian section of today's paper.

-Kari G.

Rapp n' Rays

Anthony Rapp sang the National Anthem at the Tampa Bay Rays game tonight in Tropicana Field. The Rays don't make jerseys for just anybody.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

And in about 5 minutes he'll be performing RENT for the second time today.  Don't miss the last 2 performances tomorrow!

-Kari G.

Test Drive Your Social Networking

Today was Test Drive Your Seats - a great opportunity for the community to run around Morsani Hall and see the available seats for the Broadway Season.  It was a bit of an early morning for most of us on the marketing staff.  We all had the "best intentions" to go to bed early last night - but I think the average bedtime was between 1:30 and 2 a.m.  

Bleary eyed but eager, we opened the doors to scores of waiting patrons at 9:30. We answered questions, talked of sight lines (Is stage left better than stage right?), levels (is the Mezzanine better than the Orchestra?) and season ticket options (Silver package v. Platinum package?).  Our Development team assisted patrons who saw the benefits of becoming members and ensuring the best seats in the Broadway Circle.

There are still great seats available for all performances in the season.  If you missed Test Drive today, don't worry, your perfect seats might still be waiting for you!

As the event wore down - we realized that in our quiet time, we were all posting Tweets.  This is what happens when an account has multiple users and too many marketers with iPhones.  Ah technology!

TBPAC's social networking contributors is expanding.  It's only going to get more interesting.  In the coming weeks TBPAC will be giving you, our readers and fans, a multi-dimensional look at all aspects of the world of a Performing Arts Center.  Staff from all areas of TBPAC will share their world with you.

Social Networking channels for TBPAC will still be one of the first places to gain information on discounts, show announcements and reminders of public on-sales, but we want to add to that knowledge a glimpse into the experiences we have at TBPAC.

Follow us on Twitter @TBPAC and get the news as it happens, from all corners of our organization.  Friend us on Facebook and MySpace for photos and contests that will be exclusive to our Friends.  Subscribe to Culture Shock and find out what we're up to and comment back with your thoughts and questions.

There is a Native American proverb that "It takes a thousand voices to tell one story." We're adding more voices and we need your voice as well - come to the discussion.

Have a great weekend - and if you haven't seen RENT yet, you still have 4 performances left.  If you're going to the Tampa Bay Rays game tonight - Anthony Rapp is singing the National Anthem - then rushing back to do the evening performance.  How cool is that?

-Kari G.  

Test Drive Your Seat

You know what we love to do more than anything else in the TBPAC marketing department?

...
...
...

That's right! We like to wake up early and work on a Saturday morning!

Actually that's a lie. A big old lie. But we do care enough for you to have the best seat possible for the 2009-2010 Bank of America Best of Broadway season.

That's actually true. We really do care. We care so much that we are going to be in the Carol Morsani Hall tomorrow morning from 9:30 - 11 a.m. to answer your questions and help you find the perfect seat for you and your friends, loved ones and/or the people you have in your life that quietly sit with you and suffer your love of Broadway.

It's okay. We like people like you. We also like that there are people in your life that like you enough to buy another seat and suffer for you all season.

Come on by tomorrow morning - we'll be here. Hopefully we'll be standing upright, but be prepared for a couple of ponytails and baseball caps in the mix. Marketers are night owls. We only do this for you good people.

Points if you bring us coffee. Just sayin.

-Kari G.

The Running of the Bulls - RENT style

I was at the Shimberg Playhouse for the preview performance of Stagework's The Little Dog Laughed last night. As I was standing outside to congratulate local actors Julie Rowe, Matthew Lunsford, Nick Horan, and Mary Jordan, I felt a great rush of adrenaline, angst and adoration as the Running of the RENTheads went past me in a blur.

They wore sundresses with heels, jeans with Chuck Taylors, a mix of emotion and confusion and unbridled joy. They smelled of androgynous cologne and summer sweat. They giggled and shrieked as the clacking of their shoes echoed down the corridor.

There was 500 ft. between them and the Stage Door. They were quickly gaining ground towards the Stage Door. The velvet ropes were in sight. We were in their way.

We moved. Quickly.

And so the Running of RENTheads flew by us, desperately jockeying for their place in line. Hoping for the best angle to see Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp.

So if you're coming to TBPAC this weekend to see RESPECT, Little Dog Laughed or you happen to be sitting close to the ends of the aisles for RENT - be warned - the Running of the RENTheads is real and they will not be stopped by mere mortals like you.

-Kari G.

The ultimate RENThead experience

We love our summer intern AP (we'll call her AP to protect her identity). AP has suffered through our last minute freak-outs, has become well acquainted with our temperamental copy machine, stared at 10 spreadsheets and made them one coherent document, and frequently asks me (without prompting) if I need Starbucks.

In short - she's an angel.

She's also a RENThead. Bad. Almost to the point of wanting to tease her. But you can't tease somebody that just copied and cut 2,500 inserts for you.

She saw RENT last night, she's seeing it tonight. If she wasn't expected to be here in the mornings, I bet she would be hanging out in line with the other RENTheads for rush tickets (they camp out).

Working here and interning here can be a lot of hard work. "The show must go on" isn't a saying, it's a edict. We get a lot done in a little bit of time and if we do our job right, the patron never notices.

AP has learned that and she's gained experience and become a great team member. Today, we got to do something nice for her.

AP got to assist the publicist in picking up Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal today. If you're a Beatles Fan - she got to pick up John and Paul. If you're a U2 fan - she got to pick up Bono and The Edge. If you're a Jonas Brothers fan - she got to pick up 2 of the 3 of them. (They all look the same to me, sorry).

As I type this she is meeting the two men who first breathed life into Roger and Mark and made RENT the worldwide success that it is today. The only advice I could give her was, "Try not to drool."

The work here is hard, the perks are unbelievable. I doubt she will ever forget today.

-Kari G.

Renee Fleming Shines in Traviata

Our favorite diva Renee Fleming  is selling out the Royal Opera, Covent Garden in her six-performance run as Violetta in Traviata.

Anthony Tommasini of  the New York Times said of her performance, "I can report that she was at her best in this vocally alluring and dramatically insightful Violetta."

Wait until you hear her in the acoustically perfect Carol Morsani Hall on Jan. 26.

- Kari G.