Tuesdays with Corti: Cinderella Begins Next Week!

Cinderella Update! Today is the final day in the John C. Dunham Aurora Arts Center Rehearsal Hall and onto the stage of the Paramount Theatre tomorrow! I got a sneak peak of Act 1 Friday morning and our cast is ever so ready to hit the deck! “The Sweetest Sounds,” the title of one of the most rhapsodic of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s melodies of the “Golden Age” of Broadway musical theatre epitomizes this gorgeous, high energy company of superb singers, dancers, puppeteers and magicians! And the rendition of this song by Mikayla Renfrow (Cinderella) and Markcus Blair (Prince Christopher) is full of the yearning heart of young love and first romance – sweet sounds indeed! Paramount’s production, directed by multi- Jeff Award winning Brenda Didier, presents the Enchanted Edition based on the 1997 television version produced by none other than Whitney Houston. Sitting in my own little corner at rehearsal behind Kory Danielson (Music Director/Supervisor & Conductor) and at the keyboard, Cecilia Villacres, (Associate Music Director & Conductor), the anticipation of all this about to be seen by a whole new generation of families and young people performed by this beautiful ensemble of world class talent is absolutely thrilling! The days ahead of coordinating our orchestra, scenic automation, lights and sound, costumes and wigs and all the staging and technical intricacies lie ahead counting down to the first preview and public performance on November 10th – just 8 days away!

Yesterday, Paramount’s BOLD Series was officially announced and made available to our Broadway Series Subscribers! Subscriptions to the General Public will be available starting Nov. 29th and you don’t want to miss this latest addition to the artistic hub burgeoning in Aurora’s downtown! Here it is! The beginning of a new series of live performances of award winning plays, musicals and world premieres, up close and personal: the telling of new stories by new voices that will ignite conversations long after the lights go down in this theatrically dynamic date night in the intimately renewed, 165 seat Copley Theatre!

And, heads-up! On Nov. 30th Paramount Theatre is participating in Giving Tuesday – “…the global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.” We are fundraising for The Paramount School of the Arts! Paramount’s Board of Directors, the owner and operator of the Paramount Theatre & North Island Center, has generously initiated a matching gift challenge – gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000! Check out the link here and come on! We can’t reach our goal without you! Please do whatever you can and know how appreciated you are for your support!

Love & thanks,
Jim
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