FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2004
CONTACT: Faith Jackson
Office of University Relations
908-737-NEWS (6397)
December Offerings at Kean University's Wilkins Theatre
UNION, N.J. ––– This December, Kean University’s Wilkins Theatre has spectacular performances that will brighten the holiday season with the kind of quality and diverse entertainment that most people would expect to find only in Manhattan.
All performances take place at the Wilkins Theatre at Kean University, located at 1000 Morris Avenue in Union, N.J. Call 908-737-SHOW (7469) for more information. Black-and-white and color images available upon request.
The Chanukkah Story featuring The Western Wind and narrator Jessica
Hecht
Wednesday, December 8, 7:30 p.m.
The Western Wind is a vocal sextet that has devoted itself to
the special beauty and variety of a cappella music. The company, along
with guest narrator Jessica Hecht, noted Broadway, film and television
actress whose most recent Broadway appearance was in Arthur Miller’s
After the Fall, explores Chanukkah’s orgins, spiritual
significance and the rituals and customs that have evolved to celebrate
it. The Chanukkah Story is comprised of 25 songs that weave together ancient
Ladino songs of the Spanish Jews, Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe and
modern Israeli and Mexican tunes along with insightful and informed commentary.
The piece won The New York Times Critics’ Choice award for favorite
holiday recording. Tickets $25.
Voice of the Dragon
Friday, December 10, 7:30 p.m.
Composer Fred Ho’s newest action blockbuster is a groundbreaking
multicultural cross-genre performance epic in a never-before-seen explosive
fusion of music and theatre with pyrotechnical martial arts, set during
the early Ching dynasty in China. Combining martial arts, capoeiora,
hip-hop, and an eclectic musical score, this saga is about a renegade
female monk who allies herself with the Manchu invaders to destroy her
own temple. An allegory about the bitterness of betrayal and opportunism,
it is also a story about the strength of loyalty and integrity. The show
features a cast of elite champion martial artists and Fred Ho’s
Afro Asian Music Ensemble. Tickets $25.
Noche Buena 2004
Saturday, December 11, 7:30 p.m.
Come celebrate La Navidad with a Latin flair. This bilingual
annual event is a wonderful holiday program full of the traditional music
and dances from throughout Latin America in celebration of the Christmas
spirit, offering audience participation and surprises that will make this
an evening that is both educational and memorable. Tickets $25.
Babes in Toyland
Friday, December 17, 7 p.m.
This new, updated version of Victor Herbert’s 1903 classic will
delight the whole family. Set at the end of the 19th century, this holiday-season
operetta explores the story of a young brother and sister who run away
from home and find themselves in a magical place called Toyland, where
toys walk, talk and sing. Tickets $20.
A Celtic Christmas
Saturday, December 18, 7:30 p.m.
Return to the days before the motor car, the television and the telephone
and spend an evening with Tomaseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas.
Featuring fiery fiddles, uileeann pipes, celtic guitar and Irish dance,
this is a loving recreation of the joy and innocence of a Christmas night
in a rural farmhouse in the west of Ireland when neighbors gather around
the fire to pass the long wintry night with the laughter of stories, the
joy of music and spirit of traditional dances. Public: $25.
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