2007-2008 Season
Helena Festival of the Book: Tome - a Chamber Opera by Greg Bolin / libretto by Maile Meloy Followed by a reading of new works by Maile Meloy
October 14 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$20 (A Benefit for Grants to Artists)
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World premiere performance of a chamber opera by Montana composer Greg Bolin, set to a short story by Maile Meloy. Meloy wrote the libretto, and will follow the opera with a reading from her new works. The closing event of the Helena Festival of the Book.
Ensemble Amarcord
October 21 - 7:00 pm
Cathedral of St. Helena
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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Phenomenal a capella vocals. This German sextet makes the Middle Ages hip, the Renaissance sassy. With a repertoire from madrigal to Amanda McBroom—and impeccable intonation—these six voices serve up astonishing sound.
“Fabulous command of textures and dynamics, making for moments of deep melancholy, humor, tenderness, or chaotic energy.”—Bernard Levin, music critic
Helena Theatre Co.: The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Sponsored by: TRIMAC Group, Mike and Colleen Casey
November 1-4, 7-10
Weeknights and Sunday - 7:30 pm
Friday and Saturday - 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 10 matinee 2:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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The stunningly funny tale of a ruthless Irish Liberation Army enforcer and the one thing he loves more than anything else in the world, his little black cat. It all builds to a stunning surprise that has audiences laughing in disbelief.
“This is the funniest show in town, and a guaranteed adrenaline booster. See it!”—Ben Brantley, New York Times
Ronald K. Brown/Evidence: One Shot
Sponsored by: Naturopathic Acupuncture Clinic (M. Bergkamp)
November 5 - 7:30 pm
Helena Middle School
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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“One of the most profound choreographers of his modern dance generation” (The New York Times). A spectacular fusion of traditional African dance with contemporary choreography and spoken word, telling the story of blacks in America through dance. This is a voyage of intimacy and power, exploring the power of community in contemporary culture. This performance is part of a record-breaking tour going to the major dance venues in the US.
“Exquisitely sculpted movement, and a compelling sense of spiritual urgency.”—The Washington Post
So Percussion
Sponsored by: Mountain West Bank
November 15 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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Dizzyingly virtuosic music by a restlessly inventive ensemble. So Percussion composes amazing pieces using odd instruments, walnut planks, tuned steel pipes, tea cups, flower pots, brake drums , and much more. They’re edgy (nobody else plays music like this) and ancient (after all, people have been hitting objects with sticks for eons). There's always something to hit or rub or whatever," they like to say. "“If you're sick of the sounds you've got, you go and find more."
“Astonishing and entrancing”—Billboard
Alison Brown Quartet
Sponsored by: On Broadway
November 18 - 7:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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Unique and beautiful jazz-hued acoustic music on an unexpected instrument: the 5-string banjo. Brown composes lovely, textured pieces—jazz to bluegrass. With 4 CDs and a Grammy Award, she is praised for her music’s “unique sonic signature and inescapable beauty.”
“Alison Brown left a career in investment banking for a life as a banjo musician. Anyone who thinks this was a foolish move hasn't heard her play.”—The New Yorker
The Second City
Sponsored by: Doubek & Pyfer Law Firm, Real Food Market & Deli
January 16 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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The Second City Touring Company has been bringing laughter and joy to packed houses all over North America for 40+ years. This year they bring “One Nation, Under Blog,” a funny, fast-paced, highly interactive comedy
Eric Bibb
Sponsored by: Pacific Steel & Recycling
January 27 - 7:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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A return visit from one of the nation’s most beloved bluesmen. Eric Bibb concerts are musically and spiritually enriching—deft musicianship, soulful folk-blues, and “a voice to die for” (The New York Times). As Elwood Blues on the “House of Blues Radio Hour” said, “You are what the blues in the new century should be about.”
“Bibb may be the quietest blues player out there, but he is also becoming one of the best.”—Billboard
Scott/Powell Performance
Sponsored by: Ashley Furniture HomeStore, Helena Community Credit Union, New West Health Services
February 1 - 8:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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Contemporary dance collaboration between choreographer Mary Sheldon Scott and composer Jarrad Powell. Scott/Powell Performance has become a creative force in the Pacific Northwest with their mysterious and beautiful works.
“Astonishing work of visual, musical, and physical art.”—Trey Hatch, The Stranger
Montana Rep: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Sponsored by: Intralot
February 12 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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Montana’s professional rep company returns with Tennessee Williams’ hauntingly beautiful play investigating the dark and mysterious sides of the human heart. Two vital and vibrant characters, trapped in a repressive society, fight to break through their unbearable loneliness. Experience Williams at the peak of his power.
“One of the most successful plays of our time. A play of tremendous dramatic impact and enormous theatrical power.”—The New York Post
QUARTANGO (Valentine tango night)
Sponsored by: Helena Super 8 Motel
February 14 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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Taking tango in new directions, with impeccable arrangements, subtle and unexpected allusions to classical music, and a liberal dose of humor, woven together by the elegant interplay of ensemble playing at its best. QUARTANGO’s repertoire ranges from classic tangos to tango nuevo and Piazzolla, all the way to Celtic jigs—with effervescence and style. Come celebrate Valentine’s Day!
“Four better tango musicians than the quartet QuarTango would be hard to find.”—Henry Doktorski, reviewer
The Hampton Rock String Quartet
Sponsored by: American Federal Savings Bank, Best Western Helena Great Northern Hotel, Placer Motors Inc., Van’s Thriftway
February 22 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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A band for those who crave something truly different. These four musicians play well-known rock songs (“Eleanor Rigby,” “Stairway to Heaven”) in classically influenced arrangements on traditional, priceless, acoustic instruments. One listen and you’ll change the way you hear both classical and pop music.
"One class act. This group is hot. Definitely ranked with the best of them. - WCBS-TV, Jill Rappaport
The Pine Leaf Boys
Sponsored by: Taco del Sol
February 29 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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The best new, energetic, and fun Cajun band in a very long time. The Boys present their own unique brand of traditional Cajun and Creole music with youthful exuberance. They grew up in Cajun country, steeped in Zydeco, Creole, and the musical imperative to always invent. They like to trade off instruments, and play because they love it. “If we weren’t onstage, we’d be jamming on the front porch every night.”
“Cajun music with an unabashed rock ’n’ roll energy conducive to the elbow-flying, hip-swiveling spirit on the dance floor.” – The New York Times
Keo Woolford
Sponsored by: Associated Dermatology of Helena, Café Artemis & The Quarry Bar, Helena Physicians Clinic, Valley Bank
March 7 - 8:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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Hula, hip-hop, spoken word—Woolford expands on the Hawaiian tradition of talk story, adding theater, dance, and dramatic narrative to tell a unique and compelling story. A native Hawaiian, Woolford expands on hula and talk-story traditions to tell his own memoir of unromantic realities growing up in ‘paradise.’ Directed by Roberta Uno, with Hip-hop choreography by Rokafella.
"...Inspires and exhilarates. This is theatre that takes you somewhere new."--Backstage
Battlefield Band
Sponsored by: Moore Appraisals, Surety Title LLC, Windbag Saloon & Grill
March 16 - 7:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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Scotland’s musical warriors playing a fusion of ancient and modern instruments - bagpipes, fiddle, synthesizer, guitar, flutes, bodhran and accordion. The Battlefield Band has fueled the great revival of Scottish music with their uncanny chemistry, limitless imagination, and love of the tradition.
“What the Chieftains have done for Irish music, the Battlefield Band is doing for the music of Scotlant.”—Billboard
Nora Chipaumire
Sponsored by: Benny’s Bistro
April 10 - 7:30 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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Zimbabwe-born Nora uses dance and movement to explore cultural, political, economic, and technological identities of African contemporary life. She creates provocative and politically relevant multimedia works that illuminate the struggles of human identity in an increasingly borderless world.
“This remarkable Zimbabwean is a gift.”—J. Harris, Voice of Dance
Lura
Sponsored by: Walden Properties
April 12 - 8:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$17 adults / $15 seniors / $10 students
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A Portuguese singer from Cape Verde, Lura is part of a new generation of musicians rediscovering the hidden traditions of her ancestral homeland. Her music is inspired by the batuku and funana styles of Santiago, the most African of the ten Capeverdean islands.
“Her powerhouse vocals make even serious-minded songs sound like love songs.”—Rolling Stone
Helena Theatre Company: Doubt
Sponsored by: Miller’s Crossing, Sleep City USA
April 17-19, 23-27, 30, May 1-3
Weeknights and Sunday 7:30 pm, Friday-Saturdays 8:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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John Patrick Shanley's remarkable play about paranoia and pedophilia in the Catholic Church won a Pulitzer Prize and a bucketful of Tony’s including Best Play of 2005. The superb Helena Theatre Company takes on a drama of subtleties and shifting perspectives that stampeded Broadway –even though it’s not a musical!—and had the town talking.
“An intelligently measured play that sends off emotional stealth charges that go far deeper. “—NY Review
The Lascivious Biddies
Sponsored by: Allegra
May 10 - 8:00 pm
Myrna Loy Center
$15 adults & seniors / $10 students
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An all female cocktail pop quartet with an energetic and tightly woven show. Blending jazz, pop, and cabaret with four-part harmonies, this irrepressible foursome have developed a fresh, genre-defying sound, served with humor, expert musicianship, and a dash of sentimentality.
“Angelic vocal harmonies, wordy humor, jazz chops & pop moxie”—Time Out NY
UNCORKED: Wine Tasting, and Auction
May 17
Myrna Loy Center
The annual Myrna Loy night of great wine, good people, and the opportunity to bid on spectacular auction items to benefit the Myrna Loy Center.
Tickets can be purchased at the Myrna Loy Center by calling the Box Office at 443-0287. The Internet is a great way to purchase your tickets. It's convenient, secure, and fast.
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