Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy is offering a special deal for its June 5th performance of The Last Five Years: theatregoers who attend the 2 PM matinee will be given the chance to name their own price. The first come first serve opportunity is only available to walk-up patrons for the June 5th
show and will give theatre patrons a chance to not only enjoy the 90
minute show starring Kate Shindle and Nicholas Rodriguez, but to also enjoy an afternoon of festivities. A
festival-style atmosphere with food and entertainment fills each hour
before the show with a talk back with Shindle and Rodriguez following
their performance in the BTI's intimate 100-seat theatre, where the show has been running since June 1st. The Last Five Years will run until June 12th at the Raleigh, NC theatre.
Shindle
and Rodriguez portray young couple Cathy and Jamie Wellerstein "in this
fresh and contemporary musical from Tony Award-winning composer Jason
Robert Brown. The musical chronicles their romance in a new and
exciting way: her story starts at the end of their relationship; his
begins the day they met. Funny, smart and uplifting, the show reveals
how they lived, loved and lost their way."Shindle, a former Miss America, has made her name as a musical theatre performer on Broadway in Jekyll and Hyde and as Sally Bowles in the Cabaret revival. Additionally, she played Lucy in the North Carolina Theatre production of Jekyll and Hyde. Rodriguez recently played Akhenaten in the Miami production of the Broadway-bound musical Nefertiti, and appeared in the big-budged LA production of The Ten Commandments. He also played Ren in NCT's production of Footloose.As described in a press release,Hot
Summer Nights at the Kennedy "is a professional theatre company whose
mission is to serve the citizens of Raleigh, Wake County and Eastern
Carolina by 'keeping the lights on' and producing professional
theatrical performances in the Kennedy Theater at the BTI Center for
the Performing during the months of June, July and August. Hot Summer
Nights' goal is to produce great shows that are varied in type,
attitude and scope and employ actor, stage crew and staff of all ages,
races and creed from North Carolina and Broadway. Hot Summer Nights
will use our resources to nourish, celebrate and employ many theatrical
groups, colleges, charities and citizens and support and assist the
City of Raleigh with entertainment needs. " The Triangle Chapter of the American Red Cross and The Alliance for AIDS Services-Carolina are two of the benefitting charities.
Hot Summer Nights at
the Kennedy's summer season runs June 1 though August 28, 2005 with
each production in the six-show series completing a 10-day run. In
addition to The Last Five Years, the variety of productions includes Graceland/Asleep on the Wind, Proof, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Maltby and Shire's Starting Here, Starting Now and a special season ender featuring Raleigh's own Lauren Kennedy and her husband Alan CampbellIn Concert. Other stars in the summer season include Matt Bogart and Jessica Boevers.
Season
subscriptions, which cover all six shows, are available for $150. Hot
Summer Nights has also announced that if an individual $35 ticket to The Last Five Years is
purchased, the second ticket will cost only $15 (tickets must be
purchased at the same time, and opening night is excluded in the deal).
Group and student rates are also available. To order call 919-834-4000, go to www.ticketmaster.com, or to the BTI Center Box Office. For additional info: visit the Hot Summer Nights website at www.hotsummernightsatthekennedy.org.