PRINE: A TRIBUTE CONCERT Plays The Viaduct Theater, Opens 1/14

Here Today Enterprises, LLC, in association with Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis and Prop Theatre of Chicago, announces Prine: A Tribute Concert. Conceived by Phoenix Theatre Producing Director Bryan Fonseca, this concert is being launched for a full run, opening Friday, January 14, 2011 at the Viaduct Theater, 3111 North Western Ave., Chicago, Illinois.

Prine: A Tribute Concert is a concert bringing together the fabulous music of John Prine with talented musicians that Fonseca has worked with and known over many years. The concert spans 30-plus years of Prine's music, whose style has been labeled everything from folk and country to rock and alternative, but which in the end is more simply described as heartfelt and human.

Fonseca has been listening to Prine's music since Prine's self-titled debut album was released in 1971 and has seen him live more times than he can count. "I have seen many artists live, but there is something special about being there when Prine performs. He lights up the room with his music and personality, which are not overstated or demanding, but instead warm and approachable," stated Fonseca. He went on to say "I have always been drawn to singer songwriters, perhaps because they tend to bare their souls in their songs and performances, so if I can't hear Mr. Prine in concert, I want to listen to some of the most talented musicians that I know interpret his songs."

The six musicians include some of the area's most skilled and talented individuals: Tim Brickley (Indianapolis), Tim Grimm (Columbus, Indiana), Bobbie Lancaster (Bloomington, Indiana), Jan Lucas-Grimm (Columbus, Indiana), Megon McDonough (Chicago) and Michael Shelton (Indianapolis). "We are all certainly fans of Prine and his ability to weave wonderful musical stories with down-to-earth lyrics about the human condition" said Tim Grimm, who said that was one of the reasons he is thrilled to be a part of this concert.

About the Musicians
Tim Brickley'S 26th collaboration with Bryan Fonseca and The Phoenix Theatre is Prine: A Tribute Concert. Tim's association with the Phoenix began with 1986's Accidental Death Of An Anarchist and includes productions of Three Penny Opera, Bat Boy: The Musical and the original production The Zippers Of Zoomerville which will be back at The Phoenix Theatre in May of 2011. Tim is a recording engineer/producer, sings jazz with his Quintet and Big Band, and composes for film and television at his Hit City Recording (in now-trendy SoBro).
Tim Grimm'S third show affiliated with the Phoenix is Prine: A Tribute Concert. He previously acted in Bluff and directed The Handler. Tim has performed in numerous ChicaGo Productions at Victory Gardens, Steppenwolf and Goodman theaters, and has performed at Indiana Repertory Theatre, most notably in An Almost Holy Picture, The Grapes of Wrath (also singer-composer), Amber Waves and ART. As a singer-songwriter, he has released eight acclaimed cds, and tours nationally and internationally.

Bobbie Lancaster is an InDiana Songwriter and a 2010 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist who has just released her first solo album. Bobbie is one of the founders of the Bloomington Songwriters Showcase and also works with children and has two albums of original music for kids!
Jan Lucas-GRIMM worked as an actress in Chicago and Los Angeles for many years before moving back to the Midwest with her husband Tim Grimm and their children. She has appeared previously at the Phoenix in Over The Tavern and has worked in Chicago, including Remy Bumpo, Goodman and Steppenwolf theaters, and has written plays and taught playwriting. Her play Talking American was commissioned by the International Center of Indiana along with the Indiana Repertory Theatre. Another of her plays, Freedom Is My Home, was commissioned by actress Charlotte Battin and has been performed for many years as a one-woman show. Jan's book "My Beautiful Leukemia," published by Hoosier Books, was released in July 2010.

MEGON McDONOUGH is well-known in the Chicago area and perhaps best known for her work as an inaugural member of The Four Bitchin Babes. She has performed on stages as varied as The Cellar Door and Carnegie Hall and is an accomplished comedic actress having appeared in numerous Theater Productions including Pump Boys and Dinettes, Beehive and a box office record-breaking starring role in Always Patsy Cline. McDonough has nine solo albums to her credit. With her most recent album, My One and Only Love, McDonough realized a lifelong dream of recording jazz and torch songs.

Michael Shelton'S favorite Phoenix appearances include The Pillowman, Bug, Drunk Enough To Say I Love You, The Seafarer, A Very Phoenix Xmas (all five years), Three Days of Rain, Bluff, The Laramie Project, and Take Me Out - which he also performed at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton, FL. He has been in 20 some shows at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, most recently Becky's New Car; and played Andy Lee in 42nd Street in Moscow, Russia; and Benedick in Heartland Actors' Repertory Theatre (HART)'s Much Ado About Nothing at the White River State Park.

About Prine

John Prine has a large and loyal following throughout the United States and around the world. Some of the world's most famous singer songwriters list Prine as an enormous influence in their music, including Bob Dylan, Bonnie Rait and Kris Kristofferson. Often given the credit of discovering John Prine, Kris Kristofferson heard Prine and remarked that he wrote songs so good that "we'll have to break his thumbs." Born in 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, Prine is an American country/folk singer songwriter who has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970's.

Ticket Prices

Performance times are:
• Fridays at 7:00 pm (January 14, 21, 28 and February 4, 2011)
• Saturdays at 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm (January 15, 22, 29 and February 5, 2011)
• Sundays at 3:00 pm (January 16, 23, 30 and February 6, 2011)

Ticket prices are $25 for adults (all performances) and $20 for students and seniors (age 65 and older)

For more information about this production or to purchase tickets, call the Viaduct Theater box office at 773.296.6024. Tickets may also be purchased online. The theatre's website is www.viaducttheatre.com.

 

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