Shadowbox Live's highly anticipated move into their new home, 503 S. Front Street in the Brewery District, is fast approaching. With less than two months left in the countdown to downtown, Shadowbox Live announces the three shows that will launch the brand new theater this fall: the sketch comedy and rock ‘n' roll show Legacy, the Wednesday evenings production Killer Blues, and the Shadowbox Live Musicals performance of The Rocky Horror Show.
"We know there are going to be high expectations for our first round of productions in our new home," says Shadowbox Live Executive Producer and CEO, Stev Guyer. "The space itself is nothing short of breathtaking, and the first shows we produce there have to be equally epic. We're working very hard to meet those expectations."
All three performances will run simultaneously, kicking off new programming for Shadowbox Live that will continue 52 weeks a year.
"Aside from taking a few holidays off, there will be practically no breaks in our performance schedule," says
Katy Psenicka, Shadowbox Live's Director of Operations. "You can come to the Shadowbox Live Building and see great shows any given weekend."
In addition to marking the inaugural shows for Shadowbox Live's downtown presence, the fall lineup includes another vastly important milestone for the company. The Shadowbox Live Building will house not only the metaperformers formally located at the Easton Town Center, but will also permanently integrate cast members from the Newport, Kentucky location, adding another 15 full time performers and cementing Shadowbox Live's position as the largest resident theatre company in America.
"For those of us moving back to Greater Columbus, this truly feels like coming home," says Stacie Boord, Community Relations Director for Shadowbox Live. Boord joined the performance troupe shortly after it formed in 1988, and in 2001, she helped spearhead Shadowbox Live's satellite operation in Newport on the Levee. "And for the entire staff, there's an overwhelming feeling of unity. After ten years of separation, everyone's ready to work together under one roof."
For the unveiling of the new theater, Shadowbox Live presents an evening of sketch comedy and rock ‘n' roll: Legacy, opening on August 19th at 7:30 PM.
"Legacy will be our traditional sketch comedy and rock ‘n' roll show format, only kicked up a few hundred notches," laughs Guyer. "We're taking our best material, not just from the last year, but from our entire past and putting into one amazing production."
Legacy will encompass the troupe's most epic moments of its 22-year history, celebrating life, laughter, and music, Shadowbox Live's true Legacy. Performances run every Thursday at 7:30 PM, and every Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM through November 12th, 2011.
Shadowbox Live expands to Wednesday nights with an evening of theater and music: Killer Blues.
"Killer Blues is a return to our more theatrical roots," says Guyer. "We'll be highlighting dramatic one acts, comedic and dramatic short works and monologues, and, of course, incredible music. Killer Blues, for instance, showcases some of the best blues songs you'll ever hear."
The production, opening on September 21st at 7:30 PM, features the dramatic one act Killer Blues by Roy C. Berkowitz, a touching tale of a man without hope who finds an unexpected savior in a half-crazed homeless woman, first performed at Shadowbox Live's Short North venue, 2Co's Cabaret, in 2001. An assortment of monologues and theatrical shorts interspersed with live blues music complete the intimate evening. Killer Blues will be performed every Wednesday at 7:30 PM through November 9th, 2011.
Kicking off the very first season of musicals downtown, Shadowbox Live presents the cult-classic, The Rocky Horror Show.
"This show was so wildly successful the first two times we produced it, it seemed the obvious choice for our initial musical," says Guyer. "It's currently in rehearsals, and I can tell you it's going to be bigger and better than ever. If you're a fan, you certainly don't want to miss this one."
Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show follows a couple's otherworldly encounter with a mad scientist, his diabolical servants, and his gruesomely fabulous experiments. Anything goes inside Frankenfurter's castle where time warps, transvestites, and titillating travesties take center stage. The Rocky Horror Show opens on September 11th at 7:00 PM and will run every following Sunday at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM through November 13th, 2011.
"These first productions in our new space hold a great deal of significance for us," says Boord. "Not only are we all together again after over a decade of being in our separate theaters, but we're spreading our wings again with dramatic work and different styles of music and truly become a part of the arts community in Columbus."
Reservations for Legacy, Killer Blues, and The Rocky Horror Show are now open to the public. All shows will take place in the Shadowbox Building at 503 S. Front Street. To make reservations or for more information, call the Shadowbox Live box office at 614-416-ROCK, or visit
www.shadowboxlive.org.
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