Gravity Defied Theatre Brings 'bare-the musical' To Denver

It was one of the hottest theatre tickets in NYC during the spring of 2004. Everyone wanted a ticket to this show. The name of the show is "bare: a pop opera". After a successful run at the American Theater for Actors, it was poised to move to Dodger's Stages, off-Broadway, in the fall of 2004. It had "HIT" written all over it with a great cast and a fantastic score. But that never happened and neither did a full recording with the show's New York Cast. The only thing fans of the show had was an 11 song demo CD until a studio recording (Not featuring the New York Cast) was finally recorded and released in 2007. Some regional productions were also done and tracked by theatre fans and it is on many theatergoers' lists of shows that they wish they had seen.

The musical with a book by Jon Hartmere, Jr. and Damon Intrabartolo, lyrics by Mr. Hartmere and music by Mr. Intrabartolo centers around two students, Jason & Peter, and the struggles with their relationship in the private Catholic school they attend.

So with great pleasure I can report that the brand new theatre company, Gravity Defied Theatre (And yes, the name came from where you think it came from) a project of Rocky Mountain Arts Association, has announced that its inaugural show will be "bare-the musical" (Billed here as "bare - the musical". Theatrical Rights lists it as "bare"). The company has already been performing songs from the show around town including the Gay Pride Festival and a local cabaret. Gravity Defied Theatre is Colorado's first charitably focused community theatre. They say "Our mission is simple: Making the Difference and Giving it Back. How? It's a simple magic that we call love. Love for theatre and love for our community."

Gravity Defied Theatre was conceived by Keith Rabin Jr. and partner Danny Harrigan after years of performing in community and professional theatres. One of them, M.A.D. Theatre of Tampa, made a one-time contribution to another nonprofit organization after its inaugural production. Honored to have been able to support another worthy organization simply by performing incredible musical theatre, Rabin began a search for a way to support others with each and every production. The Gravity Defied name was inspired by the character Elphaba from the hit musical Wicked. Through with "playing by the rules of someone else's game" and "time to trust (their) instincts," Rabin and Harrigan set out on a new path. In a time when fully one-third of Colorado's theatre companies have folded, it may seem counter-intuitive to launch such a project. But this theatre company promises to "defy the norm," producing the most eclectic mix of professional quality musical theatre while recognizing the important contributions of Colorado's nonprofits to the well-being of our state, especially during such difficult economic times. In keeping with its promise, on the evening of the show's opening, August 7th, Gravity Defied Theatre will also hold a special benefit auction.

Along with conceiving the Company, Mr. Rabin Jr. and Mr. Harrigan will be pulling double duty with the show. Mr. Rabin Jr. will direct the production and play the role of Jason and Mr. Harrigan will handle musical staging/choreography and play the role of Peter.

The show will run on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00pm from August 7th thru August 22nd at the Aurora Fox Arts Center. For more information on tickets to "bare-the musical" and Gravity Defied Theatre go to www.rmarts.org/gravitydefied.php.

I was lucky enough to have seen the new York Production of "bare: a pop opera" and suggest you not spend "A Quiet Night at Home" and get out to the Aurora Fox Arts Center and see this show!

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