Words + Music is Marin Theatre Company's innovative live performance series. These special evenings expand on the ideas of the currently running play through renowned guest speakers, actors and performances of dance, song and instrumental music, plus foreign documentary or vintage films. The performances take place on the set of the current play on a Monday night when the play does not perform.

Ellie Mednick | Series Producer
Words + Music is made possible by the generous support of Carl G. Berry and Marin Piano

Tickets are $34 for General and $20 for Students. A $3 discount is available for Seniors

Light suppers may be purchased in advance when ordering your tickets and will be served in the lobby starting at 6pm. Please purchase your dinner in advance when calling the Box Office. A dinner seat will be guaranteed for all dinner guests who reserve in advance.

For more information call the Box Office at 415.388.5208.

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MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2009 | 7:30PM

A Celebration of Latino Culture & Music

BorderMusic

Musica Fronteriza

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Cascada de Flores
CASCADA DE FLORES: Clockwise from top:
Jorge Liceaga, Sabra Weber, Arwen Lawrence de Castellanos, and Jorge Mijangos; photo by Renee Bergan

Words + Music offers a celebration of Latino culture and music expanding the themes of MTC’s next play "Lydia" by Octavio Solis.

Featuring a film by ShadowLight Productions, 7 Visions of Encarnación. A search for cultural identity and a spiritual quest told in “Corrido” fashion, 7 Visions is the stunning staged collaboration of playwright Octavio Solis, ShadowLight Productions' Larry Reed, and composer Richard Marriott. After the film, members of ShadowLight Productions will demonstrate the making of shadow theater.

After the film, members of ShadowLight Productions will demonstrate the making of shadow theater. Later in the program, Cascada de Flores, the California-based quartet featured in 7 Visions will perform live. The exquisite vocal harmonies of Arwen Lawrence de Castellanos and Sabra Weber, stellar guitars of Jorge Liceaga and Jorge Mijangos, are accompanied by such traditional instruments as flute, marimbol, regional guitars, donkey jaw bones, and footwork. The group explores musical traditions of Mexico and Cuba with grace and sensitivity, subtly exploring the past and making it their own.



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Songs of Africa

Words & Music proudly presents "Songs Of Africa" expanding the themes of MTC’s next play "My Children, My Africa" by Athol Fugard.

Featuring the amazing Vukani Mawethu, a multiracial choir which sings the freedom songs of Southern Africa, primarily of South Africa in Zulu, Xhosa, Sethu, and English, and also gospel, spirituals, labor and civil rights songs linking peoples in the U.S., South Africa, and around the world; and Fua Dia Congo.

As the only professional Congolese repertory company in California, Fua Dia Congo fulfills a leadership role in the preservation and presentation of Congolese culture. These musicians and dancers embody the soulful and cultural expressions of Congolese traditions. They tour nationally and internationally to great acclaim, educating and captivating audiences, and sharing the richness of Congolese traditions and evolving modern customs.

“To see Fua Dia Congo onstage is to witness a rich kaleidoscope of moves and music.” -SF Chronicle


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The Irish Show
Photo by Jennifer Rusek
The Irish Are Coming! In keeping with the theme of MTC’s next play, The Seafarer by Conor McPherson, Words + Music proudly presents The Irish Show, A Winter Revelry in Song and Dance, featuring Ireland’s foremost family of song, The Black Brotherss! Described by critics as "exquisite", "exhilarating" and "nothing short of stunning!"

The Black Brothers are regarded amongst the finest and most popular singers in Ireland! Michael Black (vocals/guitar/banjo), Shay Black (vocals/guitar), Myra Joy (cello), and Bryan Seet (piano), and featuring The Celtic Dance Ensemble.

Old Dublin Street Songs, Historical Ballads, Songs from the Irish, English and Scottish traditions, Stories and Dance. For the whole family.


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Words & Music brings you our own “sex and the city” in an evening of great passion, hilarious laughter and Big City dazzle.
 
FILM!
Within the frame of 1970’s era New York City, the setting for MTC’s play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally, we invite you to expand your New York experience through two of Woody Allen’s best-loved films. Largely considered Woody Allen’s greatest film, Annie Hall firmly established Allen’s comic genius in this hilarious but poignant work, remembered as much for its culturally referential wit as for the endearing relationship that unfolds amid the punch lines. The film Manhattan is a wonderful homage to New York and a bitingly perceptive portrait of everyday life. The jagged skyline of Manhattan has never looked so beautiful or alluring in this life-affirming and gorgeous black and white movie as we soar over its parks and bridges to the strains of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

GUEST SPEAKERS!
Marilyn Fabe,
Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, U.C. Berkeley Film Studies Program: film specialist on Hitchcock, Chaplin, Woody Allen and others. Film excerpts, commentary.
 
Anne Goldman, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of English, Sonoma State University, author of the recent essay Listening to Gershwin (Georgia Review).
 
RECITAL!
Renowned concert pianist Yoshikazu Nagai plays George Gershwin’s 1924 masterpiece, Rhapsody in Blue - a love song for New York! Winner of numerous international competitions and praised by audiences and critics alike for his fresh interpretations and dramatic presentation style, Mr. Nagai has performed as soloist and chamber musician across the United States and abroad.
 

“Tonight’s performance was absolutely wonderful. It was educational and most enjoyable with great musicians.”

“Anything you have done we have enjoyed. You have a wonderful way of presenting a mixture of talents and subject matter…keep it up!”

“These shows are a treasure both musically and dramatically. I hope I get to experience more.”