Judy DiGregorio
Oak Ridge humorist Judy DiGregorio will be a guest on the Tennessee Shines radio show on Monday night.
It’s her second appearance on the show, which is broadcast on WDVX 89.9 FM from the Knoxville Visitors Center on Gay Street.
DiGregorio is author of “Life among the Lilliputians, “Memories of a Loose Woman,” and “Jest Judy” (on compact disc).
The first edition of the Roane State Rascal, the community college’s new arts magazine, is available online.
Visit www.roanestaterascal.org to view the magazine or download a copy.
Edited by Roane State’s Michael Hudson and Jessica Millis, the Rascal features fiction, poetry, art, and multimedia (online only). Roane State students, faculty, staff, and alumni contributed.
The Oak Ridge High School Madrigal Singers will perform at noon Thursday at the Oak Ridge Public Library.
The students sing routinely in many languages and perform music from many time periods, Renaissance to modern, a press release said. Several participate in All East and All State choirs, and many receive college scholarships to help them pursue their music studies.
The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association recently received a $20,800 grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission for the 2012-13 season.
The money is being used to help support Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and Chorus concerts, which can cost $10,000 apiece.
Activities in Oak Ridge this weekend include a free movie, Christmas tree lighting, and Children’s Museum gala tonight and the annual Christmas parade tomorrow.
There is also a CONTACT Helpline pancake breakfast, rides with Santa on the Secret City Excursion Train, and the Roane State Community College holiday concert in Harriman.
See the Oak Ridge Today events calendar for more information.
The calendar is updated as we receive more information.
The American Museum of Science and Energy is offering free admission to three more movies on Friday nights in December.
It’s part of the “Movies at the Museum” series that started in November.
This Friday night, AMSE will show ”The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.” This 1953 film (NR) follows a carnivorous dinosaur that resulted from an arctic nuclear test, thawed out, and started making its way down the east coast of North America, a press release said.
The Oak Ridge Playhouse will have auditions for the political drama “Farragut North” at 6:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
The auditions are open to everyone. No experience is required, although it is helpful, and requirements can differ from production to production, an announcement said.
The American Museum of Science and Energy is offering free admission and a free movie Friday night.
The free movie is “King Kong vs. Godzilla,” a 1962 film about a pharmaceutical company that captures King Kong and brings him to Japan, where he escapes from captivity and battles a recently released Godzilla.
The Oak Ridge Community Band will have its annual Christmas sing-along concert at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, at the First Baptist Church.
The free concert will be in the church’s sanctuary, and there will be free refreshments at the end of the performance, a press release said.
The Roane State Community College’s annual holiday concert is scheduled for the second weekend in December.
The holiday concert includes two performances, one at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, and the other at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, in the O’Brien Theatre on the college’s Roane County campus in Harriman.
There is much to do in Oak Ridge this weekend, ranging from arts, crafts, and theater to ballet, disc golf, and a half marathon.
We’ve already posted stories about some of the events, including today’s cash mob and “The Wiz” at Oak Ridge Playhouse. We’ve also written about the Secret City Half Marathon and free Turkey Bowl Disc Golf on Sunday.
But we’ve also added several new events to our new events calendar. They include an arts and crafts fair at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, Girls Inc. Parade of Trees at Pollard Auditorium, Folk Art Nativities at Oak Ridge Art Center, and “The Nutcracker” ballet at Oak Ridge High School. Those are all happening today, although there is another performance of “The Nutcracker” tomorrow (Sunday).
Please check out our events calendar for more details on these and other events.
‘The Wiz’ opens at the Oak Ridge Playhouse on Friday, Nov. 16, and runs through Dec. 2. (Submitted photo)
For more than a century, Frank L. Baum’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” has been a celebrated story that has inspired dozens of iterations, adaptations, and re-imaginings, from the beloved MGM film starring Judy Garland, to animated versions, to current Broadway hit “Wicked.”
But in the 1970s, “The Wiz” came seemingly out of nowhere to hit Broadway like a gale force wind and swept Broadway audiences off their feet with a hip, soulful mix of R&B, disco, and gospel-type music. With its central themes of home, self-reliance, and courage, “The Wiz” is fairly true to the original storyline, but with a style all its own.
The Oak Ridge Playhouse production is going a step further and embracing that 1970s style by conceiving Dorothy’s trip to Oz as a disco fantasy with a pulsing light show and groovy costumes and wigs by Virginia Baldwin and Sandra Herrera.
“If you love ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ you will love this show,” says Managing Artistic Director Reggie Law. “And if you would love a fresher take on ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ you will love this show.”
The production was a landmark in the 1970s for being the first big Broadway blockbuster featuring an entirely African-American cast and quickly was sent into production as a feature film starring major recording artists and actors like Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, and Lena Horne.
Perhaps because of the show’s origins, there is a popular belief that “The Wiz” must be cast all with people of color. Law doesn’t think that holds as true these days.
“Over time the culture of music has really mixed. Plus, I believe in non-traditional casting except where race is a plot point,” he says. “In ‘The Wiz,’ it isn’t. So, we have a great mix of performers and artists in our show.”
Directed by Reggie Law, with musical direction by Sheryl Howard, and choreography by Tony Williams, the impressive and diverse cast is led by Playhouse newcomer Alexis Tidwell as Dorothy, whose powerhouse voice is packed into a petite body. Other principal roles include Tony Williams as the Scarecrow, Kirk Hoxie as the Tin Man, Cavanaugh Mims as the Lion, and Evelyn Jack, who knocked Playhouse audiences out of their seats as Motormouth Maybelle in last season’s “Hairspray” returns as Glinda, the Good Witch.
Presented by CapitalMark Bank & Trust, “The Wiz” opens Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m., followed by a performance on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m.
There will be a Thanksgiving night performance on Thursday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. as well as shows on Friday, Nov. 23, and Saturday, Nov. 24, at 8 p.m., with a Sunday matinee on Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. Final performances are Friday, Nov, 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m., and a Sunday matinee on Dec. 2 at 2 p.m.
For more information, log on to www.orplayhouse.com or call (865) 482-9999. Tickets range in price from $16 to $22 depending on performance date. This production is also made possible through support from WUOT 91.9 FM and the Tennessee Arts Commission.
