Aurora Fox 2011/12 season ranges from folksy comedy to musicals on skates

The wait is over. The Aurora Fox unveiled the lineup for its 2011/12 season, and the roster ranges from the familiar to the bold.
The upcoming season boasts a wide thematic range, from a return to Jeff Daniels' folksy characters in "Escanaba" to a staging of the 2007 musical "Xanadu," a campy production on roller skates that's based on the cult 1980 film of the same title. The five-production season also includes three regional premieres.
The Aurora Fox's 27th season includes "Roshomon" by Fay and Michael Kanin, the regional premiere of "Escanaba" by Jeff Daniels, the regional premiere of "Crumbs from the Table of Joy" by Lynn Nottage, the regional premiere of the musical "Xanadu" by Douglas Carter Beane, Jeff Lynne and John Farrar and "Amateur Night at the Big Heart" by Terry Dodd.
Guest productions of "The Elephant Man" by PHAMALy and "A Chorus Line" by the Gravity Defied Theatre Company will round out the season.
Look for further input from Aurora Fox Executive Producer Charles Packard in the next couple of days. In the meantime, here's the press release from the Fox and some related video clips.

Gravity Defied announces deal for Fox subscribers

Photo by Gabriel Christus / The Aurora Sentinel

Here's some news to tide you over until the Aurora Fox announces titles for its 2011-12 season: Gravity Defied co-founder Keith Rabin Jr. says subscribers who buy their tickets before May 8 will get a free pass to the company's production of the musical "A Chorus Line" scheduled for October.

Shadow Theatre Company declares bankruptcy

AURORA | The Shadow Theatre Company is seeking Chapter 11 protection to deal with thousands of dollars worth of debt, according to a statement from Board President Herman Malone.
By declaring bankruptcy under Chapter 11 protection, the Shadow is seeking to free itself from massive amounts of debt and reorganize its finances.

Overland grad Reid Belstock: "The Juggling Guy"

This week's home edition of the Sentinel will feature a piece about Reid Belstock, an Overland High School graduate who has made a career out of juggling, acrobatics and comedy during the past 20 years. Belstock, who's performed everywhere from Disney World to Tokyo, talked about his career so far and his future goals following a performance at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret with his current partner, Warren Hammond.

Here are some pics from the weekend performance snapped by Heather L. Smith. Look for the feature story on the racks on Friday.

OAR Looking for Found Object Artists

Photo by Heather L. Smith / The Aurora Sentinel

The city's Original Aurora Renewal division wants residents to make creative use of junk. As part of a long-term project, OAR is encouraging teams to contribute to "The Collection," a found object art project spearheaded by Denver artist Phil Bender.

Shadow to leave Aurora for March musical

It's official: The Shadow Theatre company has ended its residency in Aurora.
The troupe will stage its upcoming production of the musical "In Search of Eckstine: A Love Story" at the Denver Civic Theatre in March, according to the Shadow's website. With the Aurora Fox's studio theater booked for the coming months, the Shadow is unlikely to return to Aurora to stage any of the remaining productions in its 14th season, following their eviction from their theater on Dayton Street in December.

A divine interpretation of a Depression-era drama

Photo by Heather L. Smith/The Aurora Sentinel

There’s a power to the natural world, an unsettling force that shows its hand in everything from rainstorms to cyclones.

Jim Leonard Jr.’s Depression-era drama “The Diviners” taps into that anonymous, frightening energy — it becomes a constant, unnamed presence that lurks behind the conversational tone and measured pace of the piece. A looming storm deeply affects the characters in Leonard’s fictional Indiana town of Zion; their collective fates seem tied inextricably to the course and current of the river that cuts through their land.