South Shore Orchestra and Carnegie Arts Center both of Northwest Indiana are collaborating on “an historic event” – the first ever community theatre show to tour China.
Rhapsody in Swing! is an original musical love letter of the greatest hits from the Jazz and Swing era that will debut first in Valparaiso in a one night only preview on Saturday, December 22, 8 PM at the Memorial Opera House. Rhapsody, then departs for a ten day tour of China where the group will present seven performances beginning in Beijing then on to the southeastern province of Zhejiang.
Earlier this year, the Confucius Institute of Valparaiso University, invited South Shore Orchestra to participate in another one of their ever successful cultural exchanges through the universal language of music. But this third invitation had a new twist. The Chinese government with Jinyuan Meng, Director of CI, requested Troy Webdell, Conductor of South Shore Orchestra and Pete Brannen, President of SSO to explore the possibility of staging a musical for this New Years holiday production.
South Shore Orchestra and frequent collaborative partner--Carnegie Arts Center--began strategizing on how a production like that could all come together. These partners were already busy working on their second annual Unity Event musical production of Miss Saigon. This new possibility came into clearer view as the decision was made to focus on the American Swing and Jazz era, which is so uniquely branded with some of our country’s most beloved musical moments.
Staging an American musical with singers, dancers, costumes and sets required a smaller group than the normal 90 who have gone on previous trips, but presented countless more details to work out. The Rhapsody in Swing tour now includes a cast of 10 singers and dancers, 17 musicians comprising the South Shore Jazz Orchestra--which is a jazz band with no strings, and the 6 member design team of Lisa Woodruff-Hedin, Jo Beth Cruz, Larry Brewer, Zach Gipson, Mitchell Ost and Troy Webdell. Other members--support team and family--will make up the total group of 43. Nine of the musicians are veterans to the China Adventure experience.
Rhapsody’s plot is a New Years Eve party at an American nightclub called Rhapsody in Swing in 1945. The festive activities of the nightclub workers and patrons includes a bit of dancing and of course some romance. Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue provides a musical arc throughout the evening and will feature songs like: The Way You Look Tonight, In My Solitude, Night and Day, One O’clock Jump, Embraceable You, In the Mood, Anything Goes, and two dozen other favorites. Jobeth Cruz of Valparaiso is serving as costumer and director for the show and has this to say, “Everyone involved has worked so hard and is so excited and so talented! We hope the community doesn’t miss their one chance to see this terrific show.”
Some funding for production expenses was raised through a letter campaign, but now this single preview performance, being held here locally in Valparaiso, will not only raise more funds but also will share this exciting creative work with our community, our colleagues, our supporters and anyone else who wants to enjoy an evening of outstanding musical performance!
The one night preview is Saturday, December 22 at 8 pm at Memorial Opera House, 104 Indiana Ave, Valparaiso IN 46383. Tickets are FREE but reservations are required by calling the box office at 219-548-9137. A free will donation will be requested during the evening. The production will last approximately 90 minutes and will feature an extended intermission for the audience.
The tour departs on December 26 and will visit Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Jiaxing & Hangzhou with performances at Jiaxing Nanhu Music Hall and also Zhejiang University of Media and Communications. The group includes residents of northwest Indiana, Chicago, Detroit, New York City and Canada – quite an international group for this international tour.