On February 12th at 8PM an extraordinary event will take place at the Miami PlayGround Theater—call it a phenomenon. Donna McKechnie is coming to town.
A phenomenon is any observable occurrence or event that may require the use of instrumentation to observe. Or it may be a feature of matter or energy. You guys are lucky. You won’t need instrumentation to observe this phenomenon. You just need to show up.
Why? Because there is only ONE Donna McKechnie and she’s only performing her act for two days—on Saturday, February 12th at 8 PM and Sunday, February 13th at 2 PM and 7:30 PM. The act is an amalgamation of her Musical Comedy Life; which by the way is the tag-line of her book Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life. Tickets for the Sunday performance are $50 and $100 which includes premium seating and a post performance party. The Sunday 2 PM matinee performance is $30 and the 7:30 PM performance is $45.
The act promises to be full of songs, laughter and some very poignant exchanges with the audience. Because when Donna McKechnie performs she has an uncanny ability to grab the audience metaphorically by the heart—she won the Tony award for best actress in A Chorus Line after all. She is a phenomenon with a star-quality that’s been wowing audiences for decades.
When I spoke with Donna, she told me there’s also a surprise number in the act. ‘What?’ Yes, she’s performing a song which was cut from the original version of A Chorus Line. It’s an original Hamlish/Kleban piece written especially for Ms. McKechnie. You don’t want to miss that.
There’s something else too. Ms. McKechnie is teaching a Master Class. The class will be on the PlayGround Theater Stage from 4-7 PM on February 7th. (Participants must be 15+ and the fee is $35) Ms. McKechnie will have students perform songs and work from an actor’s approach to integrate their movement, voice and interpretation. She’s a pro at this technique; she’s worked and studied with the best of the best.
She told me; the real enemy of talent is that performers try to play an idea of what they think the role should be instead of going through their process of feeling it, experiencing it and taking the time to make their choices. If you love performing, this is your chance to shine in the technique and science of the craft.
As an added treat, the Richard Jay-Alexander, her director, will be conducting two Workshops later in February.
Mr. Jay-Alexander, aside from working with Ms. McKechnie as her director, will be conducting a slightly different curriculum which will include an insider’s view as to what to expect in the industry. And you’ll be learning from the master.
The two workshops will be on February 19th. The first will be at 10 AM – 1 PM (Ages 7-13 yrs) and the second from 2 PM – 5 PM (Ages 14-19 yrs). Both workshops are $30 per student.
This is a rare two-for-one opportunity for local actors and performing-arts students to discover the inside techniques of performing.
I’d like to offer a bit of advice myself. If you want to be the best, you learn from the best. So, don’t miss the phenomenal Donna McKechnie on stage this February 12th and 13th, the Master Class or Richard Jay-Alexander's Workshops. If you do, you won’t be kicking your legs, you’ll be kicking yourself.
Ticket information: The PlayGround Theater
9806 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami Shores, FL33138
Phone: 305-751-9550
Fax: 305-751-9556
Email: info@theplaygroundtheatre.com
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