Convos Stories

October 29, 2018

Brass quartet The Westerlies to perform at Purdue on Nov. 9

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Convocations presents the brass quartet The Westerlies in the Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse at 8 p.m. Nov. 9. Blown eastward from Seattle into New York City like their eponymous prevailing wind, the Westerlies are a...

October 26, 2018

Folk supergroup I’m With Her to perform at Purdue Nov. 1

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The group I’m With Her will perform at Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1. This performance is presented by Purdue Convocations with support from Kevin and Janene Davis, the Student Concert Committee and...

October 25, 2018

A sneak peek at The Westerlies program

Wherein Lies The Good - American Mavericks of the 20th Century The Westerlies trace the sound of the 20th Century through a variety of American musical traditions. From the art songs of Charles Ives, to the spirituals of the Golden...

September 20, 2018

‘Frankenstein’ production will address key morality question as part of Purdue’s Ideas Festival

September 25, 2018 ‘Frankenstein’ production will address key morality question as part of Purdue’s Ideas Festival WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. –  The Aquila Theatre’s production of “Frankenstein,” will be performed at Purdue University and address a key morality question: “Just because...

September 14, 2018

The inspiration for Les Violons du Roy upcoming performance

This ensemble gives contemporary audiences their most authentic comparison to chamber music as initially heard by monarchs and their courtiers. Here, they are joined by acclaimed countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo—performing Handel arias and Glass songs in a collaboration Le Soleil...

September 7, 2018

The journey behind Alfredo Rodriguez’s “The Little Dream”

Humble Beginnings “The Little Dream,” the title track of Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez’s fourth studio album (Mack Avenue Records), gently builds into an uplifting statement – one that reflects the hope children hold in building a brighter future,...

September 5, 2018

Creating a big production number

Night after night on Broadway, the fifth number in the hit show Something Rotten! earns an early standing ovation. It’s called “A Musical”, sung by unreliable soothsayer Thomas Nostradamus as he explains to baffled Elizabethan-era writer Nick Bottom what the...

September 5, 2018

Q&A with “Something Rotten!” associate director Steve Bebout

Q – Can you take me back to when you started working on the big show-stopping number “A Musical”? A – I work with Casey [Nicholaw, director & choreographer], and he has an associate choreographer John MacInnis as well. And...

September 4, 2018

Q&A with “Something Rotten!” director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw

Q – What made you decide to say yes to Something Rotten!? Was it because of Kevin McCollum’s [producer] involvement and the potential you saw in the material? A – It sort of started with Kevin, just because of our...

September 4, 2018

Q&A with “Something Rotten!’s” Karey Kirkpatrick (Book, Music & Lyrics) and John O’Farrell (Book)

Q – Can you talk about the initial idea/concept? K – I think it was a series of conversations that happened over a series of meetings, Christmas dinners, since Wayne [Kirkpatrick, Karey’s brother] and I don’t live in the same town. We...

September 4, 2018

Q&A with “Something Rotten!” music and lyricist Wayne Kirkpatrick

Q – You and Karey [Kirkpatrick, Wayne’s brother] had this initial idea 20 years ago. Can you remember how it surfaced? A – We wish we could. It was such an organic process. We were in musical theater in high...

September 4, 2018

Creating an original musical in “Something Rotten!”

Something Rotten!, the Tony Award-nominated show that’s touring the country this season, is an increasing rarity among Broadway musicals: it’s a completely original work not based on a movie, play, book or other source material. The show originated from an...