Perfect Harmony
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The Essentials
Slideshow from the Fringe
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posted by The Essentials @ Slideshow from the Fringe
History of Perfect Harmony
Perfect Harmony was written by Andrew Grosso with a group of dedicated actors - originally called The Harmony Project , now known as The Essentials. Developed over a series of workshops culminating in a first performance at NYU Graduate Acting's Studio Tisch, Perfect Harmony made its official public debut in the FringeNYC 2006. After filling the 350 seat Harry de Jur Playhouse, Perfect Harmony extended and was produced in the 2006 FringeNYC Encores Series. In 2007 -2008, look for it on Broadway, on film, or on tour in a small to mid-major market near you.The 2006 FringeNYC & Extension Cast featured:
The Acafellas | |
| Lassiter A Jayson III | Vayu O'Donnell |
| Philip Fellowes V | Noah Weisberg |
| JB Smooter | Scott Janes |
| Jasper | Blake Whyte |
| Simon Depardieu | David Barlow |
| The Ladies in Red | |
| Melody McDaniels | Autumn Dornfeld |
| Michaela "Mickey D" Dhiardeaubovic | Jeanine Serralles |
| Valerie Smooter | Margie Stokley |
| Meghan Beans | Maria Elena Ramirez |
| Kerri Taylor (Student Manager) | Marina Squerciati |
| Members of the Community | |
| Dr. Larry Mergh (School Psychologist) | Blake Whyte |
| Gerald Studman | Vayu O'Donnell |
| Jerry Wiener | Scott Janes |
| Kiki Tune | Jeanine Serralles |
| Goran Dhiardeaubovich | David Barlow |
| Tobi McClintoch, Vocal Therapist | Marina Squerciati |
| Production Team | |
| Director | Andrew Grosso |
| Music Direction & Composing | Alec Duffy |
| Set/Prop Design | Eliza Brown |
| Costume Design | Becky Lasky |
| Lighting Design | Driscoll Otto |
| Production Stage Manager | Emily Ellen Roberts |
| Run Crew | |
The 2005 NYU Workshop Cast featured:
Jeffrey Binder
Santino Fontana
Alec Duffy
Blake Whyte
Margie Stokley
Marina Squerciati
Jeanine Serralles
David Barlow
Autumn Dornfeld
Maria Elena Ramirez
Scott Janes
The original Harmony Project 2004-2005 featured these Contributors:
Jeff Binder, Drew Cortese, Meg Defoe, Cameron Folmar, Jordan Gelber, Thomas Piper, Nicole Lowrance, Noah Weisberg, Margot White, Marshal York, Alec Duffy, David Barlow, Jeanine Serralles, Margie Stokley, Marina Squerciati
Labels: menu perfect harmony
posted by The Essentials @ History of Perfect Harmony
Perfect Harmony Reviews
Perfect Harmony is sharp as a blade. The performances are magnificently hilarious. The harmonies — typically absurd versions of pop songs — range from lovely to ridiculous to riotous. They help to make Perfect Harmony as close to perfect as any Fringe show can be. August 24, 2006, Leonard Jacobs, Backstage 
Pitch perfect! A hysterical look inside the high-pressure world of high school a cappella singing, Perfect Harmony reminds us of why we have the prolific Fringe Festival: to find the plays that deserve bigger stages and, if possible, a longer applause.
-August 23 2006, Rachel Wynn, Show Business Weekl
What do you get when you cross Altar Boyz with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee? I saw Perfect Harmony, and the cheerful answer was staring me in the face: a musical about two a cappella singing groups vying to win an annual high school championship.
When they harmonize -- the two groups together or separately -- it's well-nigh perfection, as the title promises. Since there's no band required and no call for elaborate sets, the enterprise is a potential bargain for future producers.
August 22, 2006 David Finkle, TheatreMania
Here's a case for all things cute, cheesy, and cheery. Perfect Harmony is a show of eccentric characters with more eccentric problems, united in the quest for one shining moment of perfection (the a capella high-school National title). Ridiculous as that sounds, it's more ridiculous in performance, which makes this the most delightfully low-budget (semi-)musical since 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
This is not a perfect play (much as that'd help my tagline) but it's close: a PG-rated, feel-good, semi-musical blast. A rundown of all the terrific jokes would take far too long. That would be an injustice to the show, a zippy in-and-out affair that doesn't squander a second. Director Andrew Grosso (who created the show with The Essentials) knows enough about a capella to keep it moving
- September 25th, 2006, Aaron Riccio, New Theater Corps
Perfect Harmony is a charming mockumentary. Terrific. It was a joy to watch such sensational performers!
- September 4th, 2006, David Hurst, Next Magazine
Ha molti personaggi il musical “Perfect Harmony” di Andrew Grosso (concezione e regia). Conflitto Musicale tra due gruppi di giovani che gareggiano per un premio. Due gruppi che cantano, improvvisano a cappella. Un gruppo di studenti che litigano e s’insultano. Sono indicati come gli “acafellas” e Simon (David Barlow). Sembra ingenuo e confuso. Diverte. Fra le donne la piu aggressiva e convincente e Meghan (Maria Elena Ramirez). Molta improvvisazione che lascia libero un futuro regista di creare e ricreare. Molti aplausi.
- September 26, 2006, Mario Fratti, Oggi
Spectacular a cappella work, Perfect Harmony, turns the spotlight directly on the a cappella experience itself, specifically the high school experience. Through a series of silly scenes, silly monologues and so-dead-serious-they’re-funny songs, we are welcomed to the “high stakes” world of private prep school a cappella.
The school’s psychologist Dr. Larry Mergh sets the mood early: “A cappella is a cult of pressure and perfection. A hungry beast, and now it’s claiming its victims.” The school’s two groups, the “Acafellas” and the “Ladies in Red” know it all too well as they grapple with these questions:
Lassiter A. Jayson III: “You have 200 people who you are singing to and, you have to ask yourself, what do you want them to take away from the experience?”
Melody: “If God didn’t want us to dance then why did God put [the a cappella] Nationals on MTV2, the very network that started The Grind?” “
Goran Dhiardeaubovic “You can have many instrument easy- for why you no use them, stupid?”
Meghan: “How are you ever gonna let the audience at Nationals watch you if you can’t have Christ watch you?”
Philip: “Be totally honest: who likes the songs better when we sing them normally, without the bullwhip and trash can and cantaloupe”
If questions like these don’t hook you into the show, try the allure of zany foreigners, the meaning of art, Jesus’ helpful suggestions on winning the big competition, when to take drugs or join a boyband, how to accommodate family feuds and lockjaw into competitive a cappella – questions I think we all need answered.
One more quote sums up why a cappella makes for such compelling subject matter:
Simon: “Music is how we express the love we have inside when just words or hugs or backrubs won’t cut the mustard”
Ain’t that the truth?
September 21, 2006, Jonathan Minkoff , CASA.org
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posted by The Essentials @ Perfect Harmony Reviews
Tickets - for FringeNYC Encore Series 2006 (Sold Out)
All 2006 Performances of Perfect Harmony have sold out. If you'd like us to tell you about future performances, please email perfectharmony@theessentials.org.
EXTENDED! After filling the Harry de Jur theater, Perfect Harmony is moving uptown
to the Hypothetical Theater at The 14th Street Y!
Tickets are only available through the FringeNYC Encore Series Box Office:
|
| Thurs Sept 21 @ 9:30 pm Get Tix! Fri Sept 22 @ 9:15 pm Get Tix! Sat Sept 23 @ 7:45 pm Get Tix! Sat Sept 23 @ 11:00 pm Get Tix! Sun Sept 24 @ 6:30 pm Get Tix! |
All FringeNYC Encores Series shows start at the announced time. There is no late seating.
Just like the Fringe, the FringeNYC should sell out very very quickly! Please buy in in advance!
IN ADVANCE:
IN ADVANCE:
ONLINE: ($18 + $2 order fee)To purchase tickets on-line, just find the performance for which you want tickets on Ticket Central's site and click on the performance you want to see.
Noon to 8pm every day
BY PHONE: ($180 + $2 order charge)
(212) 279-4200 (Credit/Debit Card Only)
Please note:
You cannot buy a ticket on-line or by phone for that day's performance. Day of performance tickets can be purchased at venue box office only (where the show is playing). Venue box office opens 15 minutes before the show begins and is cash only.IN PERSON:
Ticket Central Box Office, 416 W. 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. THIS IS NOT THE SAME PLACE AS THE THEATER! The theater is located on 14th St & 1st Avenue.
DAY OF SHOW (If it's not sold out):
IN PERSON: ($18CASH only )
at VENUE BOX OFFICE 15 minutes prior to showtime
Labels: menu perfect harmony
posted by The Essentials @ Tickets - for FringeNYC Encore Series 2006 (Sold Out)