Asheville Aerial Arts (Photo by Johnny Davidson)
Aerial Arts & Broadway Hits: ACT’s Diverse Offerings in September
Asheville Community Theatre (ACT) brings us two productions this month that, while very different from one another, promise to delight our senses. Defying gravity from September 2–4, Asheville Aerial Arts’ latest show, Becoming, combines dance and theater with stunning aerial acts, including doubles trapeze, silks, sling, lyra, and aerial net, which is an apparatus made from the same material as the net used in flying trapeze. Through their movements, expert athletes and artists will embody the concept of “change” that occurs in everyday life, as well as in fantasies.
“Each piece addresses a transformation such as captive/free, dreaming/ awake, same/different, grounded/flying, etc.,” says Christine Aiken, artistic director and founder of Asheville Aerial Arts. “It is all about embracing and celebrating the inevitable changes that infiltrate our lifetimes.”
Christine says the show’s inspiration came from her meditations on the evolving nature of human lives and those of creatures that inhabit mother Earth. “Watching the baby birds nest on my porch this spring, then change and become airborne, inspired me to welcome the challenges and changes I was experiencing,” she shares. Performances of Becoming are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for children and students with valid ID, $25 for adults and seniors.
If you’re a fan of musicals and enjoy supporting local talent, then grab your tickets for the third annual Business Sings Broadway in its one-night-only performance on Saturday, September 10, at 7:30 p.m. About 30 local restaurateurs, realtors, doctors, politicians, and other entrepreneurs will sing a mix of solos, duets, and trios of Broadway hits from the 1950s until today. Tickets are $20 and proceeds will support operations at ACT.
“So many people in our business community have performance backgrounds,” says director Jerry Crouch. “Business Sings Broadway is a perfect way for them to take the stage for the evening without having to commit to an eight-week rehearsal process and a four-week run.” There will be about 25 songs, including “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music, “On My Own” from Les Misérables, and “The Best of Times” from La Cage Aux Folles.
An annual participant in the fundraiser, Frank Salvo is co-owner of the 1888 WhiteGate Inn & Cottage with fiancé Ralph Coffey. He’s performed in several musicals for the last eight years, including The Wizard of Oz, Guys and Dolls, Peter Pan, and Young Frankenstein, among others. He shares, “My favorite aspect is the camaraderie that you develop with the participants.”
Tickets can be purchased online at ashevilletheatre.org, by phone at 828.254.1320, or in person at the ACT box office, 35 E. Walnut Street.
