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|  Thursday, September 13, 2007 |
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|  Jason Wilber at the Indy Folk Series.
One of Indy's best singer-songwriters in the spotlight.
"Aida" at Indianapolis Civic Theatre.
The Elton John version, not the Verdi.
"Altar Boyz" at the Phoenix Theatre.
You have to respect a show that includes a song called "Girl, you make me want to wait."
Oranje at 2323 N. Illinois St.
The arts party returns.
"Our Town" at the Indiana Repertory Theatre.
Featuring some of our town's best actors.
Raymond Leppard 80th birthday celebration.
How about a little Mozart with that cake?
This week's contest:
Win four tickets to "The Planets," featuring the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Dance Kaleidoscope. | |  | |  | | | |
|  | Jason Wilber, Sept. 15 at the Indy Folk Series
 Bloomington-based music fans know Jason Wilber as both the host of WGCL's "In Search of a Song" and as a talented singer-songwriter in his own right. The two gigs actually feed off each other well. Having performed as lead guitarist with the likes of John Prine, Iris DeMint, Hal Ketchum and Carrie Newcomer, he's got a unique perspective when he interviews fellow musicians. This Saturday, prior to a tour of Great Britain, he comes to Indianapolis for a set as part of the Indy Folk Series at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis, 615 W. 47th St. For more details, click here. To give a listen to Wilber, click here.
"Aida," Sept. 14-30 at Indianapolis Civic Theatre
Top songwriters have had an erratic time trying to conquer Broadway with original shows. Paul Simon flopped with "The Capeman" and Harry Connick Jr. should have heeded his own title with "Thou Shalt Not." Then again, Duncan Sheik hit the ball out of the park with the current "Spring Awakening."
 Elton John has been on both sides of the aisle. His vampire musical "Lestat" disappeared quickly, but "Billy Elliot," opening this week on Broadway, was a London hit. And then there's his "Aida," which faced wildly mixed critical reaction and had a four-and-a-half year Broadway run. This week, it gets its local main stage community theater premiere here thanks to Indianapolis Civic Theatre.
When I first saw "Aida" in Chicago prior to its New York run, I knew this was a show that, no matter what happened on Broadway, would prove a staple in regional theaters, community theaters and in high schools. Nailed it. I've now seen it a half dozen times and at each performance, whether on Broadway or at an outdoor community theater in New Jersey, audiences have been caught up in the love story of a Nubian slave and her conscious-ridden Egyptian captor. The music is strong - from the inspirational "The Gods Love Nubia" to the goofy fashionista celebration "My Strongest Suit" - and there are three plum vocal roles to allow vocal talent to shine. For more details, click here.
Altar Boyz, Sept. 13-Oct. 21 at the Phoenix Theatre
The premise: a Christian boy band on a "Raise the Praise" tour tries, musically, to save the soul of every member of the audience. If this production is, er, faithful to the off-Broadway original, it could be the charmer of the early theater season. For more details, click here.
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| Oranje, Sept. 15 at 2323 N. Illinois St.
I cannot give you a clear picture of the scene created by Oranje because this will be my first year stopping in on the 6-year-old, one-day art happening. For full preview, click here: 
"Our Town," through Oct. 6
at the Indiana Repertory Theatre
"Our Town" is, according to the most recent play survey in Dramatics magazine, the 10th-most-produced show in high schools - a list it's had a spot on for generations. For full preview, click here:
Raymond Leppard 80th birthday celebration,
Sept. 17 at University of Indianapolis
The conductor laureate of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is now Artist-in-Residence at the University of Indianapolis. And in this generation-spanning concert, he's joined by U of I faculty members, the University of Indianapolis Festival Orchestra, its Choral Ensembles and faculty soloists. For full preview, click here:
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| This week's contest:
Win four tickets to see - and hear - "The Planets" at Clowes Memorial Hall, featuring the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Dance Kaleidoscope. To enter, click here:
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