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Circle X is officially extending Battle Hymn through Saturday March 7th due to great press and ticket sales. If you haven't seen it yet, call the box office at 323-461-3673 or visit www.fordtheatres.org.
Selected press quotes:
"The latest production by the much-lauded Circle X Theatre Co., Battle Hymn reaches for the kind of aesthetic innovation that's characteristic of the L.A. nonprofit ensemble." - Reed Johnson, LA Times
"The play's opening on the heels of the presidential Inauguration couldn't have been better timed. John Langs has staged a ravishing production with an appealing ensemble of five. A few scenes are punctuated by Michael A. Levine's original score, which embellishes the history with a cinematic romanticism... Brian Sidney Bembridge's handsome set includes an upstage wall of slatted wood. In the evening scenes, twinklings of light appear through the gaps and holes, creating a star scape, and underscoring the cosmic scale of our great American work in progress." - Steven Leigh Morris, LA Weekly
"Refreshingly original, smart and engaging... a perfect match for Circle X Theatre Company's signature whimsical staging and inventive visual flair." - Philip Brandes, LA Times
"This is among Circle X's most exhilarating offerings - a sinfully rich theatrical adventure infused with profoundly resonant social satire that produces visceral wonderment." - Les Spindle, Backstage West
"Watching parts of the Lincoln Memorial concert last Sunday afternoon, I wondered if theater could deliver entertainment that would be equally appropriate for this moment.Battle Hymn answered my question." - Don Shirley, LA City Beat
"The cast is outstanding, John Lang's direction is inspired and tech credits are uniformly superb. Leonard's writing is rich and often humorous, and he's skilled at creating memorable characters." - Terry Morgan, Variety
"A compendium of symbols that add up to a century of clashes between America's founding principles and the betrayals of those principles that show up through history - from slavery to gay rights to religious hypocrisy. This land is our land? Hardly. And yet the prevailing symbol is that of birth, and re-birth, of ourselves." - Steven Leigh Morris, LA Weekly
Already saw the show? Tell friends and, if you can, please write a Times reader review: http://theguide.latimes.com/performing-arts/battle-hymn-event.
The playwright, Jim Leonard, and two of the cast members were on KPFK a couple of days ago: http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=5749
LA Weekly critic Steven Leigh Morris did a beautiful editorial on the production: http://www.laweekly.com/2009-01-29/stage/jim-leonard-39-s-battle-hymn/
If you missed the Times editorial on the production that was on the front page of last weekend's Calendar section, you can view it here: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-battle-hymn24-2009jan24,0,4357726.story
Here are a few more press links:
LA Times: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/01/review-battle-h.html
Variety: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939384.html?categoryid=33&cs=1
LA Weekly: http://www.laweekly.com/2009-01-22/calendar/battle-hymn
Backstage West: http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/la/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003933435
LA City Beat: http://www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/the_curious_case_of_martha/7954/
BlogCritics: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/01/21/231513.php
CurtainUp: http://www.curtainup.com/battlehymnla.html
StageHappenings: http://stagehappenings.com/Gina%20Shaffer/reviews/battlehymn.php
FROM FORT SUMTER TO THE SUMMER OF LOVE
Los Angeles—Circle X Theatre Company begins 2009 with the world premiere of Battle Hymn by Jim Leonard, directed by John Langs, featuring Suzy Jane Hunt, Bill Heck, William Salyers, John Short and Robert Manning Jr. Battle Hymn begins performances on Saturday, January 17, 2009, at [Inside] the Ford.
Award-winning playwright Jim Leonard's latest, Battle Hymn, is the story of 16-year-old Martha's epic pregnancy and her incredible search for motherhood, meaning, and love in a war-torn American landscape. After being abandoned by her father, losing her true love and witnessing the horrors of the Civil War firsthand, Martha settles on one incontrovertible fact: She will not raise her baby in a blood-soaked, violent country. And so, Martha keeps traveling in search of a better world and a safe place to bring forth her child… this is easier said than done. From the mud and the blood of Fort Sumter to singing cows, San Francisco and the summer of love, Martha's journey embodies the tragedy, humor and hope that have helped shape the last 150 years of U.S. history.
Battle Hymn features Suzy Jane Hunt, Bill Heck, William Salyers, John Short and Robert Manning Jr.
The designers of Battle Hymn are Brian Sidney Bembridge (sets & lights), Dianne K. Graebner (costumes), Cricket S. Myers (sound), Ali Hisserich (properties) and Michael Levine (composer). The stage manager is Kathleen Ressegger. Battle Hymn is produced by Tim Wright & Jennifer A. Skinner.
location:
[Inside] the Ford is located at the John Anson Ford Theatres Complex
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068
Just off the 101 (Hollywood) freeway across from the Hollywood Bowl
Plenty of free parking
dates and times:
dates: Thursday through Sunday, January 17, 2009 – March 7, 2009
times: Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.; Sundays at 2:00 & 7:00 p.m.
tickets and information:
price: $20 & Sunday matinees are always 'pay what you can'
tickets: www.FordTheatres.org or (323) 461-3673
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