{"id":23686,"date":"2017-04-03T08:55:39","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T12:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=23686"},"modified":"2017-04-03T13:58:51","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T17:58:51","slug":"on-stage-bonus-chesco-natives-shine-in-caberet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=23686","title":{"rendered":"On Stage (Bonus): Chesco natives shine in Cabaret"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Kelsey Beckert graduated from Bishop Shanahan High and then headed to Montclair University in North Jersey in 2008.<\/p>\n

Ryan DeNardo graduated from Downingtown West High and then headed north to Ithaca College in 2006.<\/p>\n

Now, both of them are headed down to Philadelphia in April 2017 \u2013 with Berlin as their final destination\u2026.Berlin in 1931 when the Nazis were first rising to power.<\/p>\n

Both Beckert and DeNardo are cast members of the National Tour of \u201cCabaret,\u201d which is running from April 4-9 at the Academy of Music (Broad and Locust streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelcenter.org<\/a>) as part of the Kimmel Center\u2019s \u201cBroadway Philadelphia\u201d series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been with the show since the beginning of the tour,\u201d said Beckert, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Madison, Wisconsin. \u201cWe started rehearsals in December 2015. The show opened at the end of January 2016 in Providence, Rhode Island.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the tour of \u201cCabaret\u201d is arriving in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of the swings,\u201d said Beckert, a West Chester native who attended East Bradford Elementary School and Peirce Middle School prior to attending Bishop Shanahan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are four of us \u2013 two girls and two guys. I\u2019m also one of the players in the Kit Kat Klub Band. All of us are in the band every night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI play the entire show every night. All the ensemble members play their own instruments. We\u2019re on the bandstand the entire show \u2013 for 25 songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckert plays clarinet and DeNardo, who plays the dual role of Hans and Rudy, plays saxophone. Both started with their instruments when they were very young.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started playing trumpet in middle school,\u201d said DeNardo, during a phone interview last week from in Madison \u2013 a town that was still amped up in March Madness after the Badgers\u2019 upset of top-ranked Villanova in the NCAA tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was terrible so the band director switched me to baritone sax. My older sister Tara had been playing tenor sax in the school jazz band. I asked my parents if I could take private lessons in alto sax when I was 10. From there, I really fell into enjoying the instrument.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this show, Hans\/Rudy is in the Kit Kat Klub Band so I do a couple sax solos. The most substantial is in the second act \u2013 a solo on alto sax. I also play some featured tenor sax in the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckert said, \u201cI play clarinet in the band. I started playing clarinet in fourth grade because my mom played clarinet. I took private lessons from John Driza in West Chester.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really funny that playing clarinet helped me get a theater role. I never thought my band geek life would help my acting career.\u201d<\/p>\n

But neither acting nor music were Beckert\u2019s main artistic activity when she was young \u2013 Irish step dancing was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started step dancing when I was really young and did it for a lot of years,\u201d said Beckert. \u201cI started with the McAleer School of Irish Dance in Kennett Square.<\/p>\n

\u201cI competed nationally and internationally and went to World Championships a number of times. The first time was in Ennis, England when I was eight years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cLater, I took acting lessons in Philadelphia and West Chester. I auditioned for a bunch of colleges and chose Montclair. It\u2019s just so close to New York. It was great. I got a good feel for New York before I moved there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t my first tour. I did a small tour with \u2018Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.\u2019 We played Reading but not Philadelphia. I also did some shows at Dutch Apple Dinner Theater in Lancaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeNardo said, \u201cThis is my first national tour so it\u2019s exciting to be coming to Philadelphia. When I was younger, I did local productions at Barley Sheaf Players in Lionville and Dutch Apple in Lancaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined this tour in July. I had been in callbacks for the Broadway production. When a person on the tour decided on leaving, they called me to fill the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had already auditioned eight or nine times \u2013 so, I was on file. And, I had done a regional version of the show in Jupiter, Florida with our director BT McNicholl. On the tour, I play the role of Hans\/Rudy \u2013 two characters who are co-joined.\u201d<\/p>\n

This tour of \u201cCabaret\u201d is part of Manhattan-based Roundabout Theater Company\u2019s 50th anniversary season.<\/p>\n

The Roundabout Theatre Company took the show — Sam Mendes<\/a> and Rob Marshall<\/a>\u2019s Tony Award-winning production of \u201cCabaret\u201d \u2013 direct from Broadway.<\/p>\n

Set in the infamous Kit Kat Klub, the show features some of the most well-known songs in theater history \u2013 songs such as \u201cCabaret,\u201d \u201cMaybe This Time\u201d and \u201cWillkommen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kit Kat Klub featured Sally Bowles, the Emcee, and a rousing ensemble known as the Kit Kat Klub Band. Their invitation to audiences was to come to the Cabaret and leave their troubles outside.<\/p>\n

The story focuses on Cliff Bradshaw, a young writer from America, and his relationship with the English cabaret performer Sally Bowles.<\/p>\n

A sub-plot involves the doomed romance between German boarding house owner Fr\u00e4ulein Schneider and her elderly suitor Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor.<\/p>\n

The Kit Kat Klub and its activities serve as a metaphor for the gloom-portending political scene in Weimar Germany in the early 1930s.<\/p>\n

\u201cCabaret\u201d premiered on Broadway in 1966, and won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical as well as the New York Drama Critics\u2019 Circle Award and the Outer Critics\u2019 Circle Award.<\/p>\n

The initial revival of \u201cCabaret\u201d first opened on Broadway in 1998 and won four Tony Awards — including Best Revival of a Musical. It ran on Broadway for six years.<\/p>\n

The show returned to Broadway at Studio 54 in March 2014, with Alan Cumming<\/a> reprising his Tony-winning role as the Emcee. It played 423 performances through March 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis production is a dark re-imaging of the original concept of \u2018Cabaret\u2019,\u201d said DeNardo, whose wife, Laura Sheehy, is also in the show. \u201cIt\u2019s edgy and provocative.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels totally relevant to our political landscape today \u2013 especially politics and state of the world — that lends itself to the audience connecting to it. The show just continues to be more relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckert said, \u201cThis show is gritty and it\u2019s real. That\u2019s what I really like. And, the choreography is amazing. Also, I think the music is beautiful \u2013 and very iconic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for \u201cCabaret\u201d \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/hWNEQ0sA4UY?list=PLugacF8gXLxLDr2uhl1r2oUBG7rqM8buV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The production of \u201cCabaret\u201d will run from April 4-9 at the Academy of Music. Show times are 7:30 p.m., April 4-6: 8 p.m., April 7; 2 and 8 p.m. April 8; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. April 9.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices range from $20-$100.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Son Volt<\/p><\/div>\n

Son Volt is off to a busy 2017.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s album is out.<\/p>\n

Now, the band is out.<\/p>\n

Son Volt is out on a two-month tour that brings it to the area for a show on April 5 at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The band is touring in support of its new album \u201cNotes of Blue,\u201d which was released by Thirty Tigers on February 17.<\/p>\n

Son Volt has always been the musical vehicle for Jay Farrar \u2013 when he is in band mode. He formed Son Volt in 1994 after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. Farrar is the only remaining member from the original quartet.<\/p>\n

Farrar put Son Volt on hiatus in 1999 after releasing three albums on Warner Bros. Records. After several years performing solo, Harrar reformed Son Volt in 2005 with a different line-up.<\/p>\n

Curerently, Son Volt features Jay Farrar (vocal, guitar, harmonica), Andrew Duplantis (bass, backing vocal), Jacob Edwards (drums), Chris Frame (guitar), and Mark Spencer (keyboard, steel guitar).<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a hiatus to do some solo work and then reformed in 2005 with Chris and Andrew,\u201d said Farrar, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Madison, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon Volt had always been a vehicle for the songs I\u2019m writing. The trajectory is that it will always be there for the songs I\u2019m writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the period as a solo artist, Farrar knew it was time to go back to a band format.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe songs on \u2018Notes of Blue\u2019 are more conducive to a band setting,\u201d said Farrar, a native of St. Louis, Missouri. \u201cI wanted to get back to playing more electric guitar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new album, I wanted to use alternate tunings to open a new acoustic path. I used it as an opportunity to work in new tunings I has never used before. On \u2018Cherokee Street,\u2019 I used Skip James\u2019 tuning \u2013 open D-minor.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn \u2018Promise the World,\u2019 I used C-based tuning that was inspired by Nick Drake\u2019s \u2018Pink Moon.\u2019 On \u2018Sinking Down,\u2019 I played in the style of bottleneck slide great Mississippi Fred McDowell.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis album definitely was focused more on the blues. As a kid picking up guitar for the first time, I was listening to the Stones and the Yardbirds \u2013 bands that were very influenced by American blues artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNotes of Blue\u201d has a blues vibe but also retains Farrar\u2019s musical style that blends country, Americana, folk and alt-country. And, it has that feeling of \u201creal music\u201d that Farrar is known for.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded it at Red Pill Studio in St. Louis with Jacob Detering. \u201cHe did a good job getting the fundamental sound. I used an old amplifier \u2013 a Webster-Chicago amp.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of analog equipment that we used making this album. They have an old Trident Series 80 board and a lot of good old compressors. It was a good mix of vintage gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, we didn\u2019t record to tape. I always recorded to tape until my last two albums. It became hard to find tape. So, we used ProTools \u2013 by default. The fundamental set-up was just myself and the drummer. Then, we added other instruments later on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Son Volt \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/G0VGM9uCNcc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Ardmore Music Hall, which has Anders Parker as the opener, will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times Kelsey Beckert graduated from Bishop Shanahan High and then headed to Montclair University in North Jersey in 2008. Ryan DeNardo graduated from Downingtown West High and then headed north to Ithaca College in 2006. Now, both of them are headed down to Philadelphia in April 2017 \u2013 with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[8723,6518,8724,8725,8726],"class_list":["post-23686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-caberet","tag-featured","tag-kelsey-becket","tag-ryan-denardo","tag-son-volt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23686"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23697,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23686\/revisions\/23697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}