Brandon Victor Dixon to open in The Wild Party at New York City Center on July 15

Brandon Victor Dixon

Another Donna Reed scholarship alumnus making his mark in show business

   Brandon Victor Dixon, a 1999 Donna Reed scholarship finalist in musical theater, will join the cast of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, running July 15 - 18, 2015 at New York City Center.  

   The Wild Party is the final production of New York City Center's acclaimed Encores! Off-Center series, which is returning for a third season of landmark Off-Broadway musicals.

   Dixon is known for creating the roles of Harpo in The Color Purple (2005), for which he was nominated for a Tony Award, and Berry Gordy Jr. in Motown: The Musical (2013). In London's West End, he played the role of Hayward Patterson in The Scottsboro Boys.

    His television credits include "The Good Wife," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and "One Life to Live." 
    His producing credits include Of Mice and Men (2014) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Read more. 

Entry Deadline is June 30 for Donna Reed Foundation 2015 Iowa Drama Merit Awards

The Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts announces the 2015 Iowa Merit Awards. The awards recognize talented Iowa high school students interested in pursuing further enrichment and education in the performing arts. 

Competition is open to all Iowa high school students (grades 10-12) who are studying drama and have acted in official school productions during the 2014-2015 school year. 

Awards of up to $1,000 may be awarded by the Foundation at its discretion. Assessment of merit will include application contents, personal statement, qualities and skill demonstrated in video audition sample, personal recommendation, and future potential. 

Complete Merit Award details and entry forms can be found here.

Lorie Line and her Fab Five to perform in Denison

Lorie Line

Pianist Lorie Line performs in Denison on Friday, May 8, at the Donna Reed Theatre.

Lorie Line will perform in Denison for the first time as part of her Intimate Series tour. She will play all the favorites and the originals that have placed her among the most well-known pianists in the country. She will also highlight a few songs from her upcoming CD/Music Book, “The Heritage Collection, Volume Seven,” to be released the end of May.

Line has performed on over 2,000 stages in her 25-year career. Known mainly for her holiday extravaganza, she branched out in the past 10 years and has developed her non-seasonal intimate series.

She is accompanied by Fab Five, an ensemble of talented musicians from Minnesota that consists of violin, trombone, drums, guitar and bass.

Line has produced three television specials for PBS. She has recorded 47 CDs and has published 47 books of music of her arrangements and compositions.

The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. on May 8. Tickets are $39 and can be obtained by calling 1.800.801.5463, in person at the box office or at www.lorieline.com.

"Thwacked" Is Coming To Denison, IA

This year's workshop production.

A Fractured Fable of Frogs, Folks and Falling Skies

That's the Children's Musical Theater workshop production for this summer. It's a fun-filled week designed to teach the basics of musical theater to kids in grades K-8 who love singing, dancing and challenges. The workshop runs from June 15-19, 2015 and concludes with a performance for the public on Saturday, June 20. All events will take place at the high school, 819 North 16th St in Denison.

Since its meager beginning in 2004, this popular workshop has blossomed under the direction of Allison Rasmussen, a Manilla native and vocal music instructor at Waverly-Shell Rock Community Schools. This is the ninth year she has volunteered to head this workshop production. She is assisted by a dedicated team, including former students who have aged out of the program. All give a week of their time to help stage the production.

Even local grandparents have discovered a side benefit of the workshop. They enroll their grandchildren in the program and spend quality time with them while they attend the workshop.

Workshop information and tuition rates can be found by downloading our registration form, by calling 712.263.3334 or by stopping at the Donna Reed Foundation office, 1305 Broadway, Denison, IA.

Amy Heidemann Debuts New Video for Single “Along The Road”

Amy Heideman and Nick Noonan of Karmin

2004 Donna Reed Foundation vocal scholarship finalist is half of Karmin

Platinum-selling pop duo, Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan, better known as Karmin, just released the video for their latest single, Along The Road. Complimenting their stripped-down performance is an entrancing backdrop - a sunset mosaic of shoes representing the many roads and paths life can offer. Along The Road is a selection from the band’s upcoming album, Leo Rising.

"We had written the song three years ago, before we even signed with a record label or anything was even happening for Karmin," Heidemann says. "The song has always been really near and dear to our hearts, but when we brought in this guitar player, who happens to have toured with Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys, he just started playing, I started singing and we basically did the thing in one take.” Their musical video was also done in one take.

Billboard article and video

Icon vs. Icon article

Jared Grimes Joins Radio City Show

Jared Grimes taps to Singing in the Rain

Donna Reed Foundation national scholar is making a splash

Jared Grimes is dancing in the rain - literally - at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Grimes, who was a 2001 Donna Reed Foundation scholarship recipient in dance, has joined the cast of The New York Spring Spectacular, a show that features the famed Rockettes.

The production includes a splashy production number with Grimes, Derek Hough of Dancing With the Stars fame and the Rockettes tap-dancing exuberantly as 500 gallons of heated water pour down on them. The production runs through May 3.

Last year at age 30, Grimes was named outstanding male dancer in a Broadway show at the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards in New York. He won for his tap dancing in the Cotton Club-era musical revue, After Midnight. He then performed in the Tony Awards broadcast.

The New York Spring Spectacular official site

USA Today article and video
http://www.jaredmgrimes.com/

University of Iowa Dance Group to Perform in Denison

 Second University of Iowa performance at the Donna Reed Theater for the Performing Arts

The University of Iowa’s premier touring repertory company, Dancers in Company, will perform at the historic Donna Reed Theater in Denison on Friday, March 27 at 7 pm. 
 
The event is free, open to the public, and the only performance by the group in western Iowa.
 
Now in its 31st year, the company of University of Iowa graduate and undergraduate dancers tours throughout Iowa and the Midwest each year, performing concerts and conducting outreach through lecture demonstrations for audiences of all ages.
 
The repertory features a mix of contemporary choreography, including a piece commissioned specifically for Dancers in Company by guest choreographer Melinda Myers, a former member of the renowned Tricia Brown Dance Company, current member of Lucky Plush in Chicago, and choreographer/performer of her own. 

This is the second University of Iowa performance in Denison sponsored by the
Northwest Iowa Regents Resource Center, which provides access to Iowa Regents
academic and cultural opportunities for northwest Iowans.