Pearl the Theatre Dog

Hello friends in cyberspace. Last night was our final Christmas performance of the year. We sang alongside Larry Brown's Swinglane Band and a brass quintet from the Navy. It was a truly magical experience, and a lot of nonperishable goods were collected for local charities.

Since Christmas performances are over for all of us here at the Marley Bridges Theatre Company, we're turning our focus to some time off to spend with our friends and family. Yes, we have one more performance of "The Art of the Masquerade" this Saturday at the Newport Art Museum, but we're also finding time to spend just enjoying each other's company. We've rearranged the furniture in Patrick's house to make one wall of the living room a projection screen for our Christmas Eve Movie Marathon, and the tree is lit.

In the spirit of sharing time with loved ones, I've included a video of myself with Pearl. Pearl is by default one of the theatre company's three doggie mascots (along with Wilson and Abigail). I hope you enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

We're On the Radio!

Well, folks, our 2012 Victorian Christmas Feast is all wrapped up. It was a bittersweet season for the Marley Bridges Theatre Company. For the first time ever we had to cancel a performance do to lack of ticket sales. There were many factors that led to this, including a pretty icky economy, but we are still celebrating the amazing gifts the theatre has received this year.

Under the direction of Katherine and accompanied by Josh and John, our music this year was beautiful. We had an amazing blend of a capella pieces balanced with songs accompanied by the piano and guitar. We got so many compliments from our audiences! Thanks to Patrick we had some incredible mood and theatrical lighting that transformed the modern gallery of the Newport Art Museum into a Victorian ballroom. Thanks to Rhiannon and me there were silly puppets to lighten the mood. CC choreographed an exiting Victorian Gallop Racket and expertly called the cotillion in a year where EVERY SINGLE AUDIENCE MEMBER stood up to dance! That never happens! I can only imagine that CC's infectious energy (and the cash bar) inspired everyone to join in for the Gothic Contra Dance. Finally, all the women worked so hard at creating our beautiful centerpieces for the tables. The room was a magical Christmas wonderland!

So feast has come and gone, but we're still feeling the Christmas spirit! This Wednesday, December 14th we'll be performing along side Larry Brown's Swinglane Band and the U. S. Navy Band Northeast Brass Quintet at the Marriot Hotel in Newport for WADK's annual Chritmas Concert. You can see us live for the small fee of canned goods for local charities, or listen on the radio completely free on AM 1540 at 7pm.

To gear up for the Christmas concert we're picking our favorite Christmas movies to watch. We're hoping these movies will lift our spirits and put us in the Christmas mood. Here are some of our favorites. Make sure to comment with your own favorite Christmas movies!

Patrick--Die Hard (think about it. It's a Christmas movie! Yippie-kay-yay, mother...)

Charles--The Muppet Christmas Carol (only the greatest Christmas movie of all time. It's just the way Dickens imagined his book would be performed.)

Katherine--White Christmas

CC--Love Actually

Pearl--Benji's Very Own Christmas Story

Merry Christmas from everyone at the Marley Bridges Theatre Company!

Laughing our pants off

Well, folks, we've finally made it through our final dress rehearsal. All we need now is an audience for our 2011 Victorian Christmas Feast. I, for one, cannot wait. When I was putting on my tux before tonight's rehearsal I realized that the last time I put on my fake diamond studs was two years ago at a Victorian Christmas Feast at the Beechwood Mansion. It's strange how muscle memory stays with you. As soon as I got the first stud through the button hole I felt this odd wave of nostalgia. I can remember the first time I ever wore studs and cufflinks. I had no idea what I was doing, and it took forever. This time, though, it felt like second nature. How odd that a simple gesture or movement can spark so many fond memories of waltzing through Mrs. Astor's grand Newport Ballroom. Even though we're no longer at Beechwood, the beauty and Victorian elegance of the Griswold House will make for a fine feast.

How else do I know this will be a great feast? During our rehearsal tonight as we danced the opening number I noticed that Katherine was laughing hysterically. I looked around to see why, and Nikki was tripping all over her skirt that was falling around her ankles. Even Victorians have trouble being classy.

Happy Christmas!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting silly...

Happy St. Nicholas' Day 1891, y'all! The Marley Bridges Theatre gang were all in Christmas form last night as we had our last rehearsal before moving into more intense dress/tech rehearsals for our annual Victorian Christmas Feast. Before rehearsal began several of the ladies were working on Christmas Tree centerpieces for the tables. The scene was like something out of one of those old Norman Rockwell paintings. A quaint scene of women sipping tea, eating cookies, laughing, and making Christmas decorations. Cheesy? Sure, but we love Christmas here.

I was so inspired by the scene that I put on my favorite Christmas album of all time: John Denver and the Muppets, A Christmas Together. It made me smile. A lot. My favorite part is when Miss Piggy sings "Christmas is Coming the goose is getting fat (Ugh!)" That big piggy "Ugh" cracks me up every time.

And speaking of Muppets, have you seen their new movie yet? The company members of the Marley Bridges Theatre Company (who have seen it) unanimously agree that it is a great movie. Patrick liked it even better the second time around. Let's face it: our sense of humor is much like the Muppets'. We're odd, fun-loving, and rarely mean. We also have our tender moments. Remember when Piggy hired that real priest to do the wedding scene in "The Muppets Take Manhattan"? That was simultaneously hilarious and sweet. I think that that's the kind of humor we need today. So many comedians make a living ridiculing people or belittling groups. I like to think that Muppetesque humor is what the world needs. But then again, this comes from a guy that dresses like a pirate in a murder mystery one day and sings English Christmas Carols about the birth of Christ the next.

Happy Christmas!

Making Christmas, Making Christmas, Don't Sue Us, Tim Burton

What! Two posts in one day. This blog is outta control. (Or someone is bored.)

Katherine is getting some of our beautiful decorations ready for the Victorian Christmas Feast. When celebrating St. Nicholas' Day 1891-Style, you gotta be classy.

Charles loves scaring and scarring children with his puppets. The servants are preparing a fun romp through Clement Moore's classic poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas"

Make sure you tell your friends, and don't miss Newport's classiest Victorian Christmas shin-dig.

C.R.I.M.E. Doesn't Pay--Believe Me, We're Trying

Welcome to the first blog post for Newport Murder Mystery. Why do we have a blog? Because all the cool kids are doing it! Why does anyone do anything? To keep up with the Jonses, of course. It seems like all our favorite theatres have a blog: The Jane Pickens, The Firehouse Theatre, The Second City...even Crazy Knitting Ladies have blogs. If we want to keep up in this fast-paced techo-centric world, we need a blog, too.

So, what can you expect to read on this state-of-the-art, high tech, super trendy blog? That's the catch. You never know. Of course, we'll keep you updated on our current events (like "The Art of the Masquerade" playing at the Newport Art Museum), but we'll also give you a peek into the creative (read insane) minds that bring you C.reative R.ole-Playing I.nteractive M.ystery E.xperiences. (Did you catch that nifty word-play there? It spells out CRIME. You see that, right? If you don't you probably won't do too well solving our mysteries, but you might have fun anyway, so come on down!)

So stay tuned, log in, check back often for fun posts, performance dates, and cooky Victorian ads like this:

Like us on Facebook! (We hear that all the cool kids are saying that, too.)