Marry Me A Little....while reading me Verse

12-12-12.....a popular date for weddings.....and a good day to write about Rag Tag Entertainment's performance of "Marry Me A Little", piano and poetry at the Las Vegas Arts Square Theatre. This was a theatrical experiment mixing tunes from the popular Stephen Sondheim musical with poetry readings by local rhymesters.  

Interspersing musical numbers with poetry readings as it turned out, was a successful collaboration. A perfect 75 minute, evening entertainment "fix".

Photo by Richard Brusky

^{Marry me a little}

^{Love me just enough}

^{Cry, but not too often}

^{Play, but not too much}

^{Keep a tender distance}

^{So we'll both be free}

^{That's the way it ought to be}

^{I'm ready}

^{Marry me a little}

^{Do it with a will}

^{Make a few demands}

^{I'm able to fulfill}

^{Want me more than others}

^{Not exclusively}

^{That's the way it ought to be.....}

^{An excerpt from the Stephen Sondheim musical which debuted in 1980, these lyrics seem especially relevant today.}

^{______________________________________}  

Poetry written and read well is soul stirring....a sample of one of the evening's many truly excellent poems.
 

Poet Jorge Lara, Photo by Richard Brusky

GIVE ME A LISTEN....Jorge Lara

the soft beckoning
 the miles within your eyes,
 the meters between the seconds and the years,
 the way our mouths
 speak volumes when they are shut,
pound,
 pound some life force into this,
 haphazard lazy in the tooth soul,
 pound,
 pound some flesh overtones,
 be the humble grace that will unwind
 our tense bodies,

for nigh,
 foresight,
 in the foreground,
 our might left to astound,
 a break in formation,
 of our adulation,
 reaching its peak
 reaching full density,
 reaching for the sense of
 never wanting to speak,
 the same words,
 the same patterns ever again,

pound,
 pound some lust for life into me,
 give me the abundant energy
 to relish all that you can bring,
 when life is such a spectacular thing,
 una vida si un amor no es nada,
 i want to know why I exist without you,
 and why you want me to persist,
the soft beckoning.

A moment from "Marry Me A Little"......Piano and Poetry, Las Vegas, 2012

Rag Tag Entertainment's upcoming productions include more cabaret/poetry hybrids in 2013 and a huge staging of Les Miserables this summer, with an orchestra....I hear it will be epic!

"Marry Me A Little" is a musical with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim, conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene'. This production uses a dialogue free plot and is about the relationship between two lonely New York people, who are in emotional conflict during an evening in their separate one-room apartments.  -Excerpt from wikipedia.org

Playbill

Cast:

Kelly Ward

Glenn Heath

Kelly Albright

Brandon Albright

Sandra Huntsman

Ayler Evan

Kim Glover

Alex Mendoza

Jessica Ritter

 
Poets:

Mick Axelrod

Jorge Lara

Kari O'Connor

Jesse Ranon

Director....................Andrew Wright

Musical Director......Karalyn Clark


Rag Tag Entertainment

Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York.....

RagTag Entertainment was formed with a single thought in mind: “The performing arts are for everybody, not just those who can afford them.” We have gathered performers from the Las Vegas strip and across the country who are passionate about sharing the arts. Our goal is to introduce the performing arts and enrich lives through various modes of performance.


The Arts Factory, Las Vegas

The geographic and creative center of the Las Vegas Arts District. Includes several unique spaces for performances and events.


Previous posts on Rag Tag Entertainment performances.


Broadway Cares....in Las Vegas, September 2012