n my next month of ticket giveaways on The Munro Review, you can win a chance to see a range of events from the national tour of “Chicago” to the author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”
I’m giving away tickets to seven events. You (and a friend) could go for free to:
• The Shine! Theatre production of “Songs for a New World” by Jason Robert Brown.
[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”18″]Pictured above: The national tour of ‘Chicago: The Musical’ plays at the Saroyan Theatre on March 3-4. Photo: Broadway in Fresno[/perfectpullquote]
• A talk by New York Times best-selling science writer Rebecca Skloot, author of “Henrietta Lacks,” as part of the San Joaquin Valley Town Hall lecture series.
• A performance of “The Valentine” at Fresno’s Vista Theatre, featuring Reedley theater denizens Mark and Denise Norwood.
• An opening-weekend performance of Selma Arts Center’s “Puffs,” a hot new satirical play poking fun at the “Harry Potter” world.
• A concert by pianist Natasha Paremski, whom we last heard perform with the Fresno Philharmonic, in a solo engagement for the Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts series.
• The next Fresno Philharmonic Masterworks concert, this one featuring acclaimed Irish pianist Barry Douglas playing the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2.
• Opening night of the national tour of “Chicago” as part of the Broadway in Fresno series, plus dinner for two and parking at Cosmopolitan tavern and Grill.
I’m putting all these giveaways into one post to make it easier for busy arts lovers to enter.
This also marks the second and final month of my new-year membership drive, in which I hope to reach 300 monthly members/donors to my already faithful roll-call of supporters who make this ongoing experiment in non-profit professional arts journalism possible.
Here are the ground rules:
Ticket giveaways are open only to members, donors and individual sponsors of The Munro Review. A free basic membership is available, and paid memberships start at $5 a month. (You can always opt for a one-time donation of as little as $3.) I love signing up new free members, but even better is adding members who are willing to financially support local arts journalism. It’s the only way this site can continue to stay alive. Memberships and donations are tax-deductible; this is a non-profit site under the fiscal sponsorship of the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC). To become a member, click here.
To enter, follow the directions for each giveaway (and be sure to tell me which production you’re hoping for). Note the deadlines; they differ for each event. You’re welcome to enter for multiple events, but please leave a separate comment for each entry. You’ll find the comment field near the bottom of the page (just past my bio).
OK, let’s dive in to what’s available. Productions and concerts are listed by opening date:
Shine! Theatre’s ‘Songs for a New World’
Presenter: Shine! Theatre.
Venue: Tower Theatre Lounge.
Opening: Friday, Feb. 7
Runs through: Saturday, Feb. 15.
What to expect: A vocally strong quartet of Fresno-area performers (Mady Broach, Harrison Mills, Miguel Molinar and Jennifer Myers) star in a song cycle by Jason Robert Brown. The song list includes Brown’s “Stars and the Moon,” made famous by Audra McDonald.
Preview story: Miguel Molinar talks about the show in a Q&A interview.
The giveaway: a pair of tickets for the Saturday, Feb. 8, performance.
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: Do you think you’d have had the guts to make a voyage to the New World? (Or, if you’re too shy to share, just tell me you want to attend the performance.)
The winner (updated): Janet Baker.
Deadline to enter: 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7.
Rebecca Skloot
Presenter: San Joaquin Valley Town Hall Lecture Series.
Venue: Saroyan Theatre.
Lecture: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb 12.
What to expect: Rebecca Skloot’s book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” tells the jaw-dropping story of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman whose cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951 and became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, in vitro fertilization and more.
The giveaway: a pair of tickets to the lecture.
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: Did you see the HBO movie based on the book? (Or, if you’re too shy to share, just tell me you want to attend the lecture.)
The winner (updated): Janet Baker. (Yes, she won two giveaways in a row!)
Deadline to enter: 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8.
‘The Valentine’
Presenters: Denise and Mark Norwood.
Venue: Vista Theatre.
Opening: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14.
Runs through: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16.
What to expect: Denise Norwood’s parents had a love affair that can be chronicled in the numerous letters they exchanged with each other throughout their lives, particularly when her father was overseas in the military. Denise’s original play promises “to tug at your heart strings” as it captures a bygone era in which people managed to get along without texting and emojis (cue gasp). She and her husband, Mark, will do a staged reading of the play, which originally debuted in 2004. The Norwoods are guests on the February episode of “The Munro Review on CMAC.” Their interview (and them reading a couple of sample letters) starts at the 21:24 mark:
The giveaway: a pair of show-only tickets to any performance during the weekend.
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: When was the last time you sent a real, substantive, hand-written letter to someone? (Or, if you’re too shy to share, just tell me you want to see the show.)
The winner (updated): Linda Ramirez.
Deadline to enter: 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10.
Selma Arts Center’s ‘Puffs’
Presenter and venue: Selma Arts Center.
Opens: Friday, Feb. 14.
Runs through: Friday, Feb. 29.
What to expect: In a certain wizarding school that is not Hogwarts, a group of students in a certain house that bears a certain resemblance to the Hufflepuffs navigates life in the background of a certain “Harry Potter”-like world. This satirical comedy is a local premiere. Kyle Lowe and I did a fun piece on location about the show for the February episode of “The Munro Review on CMAC.” You get a behind-the-scenes look. The field story begins at the 12:09 mark.
The giveaway: Two tickets to any opening-weekend performance.
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: Which would you rather win: a free trip on a Slytherin Alumni Cruise or a Hufflepuff Alumni Cruise? (Or, if you’re too shy to share, just tell me you want to attend the performance.)
The winner (updated): Allison Connelly.
Deadline to enter: 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10.
The Munro Review has no paywall but is financially supported by readers who believe in its non-profit mission of bringing professional arts journalism to the central San Joaquin Valley. You can help by signing up for a monthly recurring paid membership or make a one-time donation of as little as $3. All memberships and donations are tax-deductible.
Natasha Paremski with Keyboard Concerts
[media-credit name=”Photo by Clarence Chan” align=”alignnone” width=”800″]
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Presenter: Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts.
Venue: Fresno State Concert Hall.
Performance: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14.
What to expect: Paremski last performed in Fresno in 2017 with the Grieg Piano Concerto. She returns to Keyboard after a 12-year absence to perform a program that includes Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit” and Mussorgsky’s famed “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
The giveaway: Two tickets to the performance.
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: Do you have a memorable concert or event you attended on Valentine’s Day? (Or, if you’re too shy to share, just tell me you want to attend the performance.)
The winner (updated): Cleo Bauer.
Deadline to enter: 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10.
Fresno Philharmonic: Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff
Presenter: Fresno Philharmonic.
Venue: Saroyan Theatre.
Performance: 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16.
What to expect: The Irish superstar pianist Barry Douglas is a longtime favorite of fans of the Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts series. Now he’ll be making his Fresno Philharmonic debut with a performance of the Shastakovich Piano Concerto No. 2. Also on the program: Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Escaramuza” and the Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2.
The giveaway: a pair of tickets to the concert.
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: Have you ever been to Ireland? (Or, if you’re too shy to share, just tell me you want to attend the performance.)
The winners (updated): Emily Adams, Caty Perez.
Deadline to enter: 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11.
‘Chicago’ (plus dinner for two at Cosmo)
Presenter: Broadway in Fresno.
Venue: Saroyan Theatre.
Opening: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3.
Runs through: Wednesday, March 4.
What to expect: Murder, mayhem, “All that Jazz” and one of the longest-running shows on Broadway.
The giveaway: In addition to a pair of tickets to opening night, the winner will receive dinner for two from the wonderful folks at Cosmopolitan Tavern and Italian Grill, conveniently located in the corner of the Fresno Convention Center complex. Plus, you’ll get free parking for the evening as well. .
How to enter: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: See photo directly above. Would you be able to fit into any of those costumes? (Or, if you’re too shy to share, just tell me you want to see the show.)
Deadline to enter: 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21.