The new year in Indiana entertainment will deliver significant changes in onstage offerings, whether that stage is afloat on White River or newly built at Circle Centre mall.
By summer, the “Rising Tide” floating stage will connect with audiences along both shores of the river between 16th Street and the Washington Street bridge. At the mall, Helium Comedy Club will open in March near the intersection of Meridian and Georgia streets.
Other anticipated highlights for 2019 include new physical homes for Fonseca Theatre Company and Storefront Theatre, the final local visits by Elton John and Kiss, plus a new season of weird Indiana tales on “Stranger Things”:
1. Helium Comedy Club goes for Downtown laughs
Set to open in March, Helium Comedy Club is the seventh stand-up venue in a chain that stretches from Portland, Oregon, to suburban New York City. Brad Grossman, who partners with his brother and Helium founder, Marc Grossman, said audiences can expect big names paying visits to 10 W. Georgia St. “Our brand typically brings ‘A’ talent every weekend to the club,” he said. “I think that’s what we’ll continue to do. I don’t think the (Indianapolis) market was served in that fashion.”
It’s true the city has fewer opportunities for touring comedians. Crackers downsized from two clubs to one in 2017, and Morty’s Comedy Joint closed in 2018. Helium clubshave presented Hannibal Buress and Norm Macdonald in the past, and Natasha Leggero will appear at the flagship Philadelphia club in January. In Indianapolis, Helium is building a 275-capacity showroom and a 70-capacity secondary room in space formerly occupied by a Nordstrom store.
2. Fonseca Theatre Company will have a home
After a high-profile exit from the Phoenix Theatre in May, producing director Bryan Fonseca has taken his idea of theater for underserved voices from concept to building in less than a year. The Fonseca Theatre Company has been putting on shows since September, promoting work that champions Latinx, African-American, Middle Eastern and Asian communities in west-side neighborhoods. Midway through its first season — early in 2019 — the company will open a 77-seat theater on West Michigan Street near IUPUI.
3. Broad Ripple’s intimate new theater
Storefront Theatre will have a stage for its emotionally raw works by women and minority playwrights. Since its 2017 launch, Storefront has produced two plays at IndyFringe's Indy Eleven Theatre. Now, the new 50-seat performance space at the corner of Broad Ripple and College avenues will host "Pilgrims" by Claire Kiechel that begins Feb. 9.
4. White River will get a floating stage
Live music will float before you as you sit on the banks this summer. Arts groups who work on the west side — including Indy Convergence, the Fonseca Theatre Company, Indy Shakes, the Eiteljorg Museum and Kenyetta Dance — will provide the performances for your pleasure. Also part of the project is a portable stage that will be on land, so ready yourself for some killer outdoor plays, open mics and more.
5. iMOCA will move into a permanent home
The Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art has been one of Indy's favorite nomads. After its founding as a museum without walls in 2001, it landed at the Emelie Building on Senate Avenue and the Murphy Art Center before curating CityWay at The Alexander for the past few years. Now the museum will permanently move into the old Ford assembly plant on East Washington Street in mid-2019. What's especially cool: One of its three galleries will be window bays visible from the street.
6. Elton John, Kiss bring long goodbyes to Indiana
The larger-than-life touring careers of Elton John and Kiss are coming to an end. John, known for iconic hits "Rocket Man," "Tiny Dancer" and "Your Song," announced plans to come off the road in 2021. Rock band Kiss, known for its distinctive makeup and costumes, is expected to play its final tour dates in 2020 or 2021. Each act will say goodbye to Central Indiana in 2019: John will perform Oct. 29 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, while Kiss will perform Aug. 31 at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center.
7. Brown County’s new performing arts center
The iconic Little Nashville Opry tragically burned down nine years ago, leaving a gaping hole for big shows in Brown County. Enter the Maple Leaf Performing Arts Center, which will be home to country, oldies, classic rock, tribute bands, comedy and more. It will have 2,000 seats, an outdoor beer garden and be open in late summer or early fall.
8. An LGBTQ theater launches
After decades at Theatre on the Square and Phoenix Theatre, actor Michael Swinford is launching Be Out Loud Theatre, a company that produces works that tell stories about the LGBTQ community and honor its history. The first show, "And Tell Sad Stories of the Death of Queens" by Tennessee Williams, will run Jan. 4 through 20 at the District Theatre.
9. The first grassroots indie cinema in a decade
The original plans were to house the Windsor Park Art Cinema in an old church a few blocks north of 10th Street. After the restoration proved too expensive, the ownership group reimagined the project and came up with a design for a sleek, earth-toned structure that will have three theaters, a screening room, restaurant and events space. The cinema, which will highlight local filmmakers and small-budget films, is slated to open in late 2019.
10. Lily & Madeleine return with ‘Canterbury Girls’
Although sibling singers Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz moved from Indiana to Brooklyn, the duo pays homage to an Indianapolis landmark in the title of upcoming album "Canterbury Girls." Canterbury Park, found along the Monon Trail north of 54th Street, inspired Lily and Madeleine to write songs about love and loss on their fourth studio album. Scheduled for release Feb. 22 on New West Records, "Canterbury Girls" was co-produced by Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk (who collaborated with Kacey Musgraves on her critically acclaimed "Golden Hour" album). Lily & Madeleine will play a hometown show March 1 at Old National Centre.
11. A wedding venue with chickens
Some chickens in Garfield Park are ready and waiting to be your guests when the Chicken Chapel of Love opens in mid- to late-summer. Creative organization Big Car Collaborative is behind the tiny-house version of a sanctuary. The spot joins public art and agriculture; the chickens already live outside the Tube Factory artspace on Cruft Street. Invite your own pastor or ask an ordained Big Car staff member to officiate.
12. More bizarre Indiana tales via ‘Stranger Things’
A shopping mall in fictional Hawkins, Indiana, will be pivotal in the third season of Netflix hit "Stranger Things," and series producers the Duffer brothers and Shawn Levy pushed the release of new episodes from fall 2018 to July 4, 2019. A promotional image released New Year's Eve shows cast members watching fireworks and the tag line "One Summer Can Change Everything." Beyond that, we don't know much about the show's next supernatural adventures set in the 1980s. For the record, it's Starcourt Mall where all the kids are gathering. Returning character Steve Harrington (portrayed by Joe Keery) works at the "Scoops Ahoy" ice cream shop with a new character portrayed by Maya Hawke — daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.
No comments:
Post a Comment