On Stage at Kingsborough ready to kick off spring season

On Stage at Kingsborough is primed to kick off its 2017 spring season.

This year, the organization plans once again to offer a diverse group of performances for both children and adults.

Leading off the schedule, it’s all about the kids. On Sunday, February 5, Vital Theatre Company will present “Twinkle Tames a Dragon,” a charming and captivating production about a fairy and her unusual pet. “It is a musical and it’s lovely. It’s about three fairies at fairy school that wish for pets,” said Anna Becker, executive director of On Stage at Kingsborough. “But Twinkle was wishing for a cute small pet and instead got an unruly and adorable dragon. It’s about her trying to tame him and train him in time for fairy pet day.”

It’s important for Becker and company that children are exposed to musicals at a young age. “This is what I want kids to experience when they come here, which is a full scale show that’s meant for them,” she added. “There’s music and dance, colorful costumes and it’s very delightful.” Tickets are $12.

Up next is “Ella!” which is a part of the Jazz at the Lighthouse series. “This is a celebration of Ella Fitzgerald’s 100th birthday and we are doing that by bringing back a quartet that has really become beloved by our audience,” she said. Israeli jazz musicians 12th Night Jazz Quartet will perform and be led by Elad Kabilio, who runs a program called “MusicTalks.”  Award-winning vocalist Thana Alexa will also perform.

“Elad will take us through Fitzgerald’s incredibly legendary career from her debut at the Apollo in Harlem as part of amateur night, where she began, all the way through her groundbreaking career during which she became the most celebrated jazz artist of the 20th century,” said Becker. The show will take place on Friday, February 10 at 7 p.m. Wine and cheese will be served. A standard ticket is priced at $40.

Once the weather warms up, so does the dancing as “Che Malambo” will invade On Stage at Kingsborough on Saturday, March 25, with performers straight from Argentina including 14 Argentinian gauchos.  “It’s really a spectacle,” she said. “It includes drumming, percussive dance, rhythmic footwork and singing. And also a whirling whip that they call boleadoras.”

Becker saw Che Malambo perform at NY City Center and was impressed not only by the performances, but by the enthusiasm the group brought to the stage. “They were on a bill with other dance companies, but when they were on for their 20 minutes, the audience went crazy,” she said. “There’s always one company that brings the house down and it was them. We are so thrilled that they were willing to come to Brooklyn and do a full show with us.” Prices start at $32.

Later in the season, creator, actor and director Daniel C. Levine, will bring audiences behind the scenes with his unique show, “Broadway Backstage” on Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m.

“It is a rare opportunity for audience members to see what really goes on backstage during a Broadway show,” said Levine. “The audience learns the ins and outs of what happens. When you go to a Broadway show, for example ‘Wicked’ or ‘Mamma Mia,’ you’re watching this fantastic show and you have no idea the sort of chaos that’s going on backstage and in the wings with the technical elements so this gives audiences the insider’s scoop as to what makes a Broadway show work.”

The show will have six Broadway stars that appear in the show and includes video interviews in which the stars recount funny stories or talk about crazy events or things that go wrong during a show.  “We talk about getting our big break, costume mishaps, voice loss or technical problems on stage so we talk about specific shows and when we get to the end of each story, one of our stars will sing a number from the show that they are discussing,” he said. Tickets are $30.

To purchase tickets to each performance, visit www.onstageatkingsborough.org.