Gesa Power House Theatre111 North 6th Ave. (North of Rose St.), Walla Walla, WA 99362 / Box Office: 509.529.6500

Suitcase Dances: "The Relatives"

Local performance company SuitCase Dances presents "The Relatives," a full-length modern ballet and gothic fairy tale.

“The Relatives,” a narrative dance theater production, tells the tale of a gothic cult that lies in wait for an Innocent to fall victim to their final ritual. With virtuosic dancing, fairy tale narration, erotic tension, and some comic hijinks along the way, “The Relatives” follows an imaginative, twisting path to the triumph of the human spirit.

"The Relatives" began with a packed performance at Charles Smith Wines last spring, and was presented in preview by the Whitman College Gender Studies Program as the opener for Washington D.C.-based dance/rock act Tia Nina, who played The Gesa Power House Theatre last October.

The full production in April will include a team of five dancers, three actors, and a compact musical ensemble whose members will perform music composed especially for the project. 

SuitCase Dances is a dance theater collaborative directed by former Staatstheater Darmstadt soloist Peter de Grasse, performance artist and choreographer Vicki Lloid, and designer and former Rome Opera Ballet dancer Raffaele Exiana.

The collaborative creates original, multi-disciplinary work using a team of artists specially assembled for each individual production. Performances encompass the expertise of dancers, actors, choreographers, writers, and artists, each of whom contributes original materials to the creation of layered worlds of dance theater, tailor-made for the venues in which they are performed.

"The Relatives" plays for one night only, Saturday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m.

WWU Steel Band

The Walla Walla University Steel Band returns to the Gesa Power House Theatre on Sunday, April 27, at 7:00pm to reprise their sold out performance last year with guest artists Gary Gibson and Mike Agidius. This year the group will be joined by performer, composer, arranger, and educator, Tom Miller, director of the University of Denver steel drum program. The concert will feature a number of tunes composed by Miller as well as many pieces published by his company, Pan Ramajay Productions.

Walla Walla University’s Steel Band has been in existence since 2002 and has toured the West Coast twice, the East Coast four times, and also the island of Bermuda. They also have performed with world-class artist Victor Provost. During last year’s performance in the Power House Theatre guest artist Gary Gibson announced to the audience that he considered the WWU Steel Band one of the best collegiate steel bands in the nation.

The musical styles featured in the concert will be Caribbean (calypso, soca, cha-cha), samba, jazz, and rock. Tickets are $12 for the balcony and $15 for the floor. All proceeds will go toward WWU Steel Band scholarships and recruitment of steel drummers to the program.

Video Previews:
    "Morning Dance"
    "Over the Rainbow"
    "Pan on the Ground" 

Such Sweet Thunder

Columbia REA, Shakespeare Walla Walla, and Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra present “Such Sweet Thunder” with one performance at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 3 at the historic Gesa Power House Theatre. The unique production will feature the music of Duke Ellington’s Such Sweet Thunder suite which is a tribute to the works of William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare Walla Walla actors, under the direction of Kevin Loomer, Director of Theatre Arts at Walla Walla Community College, will introduce each musical movement with excerpts from the Shakespearean texts which inspired the music. Other local talent to be featured will include retired Whitman College professor David Glenn on trombone. 

Shakespeare Walla Walla is also partnering with Whitman College to provide a day-long Jazz/Improvisation master class for local music students. Inquire here for details.

Written in 1957, Duke Ellington’s masterful jazz suite not only takes its name from Shakespeare (“such sweet thunder” is a line from A Midsummer Night’s Dream), but its themes and topics, too. The suite’s twelve sections include eleven instrumental portraits of characters from Shakespeare, followed by a final piece evoking Shakespeare himself. Working with his long-time collaborator Billy Strayhorn, Ellington created the suite soon after he and his band appeared at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario.

Tickets to "Such Sweet Thunder" are $36/$32 ($9 Students).

The 2014 Shakespeare Walla Walla Mainstage Season will continue with the Summer Festival in August featuring Seattle Shakespeare Company productions of “Julius Caesar” and “Two Gentlemen of Verona”. 

Please support our 2014 Season Sponsors:

Advertising supported by Tourism Walla Walla.

Movie Night: "Cement Suitcase"

Bergevin Lane and Gesa Power House Theatre present the local premiere of "Cement Suitcase", a comedy about the best wine salesman in the Yakima Valley. Franklin is headed for a breakdown, and only two people can help him. One just broke into his house. The other is having an affair with his girlfriend. This offbeat comedy was filmed on location in the rural wine country of Washington state, and is a charming take on a man deciding that it’s time to let go of some baggage.

"Cement Suitcase" has been recognized at numerous film festivals including: "Winner: Audience Award" (Dances With Films), "Winner: Audience Award" (Ellensburg Film Festival), "Winner: Director's Choice Award" (Gig Harbor Film Festival), and "Winner: Best Narrative Feature" (Eugene International Film Festival).

Monthly movie nights are scheduled the second Thursday of every month unless the theatre is being used for something else. Tickets are $10. Food trucks will be outside; beer and the amazing Bergevin Lane wines will be sold along with a limited selection of movie concessions.

The film runs 90 minutes starting at 6:30 p.m.  Doors open at 5pm - enjoy dinner at the Power House before showtime!

Cement Suitcase Facebook Page

Cement Suitcase Movie Site

Preview the 2014 Movie Night schedule