Power House Comedy - "Just For Laughs"
Presented by: Gesa Power House Theatre
Actor(s): John Pizzi, Billy Garan
Looking for a laugh? Look no further!
We are pleased to introduce our new comedy series, kicking off with Just for Laughs! We're bringing two world-famous comedians - John Pizzi of America's Got Talent and Billy Garan of America's Funniest People - to the Power House Theatre stage for one weekend only.
FLEX Tickets do not apply to this production.
Starring Billy Garan!
Billy Garan began his career performing stand-up at Catch A Rising Star in New York City. He expanded his career by joining a comedy troupe called Funny Business which toured hundreds of colleges throughout the country. Billy's staggering list of impressions is demonstrated in his "Hollywood High" routine where he plays all the characters in a classroom of celebrity students, ranging from Truman Capote to Sylvester Stallone. He not only does the voices with superb accuracy, but also the mannerisms. Billy's high energy and machine gun style delivery have defined him as a unique talent having made him a valuable opening act for Robert Klein, Jay Leno, and Jerry Seinfeld. He has produced, written and performed numerous radio commercials and has been seen doing comedy on NBC, Showtime and A&E. His career as an actor has covered a wide range of appearances from ABC's "Phenom" & "America's Funniest People," NBC's "Saved by the Bell," & "California Dreams," Showtime's "Sherman Oaks," and an ABC pilot called "Worlds Apart."
Also featuring John Pizzi!
One of the hottest rising comics in the entertainment industry, John Pizza has brought his unique brand of comedy to audiences around the country and is thrilled to bring his act to Walla Walla for Power House Comedy - Just for Laughs!
Performing as a national headliner at comedy clubs, resorts, colleges and theaters across the United States, Pizzi isone man show of comedy, magic and ventriloquism packed into high energy comedy!
John Pizzi is a regular at the Rivera Hotel in Las Vegas, the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, and a member of the Friars Club in New York City and Los Angeles… He's the one you've been waiting for!
Join us for the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival Series at the Power House!
See you there
- 2013-06-11 20:30:00
- 2013-06-15 20:30:00
- 2013-06-22 20:30:00
- 2013-06-29 20:30:00
Presented by: Gesa Power House Theatre
The Gesa Power House Theatre is proud to once again host the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival summer series, with four outstanding concerts throughout the month of June!
Tuesday, June 11, 7:30 p.m. — $20
Czech this out! The 2013 Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival opens with the World Premiere of composer Ching-chu Hu’s String Sextet.
Tonight, we feast and we dance! Opening night of the 2013 Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival at the Gesa Power House Theater will crackle with the lively Bohemian dance rhythms of the Dvorak Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. Czech dances, such as the Dumka and Furiant, loom large in this audience favorite.
Also on the program is Beethoven's delightful "Harp" string quartet, Op. 74. The work, from the same period as the "Emperor" Concerto, belies none of the circumstances of Beethoven's existence in 1809: encroaching deafness, Napoleon's siege of Vienna, and attending economic woes. Beethoven, ever crafty, negotiated his way through the maze as a freelance composer.
This season marks the sixth year of the WWCMF tradition of opening the Festival Series with a specially commissioned work. It is fitting that it is a work for six players. Our featured composer is Ching-chu Hu, whose new String Sextet was commissioned for the 2013 Festival and has its World Premiere tonight!
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Saturday, June 15, 7:30 p.m. — $20
Will the real Kreutzer please stand up?
Festival Series II presents one of the towering masterpieces for violin and piano, the Sonata in A Major, Op. 47, by Beethoven, a work more familiarly known by its nickname, the Kreutzer Sonata.
Rudolphe Kreutzer was a preeminent violinist in Paris in the early ninteenth century, and this work has almost nothing to do with him. Today, Kreutzer is known to violinists and Jack Benny as the author of a set of 42 studies designed to improve technique. To wider audiences, he is known only as the namesake for this incredible piece by Beethoven. Though Beethoven sent a copy to Kreutzer, the violinist never played the piece and declared it to be unintelligible.
Augmenting the legacy of this sonata are works by Tolstoy and Leos Janacek, both bearing the same title. You will find these Slavic spin-offs elsewhere during the 2013 Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival (namely, at jimgermanbar on June 25! See the Special Event listing for more information). Tonight, violinist Andrew Jennings and pianist Oksana Ezhokina bring Beethoven’s heroic score to life.
Also on the program is the debut of vocal chamber music at WWCMF. Soprano Jennifer Goltz-Taylor joins WWCMF for the first time in the brooding Seven Songs, Op. 127, by Dmitri Shostakovich. This work, originally commissioned by Mstislav Rostropovich, represents a Who’s Who of twentieth century Soviet music. It was conceived as a vehicle for the power quartet of soprano Galina Vishnevskaya (wife of Rostropovich), Rostropovich, violinist David Oistrakh, and Shostokovich himself. Shostakovich, to ill to perform at the premiere, was replaced by his close associate, Mieczyslaw Weinberg. The music is as deeply personal a statement as we have from this prolific composer. Rounding out the evening is a very charming work by German-American composer Charles Martin Loeffler.
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Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m. — $20
First Time?
Perhaps this is your first time attending a concert where the works — even the composers — are unknown to you.
The composers Heitor Villa-Lobos, Joan Tower, Friedrich Hermann and Anton Arensky fall outside of the canon of the ubiquitous “dead white guys” whose music dominates classical programming. To my knowledge, none of them ever sported a wig, and if he did, the wig would certainly not be powdered. How, then, could they compose great classical music, you ask? There’s only one way to find out!
Festival Series III explores exceptional music by composers you don’t encounter every day. From the Brazilian folk influence of Villa-Lobos’ “Jet Whistle” for flute and cello, to the Russian liturgical influence of Arensky’s tribute to his idol, Tchaikovsky, each work on this program will surprise and delight. Petroushskates, by living American composer, Joan Tower, takes two sources for its inspiration; the Shrovetide Fair of Stravinsky’s ballet masterpiece, Petroushka, and the flowing continuous line of a figure skater’s blade on the ice. Perhaps another influence on this work is the instrumental force known as a “Pierrot Ensemble,” after the seminal work Pierrot Lunaire, by Arnold Schönberg. In every case, these works deserve our attention, and we guarantee that you will always remember your first time.
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Saturday, June 29, 7:30 p.m. — $20
Go Big or Go Home!
Well, in this case, we’ll do both, going big, then going home. Festival Series IV marks the conclusion of the Sixth Annual Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, and we are going out with a bang.
This program will shake the rafters of the Gesa Power House Theater, and ring on in your memory long after the WWCMF musicians leave the stage. The Concerto for violin, piano and string quartet in D, by French composer Ernest Chausson, is a masterpiece of the late ninteenth Century, demanding virtuosity from all six players. The concerto, as seen through the lens of the ninteenth Century, usually means a piece for soloist and large orchestra. Chausson, however, looks inward, pairing down the ensemble to its essentials. With pre-impressionistic shadings dominating the interior passages, this work nevertheless explodes to a joyous conclusion. As the French musical indication goes, “Laissé Vibrer!”— Let it Ring!
Tchaikovsky, for his part, gives us one of the string repertoire’s great showpieces. Souvenir de Florence is so named because Tchaikovsky composed one of the work’s principal themes while on an extended stay in Florence, Italy, where he composed his opera The Queen of Spades. This work features two violins, two violas, and two cellos. At times, the piece is made of three duos, or a pair of trios, or a soloist with an accompanying quintet, or once in a great while, an expectant silence from all six. The 2013 Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival will conclude in rapturous melody, giving you a souvenir of your own.
Tickets to the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival range from $8 to $20 and are available at wwcmf.org.
Weddings at the Power House
Let your big day take place Center Stage at the Power House Theatre.
Walla Walla’s historic performing arts theatre is also a full-service wedding venue! With a certified Bridal Consultant, professional caterer, even limo service, we can provide you and your guests with the true Red Carpet treatment. We offer customizable wedding packages to meet every bride’s needs, and our staff is here to make sure that your big day is everything you imagined… and more!
Now accepting bookings for 2013 weddings!
Contact Rachael Buroker, Certified Bridal Consultant
RachaelB.pht@gmail.com
509.742.0739
Catering service available from Weinhard Café.
Limo Service available from Black Tie Wine Tours.
The Crystal Wall
The interior brick wall of the theatre is about to become a dramatic display of etched crystal panes and light! The Crystal Wall is an opportunity to show your support for the cultural livelihood of your community.
Support the Crystal Wall program in two ways:
Be part of the CenterStage - a dazzling evocation of the facade of the Gesa Power House Theatre - or place your name on a pane Stage Right or Stage Left. Purchase multiple panes and create your very own family tree, brought to life in state-of-the-art lighting and displayed at every performance in the theatre.
Make a statement. Light up the Crystal Wall!
Funds from the Crystal Wall program go towards the continued renovation of our historic facility. The 120 year-old building requires a final phase of renovation upgrades, and your contribution will help us get a new roof, atrium and courtyard!*
Two levels of contributions:
CenterStage: $300 per etched crystal pane
Stage Left or Stage Right: $200 per etched crystal pane
The details:
- Each crystal is hand-cut from heavy glass, measuring four by five inches, with your text etched into the reverse side, allowing for a unique display when the Crystal Wall is on and back-lit.
- Every crystal pane is custom etched locally in Walla Walla.
- Text is limited to thirty-six characters and/or spaces total.
Online: Through our website - Click here. Please note what you would like inscribed on your crystal (maximum 36 characters).
By check: Mail payment to the Power House Theatre, 111 North 6th Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362.
By automatic withdrawal from your bank: Download the Crystal Wall donation form here.
By phone: Call Rachael at 509-742-0739
*Your donation is not tax-deductible. The Power House Theatre LLC thanks you for your gift.
