 | asheville business & community directory |
|
This is an archived page that may contain outdated or incorrect information. Please visit www.Asheville.com for the latest news, events, and more.
Former Denver resident and Asheville transplant Murphy Funkhouser will show off the junk in her trunk(s) in the autobiographical one-woman show Crazy Bag to benefit the Asheville Community Theatre and Youth Scholarships. Three performances, each at 7:30pm, will be presented on ACT�s Mainstage from March 25th through March 27th.Asheville is not unfamiliar with the show. Running tech for this show is Asheville resident Michael Notartomaso. Crazy Bag was performed here in 2009 as part of the North Carolina Stage Company�s Catalyst Series. Of that performance, the Mountain Xpress said, �The evidence is overwhelming: Crazy Bag is a show that many people will love, and that everyone will find memorable�. In its premiere at the 2007 Colorado Theatre Festival, Crazy Bag won Best Set, Best Director (Denver Post Ovation winner Christopher Willard), and All State Actress (Denver Post Ovation nominee Funkhouser) honors. From there, Crazy Bag went on to play full houses in Breckenridge, Aspen, Denver, Albuquerque and Oklahoma City and was accepted into the 2008 San Francisco Fringe Festival. The show was listed as one the Denver Post�s 10 Shows to See and has been called both �Brilliant� by the Denver Out Front and �Buzz-worthy� by the Denver Post. Reviewed as both �heart-wrenching� and �hilarious�, the show has been well received by critics and audiences alike. Reviewer David Marlowe acclaimed �The adorable Murphy Funkhouser is one of the most expressive and charismatic actors you will ever see. She has a smile that lights up the room! Her comic timing is superb. [She] is one of the brightest stars currently rising on the horizon. . . Go and see this superb new talent.� �Everyone has some kind of baggage-something they are carrying through life,� Funkhouser explains. �This show will touch everyone for different reasons. It is the universal tale of coming to terms with your life and finding your personal redemption.� Once a rebellious minister�s daughter who dropped out of Bible College, lived in her car and called 6 cities home in 10 years, Funkhouser wakes one morning to find the baggage of her life has spilled out. She must sort and unpack to determine how to help her daughter avoid making the same mistakes. Funkhouser � happy she can now laugh about her past- makes healthy use of humor while unloading her burdens. The show is a fast-paced revelation of a remarkable, frequently outrageous journey from barroom to motherhood, rebellion to redemption. �This is a funny show,� says Funkhouser. �But it also has the capacity to be life changing. The term �baggage� is fraught with negative connotations. I want to reclaim the word. Baggage is the treasure of our travels� our souvenirs.� Funkhouser used her life savings to produce and tour the show nationally in 2008 because she believes so strongly in its message. �Claiming your baggage is liberating. I dream of a day people drag their baggage into the front yard and dancing in celebration of it. There is no shame in the life well-traveled.� As the Denver Post put it, you want to see the show because of �the young woman who emerged from all that � (adorably) damaged and yet ferociously ebullient. It's also that Funkhouser is a solid writer and expert comedian who knows how to pen and pack a punch line.� For tickets or more information, please visie www.ashevilletheatre.org. (Image provided by ACT.)
Looking for more happenings in the area? Check out Asheville.com's comprehensive visitor center.
|
