Spring Salon Preview

Tonight there will be a special Spring Salon Preview hosted by Curious Frog Theatre Company and Opera Singers Initiative at NY Studio Gallery in Manhattan (154 Stanton St.). According to Shaun Bennet Wilson, who will be playing Juliet in two preview scenes from CFTC's upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet:

[T]here will be several (I'm told they're incredible) operatic pieces from Opera Singers Initiative, a preview of CFTC's upcoming production of True West (with a "non-traditional" cast), modern dance, orchestral music (featuring a beautiful solo piece for the cello) free wine, free gourmet food (Tapas, et al), and more creative things to make your art loving hearts tingle. We've got a little something for everyone!!!

It sure sounds like quite an evening from the Curious Frog's description:

Everybody loves a party. We hear you. The Spring Preview wouldn’t be much of a shindig without a little food and drink. Not to worry. Curious Frog knows how to make merry. Just ask anybody who came to our benefit for Much Ado About Nothing last fall, where between songs, musician Mark Pires did impressions of Christopher Walken playing Hamlet. Yep. The wine was that good. Need we say more?

The show begins at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $35, but there will be "Hugely discounted rush tickets available 20 minutes before the show begins!!" The proceeds will go toward producing True West at a found space in Manhattan in the spring. Romeo and Juliet will play in August and September as part of Shakespeare in the Park.

Both the Curious Frog and the Opera Singers Initiative work toward broadening the experience of the arts.

Curious Frog:

Curious Frog's mission is to present new, modern and classical works with the goal of showing a new, multicultural perspective through non-traditional casting that does not hinder understanding or believing a work, but rather enhances the work in an innovative manner and fosters fresh perceptions.

Opera Singers Initiative:

The mission of Opera Singers Initiative is to provide educational services and financial support to young opera singers while increasing the public's interest in opera and classical music through the following through career development, funding and performance opportunities.

Before watching Romeo and Juliet, you may want to read the chapter "The Gospel of Jesus: Why William Shakespeare was a Prophet" in Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What, which is reprinted here. Miller beautifully explains God and love through Shakespeare's play.