Every arts event is a success story.
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The Augusta Players rehearse a scene from the musical Evita.
Mike Adams/Special
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Soprano Deborah Voigt performs with the Augusta Symphony, conducted by Donald Portnoy, at First Baptist Church in Augusta.
Michael Holahan/Staff
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Every time and actor steps onto a stage, it's a success. Every time a piece of music is played, it's a success. Every time a dancer dances, a painter paints and a singer sings, it's a success.
The creative process, in and of itself, is success, which is why the extraordinary moments, the moments when artistic intent and performance reality are one in the same, are so special. Below are 10 local productions that exceeded expectations and reminded us that mankind's greatest gift is the ability to imagine and then make it happen:
JIMMY SCOTT: The fact that Augusta-bred filmmaker Matthew Buzzell was able to capture the life and music of nearly lost musical legend Jimmy Scott on film is incredible. The fact that he was able, with the help of Paine College, to bring both the movie, Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew, and the man to Augusta is extraordinary. The opportunity to become acquainted with an artist and then experience his talent firsthand was a rare and riveting treat.
EVITA: A big, bold and technically demanding production, Andrew Lloyd Weber's Evita is rarely produced by community theatre companies. Bucking the trend, the Augusta Players attacked the problems of staging the operatic story of Eva Peron and ended up with a multidimensional multimedia production that ranks among Augusta's best.
THE AUGUSTA SYMPHONY'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: The Augusta Symphony celebrated its golden anniversary in the grandest style, commissioning a new piece from acclaimed composer Stephen Paulus and contracting opera star Deborah Voigt to perform the vocal arrangement. The performance placed Augusta, if for one short evening, at the epicenter of contemporary classical music.
FOREVERLY: Best known as the principal male dancer at the Augusta Ballet, Thomas Shoemaker added choreographer to his rsum when he debuted his first work. Based on the life and music of the Everly Brothers, ForEverly offered Augusta audiences an opportunity to enjoy an old friend at the beginning a new career.
THE TEMPEST: An interesting amalgamation of Behind the Masque's devotion to public performance and a need to function as a "legitimate" arts institution, the company's al fresco production of Shakespeare's The Tempest at the Georgia Gold Hall of Fame Botanical Gardens was a bold, bright and truly courageous attempt to evolve the art of theatre to fit the Behind the Masque model.
SYMBIOSIS: For its Symbiosis exhibition, the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History offered artists an opportunity to challenge themselves aesthetically, inviting them to produce work that incorporated real bugs. The amazing results not only increased the insect world's aesthetic credibility but also showcased the diverse talent of Augusta's visual community.
THE MORRIS MUSEUM OF ART'S FOLK ART FESTIVAL: Delivering on folk art's promise of populist beauty, the Morris offered artists and art lovers alike an opportunity to embrace the affluence-free world of folk art. The big crowd-pleaser was a gathering of art cars, funky automobiles customized with everything from paint to plastic toys.
BAKER OVERSTREET: The exhibition of work by Augusta artist Baker Overstreet at the Mary Pauline Gallery in January might have been our last chance to see the young artist's work before the buzz begins. Enormously talented and imaginative, Mr. Overstreet seems destined for great things.
ARTS IN THE HEART OF AUGUSTA: After some growing pains in 2003, Augusta's annual arts festival returned this year with a real spirit of rejuvenation. Not only had the Germans returned (yay, sausage) but a reconfigured layout also made navigating the festival a breeze.
SECOND SAMUEL: Something of a sleeper, this play, presented by the Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre in May, was a technically challenging risk that involved tricky staging, true acting chops and running the risk of alienating an audience with an unexpected twist. It's success says a lot for the legacy of fine work at the dinner theater.
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
