Mom and Dad are in town, and they brought your little sister.
Face it: You’re not going to the usual parties. You are going to have to entertain your family.
“Nicholas Nickleby” is playing on campus, but you don’t want the two-night commitment. Fortunately, there is always an array of performing arts in Eugene.
A good place to start your search for theater or performance entertainment is the Hult Center’s event line at 682-5000.
From the Eugene Symphony Orchestra to the Eugene Ballet Company to Tracy Chapman, the Hult Center for the Performing Arts offers a host of performances suited to an array of crowds.
In addition to the entertainment it houses, the Hult center is “just a beautiful building,” according to Chelsea Laird, programming and marketing associate at the Hult Center.
This weekend there are performances at the Hult both Friday and Saturday nights.
Friday night’s performance is called “A Song Can Take You There.” According to Sandra Brown Williams, the local artist who is performing in, producing and directing the show, it will be a musical review of 20th-century popular music.
The Hult Center is a ‘beautiful building’ both inside and out (top and right) and is home to the Eugene Symphony Orchestra (above).
He said the show will be like a “whirlwind through the century,” from traditional children’s songs to the theme from the movie “Titanic” to swing-era songs and dance numbers. “It’ll be really magical, and everyone in the family can enjoy it,” Williams said.
“A Song Can Take You There” features a number of local singers, dancers and musicians, including University students and faculty. The show is at 8 p.m. Friday.
Saturday night’s performance at the Hult Center will also feature local talent.
Saturday at 7 p.m., “A Time for Healing” will be presented as a fund raiser for Ribbon of Promise, a non-profit agency formed after the Thurston High School shooting.
“A Time for Healing” is a program of drama and music that will explore the stages of grief and focus on individual and community-wide healing. There will be performers from the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, the University Gospel Ensemble and the Don Latarski Trio. In addition, Mayor Jim Torrey will speak.
If you and the folks are feeling more theater than musical, there are other options this weekend.
The Lord Leebrick Theatre will host plays on Friday and Saturday nights.
Friday night’s performance, “Beyond Therapy,” will show at 8 p.m. The play is described as a “masterful send-up of the psychiatric world.” The comedy contains some strong language and adult situations.
Saturday’s performance at Lord Leebrick will be more suited for families with younger members. “Noonie’s Masterpiece in Purple” is an interactive theater piece that has toured in elementary schools in New Mexico and is currently touring Lane County. The plot of “Noonie’s Masterpiece” centers on a 10-year-old artist who is visited in her imagination by artists such as Georgia O’Keefe and Pablo Picasso.
“This play is filled with warmth [and] humor … It teaches us that we need not be ashamed of what makes us different,” Lisa Railsback, the creator of the play, said.
The Lord Leebrick Theatre Company is located at 540 Charnelton St. Call 465-1506 for more information
