Southeastern Louisiana University

Author John Barry, Aquila Theatre Company highlight Fanfare's second week

Contact: Christina Chapple

10/2/06

EDITORS: Additional high resolution photos can be downloaded at www.columbiatheatre.org/fanfaremedia06_photos.html.

CAPTIONS …
(1) FANFARE HEADLINER – Award-winning author John Barry will headline Fanfare’s second week with a lecture on Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.

(2) HISTORY GOES TO THE MOVIES – At each Fanfare, a member of Southeastern Louisiana University’s Department of History and Political Science faculty presents a lecture highlighting how Hollywood treats history. This year, Margaret Gonzalez-Perez looks at “Reel Arabs” on Oct. 11, 1 p.m., at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.

 (3) SELDOM SEEN ARTWORK – Marjorie Morrison and Michael Ledet are the curators for an exhibit featuring artwork from local collections, opening with a reception Oct. 12 from 5-7 p.m. at the Hammond Regional Arts Center in downtown Hammond.

 (4) SHAKESPEARE’S GREATEST LOVE STORY – The Aquila Theatre Company, a Fanfare favorite, will return to the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. with “Romeo and Juliet.”

     HAMMOND – Author John Barry is the highlight of Fanfare’s second week as well as the headliner of the 2006 season of Southeastern Louisiana University’s annual October festival of the arts.

     The author of “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America” and “The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History,” Barry shares the week two spotlight with the Fanfare favorite Aquila Theatre Company which returns to the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts with Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

     Barry, a prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author, is a recognized expert in a variety of areas, including infectious disease, rivers, crisis management, and the media. His books have won more than 20 awards. He will speak on the politics of crisis on Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theatre.

     Tickets are $12, adults; $10, senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni; $8, group rate; $5, non-Southeastern students. Southeastern students will be admitted free with their university I.D.

     Barry’s award-winning books explore the themes of uneven technological progress and how social, economic, and political forces create conditions that worsen “natural” disasters in spite of our best technological know-how. The lessons learned in the way political leaders exacerbated the problems caused by these disasters and the mistakes made in the emergency response still resonate today, particularly in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the potential threat of another pandemic flu.

     After Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Congressional delegation asked Barry to chair a bipartisan working group on flood control. He is co-originator of Riversphere, a $125 million center being developed by Tulane University that will be the first facility in the world dedicated to comprehensive river research.

     He has been keynote speaker at an international scientific meeting on influenza at the National Academy of Sciences, a White House conference on the Mississippi Delta, at many conferences and university functions. The National Academy of Sciences asked him to give the 2006 Abel Wolman Distinguished Lecture. He has appeared on every news network, including such shows as “Meet the Press.” He is a frequent guest on NPR and the BBC, has contributed to award-winning television documentaries, and has written for such publications as Fortune, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Esquire, and The Washington Post.

     Barry is currently Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier universities.

     The Aquila Theater Company will return to the Columbia Theatre stage on Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. This season the company has chosen “Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare’s unmatched vision of uncompromising true love. Set in the city of Verona, the compelling and tragic events spawned by two great Italian families’ ancient feud are as gripping and dynamic to today’s audiences as they were to Londoners 400 years ago. Aquila’s highly talented ensemble of British and American actors creates a stylistic adaptation that focuses on the story’s major themes and brings the text vividly to life.

     Tickets are $22, adults; $20, senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni; $18, group rate; $12, non-Southeastern students; and $8, Southeastern students.

     Also on the second week schedule are:

     -- Sunday With the Arts featuring the Centenary Choir on Oct 8 at 3 p.m. at Hammond’s First United Methodist Church, 2200 Rue Denise. For six decades the Centenary College Choir has concertized throughout the world, singing for heads of state, armed forces, and international conventions; presenting two lengthy engagements at New York’s Radio City Music Hall; and appearing at Christmas receptions in the White House. Years of extensive travel have earned the ensemble the title of “America’s Singing Ambassadors.” A reception honoring the choir will follow their concert.

     -- The Then and Now lecture series sponsored by Southeastern’s Department of History and Political Science continues. On Oct. 11, 1 p.m., at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium Margaret Gonzalez-Perez will present “History Goes to the Movies, Episode Six: Reel Arabs.” The department’s international relations specialist and author of a forthcoming study of women terrorists, She will examine stereotypes of Arabs found in modern popular film, the origin of these stereotypes, and how they have changed since Sept. 11, 2001.

     -- the Oscar-nominated French film “Les Choristes” on Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall. The free film, part of the Fanfare foreign film series, is rated PG and subtitled in English.

     -- the opening reception for “Seldom Seen,” an exhibit of artwork from local private collections. The reception is scheduled for Oct. 12 from 5-7 p.m. at the Hammond Regional Arts Center, 217 E. Thomas St., in downtown Hammond. Curated by Marjorie Morrison and Michael Ledet, the exhibit will be on display through Oct. 26. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.

     -- The Berry Patch Quilt & Art Expo in downtown Ponchatoula on Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ponchatoula’s historic downtown area will be draped with colorful quilts while the Community Center, 300 N. 5th St., will house quilts, dolls, demonstrations, art and a merchants’ mall. Afternoon fun includes a “Kids Corner” in the heart of town. Outdoor events are free; Community Center admission is $5. Information is available at (985) 386-7600 or www.berrypatchproductions.com.

     -- “Stories and Jazz” for children on Oct. 14, 10:30 a.m. at the Hammond library, 314 E. Thomas St. The free event will blend stories and toe-tapping jazz in a morning of musical and literary fun.

     Fanfare tickets are available online at columbiatheatre.org and at the Columbia box office, 220 East Thomas St., Hammond, (985) 543‑4371. Box office hours are noon to 5 p.m., weekdays, and one hour before performance time for events at the Columbia Theatre.