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Arts & Entertainment

Red Bank Theater Watch: Elvis is in the Building

Check out what's happening at Count Basie and Two River Theater this week.

This week, Elvis is in the building once again, as presents the eighth annual Elvis Birthday Bash.

Also on the agenda this week is the Songwriter’s Workshop with Gordon Brown, and the original play Playback: One Child at Two River Theater.

On Friday, Jan. 20, the annual Elvis Birthday Bash returns for its eighth consecutive year. The Elvis Birthday Bash at the Count Basie is a night of fun that people of all ages look forward to. This year, the show will star two top of the line Elvis performers; Scot Bruce and Mike Albert.

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The Count Basie Elvis Birthday Bash will highlight the two stars’ talents in one night.

Bruce will take the stage first and performs as the young, 1950’s and 60’s style Elvis, complete with swiveling hips and black leather. Albert will play the second half of the show as the legendary late career Elvis. Both men will showcase their extraordinary talents and bring Elvis back from the beyond, if only for one night.

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The Elvis of the 1950’s and 60’s is brought to life by Los Angles based artist Bruce. His uncanny resemblance to the young Elvis Presley and his mesmerizing performance skills have helped his Elvis Tribute Show sell out venues throughout the United States and abroad. CNN has described Bruce’s show as “the closest one can get to Elvis in the flesh.”  

Albert, whose hometown is Memphis, Tennessee, is known for his Ultimate Tribute Show in which he portrays the late Elvis Presley. Albert performs with a seven piece band in order to replicate the musical sounds of Elvis in his later career. He was the winner of the 1996 Images of Elvis Contest in Memphis and has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and A Current Affair with Maury Povich.  

Coming to the stage at on Saturday, Jan. 21 and Sunday, Jan. 22 is the original play Playback: One Child. This unique play was developed over the course of three months through Two River Theater’s PlayBack theater education program. 

The play, which was inspired by the students own lives and experiences, brings together ten students from seven different high schools. The story highlights their struggles with education, growing pains, and their desire to be seen and understood in an original play inspired by Nilaja Sun’s No Child.

The play was written and performed by Liz Ditzel, Sophia Gutchinov, Catherine Healey, Evelyn Lumish, Princess Thomas, Chloe Triolo, Lauren Viggiani, Maddie Walsack, Jeianeira Woods, and Annie Zucker, in collaboration with Lauren Feldman and Pirronne Yousefzadeh.

Also on the agenda this week is the Songwriter’s Workshop with Gordon Brown, which is presented by the Count Basie Theatre Performing Arts Academy on Friday, Jan. 20. 

Brown is a NJ native who has written full records for his bands Highway Nine, Samhill and Mr. Reality. Brown has also worked with major Nashville songwriters and new artists Alex Brumel, Rick Barry, Jerzy Jung, Natalie Stovall and Corey Wagar. Wagar is a new country artist, and Brown co-wrote her debut single Hurricane. The song is currently creeping its way up the country charts, and is in heavy rotation on the Jersey Shore's very own Thunder 106.

In his workshops, Brown urges students to center on the process of expressing feelings, one of the most crucial elements in any good song. Brown helps build students confidence and helps give them the “courage to say what you need to say.”

Brown has spent the past year on the road performing and touring with Natalie Stovall, Jessie James and Corey Wagar. 

Schedule:

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012: Elvis Birthday Bash, 8 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012: Songwriters Workshop with Gordon Brown, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012: Playback: One Child, Two River Theater, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012: Playback: One Child, Two River Theater, 2 p.m.

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