SU performers to present benefit for The Redhouse beginning April 1

SU performers to present benefit for The Redhouse beginning April 1March 17, 2005Jaime Winne Alvarez jlwinne@syr.edu

All is not fair in the world of love and relationships-but why cry about it? Beginning April 1, performers from Syracuse University will stage a humorous cabaret-style revue of the uneasy side of love. “Mean to (All of) Me: A Codependent Songbook,” is a collection of vignettes that spoof both songs about love interests-a theme which comprises 98 percent of American popular music-and the self-help books people write to get over them. Performances will benefit The Redhouse, a new, state-of-the-art multi-function arthouse at the gateway of Syracuse’s Armory Square.

The benefit brings SU faculty and staff members into the community to support the new arts space. University performers include singers Carole Brzozowski, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and Hanna Richardson, assistant dean of undergraduate programs in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management; music director Joseph Downing, associate professor in the Rose, Jules R., and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music; and Sandra Hurd, professor of law and public policy in the Whitman School. The group of performers also includes noted jazz singer Maria De Angelis, a Syracuse native.

The performers bring a wealth of experience to the stage. De Angelis was nominated for a 2002 SAMMY Award for Best Jazz Vocalist and Richardson, along with husband Phil Flanigan, has produced two highly acclaimed jazz CDs, one of which won the 2004 SAMMY for best jazz recording. Soprano Brzozowski regularly performs regionally and internationally, most recently in Italy. Music director Downing’s compositions have received numerous awards, including the Otswald Award of the American Bandmaster’s Association. He is currently working on a full-length opera, preliminary sketches for an oratorio and his second symphony. Narrator Hurd has spent 20 years behind the scenes in the local theater community. This performance brings her on stage for the first time since a ballet recital in grammar school.

The production opens April 1 at 8 p.m. Tickets for opening night are $30 and include an opening-night reception. Additional performances will take place April 2, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m., and April 3 at 4 p.m. Tickets for these shows are $20 each.

The Redhouse benefit is part of “University as Public Good: Exploring the Soul of Syracuse,” the year-long exploration designated by Chancellor Nancy Cantor to engage the University and its extended communities in the exploration of “soul” during her inaugural year.

All performances take place at The Redhouse, 201 West St., Syracuse. For ticket reservations and more information, call (315) 425-0405 or visit http://www.theredhouse.org.