News from JAC Publishing & Promotions / New England Entertainment Digest

Despite ice damming damage, thawing ice mountains, and the most irregular weather New England has seen in years, JAC has got a few new titles for you to enjoy and consider. Check them out!

New Releases

Another selection from Evan Guilford-Blake is added to the JAC library - another touching full-length piece, Leavin' for Heaven. Leavin' for Heaven is an 80-minute dramedy about age, love of family, and the dignity of independence. Rawlie, a 79-year-old ex-baseball player whose career in the Negro Leagues was cut short by injury, lives in New York, unwilling to leave his memories and his 77-year-old best friend of nearly 60 years, Len, also a former ball player. Rawlie's daughter, Nollie (45), discovering he has a heart condition, tries to convince Rawlie to move to Atlanta to live with her and her family- an idea, much to her dismay, he resists. The situation is complicated when Len, visiting Rawlie one evening with his son, Josh (41), suffers a fatal heart attack. The entire ensemble is African America except for Nollie's husband, Rey, who is of Caribbean or Central-American descent. ISBN #1-60513-092-3; JAC #2010-0033. This title is also available via Amazon.com.

A third JAC release for William Allen is the full-length comedy Color-Blind Blues. Unbeknownst to the other, Luanne and Celia are in the hospital at the same time for reasons both of then require their eyes to be bandaged. Their son and daughter (respectively), Jesse and Lizzie, come to visit, and break the news to their mothers that they plan to marry... without their mothers being able to see that Lizzie is white and Jesse is black. What follows is a comedy of errors and false assumptions rooted in mutual racism. ISBN #1-60513-079-6; JAC #2010-0020. This title is also available via Amazon.com.

New from interJACtions contributor Michael Weems is a comic play called Bludgeon the Lime, which finds two couples - a tried and tired doctor and his society wife and a young lesbian couple who aren't quite revealed to the public - entering couples therapy to save their relationships. They meet Agatha who has instituted 'separation therapy' in hopes to reconnect her wayward clients. When the therapy goes awry, they each find a certain truth in distance from their significant others, and are faced with the choice of accepting this or breaking the rules to reach their desire. Bludgeon the Lime tells a comical tale that explores these divergent relationships and shows how a little space to breathe can do wonders. ISBN #1-60513-102-4; JAC #2011-0007. This title is also available via Amazon.com.

For more information about this or any of JAC's play selections, visit us online, or drop us an email!

Featured Headline

Irish Review to Benefit Sougegan Valley Boys & Girls Club and Nancy O Fund

MILFORD, NH: Traditional Irish song and dance will take center stage at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts, on March 5, 2011, at 7:00 PM. The annual Irish review show, A Little Bit of Ireland, features many talented area performers.

Host of the show is tenor John Ogrodowczyk of Hollis, who has sung for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park and recently played the role of "Father" (God) in the Amherst PTA production of Children of Eden. JohnO, as he is known, will again be singing his favorite Irish ballads in his own unique heartwarming style "This is our 11th annual show," says John. "It all started in the church hall where I did all the singing. But the show, to benefit the kids, has become a community event and a venue to bring very talented young performers together to have some fun and dazzle us all with their beautiful talent. And, oh yes, I get to sing a few numbers too."

John's guests will be a host of young and talented performers, featuring The McGonagle Irish Step Dancers with their beautiful traditional costumes; the Youth and Community Fiddle Orchestra who are sure to get you clapping; the wonderful sounds of the Souhegan Valley Chorus under the direction of Jennifer Erdody; the Shenanigans (Bill Cashman, Pete Sessions, Frank Woodard, and Susan Woodard) with their brand of Irish foot tapping tunes; John's son, "David O" Ogrodowczyk from Vermont, singing and playing his mandolin; Fiona Graham and her magical harp; Spirit Fiddle featuring champion fiddler Robin Warren & Guitarist Brian Clancey; Lauren and Hilary Gorgol, two champion Irish step dancers; Jared Holland, a NH Theater Award winner; new young solo artists and Surprise Leprechauns!

All proceeds from this Irish musical night will go towards the Nancy O Fund, part of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The Fund provides children, who may not otherwise have the chance, the opportunity to experience the joy and magic of the performing arts. The Nancy O Fund works primarily through local and community based arts programs offering support and tuition assistance to those in need and to those who assist others. Last year the Nancy O Fund donated the proceeds from the show to the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club's theater programs, the Riverbend Youth Company and the Riverbend School of Theater Arts and will do the same this year.

Tickets are $12, ages 10 and over. For tickets call Brown Paper at 800-838-3006, or visit "John O Sings," www.johnosings.com.