Due to popular demand, Spoleto Festival USA announced today that they will add a performance of “Monkey: Journey to the West.” The new performance will be June 1 at noon.

The festival reminds us: Called ‘Simply a piece of musical theater of the most spectacular kind,’ by The Times of London, Monkey is the remarkable brainchild of an international team of three innovative artists: Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng, whose Peony Pavilion achieved great success at the 2004 Spoleto Festival USA and the British artists behind the award-winning animated band Gorillaz, Damon Albarn (composer) and Jamie Hewlett (visual concept and animation.)

A huge success at its premiere at the Manchester International Festival earlier this year and subsequent performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, this ‘circus opera’ makes its American premiere at Spoleto Festival USA.

Tickets for “Monkey: Journey to the West” and all 2008 Spoleto Festival USA performances are available online at www.spoletousa.org and by phone at )843) 579-3100.

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According to Piccolo, here’s what’s hot this year. Piccolo, supposedly the Little Sister to the Big Festival, has hundreds and hundreds of events. Once we have plowed through the program, we’ll tell ya what we think. You can get Piccolo’s e-newsletter by signing up at the Web site.

Also note that: Piccolo’s annual Reggae Block Dance is moving to a new location in 2008…Marion Square.
REGGAE BLOCK DANCE
Saturday, May 24, 2008 from 7-11pm
SLICE International headlines this annual outdoor music event favorite! Enjoy the pulsating rhythms of the Caribbean as Piccolo brings African drumming, dance and reggae music to Marion Square.

CUBAN BLOCK PARTY
Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 7-11pm
The Jazz Artists of Charleston bring the sounds and flavor of Cuba to Marion Square with a concert featuring the Garage Cuban Band, followed by headliner Havana Son.

TICKET BROCHURES AND PROGRAM GUIDES:
Ticket brochures have arrived and are in the mail! If you can’t wait to get one, go to a Charleston Area Publix Super Market to get your free copy or go to the Gaillard Auditorium in Downtown Charleston.

Wondering What the Hot Tickets are So Far For This Year’s Festival?

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Choral Artists: Sandlapper Singers / Early Music: Vivaldi Guitar Concertos / Spotlight Concerts: St. Petersburg String Quartet at Mepkin Abbey / Young Artists: CofC “Broadway Highlights”

DANCE: Dance Festival / Great Gig Dance Ensemble / Twisted Tango

JAZZ AND BLUES: Harbor Cruise: Rolling on the River Review / Ann Caldwell in John Street Jazz / Tommy Gill Trio Upstairs at Mistral / The Voice of Wanda Johnson

MUSICAL THEATRE: Always Patsy Cline / PIAF: Love Conquers All / God’s Trombones /

PICCOLO FRINGE: A Complete History of Charleston For Morons / Harvard Sailing Team / I Live Next Door to Horses / Cody Rivers Spectacular II

SPECIAL EVENTS: An Afternoon of Porgy & Bess / The Lovell Sisters / Charleston Men’s Chorus / Memorial Day Concert / Na Fidleiri

THEATRE: The Mammologues / All About Bette / A Devil Inside / The Tragedian

It’s hard to believe it’s already Spoleto time, but here we go! One of the best pre-festival events is this Friday, May 2, at which you get to eat and drink and buy tickets at a discount. Everyone is invited and there’s no charge. A pretty fine way to spend a lovely afternoon, if you ask me. I’ll be there with bells on my toes. Come say hi.

Here are the official details:
Spoleto Festival USA’s Fifth Annual Taste of Spoleto

What: A free event where you can buy discounted festival tickets to select performances at a 20% discount to Monkey: Journey to the West, Laurie Anderson, Boston Ballet, La Cenerentola, Bank of America Chamber Music concerts, Wachovia Jazz concerts, The Burial at Thebes, and much more. You will be able to watch performance video of upcoming events and get your hands on the official poster for the 2008 festival Enjoy Lowcountry nibbles from Tidewater Foods & Catering.

When: 4 - 7 pm, Friday, May 2

Where: Gaillard Auditorium, 77 Calhoun Street

Sponsors: Taste of Spoleto is made possible through the generosity of All Occasions Party Rentals, Charleston Brewing Company, Coca-Cola, Dedicato de Patris LLC, and Tidewater Foods & Catering LLC

Rumor around the Big Festival has it that some additional seats will be opening up for select performances of Rubberbanddance Group and Aurelia’s Oratoria, both hot tickets this year.

Availabitily is limited, but those extra seats will be available for purchase on Saturday at the Spoleto box office at Gaillard Auditorium. Call 570-3100 to inquire.

Other fast sellers, we hear, are The Gate Theatre’s production of “The Constant Wife” at the Dock Street and Shen Wei Dance Arts.

I can’t believe I’ve lived in Charleston so long and never managed to go to the “Taste of Spoleto.” Last night’s free event at the Gailliard Audiotorium, was, well, yummy. The ostensible reason for the party is to offer Lowcountry residents a chance to preview the festival and purchase discounted tickets for performances. There were also special promotions such as coupons for free Wachovia Jazz CDs and 2-for-1 tickets to Swan Lake.

Here’s my disclaimer before I dish: I’m not the food critic or wine connoisseur or art reviewer. We’ve got much more knowledgeable people for that. I’ve got a much better job. I get to enjoy the ride and write about it. You are, of course, invited to share too. Comment on this blog or email me at jedens@postandcourier.com.

So, back to the party: Once the business of checking out the coming attractions and buying tickets was done, what a good time! The food was a fabulous spread from Lowcountry Eats, with such treats as cucumber sandwiches, pimento sandwiches, Key Lime Tarts, Blonde Chewies and Peaches-N-Cream Cheesecake. Intrepid PC newsroom adminstrator Becky Baulch and I were compelled, of course, to try it all in the interest of good reporting.

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VERY SUPERSTITIOUS PARTY

Friday night
8-11 p.m.
Visitor’s Center Bus Shed
375 Meeting Street
$7 for students, $13 for everybody else

WEB SITE

Why?
Here’s the press release:

Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs/C of C
Raise Funds for Students

On Friday, April 13th from 8 to 11 p. m., at the Visitor’s Center Bus Shed
(375 Meeting Street), the City of Charleston’s Office of Cultural Affairs and C of C’s Arts Management Program, School of the Arts will host an event titled Very Superstitious.
Admission is a lucky $7 for students (with a valid ID) and $13 general admission. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made payable to the College of Charleston Foundation.

The Office of Cultural Affairs and Arts Management have maintained a close relationship since 1999.  Cultural Affairs currently hosts two fellowships for Arts Management students where they complete work for the annual Piccolo Spoleto Festival and the City Gallery at Waterfront Park.

The fundraiser is planned as a course assignment by students in Professor Karen Chandler’s Advanced Arts Management classes.  Proceeds from the event will create an Arts Management Student Fund, the first of its kind to assist students with internships, present guest speakers, and to provide other networking opportunities for students majoring in Arts Management.  Students are gaining experience in the arts industry and in event planning by working with visual artists and musicians, soliciting funds and in-kind donations, and designing promotional material.

Professor Chandler’s classes have hosted similar events including RocKatrina in 2005.  $7,500 was donated to Atlanta-based Southern Arts Federation to assist them in helping visual and performing artists affected by Hurricane Katrina.  The students’ efforts were featured in an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Other class events have included Sweet Suite Sounds on the Stern Center Grounds that raised funds for the Charleston Jazz Initiative, a college-community jazz history and research project of the Arts Management Program in collaboration with C of C’s Avery Research Center, and Crescent Moon Bash, a membership drive for the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art which named Halsey’s first student membership level.

Very Superstitious, held on the unluckiest of nights, will feature headliner, Toca Toca, a Latin jazz and samba band led by College of Charleston alumni: Leah Suarez (vocals), David Linaburg (guitar),

Tickets may be purchased at C of C for students or at the door. For details, check the event website as well as www.cofc.edu/artsmanagement, or contact Alex Eichler at alexandra.eichler@gmail.com (864-616-3508), or Professor Karen Chandler at chandlerk@cofc.edu or 843-953-5474.