The Ballad of Downtown Jake centers around the charming but helplessly drug addicted Jake Delmonico as he traverses the streets of New York City in a desperate search for eternal fame. In his struggle to become the next greatest saxophone player in history, the lives of Delmonico’s friends and enemies tangle and become the fire that destroy and rebirths love, lust, and hope in this skillfully crafted tale of the human experience.
Inspired by the poetry collection High Notes, written by PVCC Creative Writing Program founder, Lois Roma-Deeley, The Ballad of Downtown Jake mixes rhythmic prose with the spirited jazz of the 1950s, composed by PVCC Fine and Performing Arts Division chair, Christopher Scinto.
March 12th – 14th @ 7:30pm
Sunday March 15th @ 2:00pm
$8-$15 Admission.
*$4 additional ticket fee at the door 1 hour prior to performance.
ADVANCED TICKETS HERE: bit.ly/1BCKflW
The Center for Performing Arts
Paradise Valley Community College
18401 N. 32nd St
Phoenix AZ 85032
What I Did Last Summer - A Play by AR Gurney
In What I Did Last Summer fifteen year old Charlie is “captured” by an artsy woman who gives him a summer job in 1945, when World War II is still raging and there are fewer men around to work on her land. The boy’s employer is part bohemian and part Native American, and her values open him up to a world of natural simplicity and freedom very different from the contained and respectable world he is used to.
February 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th @ 7:30pm.
February 22nd & March 1st @ 2:00pm.
$4-$10 Admission.
Click HERE to purchase tickets *$4 additional ticket fee at the door 1‐hour prior to performance.
Press Release for Jan/Feb Events
Auditions for THE BALLAD OF DOWNTOWN JAKE
Auditions will be held January 22nd-24th for the new contemporary music drama, THE BALLAD OF DOWNTOWN JAKE, created by PVCC Fine Arts Faculty Dr. Christopher Scinto (music) and Dr. Lois Roma-Deeley (book & lyrics).
Synopsis: Against the backdrop of the 1950s Civil Rights Movement, an interracial love story unfolds. THE BALLAD OF DOWNTOWN JAKE, a contemporary music drama, explores four character’s struggles with addiction, redemption, hope and one last shot at fame.
Character Breakdown:
HARRY JONES—age 45 hustler, drug dealer and addicted to power and control, Tenor.
JAKE DELMONICO—age 34 jazz saxophone great, addicted to heroin, Baritone.
JASMINE JUNE—age 52 sometime blues singer, waitress, civil rights, Mezzo-Soprano.
SUGAR BABY HAYES—Age 27 blues singer, common-law wife to Jake addicted to alcohol, heroin and grief, Soprano.
ANGEL/Woman in Red—spirit of grace and redemption, addicted to hope, Soprano.
Other speaking roles include: RICHIE—Club Owner, PAWNBROKER, CUSTOMERS IN CLUB and MUSICIANS.
Auditions are by appointment only. Please call (602) 787-6595 to schedule an audition.