PRESS RELEASE: WILLIAMS WORKS WONDERS, GAMBOA GETS BLUES.

Posted by Ricardo G. on May 27, 2008

School Shows

PRESS RELEASE: WILLIAMS WORKS WONDERS, GAMBOA GETS BLUES.

CHICAGO, IL—It is a typical Barrel of Monkeys rehearsal at Loyola Park: Actors working stages so hard with their dramatic reinterpretations of student stories that they register on the Richter scale.  Artistic Director Laura Grey gets to her feet and in trying to make a note clear to refine the raw energy of her cast, flexes her own acting chops—the rooms bursts into laughter at her demonstration. 

This is the penultimate practice before the Orchard Place School Show.  And like any Barrel of Monkey’s rehearsal, it is filled with manic energy and mucho talent. However, the Orchard Place School Show is surely singular in this year’s Monkey season. 

“The show is going to be great.  Really.  They’re awesome, the stories are awesome.  Yeah, its gonna be great,” asserts Grey.

However, it is not just the usual commendable quality of cast and content that makes the Orchard Place School Show special, nor is it that this school show represents BOM’S annual venture outside of CPS schools to the suburbs—No.  The Orchard Place School Show is unique for an entirely different reason:

Eclipses, Hailey’s comet, the alignment of planets and stars in particular fashions, the passing of Earth into the Age of Aquarius.  These are the scientific phenomenon whose rare occurrences we do not take lightly, we hurry and huddle at telescopes or stare at sky in green fields on a purple midnight.  The solo singing debut of Ricardo Gamboa during the Orchard Place School Show can be added to this list of modern wow.

Gamboa, a performance juggernaut indeed, does not shy away from preoccupations and truth: “You know that saying, ‘Jack-of-all-trades, master at none.’  It different for me.  Something more like, ‘Jack-of-all-trades, master at many.’  But, I ain’t ‘bout to lie.  One thing I cannot do: sing.”

He is not lying:  Rumors state the Museum of Science & Industry even approached Gamboa once or twice earlier this year with an interest to record him singing to see if they can use it as psychological warfare on mosquitoes to make Chicago summers more enjoyable. 

Not surprising, Curtis Williams shocked show cast and Company at large with news that he had written a song for Gamboa to lead.  He elaborates: “Yeah, well… He’s just shy of horrible.  But, in Monkey’s we believe ‘every idea is good idea.’  And I asked myself, ‘Why not?’”

“I’ve been one of Gamboa’s biggest fans.  I mean he is… well, brilliant for so many reasons.  I figured, I’ll write a song to highlight all the things that make him brilliant,” says Williams.

William has taken the true story misfortune of repeated bus passing and subsequent tardiness of student Jovan and turned it into a high energy, soulful blues blow-out that’s already bringing buzz.

“I’m taking off work and hangin’ outside of school, hopefully they’ll let me in to see him,” said a regular patron and tremendous Gamboa fan at That’s Weird Grandma, BOM’s long-running public show.  “This is like going to see The Beatles.  Except, like this time, there’s only one Beatle.”

Indeed, people are surely to be all involved in this event, but there a little more tension behind the curtain:

“Look, Ricky is amazing, but honestly, his voice scares me.  Like I’ve had to stop rehearsals when he was singing because I thought there was a dying wild animal in the room and it really was only him joining in on a chorus,” says Grey.

She adds: “That said, Curtis has worked wonders, because Gamboa sounds great and gets the blues.  Maybe it’s the Southside in him.”

Either way: Grab your telescopes.  Or maybe you won’t need them.  The singing constellation arranged by Curtis, bright with the usual musical comedic powerhouses of the cast, but this time with Gamboa as the North Star is sure to be beautifully blinding. 

Parties interested in catching this freakish first may attend the Orchard Place School Show on May 28 or wait for its sure-fire induction into That’s Weird Grandma in 2008-2009.