By LAUREN L. GLISSON
Education Week will not only be inspiring and motivating, but entertaining as well. BYU offers a culturally-enriched nightlife for Education Week participants by providing a unique assortment of evening performances.
This year’s performances include The Goodman Family, James Oneil Miner, a musical, “Wedlocked” and the Tonda Traditional Japanese Puppets.
The Goodman Family will perform for their first time at BYU Education Week. According to the Education Week Schedule of Events, the show features a lot of music, brilliant costuming, rear-screen video projection and constant variety.
The Goodmans portray a powerful message about the family through laughter, tears and deep emotion. The songs are written primarily by Kenneth Cope and relay themes of the importance of father, mother, children and eternal relationships. The Goodmans said they also want to share the importance of standing up for the family and how to succeed as a family, even in difficult circumstances.
The Goodman Family will perform in the de Jong Concert Hall August 17-20 at 7 p.m.
Another musical performance during Education Week will feature James Oneil Miner, a concert pianist and popular entertainer from Orem. According to the Schedule of Events, Miner’s ability to play by ear and his style has been compared to the great Roger Williams. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as internationally.
He will play a mixture of the world’s most loved songs and some of his own compositions. In addition, the singing trio, ProClaim will perform with Miner. ProClaim features the voices of Tamalin Christen, Melesa Kohler and Maria Miner, his daughters. Miner and ProClaim will perform in the Madsen Recital Hall August 17-20 at 7:30 p.m.
Real-life husband and wife Marvin and Laurie Payne will play the “happy couple” in a new musical, “Wedlocked.” According to the Schedule of Events, this musical takes a married couple away from the cares of their busy lives and all the things that interfere with their relationship. While sounding like a second honeymoon paradise, the audience can come to find out whether or not they get out alive.
This musical, created by Marvin Payne and Steven Kapp Perry, will show in the Pardoe Theatre, August 17-20 at 8 p.m.
In contrast to the other evening performances, the Tonda Traditional Japanese Bunraku Puppets will give a workshop and a performance August 18-19. The demonstration and workshop will run from 5:50 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Nelke Theatre and is open to all ticket holders. The performance will begin in the Nelke Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
According to the Tonda Traditional Japanese Puppet Website, the Japanese puppet theatre developed before the year 1600. The Tonda Bunraku troupe traces its origins to the early 1800s. Today the word Bunraku is generally used to describe the three-man form of puppet manipulation by this puppet troupe.
The puppet performance will tell stories of courage and sorrow, love, loss and loyalty, bringing the drama and spectacle of Japan to the BYU stage, according to the Education Week Schedule of Events.
Tickets for all performances go on sale August 17 and may not be purchased before that date. Tickets are $7 for all performances for both Education Week participants and non-participants. The BYU Fine Arts Events Ticket Office is located in the southwest corner on the main main floor of the Harris Fine Arts Center.
