Unbeatable: Every Moment Counts

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-16T09:12:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! Just wanted to update everyone about Unbeatable. Everyone here in Houston is safe and sound. We don't have power yet, but large parts of Houston are gaining power every day. We hope the theater will be back up and running in a couple of days. The cast has moved to some temporary housing, and we all can't wait to get back to Unbeatable! Stayed tuned for more info!

Meet Natalie Ellis!

2008-09-02T09:52:00.001-07:00

The amazing Natalie Ellis plays the Young Woman in Unbeatable, and she's here to give us the scoop.

Q. That picture is quite becoming!
A. Thank you. I don't think I am even capable of taking a serious picture.

Q. So Natalie, how's Houston treating you?
A. I will say it is nice to be away from home. and especially it is a good transition before moving to New York City, having all this time to myself to relax and focus. But i think its also a great bonding time for the cast since we are all out of town. But it is still hot, and I am ready to see a season.
Q. Phoenix is your home, but you have traveled alot, right?
A. Yes, right out of high school I started working on a cruise ship but it went bankrupt after 4 months and left us stranded in Maui (its a hard life!), and I was in Tokyo for almost a year. But Phoenix Theatre has been like my home. I feel like they raised me in a sense. It's where I got my Equity card, where I learned a sense of professionalism. I'm really lucky to have traveled this much and be only 25. But I am ready to be in New York, and be on land!

Q. So how are rehearsals going in Houston?
A. Long. No don't put that! But we have been in tech, and those are long hours, and I'm not involved in the major musical numbers that take alot of the time. It's weird going back into rehearsals after performing the show for a month; But everyone at Stages has been great, and tech is over, and now we are ready for a wholenew audience!

Q. What are your plans for today?
A. Well, I need to go to Best Buy because I think my camera is broke. I keep telling myself I am going to the gym, and maybe after that I will go to the pool. When we got here last week we went to Super Target and went crazy and bought TONS and TONS of food, I think we were delirious from traveling because we will never eat it all. Plus we just got a freezer full of fish from a friend of the theater. So basically we are going to eat all during Houston.

Q. I heard a rumor that there is a jungle fantasy in your apartment. What's that about???
A. (Laughs) We we don't really have a balcony. But we do have a double set of doors that open up to where a balcony would be with a railing right in front of the doors. And we also have a random plastic porch chair in our living room. So we set up some plants and the chair and pretend we have a porch. Thus, our jungle fantasy.

2008-08-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

CAROLE MACHIZ DONATES $5,000 to UNBEATABLE!
HUSBAND ROBERT TO MATCH!At the final performance of Unbeatable in Phoenix, Carole Machiz, a longtime supporter of theater in Phoenix, announced that she was donating $5,000 towards Unbeatable's New Yovrk City run in October! She then challenged her husband Robert to match her donation, and he very quickly accepted. Carole is a breast cancer survivor, and was so moved by the show that she came FOUR times!

Carole with cast member Natalie Ellis

Check us out on YouTube!

2008-08-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

look on our sidebar (to the right of the blogs), and click on our Your Tube video, featuring Michael Sample doing The Pharmacy Song. Here are some comments:

"I saw this musical and think it is amazing!! Cancer is a devastating diagnosis and Unbeatable handles it with humor, grace and touching empathy. 5 stars!"

"Can't wait to see the actual musical in NYC this fall! Looks great"

"Seeing this clip called "Pharmacy Song" reminds me of what a fantastic performance this was at the ONS Convention in May"

Check us out and leave us a comment!

Goodbye Phoenix!!!!!

2008-08-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Good bye Phoenix, we will miss you!!!! The costumes and set are getting packed up, and the cast gets on a plane tomorrow to start rehearsals in..........

HOUSTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We will have our first preview performance September 3. Click here to see what Stages is all about! Come see us and check out what this amazing show is all about!

Meet our new Ally!

2008-08-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! This is Cassie, and starting in Houston I will be playing best friend Ally in Unbeatable, so I thought I'd stop by and say a few things!

Q. When did you get here?
I just got to Phoenix last week. I actually just quit my job in Cleveland 3 days before I got called to come work on Unbeatable! I've been working with Laurie Frey, who is one of the creators, in her office for the last year on and off, and I actually played the Young Woman when the show workshopped in Cleveland, but i never expected this phone call! i had about 4 days to pack up my life in Cleveland, and now hear I am!

Q. Has the show changed alot since the last time you performed in it?
A. Well, songs have changed. Characters that used to be men are now women, and vice versa. Lyrics have changed but the music has stayed the same, that's the most confusing, because sometimes I want to sing the old stuff. But the message is still the same, and the core of the characters, especially the leads, are the same, which is great. They are these great, quirky real people, and the whole show just has a lot of heart.

Q. Are you alot like Ally?
A. I think so. Ally has a really big heart, and she's very loyal. She enjoys life, she just doesn't always have it under control. I am really loud and do things without thinking alot, and am an eternal optimist. I also constantly lose things and I let me emotions run away and my personal life is very messy. But i also have this really business side of me, where I am anal retentive about time. I hate being late. Usually I am REALLY early for appointments and i end up sitting in the parking lot so I don't look totally awkward sitting around in the waiting room for 45 minutes.

Q. Why do you live in Cleveland?
A. Haha, well i have to say I never would have imagined it would be the city i would live in for my 20's , but it is. I went to college there, and after spending some time on tour and in New York City, I took a job in arts management in Cleveland, and I just really like it there. I can do everything I want, and it's really cheap to live there, I have a great apartment right in the center of the city, I have wonderful friends there. For now, it's totally where I want to call my home base.

Q. So you work alot backstage, right?
A I do a little of everything. I love the collaboration in acting, but i love and need structure. I work mostly in theater management, I have a production company called Late Night Theatrics, I work with this amazing group called Theater Ninjas whenever I can. I am also an electrician and lighting designer, and when i was younger I was a cellist. It's random, but i have a very short attention span and constantly need to be learning new stuff.

Q. One more question and then we'll let you get back to rehearsal. How many different colors are in your hair?
A Um, it depends on the day. I think right now, about 4. like I said, short attention span. and can i say that picture is silly.

Q. Yea, well, it's not the New York Times. We're a little silly around here.
A Okay, fair enough.

Janet Carroll sings at X-treme Bean

2008-08-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Our very own Janet Carroll, who every night becomes Tracy's mom, spent her day off wowing the crowds at the X-treme bean Coffee Shop, throwing out an hour of jazz, standards, and Dixie. You can't hear her wail, but here are some pics:

The boys in the band:

Our very own Janet singing sweetly

Only 6 more performances in Phoenix to go! Then: on to Houston!!!!

Creator Laurie Frey in the Cleveland Plain Dealer

2008-08-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Check out the article on creator Laurie Frey in the Cleveland Plain Dealer!
click here

Unbeatable in Phoenix!

2008-08-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

After four weeks of rehearsal in summer Phoenix heat, Unbeatable opened to standing ovation!
Read our reviews:

Arizona Republic

Curtain Up

Also, a casting update: Starting in Houston, Cassie Goldbach will be playing best friend Ally. Cassie was first seen in the Cleveland workshop of Ally as the Young Prosecutor. She is hard at work in rehearsals in Phoenix right now!

Click here to hear a clip of star Kristy Cates singing "I'm Gonna Live"

Unbeatable goes to New York

2008-05-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

That's right everyone. Mark your calendars because Unbeatable will be opening at New World Stages in Manhattan on October 10, 2008.

Unbeatable, based on the true story of one woman's journey through breast cancer, started when Producer and Co-Creator Laurie Frey met with Michael Barnard, a director friend she recently worked with on the tour of Veggie Tales Live! "I always thought my story could be told through theater. I wanted a story about hope. I wanted other women to have hope. So I showed Michael my journal." Michael Barnard, the Producing Artistic Director of Phoenix Theater, then helped Laurie turn her story into a musical. Eric Coble soon joined the team to write the book. After a long search for a composer who could really tune into the pop-rock sound they were looking for, they found a perfect fit with composer lyricist team Todd Schroeder and Kevin Fisher. Kevin writes for the likes of Rascal Flatts, while Todd works with such greats as Angela Lansbery and Sam Harris. The team was complete.

After readings in Phoenix, Cleveland, and New York, Unbeatable is now ready to continue on its journey. With a highly anticipated opening in Phoenix in August, Unbeatable will then travel to Houston in September, with the New York premiere on October 10 at New World Stages.

We will be updating you with a full cast and ticket informations soon, so stay tuned!

Unbeatable pics

2008-05-20T12:33:00.001-07:00