KU Presents! opens season with improv parody musical 'Shamilton!'

For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at or fax at 610-371-5193.

Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to .

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Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published.

Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing.

"Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Parody Musical" is coming to Kutztown University's Schaeffer Auditorium on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. to open the KU Presents! 2024-25 season.

The production, created by cast members of the famed Chicago improv musical group Baby Wants Candy, is sure to lift any drooping spirits with improvised raps and songs, dance and music and plenty of laughs.

Tickets for "Shamilton" are $35, $31 for students and seniors, and can be purchased at the KU Presents website, , or by calling the KU Presents! Box Office between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, at 610-683-4092.

Established to be the center of cultural life at Kutztown University, KU Presents! serves the campus and community by bringing world-class live arts that entertain, educate and enrich.

Appearing as a special guest with the cast and band will be renowned beatboxer Mark Martin, who won the American Beatbox Championship in 2016, appears frequently on MTV and has given a Tedx talk on beatbox and education.

According to "Shamilton!" director Al Samuels, a cast member of Baby Wants Candy in their regular appearances at Second City in Chicago, "Shamilton!" is not designed to be a parody of the beloved "Hamilton!" musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, but rather an homage, loosely based on its structure and style.

The way it works, Samuels said, is that the audience is asked to call out names of historical, currently famous or even fictional characters to be the protagonist (for example, Rasputin, Mary Todd Lincoln, Genghis Khan, Harry Potter or Taylor Swift). The cast selects a few, and the audience votes on these. After the winner is selected, the cast and band launch directly into the show.

"They have to be up-to-date on current events, history, popular culture, and politics," Samuels said. "The cast members are all trained in musical improv, as well as singing, dancing and acting. We rhyme, so we have to practice constantly; you have to set up and pay off in rhyme."

What rhymes with Rasputin? How about shootin' and disputin'? You get the picture.

Samuels said Baby Wants Candy specializes in creating on-the-spot musicals based on audience suggestions ("Sweeney Toddler" or "Kidz Boppenheimer, for example) for Chicago's Second City venue, which he remembers attending during his childhood in the Chicago area.

While attending Dartmouth College in New Hampshire as a business major, he and his classmate, Rachel Dratch ("SNL" alum), joined the improv group at college and he took acting classes. After graduating, he was on his way to a corporate job when he decided to bag it and go back to Chicago to pursue a performance career, continuing as a grad student to study performing, writing and directing.

"I would do this for free," he said. "I love it so much. And it's fun for the audience because it's just for them; no one else in the world gets to see that exact show."

Samuels said directing and rehearsing the traveling show mostly consists of practicing the overture and choreography, and practicing creating raps, which requires fast reflexes.

While the audience will notice a resemblance to "Hamilton!" in the overture, the music is original, created by the band, which Samuels called "the true talent in the show. They create a new score for every show."

"The show is so much fun for us, and we love the interaction with the audience," he said.

Berks History Center, 940 Centre Ave., Reading, has announced the opening of its newest rotating exhibit, "The Art of Berks History."

This display of artwork is presented by the BHC in partnership with Art Plus Gallery's Plein Air West Reading.

The unique exhibit celebrates the intersection of art and history, bringing to life the rich heritage of Berks County through the eyes of talented plein air artists.

PAWR, an esteemed annual art competition and exhibition organized by Art Plus Gallery, attracts artists from across nine states, each inspired to capture the natural beauty and historical significance of our region.

"The Art of Berks History" showcases compositions from over a dozen cherished historic sites throughout Berks County, from the industrial marvel of Hopewell Furnace to the timeless charm of the Colebrookdale Railroad Station in Boyertown and many other notable landmarks.

Here is a list of all of the historic sites included in the exhibit:

• Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University

• The Nicholas Stoltzfus Homestead

• Griesemer's Covered Bridge

• Colebrookdale Railroad Station

• Neversink Mountain Hotel Pavilion

• Joanna Furnace

• Allegheny Aqueduct

• Historic Dreibelbis Farm

• Kutztown Train Station

• Leesport Lockhouse

• Hopewell Furnace

• Grimshaw Silk Mill

• Dreibelbis Station Covered Bridge

• Beidler House & Mill

• Reading Railroad Heritage Museum

• Maiden Creek Friends Meeting House

These works have been carefully selected from the Berks History Awards category submissions (selected and sponsored by BHC) of PAWR's juried artists from 2022 through 2024, ensuring a diverse and high-quality representation of our county's storied past.

"It has been a true pleasure to collaborate with Art Plus Gallery on this remarkable exhibition," said BHC Museum Curator Amber Vroman. "We are thrilled to present this collection to the public, showcasing the incredible artwork that captures the essence and beauty of our beloved Berks County. This is a unique opportunity for our community to engage with and appreciate the rich artistic heritage that defines us."

"The Art of Berks History" exhibit concludes on Nov. 14. For more information, visit berkshistory.org .

For questions and more information, please call BHC at 610-375-4375 during their hours of operation, Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Santander Performing Arts Center and Santander Arena in Reading have announced the following events:

The Price Is Right Live is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2025, at the SPAC. The hit interactive stage show gives eligible individuals the chance to hear their names called and "Come On Down" to win. Prizes may include appliances, vacations and possibly a new car.

Professional bull riding returns to the Santander Arena on Feb. 7-8 with the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour.

The Velocity Tour, the sport's fastest-growing tour, brings the excitement and top levels of cowboy and bovine talent that fans have come to expect from the sport to cities across the United States.

Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com .