TAMIU: Back to the '50s With 'The Taffetas' March 9-12

Travel back to the 1950s with "The Taffetas: A Musical Journey Through the Fabulous Fifties" at Texas A&M International University Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall, Thursday, March 9 through Sunday, March 12.

The performance is open to the public. Tickets will cost $5 at the door and children three years old and under will be admitted free of charge. Proceeds will be dedicated to department of fine and performing arts student scholarships. Donations will also be accepted.

"It's 1950-something, and Kaye, Peggy, Cheryl, and Donna, four singing sisters from Muncie, Ind., are making their national television debut on 'Spotlight on Music,' a fictitious weekly variety show on the real-life Dumont Television network. This sets the framework for an evening of some of the greatest hits of the 1950s with tunes like 'Mr. Sandman,' 'Sh-Boom,' and 'Johnny Angel.' 'The Taffetas' pays tribute to the sounds of The Maguire Sisters, The Fontaine Sisters, The Chordettes and other '50s girl groups," explained Dana Crabtree, show director and TAMIU instructor of music and voice/choirs.

Conceived by Rick Lewis, with additional material by Arthur Whitelaw, it opened Off Broadway almost two years before "Forever Plaid" and has been performed around the country.

"Spend an hour and a half with The Taffetas and their three-piece band and remember what Sunday night television was like on your 12-inch black and white screen," Crabtree offered.

Show times are at 8 p.m., March 9 - 11 and at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 12.

The show stars Crabtree as Kaye, music students Jessica Cardenas as Peggy and Cindy Stewart as Donna and recent TAMIU alumnus Angela Padilla as Cheryl. The three-piece band includes Dr. Michael Stone, director of bands on keyboards, Dr. Gilberto D. Soto, associate professor of music and guitar, on bass and student Alejo Ortiz on drums.

For more information, please contact Crabtree at 326.3040, e-mail dcrabtree@tamiu.edu or visit office in CFPA 233A.

University office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu