The Old West Comes Alive During Every Other Tuesday at the Rio Grande Theatre!
Who: Rio Grande Theater Every Other Tuesday Performance
What: Hosts Dr. J. Albert Carlile, Master of Mirth, Music, Magic and Medicine
When: August 11, 2009
Where: The rio Grande Theatre
Contact: (575) 541-2137
The Old West Comes Alive During Every Other Tuesday at the Rio Grande Theatre!
As those of us who grew up in the Southwest know, the Old West wasn’t all gunfights and saloon brawls. One of the dimly-remembered passages of the frontier history was the American “Medicine Show” and for one night only, that forgotten part of Americana will be re-enacted on the Rio Grande Theatre stage, when Dr. J. Albert Carlile, Master of Mirth, Music, Magic and Medicine sets up his historically accurate shingle. Joining Dr. Carlile on stage will be his assistants: professional storyteller and dancer, Terry Alvarez; music teacher and stage performer James Carlile Jr. and musician/performer James Carlile III.
James A. Carlile, a retired military officer and electrical engineer has spent much of his time since retirement performing live, as well as in television and movies. His research on the “medicine men” of the Old West was prompted by memories of growing up in a small farming community in Texas, where travelling medicine shows brought excitement and interest to everyday life. The medicine show, selling elixirs claiming to cure all manner of ills, began shortly after the Civil War and lasted until about 1940, when radio and newspaper advertisements made the selling of patented medicines a common occurrence. In addition to selling questionable wares, these shows usually travelled with performers who could sing or dance and were a great source of entertainment to people who rarely left their small frontier towns.
Join Dr. Carlile and his assistants as they resurrect the time-honored tradition of the old-fashioned medicine show, singing, dancing, playing the banjo, guitar and slide guitar, telling corny jokes and, of course, hawking their “miracle” wares, during the Rio Grande Theatre’s Every Other Tuesday presentation.
“Every Other Tuesday” is a free performance series produced by the Doña Ana Arts Council beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Historic Rio Grande Theatre on the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces, NM. For more information contact DAAC at (575) 523-6403 and for a list of upcoming events go to www.riograndetheatre.com.
Exhibits are accessible and free of charge. For information, call (575) 541-2137 or visit the website www.museums.las-cruces.org.
