Point Break Live!
Encyclopedia
Point Break Live! is an original concept play and adaptation by Jaime Keeling and Jamie Hook of the 1991 Keanu Reeves
/Patrick Swayze
extreme sports movie Point Break
.
Sometimes credited as the first-ever "reality-play,"
each performance features a new, unrehearsed actor in the protagonist
role of "Keanu", reading their lines from cue-cards delivered by a production assistant.
at Seattle's Northwest Film Forum
and has since toured throughout the country, including extended runs at the Bryant-Lake Bowl
in Minneapolis
and Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, New York.
The show played recently at the La Tea Theater in Manhattan
. It previously played at Charlie O's Lounge in the Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles
,
where much of the movie took place, and premiered on October 1, 2008 at the V Theater/Planet Hollywood Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas.
Producer-Director Eve Hars brought the show to Chicago's New Rock Theater, where it ran from March to October of 2010, and reopened for a short spring run in 2011.
The show's longest run to date is in LA/Hollywood, where it opened in 2007.
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
/Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
extreme sports movie Point Break
Point Break
Point Break is a 1991 action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term point break, where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline.The film was a box office success upon...
.
Sometimes credited as the first-ever "reality-play,"
each performance features a new, unrehearsed actor in the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
role of "Keanu", reading their lines from cue-cards delivered by a production assistant.
How It Works
At the start of the show, audience members who wish to play Johnny Utah are called on stage and put through a quick faux-audition. The winner is then selected by audience Applause-o-meter. A Cue Card assistant (cast member) leads Utah around the stage throughout the play and shows him/her the lines on laminated cards. The play is an over-the-top, action-packed comedy in a punk-theater setting.History
The play premiered in a sold-out 2 month run co-directed by Jaime Keeling and Jamie HookJamie Hook
Jamie Hook is a filmmaker and theatre director. He is also well known as the founding director of WigglyWorld Studios/The Northwest Film Forum, and sometimes film critic for such publications as The Stranger and Vogue Hommes....
at Seattle's Northwest Film Forum
Northwest Film Forum
Northwest Film Forum is a non-profit film arts organization established in Seattle in 1995. NWFF operates a two-screen movie theater year-round in Seattle, but also offers workshops, equipment rentals, and filmmaking grants and sponsorships in support of local cinema...
and has since toured throughout the country, including extended runs at the Bryant-Lake Bowl
Bryant-Lake Bowl
Bryant-Lake Bowl, locally nicknamed BLB, is a bowling alley, restaurant, bar, and 85-seat theatre in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The theatre is a venue for cabaret and wide variety of other stage productions...
in Minneapolis
and Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, New York.
The show played recently at the La Tea Theater in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It previously played at Charlie O's Lounge in the Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
,
where much of the movie took place, and premiered on October 1, 2008 at the V Theater/Planet Hollywood Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas.
Producer-Director Eve Hars brought the show to Chicago's New Rock Theater, where it ran from March to October of 2010, and reopened for a short spring run in 2011.
The show's longest run to date is in LA/Hollywood, where it opened in 2007.
Current Productions
Point Break Live! is currently running at:- The Dragonfly in Hollywood
- The MetreonMetreonThe Metreon is a shopping center located in downtown San Francisco at the corner of 4th Street and Mission Street. It is a four-story 350,000 square foot building built over the corner of the underground Moscone Center convention center...
(Sony Action Theater) in San Francisco - closed July 31, 2010 - The Alley Theater in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
- New Rock Theater in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Trivia
- Notable figures who have played Keanu in the production include: Justin PierreJustin PierreJustin Courtney Pierre is a singer, songwriter and guitarist originally from Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, and is known for his interests and pursuits in film making and production of music.-Early...
from the band Motion City SoundtrackMotion City SoundtrackMotion City Soundtrack is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 1997. The band consists of founding members Justin Pierre and Joshua Cain , along with keyboardist and moog synthesist Jesse Johnson, bassist and backing vocalist Matthew Taylor, and drummer, percussionist and...
, Juli CrockettJuli CrockettJuli Crockett is a playwright and theater director, retired professional boxer and amateur champion, lead singer of the alternative country band , and producer of The 1 Second Film...
, and stand-up comedian Jake Weisman. - Gary BuseyGary BuseyWilliam Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
made a special appearance on stage at the Dragonfly production. (See video.) - Other celebrity attendees include Kirsten DunstKirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
and Justin LongJustin LongJustin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
, writer Peter Iliff, and Director Kathryn BigelowKathryn BigelowKathryn Ann Bigelow is an American film director. Her best-known films are the cult horror film Near Dark , the surfer/bank robbery action picture Point Break , the science fiction/film noir Strange Days , the historical/mystery film The Weight of Water and the war drama The Hurt Locker...
. - Mayor Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomGavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
declared April 11, 2008 "Point Break Live! Day" in San Francisco. - Point Break Live! hit the #1 spot on E! Daily 10 in 2008.
- ABC News Nightline aired a segment about Point Break Live! in 2009.
- WGNWGNWGN may refer to:*World's Greatest Newspaper, former slogan of the Chicago Tribune and the namesake for the WGN broadcasting outlets in Chicago, Illinois.** WGN , a radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, United States...
aired a segment of Chicago's Best with Brittney Payton, daughter of Walter PaytonWalter PaytonWalter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...
interviewing the cast - The San Francisco production ran in 4 different venues (sequentially) between April 11, 2008 and July 31, 2010. All but 2 of its performances sold out.
- The last SF run (at the Metreon) officially closed due to an impending reconstruction project. The first SF run (at the Xenodrome) was closed for the same reason.