Wednesday, February 18, 2015

ATC's "Romeo & Juliet" Brings Bold New Life to Warring Families of Verona

 

From: scarr51@gmail.com [mailto:scarr51@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Steve Carr
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 6:28 AM
Subject: Arizona Theatre Company's "Romeo & Juliet" Brings Bold New Life to Warring Families of Verona

 

ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY'S ROMEO & JULIET BRINGS BOLD NEW LIFE TO THE WARRING FAMILIES OF VERONA

            TUCSON, Ariz. (Feb. 18, 2015):  Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's poetic masterpiece of jealousy, prejudice and betrayal, takes on a bold new theatricality under the ambitious and creative hand of award-winning director Kirsten Brandt and scenic, lighting and projection designer David Lee Cuthbert from Feb. 28 through March 21 at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave.

            Tucson Production Sponsors for Romeo and Juliet are Dolly and Jim Moran.  I. Michael and Beth Kasser are the 2014-15 Season Sponsors.

            Together, Brandt, described by the San Diego Union-Tribune as "a disciplined and inventive theatrical storyteller," and Scenic, Lighting and Projections Designer Cuthbert create a Romeo and Juliet unlike any seen before.

            "Arizona Theatre Company has never previously produced Romeo and Juliet, and our first production of this beloved classic promises to be a startlingly fresh and imaginative take on this poetic masterpiece of young love," commented Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein. "Taking full advantage of modern projection technology and set in the colorful world of "La Dolce Vita" Italy of the 1960s, creating a world pulsing with youthful energy and color."

            Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare's most beloved masterpieces, begins on the streets of Verona, Italy and follows the long-standing feud between two established families, the Montagues and Capulets, which prevents Romeo and Juliet from being able to openly profess their love.  What ensues is a story of love, revenge and star-crossed fates with a result that forces the families to face the results of societal strife in a tragic climax.

Ticket prices range from $x to $xx. For more information call (520) 622-2823 or visit www.arizonatheatre.org.

 

 

Biographies

 

Kirsten Brandt (Director) is making her ATC debut . Regional: The Big Meal, Next Fall, Dr. Faustus, Groundswell, This Wonderful Life, Legacy of Light, Splitting Infinity, Rabbit Hole at San Jose Repertory Theatre; A Doll's House, Lobby Hero, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Christmas on Mars, Hold Please at The Old Globe; Zoot Suit, A Christmas Carol at San Diego Repertory Theatre . Other Regional credits include: La Jolla Playhouse, Sierra Repertory Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks, Santa Cruz Shakespeare . She served as Artistic Director of Sledgehammer Theatre (1999-2005) directing fifteen-plus productions including: Macbeth, Richard III, A Dream Play, A Knife in the Heart and Sweet Charity. She is the author of The Thinning Veil (multi-media, telematic play), The Frankenstein Project, The Waves, Berzerkergang, Wuthering Heights (adaptation). She is the co-author of The Snow Queen: the Musical and A Doll's House (adaptation).

Paul David Story (Romeo) is making his ATC debut. Broadway credits include: Standby for Alan Strang in Equus, Junius Urban in The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. Off–Broadway credits include: Ferguson/Wilkes Booth in Our Leading Lady (Manhattan Theatre Club); David in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (The Public Theater). Regional credits include A Noise Within, Colony Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Company in Santa Barbara, Center Stage, Dallas Theater Center).

Chelsea Kurtz (Juliet) is making her ATC debut. Previous credits include Marisol in Marisol (Calderwood Pavilion, Boston); Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Groundless Shakespeare Ensemble, Los Angeles); and Belinda in The Provok'd Wife (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts).

Richard Baird (Mercutio / Montague / Friar Laurence) is making his ATC debut. Mr. Baird is the founding Artistic Director of New Fortune Theatre Company, where he played the title role of Henry V. Regional credits include The Old Globe, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Portland Center Stage, North Coast Repertory Theatre and Southwest Shakespeare Company. Mr. Baird received two ariZoni Awards for Best Actor for his work in Cyrano de Bergerac and The Taming of the Shrew. Romeo and Juliet marks Mr. Baird's 49th Shakespeare production.

Leslie Law (Nurse / Prince) has previously appeared at ATC in As You Like It and Scapin. Recent credits include Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor (Seattle Shakespeare Company); The Baker's wife in Into the Woods and The Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd (The 5th Avenue Theatre); Sheila in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Thalia's Umbrella); Judy Stienberg in It Shoulda Been You (Village Theatre); and many roles over the last 20 years for A Contemporary Theatre, including Weetsie in The Cover of Life, Sharon in Man of the Moment, and the world premieres of Elizabeth Heffron's Mitzi's Abortion and David Ives's Polish Joke.

Kyle Sorrell (Tybalt / Paris) is back at ATC after appearing in past productions of Xanadu, Around the World in 80 Days, It's a Wonderful Life and Twelfth Night. Mr. Sorrell is also a regular at Childsplay in Tempe, AZ where he originated the title role in The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane as well as composed the original score for the show, now being produced throughout the U.S. Favorite roles include Prior Walter in Angels in America and Padraic in The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Ion Theatre); Mark in Trainspotting (Stray Cat Theatre); and Bandleader in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Phoenix Theatre). Mr. Sorrell has also performed at North Coast Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, and over a dozen productions with Southwest Shakespeare Company.

Kevin Black (Capulet / Friar John) is returning to ATC, where he played George Wilson in The Great Gatsby and appeared in Tortilla Curtain, The Narrows and The Last Red Book for Café Bohemia. At Invisible Theatre, Tucson, he was both director and actor in A Kid Like Jake and appeared in Mesa and In the Mood. Mr. Black has acted at the New York Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger, The Pearl Theatre Company, Primary Stages, Alliance Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, Geva Theatre Center, Laguna Playhouse, and Pacific Repertory Theatre.

Vivia Font (Lady Capulet / Apothecary) New York credits include underneathmybed (Rattlesnake Playwrights Theatre); La Tempestad (Ohio Theatre). Regional highlights include The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, The Tenth Muse (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The Old Globe), Denver Center Theatre Company, San Diego Repertory Theatre, and South Coast Repertory, Perry- Mansfield, INTAR, La Jolla Playhouse, Northern Stage, and McCarter Center for the Performing Arts.

Heather Lee Harper (Lady Montague) Selected Off-Broadway and New York credits include AliceAnon (New Georges); Kennedy V (Jeremy Dobrish); Courtney & Kathleen: A Riot Act (La Mama); Manson the Musical (The Krane); The Violet Hour (The Active Theater); and The Blue Roses Theatre Company. Selected regional and local credits include Long Wharf Theatre, Cider Mill Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Childsplay, Nearly Naked, Stray Cat Theatre, and Southwest Shakespeare Company. Ms. Harper currently works in Phoenix with HOWL Theatre Project.

Kathryn Tkel (Benvolio) is making her ATC debut. Regional credits include: Venus in Fur (Rep Stage); By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Everyman Theatre); Legacy of Light, Secret Order (San Jose Repertory Theatre); Den of Thieves, The Story (San Francisco Playhouse); Almost Nothing, Day of Absence (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre); Steel Magnolias (California Conservatory Theatre); and The Kentucky Cycle (Willows Theatre).

The Ensemble includes Sterling Boyns, Hunter V. Hnat, Paul Michael Thomson, Silvia Vannoy, and Brenna Welsh.

Creative Team:

Playwright: William Shakespeare

Scenic, Lighting and Projections Designer: David Lee Cuthbert

Costume Designer: Kish Finnegan

Original Music and Soundscape: Michael Roth

Fight Choreographer: Brent Gibbs

Casting: Michael Donovan, CSA

Associate Projections Designer: Gregory W. Towle

Production Stage Manager: Glenn Bruner

Assistant Stage Manager: Timothy Toothman

 

Tickets for Romeo and Juliet start at $37 and are subject to change depending on time, date and section, and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the box office at (520) 622-2823.  Discounts are available for seniors and active military.  A $10 student ticket pricing is now available for all performances.  Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability).  Pay What You Can is March 3 at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets for this performance are available for a suggested $10 donation. (Tickets must be purchased at the Temple of Music and Art starting one hour prior to curtain. Tickets are first-come, first served.  Cash only. Two tickets maximum per person.) For discounts for groups of 10 or more, call (520) 622-2823

Arizona Theatre Company offers accessibility services for patrons with disabilities for select performances.  Audio Description provides patrons with vision loss a running audio description of the movement and activities onstage through an infrared broadcast system.  An Audio-Described performance is offered on Thursday, March 19 at 2 p.m.  Interested patrons with vision loss may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. American Sign Language Interpretation is presented by professional, theatrically-trained ASL-interpreters for people who have deafness or hearing impairment.  An ASL-interpreted performance is offered on Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. Open captioning allows patrons to read the play's dialogue on an LED screen as the play progresses.  An open captioned performance is offered on Thursday, March 19 at 2 p.m.. For open-captioned or ASL-interpreted performances, patrons should request seats best suited to ASL interpretation or captioning when purchasing tickets.  Large print and Braille playbills and infrared listening amplification devices are also available at every ATC performance with reservation. TTY access for the box office is available in Tucson at (520) 884-9723 or via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).

 

Fact Sheet:
Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Kirsten Brandt


Venue:
The Tempe of Music and Art

330 S. Scott Avenue

Tucson, AZ 85701

 

TUCSON:
Previews Begin:
Saturday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m.
Opening Night: Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Closing Performance: Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m.

Ticket Info:

Ticket prices currently start at $37 and are available in-person at the Temple of Music and Art box office, via phone at (520) 622-2823 or online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
 
About Arizona Theatre Company:

Touching lives through the power of theatre, Arizona Theatre Company (ATC), is the preeminent fully professional theatre in the state of Arizona. Boasting the largest seasonal subscriber base in the performing arts in Arizona, ATC is the only resident company in the U.S. that is fully based in two cities providing its wide array of programming and community outreach across the region. Now in its 48th season, more than 130,000 people a year attend our performances at the historic Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, and the elegant Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. Each season of home-grown productions reflects the rich variety of world drama—from classics to contemporary plays, from musicals to new works—along with a wide array of community outreach programs, educational opportunities, access initiatives and new play programs. Designated the State Theatre of Arizona, ATC is led by Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein, Managing Director Jessica L. Andrews and a dedicated Board of Trustees. 

 

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