Flaherty & Galati's Gertrude Stein Show Loving Repeating Begins Run Feb. 14
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 27, 2006
Presented by About Face Theatre, the show will feature direction by Galati, who also adapted the show from the writings of and from a famous lecture delivered by Stein. According to notes on the show, "A lush, lyrical new musical, Loving Repeating explores the romantic world of Gertrude Stein: her capricious love affair with language, with self-expression, and with her lifelong companion Alice B. Toklas," according to production notes. "The musical follows Stein from her student days in the late 19th century to the height of her artistic era in Paris as one of the 'lost generation,' a term she coined referring to those who came of age between the two world wars." In addition to producing works such as Three Lives, Ida; a novel and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Stein promoted artists and writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso (who painted a famous portrait of her).
The show will also feature choreography by Liza Gennaro and musical direction by Thomas Murray, while the cast will feature Cindy Gold as Stein, Jenny Powers (Little Women) as Toklas, and Christine Mild as the young Stein, as well as Zach Ford, Cristen Paige, Harriet Nzinga Plumpp, Travis Turner, and Bernie Yvon.
Galati adapted the musical from a 1934 lecture that Stein delivered at the University of Chicago. The lecture served as a "springboard to give the audience glimpses into her life" for the musical. Galati has previously staged Stein works such as her modern opera Four Saints in Three Acts and adapted shows such as Stein Pieces. His previous collaborations with composer Flaherty include Ragtime and Seussical, which both featured music by Flaherty and music by Lynn Ahrens. With Loving Repeating, Flaherty has incorporated the sounds of Victorian parlor songs, vaudeville and opera into his score.
The design team will comprise Jack Magaw (sets), Chris Binder (lighting), Michelle Tesdall (costumes), and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound).
The MCA is located at 220 East Chicago Avenue. Performances will be Wednesday to Sunday through March 12, and performance times are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM, and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 PM. There will be post-show discussions from February 14 through 17.
Tickets are available be purchased at the MCA box office, at (312) 397-4010, or online at www.mcachicago.org.
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