Kushner and Sendak's Brundibar Runs April 28 - May 21

Next week, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre's co-production of Brundibar opens at The New Victory Theater on 42nd Street. This remarkable work is the culmination of a collaboration between legendary illustrator Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) and renowned playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America). Brundibar begins previews at The New Victory on Friday, April 28 and runs through Sunday, May 21. For the New York run, Tony Kushner's But the Giraffe, a Curtain Raiser to Hans Krása's Brundibar, will be presented in place of Comedy on the Bridge.

An allegory of innocence triumphing over evil, Brundibar is the tale of a brother and sister who must earn enough money to buy milk for their sick mother. To do so, they join forces with three talking animals and a host of brave kids to outwit the town's sinister organ grinder. First composed in the ominous years leading up to World War II, this opera features Hans Krása's original score, Tony Kushner's adaptation of Adolf Hoffmeister's libretto, and Maurice Sendak's spectacular set design. Brundibar became a powerful protest against the Nazis, after being performed 55 times by the children of the Terezin concentration camp, and continues to inspire with its message of good overcoming evil. Tony Kushner's But the Giraffe, a Curtain Raiser to Hans Krasa's Brundibar, is a new work of imagination based very loosely on an actual event: the smuggling of the score of Brundibar into Terezin by its conductor, Rudolph Freudenfeld. It's about a little girl who has to make a difficult decision.

"I am thrilled to bring this show to New York after our successful runs in California and Connecticut," remarks Tony Taccone, artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre and director of this production. "I am proud to be a part of this collaboration and invite audiences to this glorious universe, which combines Kushner's skill with language and Sendak's phenomenal imagination.

"Tony and I have been engaged in an ongoing conversation about the best way to present Brundibar to today's audiences," Taccone continues. "We felt that Comedy on the Bridge was the perfect opener for the adult subscribers at my theatre in Berkeley and at our co-producer's venue in New Haven, but the piece was too mature for The New Vic's audience. So, as we present Brundibar in New York, we're pleased to begin with But the Giraffe, a curtain raiser written specifically for kids and families."

"Ever since learning about this project, we were committed to bringing Brundibar to New York," explains Cora Cahan, president of The New 42nd Street. "We are absolutely delighted to present Brundibar and now But the Giraffe, and we hope that New York City will be as thrilled by this extraordinary production as we are."

Brundibar features a stellar cast of Broadway actors led by Euan Morton in the title role and a chorus of young performers from Rosie's Broadway Kids, an arts education organization founded by Rosie O'Donnell that enriches the lives of children through the arts. The curtain raiser will draw on the same cast, with the addition of 11-year-old Danielle Freid.

WHERE: The New Victory Theater — 209 West 42nd Street (just west of Broadway)

TICKETS: Tickets are $10, $20 and $30.

Call: Telecharge.com: 212-239-6200 Visit: The New Victory Box Office:

Log On To: www.Telecharge.com 209 West 42nd Street