To celebrate the run of Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak's Brunidbar and Comedy on the Bridge at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre from November 11th through December 28th, Rita Moreno, Delroy Lindo and children's author Thacher Hurd will read from Sendak books in Once Upon a Wild Thing: Celebrating the Works of Maurice Sendak.
Sponsored by Target, the event will be comprised of readings from classic Sendak books such as Where the Wild Things Are and Really Rosie, while the first part of the event on November 6th will focus on theatre games based around Sendak's and Kushner's collaborative children's picture book Brundibar. Theatregoers who attend the November 19th, December 10th and December 17th matinees of Brundibar and Comedy on a Bridge will be able to attend readings featuring Moreno, Lindo and Hurd, respectively. All children present at the readings will receive a free copy of Brundibar, and refreshments at 12:30 PM will precede the 1 PM readings (which lead into the 2 PM matinees).
Moreno has won an Academy Award (for West Side Story), a Tony (for The Ritz), three Emmy Awards (for two episodes of "The Muppet Show" and "The Rockford Files") and a Grammy (for The Electric Company Album). Lindo is a stage and film actor. He has been seen in "MASTER HAROLD"...and the Boys and Joe Turner's Come and Gone on Broadway (for which he received a Tony nomination). Hurd's books include Mama Don't Allow and Art Dog.
Brundibar and Comedy on a Bridge will play the Yale Repertory's University Theatre (222 York St. in New Haven, CT)
from February 10th through March 5th, 2006 after the Berkeley run. The one-act shows will
then play New York's New Victory Theater (209 W. 42nd St.) from April 26th through May
21st.
Brundibar and Comedy on a Bridge will both feature librettos by
Kushner (Angels in America, Homebody/Kabul, Caroline, or Change). He
has adapted them from older pieces by Adolf Hoffmeister and Vaclava
Klimenta Klicpery; Brundibar has music by Hans Krasa and Comedy on a
Bridge's music is by Bohuslav Martinu. Sendak will handle the production design. Euan Morton (Taboo) stars in Brundibar, a tale about two orphans who go into town to sing for money for their sick mother and meet a sinister organ grinder. William Youmans (Wicked) and Martin Vidnovic (Brigadoon, Oklahoma!) will headline Comedy on a Bridge, which centers on a group of people on a bridge who are
caught between two opposing armies.A limited seats of seats for the readings are available by calling (510)
647-2949 or (888) 4-BRT-Tix.; callers should mention "Wild
Thing" when purchasing seats. For tickets to Brundibar and Comedy on a Bridge at Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre (015 Addison Street in Berkeley, CA), call (510) 647-2949,
toll-free (888) 4-BRT-Tix or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.