NYU's Skirball Center Presents US Premiere of THE NEVERENDING STORY, 3/22-25

New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts will to present the U.S. premiere of The Neverending Story from Toronto's Roseneath Theatre. This engagement marks the New York debut of one of Canada's most celebrated theater companies and features the New York stage debut of Adamo Ruggiero, who played Marco on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

 

Based on Michael Ende's classic German novel, popularized by the iconic film, The Neverending Story tells the story of a shy boy named Bastian who is tormented by school bullies and finds solace in a mysterious book-one that is filled with loveable characters, dark villains and unlikely heroes-set in the magical land of Fantastica. 

 

Adapted for the stage by Roseneath Theatre's founder David S. Craig, The Neverending Story is an epic adventure where vivid reality and fantasy collide. Hiding in the attic of his school, a boy named Bastian begins to read a story aloud. Unbeknownst to him, the magical land of Fantastica, which is in grave danger from The Nothing, comes to life through the power of Bastian's imagination. Other characters include the warrior boy Atreyu and the happy dragon Falkor. Together, they travel through the Swamp of Sadness, the cave of a giant spider and the maze of the Southern Oracle in search of the Childlike Empress. As the adventure unfolds, Bastian discovers that his imagination is the key to changing the fate of both Fantastica and his own world.

 

Performances will take place on March 22-25 (see schedule above) at NYU's Skirball Center. Critics are welcome as of the first performance. The running time is 80 minutes. Recommended for ages 8 and up. Tickets are $20-$30 and can be purchased online atnyuskirball.org or by phone at 212.352.3101 (toll free at 866.811.4111). NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is located at 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square. 

 

Roseneath Theatre has been producing original world-class theatre for young audiences for 28 years. Based in Toronto, the company tours all over the world and is seen as one of the foremost producing companies of its kind in Canada. The theatre's mandate is to create, produce and tour original theatrical productions of the highest quality to young people and their families, across Canada, the United States and Europe.

 

David S. Craig (director and playwright) has written more than twenty professionally produced plays including the international hit comedy Having Hope at Home, which will enjoy a tenth anniversary revival at the Blyth Festival in the summer of 2012, and Danny, King of the Basement (Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Production TYA) which recently concluded an eleven week tour of the United States and Canada. His other plays include Smokescreen, which is currently in the repertoire of the prestigious GRIPS Theater in Berlin and The Neverending Story which was originally commissioned and produced by Imagination Stage and the Seattle Children's Theatre before being revised for the current Roseneath production. He also created and wrote two long running radio series – Booster McCrane, P.M. and The Diamond Lane – for CBC. Mr. Craig has directed Pinocchio for Young People's Theatre, Rocket and the Queen of Dreams for Roseneath Theatre and his adaptation of The Fan by Carlo Goldoni for Odyssey Theatre, which was nominated for the Best Production by the Capital Critics Circle. NOW magazine has called David S. Craig, "one of the top twenty playwrights in Canada."

 

Adamo Ruggiero (Atreyu) is an Italian-Canadian actor best known for his starring role on the groundbreaking Canadian television show Degrassi: The Next Generation. Performing since childhood, Ruggiero's stage credits include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Bye Bye Birdie. He joined the Degrassi cast in 2002 in the role of Marco Del Rossi, a gay teenager who struggles with coming to terms with his sexuality. Ruggiero is currently the host of The Next Star, a Canadian televised singing competition for performers under the age of 15.