bare Opens At The Unicorn 4/24-5/17

Off Broadway's cult hit Bare is coming to the Unicorn! BARE is directed by Jeff Church, who is back after last season's smash hit La Cage aux Folles. Bare, a merge of Spring Awakening and The Dead Poets Society, explores the pleasures and pains of growing up at a co-ed Catholic boarding school. Set to a full pop-rock inspired score and with a live band onstage, bare musically takes the audience on a wild ride back to their senior year of high school. This pop-rock opera might even be considered the real High School Musical. In order to fill the stage with the amount of young actors needed for the production, Unicorn Theatre has partnered with University of Missouri-Kansas City's (UMKC) Conservatory of Music and Dance and Park University to fill out the ensemble. The onstage band even features two high school students from Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts and Lincoln College Preparatory Academy. The students aren't the only ones getting to rock out. Tony Humrichouser, the head of the UMKC Conservatory Musical Theatre program, plays the Priest. Students' work won't just be seen onstage though. Student interns from Avila University, Park University, University of Central Missouri and UMKC Theatre Department are working with the Unicorn's creative and administrative staff in everything from show design to marketing.
New for this show, Unicorn Theatre is offering advanced student tickets for $15 Tuesday through Friday for students with a valid ID, and "Under 30 Thursdays" where any patron under 30 can get a $20 ticket to see the show any Thursday of the run.

Bare plays April 24th through May 17th with previews on April 22nd and 23rd. The show plays Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm, and Sunday at 3:00pm. New this season is a Saturday Matinee at 3:00pm the first weekend of each run. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 816-531-PLAY, online at www.UnicornTheatre.org, or at the box office located at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111.

THE SHOW
Jason (Brandon Sollenberger) is the All-American boy, the envy of every guy in his class and every girl wants him, but he's having a secret love affair with his best friend, Peter. Peter (KC Comeaux) is trying to come out, but his mother (Missy Koonce)--and Jason--desperately want him to stay quiet and closeted. Ivy (Katie Karel), the most popular and experienced girl in school, thinks Jason may be her real-life Romeo. Matt (Shea Coffman), the perpetual second best, finds out Jason's little secret and can't wait to use it against him to finally get Ivy's attention. Nadia (Areli Gil), Jason's outsider sister, may have the best perspective of the tangled situation but gets lost in feelings of cynicism and solitude. Each of them questions how to move forward while trying to uphold the standards of their families, friends and the Church.
Bare premiered at the Hudson Mainstage Theater in Hollywood, CA in October 2000. Since that time, bare has become a cult hit in many cities across the United States including Chicago and New York, and has played in cities across the world including Korea and Brazil.

THE WRITERS
DAMON INTRABARTOLO (Book and Music) received the 2001 Ovation Award, Backstage Garland Award, LA Drama Critics Circle Award & LA Weekly Award for bare (Best Original Score & Best Musical). Other theater work includes Ann E. Wrecksick & the Odyssey of the Bulimic Orphans, Plop, and Red Rover: Harvey, Cleve and Other Games. Damon co-founded God Help! Productions to produce the aforementioned shows - and more! Film orchestration/conducting credits include Dreamgirls, X-Men 2, Superman Returns, Fantastic Four 1 & 2, The Savages, In Good Company, Gothika, Halloween H20, the Emmy-nominated Fantasy Island (1998) and The Usual Suspects. Damon is a proud alumnus of the USC Trojan Marching band where he played mellophone and presently resides in Los Angeles.

JON HARTMERE (Book and Lyrics) has written screenplays for Nickelodeon and Disney. A regular performer of improvised comedy, he was a field agent on Cycle 5 of MTV's PUNK'D. He recently adapted the young adult novel Geography Club for East of Doheny Productions and is currently writing the remake of Footloose for Paramount Pictures.

THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
BARE is directed by Jeff Church, the Producing Art Director from the Coterie Theatre coming back to the Unicorn after he most recently directed Sister Mary Ignatius, La Cage aux Folles, Loving Lucy, Santaland Diaries and The Laramie Project at the Unicorn. With musical direction from Anthony T. Edwards (Recently at Unicorn: The Women of Brewster Place, rightnextto me, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Crowns, BatBoy: The Musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Convenience). The cast includes Brandon Sollenberger as Jason (Previously at Unicorn: La Cage aux Folles), KC Comeaux as Peter (Unicorn debut), Katie Karel (Unicorn debut), Areli Gil as Nadia (Previously at Unicorn: The Women of Brewster Place), Shea Coffman as Matt (Unicorn debut), Francisco "Pancho" Villegas as Lucas (Unicorn debut), Missy Koonce as Claire (Previously at Unicorn: Loving Lucy, How I Learned To Drive, As Bees In Honey Drown, The Salvation of Iggy Scrooge, Unidentified Human Remains.., Expiring Minds and as co-director/choreographer for BatBoy: The Musical), Tony Humrichouser as the Priest (Unicorn Debut), Nedra Dixon as Sister Chantelle (Previously at Unicorn: The Women of Brewster Place).

The ensemble features Katie McCreary (Previously at Unicorn: The Women of Brewster Place), Craig Allen, Evan T. Dvorchak, Sarah Anne Goeke, Kelsea Victoria McLean, Zachary J. Parker, Jenn Peterson and Evan White.

The Design team includes scenic design by Gary Mosby (Recently at Unicorn: Rising Water, The Women of Brewster Place, Well, 9 Parts of Desire, rightnextto me, La Cage aux Folles and BatBoy: The Musical), lighting design by Jarrett Bertoncin, sound design by Benjamin G. Stickels (Previously at Unicorn: Rising Water), Costume Coordination by Cheryl Benge and Frankie Krainz, Choreography by Jennifer Martin and Nedra Dixon, Fight Choreography by Todd Schnake with Jinni Pike as Production Stage Manager (Recently at Unicorn: The Velvet Rut and Sister Mary Ignatius...)

TALK BACK PERFORMANCES: April 28th, May 3rd and 5th
Stay afterwards for a discussion of the play with the Director and Actors.

Unicorn Box Office
Box Office Information
Phone: 816-531-PLAY
Website: www.UnicornTheatre.org
Address: 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111

Box Office Hours
Performance Weeks
Mon. 12pm-5pm
Tues-Sat. 12pm-8pm
Sun. 1:30pm-3pm

Non-Performance Weeks
Tues.-Fri. 12pm-5pm

 

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