Jonas Sills and Ray Buffer have created a new performing arts company in Long Beach called Art-In-Relation (AIR). Art-In-Relation's first production, "Frankenstein The Musical" will open October 23 at the Ernest Borgnine Theatre inside the Scottish Rite Event Center in Long Beach. The two producers also appear in this powerful production, as Victor Frankenstein and The Creature, respectively.
"Frankenstein The Musical" is based on the original novel by
Mary Shelley and has music by
Mark Baron, lyrics by
Jeffrey Jackson, and a book by Jackson and
Gary P. Cohen. Produced originally off-Broadway as "Frankenstein: A New Musical" The show ran for a few weeks in 2007 before closing, while "Young Frankenstein" thrived on Broadway.
Buffer and Sills recognized the untapped potential of the beautifully written piece and adopted it as their inaugural production. Never before produced on the West Coast, this production will serve as a premiere in Long Beach.
"We are thrilled with this new endeavor to bring a local premiere of this hauntingly beautiful musical to a gorgeous jewel of an unknown space in Long Beach," says Sills, co-creative director, Art-In-Relation.
The story follows Shelley's novel quite closely, and is ultimately about man reaching for the power of God, while battling greed and hubris. Victor is a tragic character who means well. He simply wants to learn the secrets that would allow him to bring back to life someone he lost when he was young - his mother. But the path he takes awakens a beast that craves revenge and methodically robs others - that Victor loves - of their lives.
A talented cast of over 20 performers have been rehearsing furiously in Torrance and Long Beach to bring this secret gem of a work to life. Almost like an opera, "Frankenstein The Musical" weaves melodic lines into the persona of characters, and then brings them back to create feeling and nostalgia.
The costuming by award-winning costumer, Michael Mullen promises to be a creative melding of late 1700's garb with steampunk flair. The choreography by Long Beach's own Nichole Beeks is infused with creative furor, style, and elegance. Award-winning lighting designer Jean-Yves Tessier will be bringing the visual elements into focus and the music is grandly presented and ingrained into the cast by
Music Director, Stephen Pu, under the guidance of show director, Ray Buffer.
Sills, a vocal artist by trade, gets to lavishly showcase his range and power playing
Victor Frankenstein in a tour-de-force performance, hardly ever leaving the stage in this mostly sung-thru musical.
"Frankenstein The Musical" is a must-see event, presented near and on Halloween for your enjoyment. See it October 23, 24, 25, 30, 31 and November 1 at 8 p.m. Tickets are only $25/$18.50/$10 and may be purchased online at
http://brownpapertickets.com/ or by phone at 1-800-838-3006. The
Ernest Borgnine Theatre is at 855 Elm Ave., Long Beach, CA 90813, with plenty of parking.
Learn more about Art-In-Relation at:
http://artinrelation.com/ or on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/artinrelation.
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