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Photo Flash: TheatreWorks Opens 33 VARIATIONS Tonight, 10/3
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 03, 2012
TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, presents the regional premiere of 33 VARIATIONS, a play by Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project) with live music. Spanning two centuries, this Tony- nominated drama follows a brilliant musicologist as she races against time to solve one of Beethoven's greatest mysteries. 33 VARIATIONS will be helmed by Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and plays tonight, October 3 - 28, 2012 (press opening October 6) at TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Get a first look at the cast in the photos below!
This latest venture by award-winning playwright Moisés Kaufman follows pre-eminent musicologist Dr. Katherine Brandt in her quest to solve one of Beethoven's greatest mysteries, while her daughter struggles to connect with her. A counterpoint story follows Beethoven, two hundred years earlier and also no stranger to obsession, as he uses his incomparable genius to turn a mediocre melody into 33 masterpieces. Complimented by live piano accompaniment played by Musical Director William Liberatore, 33 VARIATIONS is a graceful tale of passion, parenthood, and the moments of beauty that can transform a life. TheatreWorks has assembled a stellar cast for this production, including TheatreWorks newcomer Rosina Reynolds (Old Globe, San Diego Repertory Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theater) as "Dr. Katherine Brandt." Returning to the TheatreWorks stage are Howard Swain as "Beethoven," seen in Superior Donuts, Yellow Face, and To Kill A Mockingbird at TheatreWorks and in productions at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and California Shakespeare Theater; Chad Deverman as "Mike Clark," seen in Of Mice and Men and The Sisters Rosensweig at TheatreWorks, and also in roles at SF Playhouse, California Shakespeare Theater, and San Jose Repertory Theatre; Jennifer LeBlanc as "Clara Brandt," seen in Sense and Sensibility and Opus at TheatreWorks and in roles at Livermore Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Jackson Davis as "Anton Schindler," remembered for roles in The Pitmen Painters, Opus, Living Out, Be Aggressive, and Theophilus North at TheatreWorks, and for performances with American Conservatory Theater, San Jose Repertory Theatre, SF Playhouse, Aurora Theatre Company, and other leading companies; Marie Shell as "Dr. Gertrude Ladenburger," last seen in All My Sons at TheatreWorks, and in other roles at Marin Shakespeare Company and San Jose Stage Company; and Michael Gene Sullivan as "Anton Diabelli," seen in Twentieth Century, Twelfth Night, Violet, Once on this Island, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona at TheatreWorks, and in roles at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and Magic Theatre.
The TheatreWorks production of 33 VARIATIONS includes musical direction by William Liberatore, scenic design by Andrea Bechert, costume design by Fumiko Bielefeldt, lighting design by Steven B. Mannshardt, and sound design by Brendan Aanes.
Playwright Moisés Kaufman's 33 Variations received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. Mr. Kaufman's past works include Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and The Laramie Project. Also the director of the award-winning film adaptation of The Laramie Project, Mr. Kaufman made his Broadway directing debut in 2004 with I Am My Own Wife, for which he received an Obie Award as well as Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel Award nominations. Other directorial credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Mark Taper Forum); Macbeth with Liev Schreiber (Public Theater); This Is How It Goes (Donmar Warehouse); One Arm by Tennessee Williams (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Master Class with Rita Moreno (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); and Lady Windermere's Fan (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Mr. Kaufman is a Guggenheim Fellow and co-founder of Tectonic Theater Project.
TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley directs 33 VARIATIONS. Kelley was honored as the Legacy Laureate of the 2012 Artist Laureate Awards by the Arts Council of Silicon Valley for his lifetime of artistic achievement. Kelley has also received the Bay Area Theater Critics Circle (BATCC) Paine Knickerbocker Award for lifetime achievement as well as BATCC Awards for directing TheatreWorks' productions of Caroline, or Change; Ragtime; Rags; Another Midsummer Night; the West Coast Premiere of Jane Eyre; and the Sondheim classics SUNDAY IN THE Park with George; Pacific Overtures; Into the Woods; and Sweeney Todd. Additionally, he is the recipient of Bay Area Drama-Logue Awards for his direction of Pacific Overtures, Ah, Wilderness!, and Once in a Lifetime; and Back Stage West Garland Awards for his direction of Side Show and SUNDAY IN THE Park with George. Since founding TheatreWorks in 1970, Kelley has directed over 150 productions for the company.
With some 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast locally and from across the country. A home for artists developing new works, it was at TheatreWorks that Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical that recently finished its third year on Broadway and is making its London premiere this Fall, was first workshopped and received its world premiere.
For more about the show, go to www.theatreworks.org.
Photo Credit: Mark Kitaoka and Tracy Martin (final photo).
Howard Swain and Rosina Reynolds
Howard Swain and Rosina Reynolds
Howard Swain and Rosina Reynolds
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