THE COMPOSER IS DEAD Comes To Berkeley Rep, Previews 11/26

This holiday season, Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents a deliciously silly world premiere from beloved Bay Area artists: Lemony Snicket's The Composer is
Dead begins previews in the Roda Theatre on November 26, opens December 2, and closes January 15. The show features text by bestselling author Lemony Snicket and a score by (living) composer Nathaniel Stookey. It was conceived for the stage by Lemony Snicket, Phantom Limb (Jessica Grindstaff and Erik Sanko, co-artistic directors), Tony Taccone, and Geoff Hoyle.

Taccone, Berkeley Rep's artistic director, is also staging the show. "This may be the most ambitious project I've ever worked on because of the way it combines live performance, film, puppets, and music," he comments. "It's a fun show for the whole family that unfolds in the ironic world of Lemony Snicket, a writer who is completely eccentric, wildly imaginative, and equal parts humor and smarts. I'm delighted to team up with Geoff Hoyle once again, and enjoying the challenge of working with puppets. As a director, you tell them what their motivation is and you get nothing but the same facial expressions. Fortunately, we have the brilliant folks from Phantom Limb to create the puppets as well as the sets and the costumes."

Lemony Snicket remarks: "Once Berkeley Rep had a long and proud tradition of presenting some of the most exciting and engaging theater in the land, and Phantom Limb had a reputation as an emerging and dynamic force in the world of puppetry and design. I am sad to report that this new production brings these traditions and reputations to sorry ends. The Composer Is Dead began its life as a composition for narrator and orchestra, written in collaboration with living composer Nathaniel Stookey and, to our surprise and horror, performed all over the world by various symphony orchestras who lived to regret it. One would have thought that would be the end of it, but Berkeley Rep, in a fit of madness for which the East Bay is well-known, has revived and reinvented this work for audiences of all ages, as all ages will be equally depressed over this sorry spectacle. Please join me in the cheap seats of Berkeley Rep's crowded and crumbling theatre, so that together we, the audience viewing this sorry spectacle, might cry out the only thing that might save us: 'Fire!'"

The show must go on? But the actor is mute, the director is crying, the dancer is lazy - and the composer is dead! When Lemony Snicket teamed up with Nathaniel Stookey to create an orchestral work - and accompanying book - the result proved wildly popular. "A hugely enjoyable undertaking for young and old alike... the piece seems destined to become a classic," predicted the San Francisco Chronicle. Now there's a new theatrical adaptation of Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead. Tony Taccone's raucous production unleashes laughs through classic clowning and plenty of uppity puppets from the pioneering Phantom Limb Company. When Geoff Hoyle pops up as an outlandish inspector bent on solving a murderous riddle, the show crescendos into comic absurdity. To the delight of children and adults alike, The Composer is Dead comes alive on stage.

 

This show features set design, costume design, and puppetry by Jessica Grindstaff and Erik Sanko, lighting and projection design by Alexander V. Nichols, and sound design by James Lebrecht. Mr. Hoyle performs alongside five accomplished puppeteers: Jenny Campbell, Frankie Cordero, Marta Mozelle, Edouard Sanko, and Ronny Wasserstrom. The stage manager is Michael Suenkel, Berkeley Rep's resident production stage manager. The presentation also includes an interactive film entitled The Magic of Living and Breathing Theatre. Written by Lemony Snicket and produced by Lisa Cook, the film features underscoring by Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton. Martin Rosenberg served as director of photography.

Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead is supported by many generous sponsors. BART and Wells Fargo have renewed their commitment as season sponsors at Berkeley Rep, and the 2010-11 season producer is Marjorie Randolph. The executive producers of this show are Mitch and Pam Nichter, Jack and Betty Schafer, the Strauch Kulhanjian Family, and Julie M. Weinstein. The production sponsor is Bank of America.

 

Lemony Snicket penned A Series of Unfortunate Events, the fantastically successful collection of kids' books. He was born before you were, and is likely to die before you as well. His family has roots in a part of the country which is now underwater, and his childhood was spent in the relative splendor of the Snicket Villa which has since become a factory, a fortress, and a pharmacy and is now, alas, someone else's villa. Though his formal training was chiefly in rhetorical analysis, he has spent the last several eras researching the travails of the Baudelaire orphans. This project, being published serially by HarperCollins, takes him to the scenes of numerous crimes, often during the off-season. Eternally pursued and insatiably inquisitive, a hermit and a nomad, Mr. Snicket wishes you nothing but the best. Due to the world-wide web of conspiracy which surrounds him, Mr. Snicket often communicates with the general public through his representative, Daniel Handler. Mr. Handler has had a relatively uneventful life, and is the author of three books for adults, The Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, and Adverbs, none of which are anywhere near as dreadful as Mr. Snicket's.

 

Nathaniel Stookey's compositions have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall, the Toronto Symphony, Manchester's Hallé Orchestra, and Hamburg's Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (NDR), among many others. Earlier this year, he created the score for John Doyle's new production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle at American Conservatory Theater. Stookey's latest recording, Junkestra, described by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt as "a battle-scene by Fabergé," was released in July by Innova Records. His upcoming vocal/theatrical performances include Into the Bright Lights (with Frederica von Stade and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra) and Zipperz, a soapopera (with Manoel Feliciano and Marin Symphony).

Phantom Limb Company, comprised of husband-and-wife team Jessica Grindstaff (art director/designer/project manager) and Erik Sanko (composer/designer/performer/puppeteer), is a New York City-based multi-disciplinary aural, visual, and performance unit. Past projects include The Fortune Teller, which debuted at HERE Arts Center with composition by Sanko and Danny Elfman and narration by Gavin Friday, and Dear Mdme., an original composition and marionette play commissioned by the Kronos Quartet that will premiere at BAM's 25th-anniversary Next Wave Festival. Amidst a number of projects in development are 69? S (The Shackleton Project), a theatrical treatment of the 1914-1917 Trans-Antarctic Expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton premiering in fall 2010, and Tesla in New York, with music and libretto by Phil Kline and libretto and direction by acclaimed filmmaker Jim Jarmusch.

Tony Taccone is artistic director of Berkeley Rep, where he has staged more than 35 shows - including world premieres by Culture Clash, Rinde Eckert, David Edgar, Danny Hoch, Geoff Hoyle, Quincy Long, and Itamar Moses. Taccone made his Broadway debut with Bridge & Tunnel, which was lauded by the critics and won a Tony Award for its star, Sarah Jones. In 2009, he returned to Broadway to direct Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking, which set box-office records at Berkeley Rep before enjoying a six-city national tour. Taccone commissioned Tony Kushner's legendary Angels in America, co-directed its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum, and has collaborated with Kushner on seven projects including Brundibar and the premiere of Tiny Kushner. Two of Taccone's recent shows transferred to London: Continental Divide played the Barbican in 2004, and Tiny Kushner will play the Tricycle Theatre this fall. His many regional credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, the Eureka Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, the Huntington Theatre Company, The Public Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Yale Repertory Theatre. In 2011, two scripts penned by Taccone will have their premieres.

Geoff Hoyle played a bird on Broadway (the original Zazu in The Lion King) and a dog off Broadway (in Tony Taccone's production of Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak's opera Brundibar). His previous credits at Berkeley Rep include Brundibar, Endgame, Rhinoceros, and Volpone as well as three solo shows commissioned by the Theatre: The Convict's Return, Geni(us), and The First Hundred Years. Mr. Hoyle also created the award-winning solo shows Boomer!, Feast of Fools, and the upcoming Geezer. An accomplished mime, he clowned alongside Bill Irwin and Larry Pisoni in San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus and has performed with Cirque du Soleil and Circus Flora. He has played many regional theaters, appearing most recently at A.C.T. in Scapin, and performs regularly with Teatro ZinZanni. His film appearances include Smooth Talk and Robert Altman's Popeye.

While The Composer is Dead, theatregoers can enjoy 29 special events:

Low-cost previews take place on Friday, November 26; Saturday, November 27; Sunday, November 28; and Tuesday, November 30.
night/OUT on Wednesday, December 1 welcomes the LGBT community. This post-show dance party features snacks from Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food and complimentary beverages provided by Raymond Vineyards.
Opening night festivities are held on Thursday, December 2, including a pre-show dinner for donors at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza and a post-show party for the audience catered by Bistro Liaison and Raymond Vineyards.
Teen Night begins at 6:30 PM on Friday, December 3 and includes dinner, a behind-the-scenes discussion with a member of the artistic team, and a performance of The Composer is Dead. Tickets are only $10 for high-school students. For details, call (510) 647-2972 or e-mail school@berkeleyrep.org.
30 Below - the coolest night of theatre for the under-30 crowd - also returns on Friday, December 3. Enjoy the performance at 8:00 PM and a wild post-show party featuring snacks from Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food and free drinks from Raymond Vineyards. Tickets start at only $23.50 for anyone under 30 years old
Page to Stage, a free talk with Daniel Handler at 7:00 PM on Monday, December 13, will be moderated by Madeleine Oldham, Berkeley Rep's literary manager and dramaturg.
Free 30-minute docent presentations about the show take place at 7:00 PM on the following Tuesday and Thursday evenings: November 30, December 7, December 9, December 14, December 16, December 21, December 23, December 28, December 30, January 4, and January 6.
Post-play discussions moderated by theatre professionals follow the 8:00 PM shows on Friday, December 10; Thursday, December 16; and Tuesday, December 21.
And, on select evenings, patrons can whet their palates for the play with free tastings from these culinary artisans one hour before curtain: Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food on Sunday, December 5; Artesa Vineyards and Winery on Saturday, December 18; Semifreddi's on Friday, December 17 and Saturday, January 8; and Tres Sabores on Friday, December 10.

Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead is part of a series of stunning scripts and stellar performers at Berkeley Rep. The season features two other world premieres: Rinne Groff's compelling Compulsion, starring Mandy Patinkin, and a tantalizing play written by Taccone for legendary actress Rita Moreno. Two West Coast premieres take the stage as well: celebrated collaborators Sarah Ruhl and Les Waters reunite for a refreshing new translation of The Three Sisters while Berkeley Rep welcomes The Great Game: Afghanistan, an unprecedented cycle of 12 short scripts that caused a sensation in London. The Theatre also introduces local audiences to Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined and two audacious new monologues from Mike Daisey: The Last Cargo Cult and The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.

Theatre-lovers can guarantee their seats for these shows by subscribing to Berkeley Rep. Choose three or more plays and get the best seats at the lowest price. In addition to significant savings, subscribers receive valuable benefits such as the right to reschedule for free, discounts when purchasing tickets for friends, and the opportunity to secure seats before the general public for special events like The Arabian Nights and Robin Williams. Best of all, subscribers have guaranteed seats to sold-out shows while others are turned away. Generous discounts are available for senior citizens, theatregoers under 30, and employees of preschools, elementary schools, and secondary schools. Ticket packages begin as low as $81 - and subscribers save up to 26% on every ticket. Because of last season's string of hits, subscriptions to Berkeley Rep are selling fast. For the best seats, order now.

 

So get your ticket for Lemony Snicket! Seats for The Composer is Dead start at only $29. Additional savings are available for groups, seniors, students, and anyone under 30years of age - meaning discounted tickets can be obtained for as little as $14.50. These prices make Berkeley Rep more affordable to people in the community who are just starting school, starting careers, and starting families - because lower prices are now available for every performance.

Spend the holidays with Berkeley Rep. The Roda Theatre is located at 2015 Addison Street, near bus lines, bike routes, and parking lots - and only half a block from BART. For tickets or information, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix - or simply click berkeleyrep.org.

ABOUT BERKELEY REP
Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to a national leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core values of imagination and excellence, as well as its educated and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. The Theatre welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators. With two stages, a school, and a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Berkeley Rep is proud to premiere exhilarating new plays. In the last five years alone, the company has helped send five shows to Broadway: American Idiot, Bridge & Tunnel, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange, and Wishful Drinking. Come see tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep.

 

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