The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the world premiere of Georama, book by West Hyler and Matt Schatz, music and lyrics by Schatz and additional music and lyrics by Jack Herrick. Directed by Hyler, this sweeping and celebratory musical runs January 20 - February 7 in the Emerson Studio Theatre of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts. Curtain times are Tuesdays at 7 pm; Wednesdays-Fridays at 8 pm; Saturday matinees at 4 pm; selected Saturday nights at 8 pm; with Sunday performances at 2 and 7 pm.
In the mid 1800s, John Banvard created the first georama, a three-mile long scrolled painting celebrating the majesty of the Mighty Mississippi. Once a starving sketch artist, his creation catapulted him to a life of luxury and notoriety, but also brought competition and deception that threatened to push his passion to the wayside. Georama illustrates an artist's rise and fall, and the choice between the art he loves and the life he's always longed for.
Georama began its long journey to the stage in 2007, when Hyler first read about Banvard's epic rise and fall from riches in a McSweeney's article. He soon brought aboard Schatz and Herrick to construct the tunes that would soundtrack a stage adaptation (
listen to song demos here). Their vision got a massive boost in 2014, when The Rep presented a reading of the musical as part of its Ignite! New Play Festival. Now The Rep is proud to stage the show's world premiere.
A massive part of the production will be an actual "georama" painting that will scroll through a series of hand-painted scenic backdrops. Measuring roughly 600 feet long, this incredible undertaking is the result of countless hours of concept work from scenic designer Scott C. Neale (One Man, Two Guvnors), as well as weeks of hand painting by artists at The Paint Space in South St. Louis City. The painting will transport audiences from the St. Louis riverfront to Boston, New York City, London, Egypt and more. Members of the backstage crew will hand-crank the panoramic painting to make it move.
The production design team also includes costume designer Meg Weedon, lighting designer
Ann Wrightson and sound designer Rusty Wandall. Shannon B. Sturgis serves as stage manager.
Georama stars
PJ Griffith as Banvard, with
Jillian Louis as his wife and business partner Elizabeth.
Randy Blair will play the opportunistic Taylor, while
Dan Sharkey (The Fantasticks) fills a variety of roles. Music director Jacob Yates and multi-instrumentalist
Emily Mikesell provide live musical accompaniment.
Tickets are $42 (previews), $50 (weeknights and Sundays) and $65 (Fridays and Saturdays). They are available at The Rep Box Office, located inside the Loretto-Hilton Center, by phone at
(314) 968-4925 and online at
http://www.repstl.org.
The Loretto-Hilton Center is located at 130 Edgar Road (on the campus of Webster University).
For additional information about The Rep's production of Georama, including a guide introducing the characters, plot and background on the play, photos related to the production and more, visit The Rep's comprehensive public website at
http://www.repstl.org.
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