CLC's FROM THE HOUSE OF MIRTH Opens Tonight, 5/9

Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie (CLC) presents the world premiere of From the House of Mirth, directed and choreographed by James Kudelka from today, May 9 through May 13 at its new home, The Citadel. A show has been added on Sunday, May 13 at 8pm due to popular demand.

Kudelka turns to America's Gilded Age and Edith Wharton's 1905 novel, The House of Mirth, as inspiration for his latest work. From the House of Mirth is a music/dance/theatre collaboration with original score by Rodney Sharman and libretto by Alex Poch-Goldin, featuring both choreography and theatrical direction by Kudelka.

The novel tells of Lily Bart's tragic descent from the glittering social circle of 1890s New York to poverty and a solitary death, her dreams of marriage - whether for wealth or love - shattered by convention and by her own conflicted desires. Kudelka's challenge has been to create a vocabulary of movement, music and theatre that can evoke the story's moral issues, while illustrating the heroine's inner life and her relationships to the men that help her, make demands on her and would save her.

The whole evening is presented as a salon concert, staged in intimate venues including private homes. Plans are currently underway to tour it to The Mount, Edith Wharton's home in the Berkshires, for the 150th anniversary of Wharton's birth.

James Kudelka is widely acknowledged as one of North America's most innovative choreographers. His mastery of both classical ballet and modern/contemporary dance has earned him commissions from companies as stylistically diverse as American Ballet Theatre, Chicago's Hubbard Street Dance and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. Kudelka's work covers an impressive range, from virtuoso pas de deux, through large-scale and always arresting adaptations of such classics as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Cinderella, to boldly innovative creative collaborations with dancers, designers and musicians. After nine distinguished years as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada (1996-2005), James Kudelka continues to undertake collaborative projects that engage and challenge him as a choreographer. In 2008, Kudelka became CLC's Resident Choreographer.

CAST: Singers - Scott Belluz, Graham Thomson, Alex Dobson, Geoffrey Sirett Bass Baritone; Dancers - Laurence Lemieux, Claudia Moore, Christianne Ullmark. Musicians - Parmela Attariwala, Carina Reeves, Sanya Eng, Kathryn Tremills and John Hess.

Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie presents the world premiere of From the House of Mirth, a music/dance/theatre collaboration, directed and choreographed by James Kudelka, with original music composed by Rodney Sharman, libretto by Alex Poch-Goldin, musical direction by John Hess, set design by David Gaucher, costume design by Jim Searle and Chris Tyrell for Hoax Couture, lighting design by Simon Rossiter, stage management by Gillian Lewis. The show runs May 9 to May 13, 2012 at The Citadel, 304 Parliament Street, Toronto, Wed-Sun at 8pm with matinees May 10 at 3pm, May 12 at 4pm and May 13 at 4pm.

Tickets: $50 except May 10 at 3pm is Pay-What-You-Can and May 10 at 8pm is a Gala with tickets at $100. Box Office: 416-364-8011 or online at colemanlemieux.com.

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