present - Las Cruces Public...
1
& present June 7 th to 14 th , Scaffolding Theatre Company and NMSU Theatre Arts present “Nine” at the Center for the Arts on the NMSU campus. Inspired by Federico Fellini’s semi-autobiographic film “8 ½,” it was adapted from the Italian by Mario Fratti and features a book by Arthur Kopit. Maury Yeston composed the music and lyrics for the Tony Award winning Best Score, and the show won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical centers on Guido Contini, a renowned filmmaker who is creatively stifled. He should be focusing on his next film, but instead is entangled in a web of difficulties with the many women in his life as he insists on behaving like a 9 year old. “The harmonic complexity of the score is enticing to any singer, but the story is also incredibly moving,” says Scaffolding Theatre Company co- founder Megan McQueen. “I’ve loved the piece ever since watching the 2003 Broadway revival from my standing room position. Consequently, I moved to Pennsylvania to be in the show in 2004. I’ve longed to produce it here ever since.” McQueen has been working with the production’s director Justin Lucero for several months to found Scaffolding Theatre Company and determine the creative approach to staging this production. “The parallel of Contini’s anxiety about producing art of worth and our anxiety in taking on such an ambitious project has not gone unnoticed,” says Lucero. “It is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.” The script describes the location as “the dreamscape of Guido Contini’s mind,” which has inspired an unconventional approach to staging the show. “Since Contini is a filmmaker, we are seating the audience on the stage of the Mark & Stephanie Medoff Auditorium which will represent the soundstage where Contini works,” explains Lucero. “The audience will be seated around the performers and face the stunning auditorium which will represent the spa he visits for respite.” The cast features many veterans of the Las Cruces stage: Charles LeCocq as Guido Contini, McQueen as his wife Luisa, Denise Castaneda as his mistress Carla, Amy Lynn Whipple as his producer LaFleur, Aylin White as his muse Claudia, Amanda Bradford as his mother, LaSasha Aldredge as Sarraghina, Alyssa Gose as Our Lady of the Spa, and Meagan Higgins as Necrophorus. The production team includes pianist David Cunniff, choreographer Karlos Saucedo, lighting designer Sam Tyson, costume designer Shay Harris, and stage manager Erica Krauel. Performances are Saturday June 7, Sunday June 8, Friday June 13, and Saturday June 14 at 7:30pm. Sponsors will receive reserved seating. General admission tickets are $15 by cash or check, and are available at the Center for the Arts Box office Fridays and Saturdays from 12-4pm. For more information, including videos about the process of creating the production, visit www.nmsutheatre.com/nine.php or call 575-646-5952.
Transcript of present - Las Cruces Public...
&
present
June 7th to 14th, Scaffolding Theatre Company and NMSU Theatre Arts present “Nine” at the Center for the Arts on the NMSU campus. Inspired by Federico Fellini’s semi-autobiographic film “8 ½,” it was adapted from the Italian by Mario Fratti and features a book by Arthur Kopit. Maury Yeston composed the music and lyrics for the Tony Award winning Best Score, and the show won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Musical.
The musical centers on Guido Contini, a renowned filmmaker who is creatively stifled. He should be focusing on his next film, but instead is entangled in a web of difficulties with the many women in his life as he insists on behaving like a 9 year old.
“The harmonic complexity of the score is enticing to any singer, but the story is also incredibly moving,” says Scaffolding Theatre Company co-founder Megan McQueen. “I’ve loved the piece ever since watching the 2003 Broadway revival from my standing room position. Consequently, I moved to Pennsylvania to be in the show in 2004. I’ve longed to produce it here ever since.”
McQueen has been working with the production’s director Justin Lucero for several months to found Scaffolding Theatre Company and determine the creative approach to staging this production.
“The parallel of Contini’s anxiety about producing art of worth and our anxiety in taking on such an ambitious project has not gone unnoticed,” says Lucero. “It is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.”
The script describes the location as “the dreamscape of Guido Contini’s mind,” which has inspired an unconventional approach to staging the show. “Since Contini is a filmmaker, we are seating the audience on the stage of the Mark & Stephanie Medoff Auditorium which will represent the soundstage where Contini works,” explains Lucero. “The audience will be seated around the performers and face the stunning auditorium which will represent the spa he visits for respite.”
The cast features many veterans of the Las Cruces stage: Charles LeCocq as Guido Contini, McQueen as his wife Luisa, Denise Castaneda as his mistress Carla, Amy Lynn Whipple as his producer LaFleur, Aylin White as his muse Claudia, Amanda Bradford as his mother, LaSasha Aldredge as Sarraghina, Alyssa Gose as Our Lady of the Spa, and Meagan Higgins as Necrophorus. The production team includes pianist David Cunniff, choreographer Karlos Saucedo, lighting designer Sam Tyson, costume designer Shay Harris, and stage manager Erica Krauel.
Performances are Saturday June 7, Sunday June 8, Friday June 13, and Saturday June 14 at 7:30pm. Sponsors will receive reserved seating. General admission tickets are $15 by cash or check, and are available at the Center for the Arts Box office Fridays and Saturdays from 12-4pm. For more information, including videos about the process of creating the production, visit www.nmsutheatre.com/nine.php or call 575-646-5952.
