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MAGIc and myth come to life in SEATTLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE’s

world-premiere HOLIDAY PRODUCTION OF THE SORCERER’s APPRENTICE

 

Anne Allgood as Miss Marguerite and Connor Toms as Charles. Photo by Chris Bennion.( Seattle , WA )—For its holiday play, Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT) will present the world-premiere production of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, inspired by an ancient Greek fable, Dec. 1 through Jan. 27.  This theatrical extravaganza is the creation of a highly-acclaimed artistic team—playwright OyamO, composer Carman Moore, choreographer Donald McKayle and director Linda Hartzell —who, along with a stellar cast and extraordinary sets and costumes, will bring this timeless tale to life on stage.

Steeped with magic realism, and with “N’Orleans-style” swing and jazz music by a four-piece live band, this innovative production follows the trials and tribulations of young Charles.  When Charles comes across the queen of an enchanted forest and witnesses her supernatural powers as a healer of the environment, he vows to become her apprentice.  However, his arrogance and gullibility all but ruin his chances until he learns his lessons and bravely aids the sorcerer in a battle against her villain.

“This ancient tale uses a fantastical, exciting world of magic realism to show us that there are consequences for our actions,” said Hartzell, who is also SCT’s artistic director.  “It reminds us that how we treat others matters, and sometimes you have to be patient, listen to others and pay your dues.  With evocative music, this play transports us to a world where being good isn’t always easy, but it is rewarded in the end.”

Public performances of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice run Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 and 5:30 p.m. at Seattle Children’s Theatre, located at 201 Thomas Street at Seattle Center .  Tickets range in price from $16 to $32 and may be purchased by calling the SCT ticket office at (206) 441-3322 or by visiting www.sct.org.  This production is recommended for ages six and older.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice has had many incarnations, including a fable written in 150 C.E. by Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata; a poem written in 1779 by the famous German intellectual Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; an 1897 concert piece by French composer Paul Dukas; and Walt Disney’s 1940 film Fantasia.  SCT’s play uses the sorcerer’s apprentice story as a foundation for the action, but incorporates other story elements as well.

SCT is delighted to work with celebrated playwright OyamO and noted composer and conductor Carman Moore, who are cousins.  Renowned choreographer Donald McKayle, who danced in the original West Side Story, also adds much to this production.  With generous sponsorship from the Bureau of Education & Research, SCT will use live musicians, with music direction and orchestrations by David Duvall.  Longtime SCT collaborators Carey Wong, set design; Cathy Hunt, costume design; and Douglas N. Paasch, puppet design, created the remarkable world of the enchanted forest and the characters within.      

SYNOPSIS

Young, hungry and on his own, Charles finds himself in a mystical wood with talking plants and animals—the prickly Jeremy Groundhog, Southern belle Miss Orange Tree, the grounded Mr. Juniper Bush and more.  Catching a glimpse of Marguerite, the queen of the forest, he is astounded as she makes everyday objects sail through the air, work in the garden and seem to come alive.  He has never seen a sorcerer before!

Charles eagerly seeks to become her apprentice, but his arrogance, disrespect and gullibility have him quickly run through the three chances that Marguerite granted him.  After the third incident, the sorcerer’s trust in Charles is gone.  In his desperation, he turns to Big John King, an evil flimflam artist, to convince Marguerite to take him back.

Now things look bleak for Marguerite, but Charles comes to his mentor’s aid, fending off John’s giant and sinister minions in a spectacular battle.  For his loyalty and bravery, Marguerite gives him another chance; he has finally learned to listen to others and is truly ready to be the sorcerer’s apprentice.  

CAST AND DESIGN TEAM

            The cast for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice includes Anne Allgood as Miss Marguerite, Mo Brady as Mr. Juniper Bush/Demon, Khanh Doan as Miss Grapevine/Demon, Lisa Estridge as Jeremy Groundhog/Demon, Peter A. Jacobs as Mr. Who/Gordagu, Terence Kelley as Baron, Leslie Law as Miss Orange Tree, David Silverman as Big John King and Connor Toms as Charles.

The production features set design by Carey Wong, costume design by Cathy Hunt, lighting design by Andrew Duff,  sound design by Chris R. Walker, fight choreography by Geoffrey Alm, puppet design/coaching by Douglas N. Paasch, magic design by Steffan Soule, and dialect coaching by Judith Shahn.  

            A limited amount of $10 rush tickets will be available Friday nights (except for opening night) at SCT’s ticket office, located at 201 Thomas Street in Seattle.  There will be an American Sign Language interpreted performance of the play for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons on Saturday, December 16, at 2 p.m.  For tickets, call (206) 441-3322, voice, or (206) 443-6938, TTY.  The Target Family Matinee, including post-show discussions with the artists, free giveaways from Target and discounted ticket prices, will be on Saturday, December 9, at 2 p.m.   

Seattle Children’s Theatre would like to thank season sponsors Microsoft and Boeing, music sponsor the Bureau of Education & Research, and media sponsor KUOW 94.9 radio for their generous support of this production.

            In its 32nd season, Seattle Children’s Theatre performs September through June in the Charlotte Martin and Eve Alvord Theatres at Seattle Center .  Since its inception, SCT has gained acclaim as a leading producer of theatre, educational programs and new scripts for young people.  SCT has presented 184 plays, 92 of which have been world premieres, and entertained over 4 million children.  

CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES

Playwright OyamO (a.k.a. Charles F. Gordon) is an Associate Professor of Theatre and writer-in-residence at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his plays have been produced in numerous theatres.  He has received fellowships from the Berrilla Kerr, Guggenheim, Rockefeller and McKnight Foundations, as well as grants from the Ohio and New York State Arts Councils and three National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) fellowships.  He is a member of PEN, Dramatists Guild, New Dramatists (alumni), the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Writers Guild East and the Black Theatre Network.  For HBO he wrote an episode for the Famous Black American Anthology and a television adaptation of I Am a Man.   I Am a Man will also be produced this coming May at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre.  His show Boundless Grace recently opened at The Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis .  Other productions to open this spring include Famous Orpheus at the Geva Theatre in Rochester , New York ; Let Me Live at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago ; and The Resurrection of Lady Lester at the Kuntu Repertory Company in Pittsburgh .  For Seattle Children’s Theatre, Oyamo wrote Pink and Say, which premiered at SCT in 1998.

Composer Carman Moore received his Masters, with honors, at the Juilliard School .  Since then he has become one of the world's most-acclaimed composers, with commissions and performances by such world-class ensembles as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.   Moore has served as music critic and columnist for the Village Voice and has composed for musical theatre, music for meditation, music for children, scores for film and theatre, pop music and modern dance.  Among Moore 's scores for theatre are Yale Rep's production of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens (starring James Earl Jones and directed by Lloyd Richards) and When The Bough Breaks at LaMama E.T.C. directed by Lawrence Sacharow.  Moore taught at the Yale University Graduate School of Music, Carnegie-Mellon University , and New School University .  In addition, he has taught children in the New York City Public Schools as artist-teacher for the Lincoln Center Institute.  His self-performed meditation CDs Home and Interfaith Meditations have just been released. 

Successful in the worlds of dance and theatre, Choreographer Donald McKayle has created dances for concert stages, Broadway, television and film.  He made his professional dance debut in 1948 with New York ’s New Dance Group and was a dancer in the original production of West Side Story (1957).  In 1951, along with Daniel Nagrin and others, he founded the Contemporary Dance Group, which premiered McKayle's Games that same year.  His Broadway credits include Golden Boy (1964), I'm Solomon (1969), Raisin (1974) and Dr. Jazz (1975); he was also one of the four choreographers for Sophisticated Ladies (1981).  Beginning in 1963, McKayle choreographed for television programs including “The Ed Sullivan Show” (1966-1967), “The Bill Cosby Special” (1968), the 1970 Oscar Presentations, and the Marlo Thomas special “Free to Be You and Me” (1974).  He created dances for films such as The Great White Hope (1969), Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1970) and Charlie and the Angel (1972).  And in the field of popular music, he has choreographed stage acts for singers such as Harry Belafonte and Tina Turner.  McKayle's numerous honors include five Tony Award nominations, the NAACP Image Award and an Emmy Award nomination.  

# # #  

SEATTLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE’S

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

WHAT:           Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT) presents OyamO’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, with music by Carman Moore, choreography by Donald McKayle and direction by SCT Artistic Director Linda Hartzell .  This world-premiere production will run from December 1 through January 27, 2007.  

WHERE:         Seattle Children’s Theatre’s Charlotte Martin Theatre

                                201 Thomas Street , Seattle ( Seattle Center )  

WHEN:           December 1                          7 p.m.

                                December 2                          2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 3                          2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 8                          7 p.m.

                                December 9                          2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 10                       2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 15                       7 p.m.

                                December 16                       2 p.m. (American Sign Language Interpreted) & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 17                       2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 19                       11 a.m.

                                December 20                       11 a.m.

                                December 21                       2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

                                December 22                       2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

                                December 23                       2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 27                       2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                December 28                       11 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.

                                December 29                       2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

                                December 30                       2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                January 5                             7 p.m.

                                January 6                             2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                January 7                             2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                January 12                           7 p.m.

                                January 13                           2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                January 14                           2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                January 19                           7 p.m.

                                January 20                           2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                January 21                           2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

                                January 26                           7 p.m.

                                January 27                           2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.                               

TICKETS:      Tickets range in price from $16 to $32 and may be purchased by calling SCT’s ticket office at (206) 441-3322 or by visiting www.sct.org.  Recommended for ages six and older.  

INFO:                 Steeped in magic realism, this world-premiere production brings to life an enchanted forest with talking plants and animals.  When young Charles comes across the queen of the forest and witnesses her mystical powers, he vows to become her apprentice.  However, his arrogance and disrespect all but ruin his chances, until he learns his lessons and bravely aids the sorcerer in a battle against her villain.


   

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