![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellenkushnerOK, WELL, IT'S BROADWAY & W. 76th STREET (not Times Square), BUT STILL . . . .
The Klezmer Nutcracker
a.k.a.
The Golden Dreydl
a.k.a.
the Project that Would not Die . . . .
will be produced in December by Vital Theater Company as The Klezmer Nutcracker.
It is, indeed, an adaptation of my live performance > radio show > album > chapter book. I'm having a blast working with director Linda Ames Key, and choreogapher Dax Valdes, to create a fully-staged extravaganza with 8 adult actors and Shirim's brilliant wacky klezmer version of Tchaikovsky's famous tunes! (The music is pre-recorded - this is children's theater, everyone keeps explaining to me: no budget, but lots of fun, and so far I totally agree.) Like the book itself, and the show I do with the band, this is suitable for older kids: 7-12 is my ideal audience, though I've seen very small kids have a great time, too. Depends on the kid. But most of Vital's other shows are slanted a bit younger, so I hope we can get the word out that now that you're 10 (or even 13) you're not too grown up for The Klezmer Nutcracker!
Performances run December 6-January 3, Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 1pm, with Additional Shows December 29, 30, 31, January 1, 2 at 1pm and Evening Shows Dec. 18, 19, 26 & 29th. Feel free to make your reservations now! I can't promise to be at every single show, but I'll be at many: I am in love with the process - read-throughs, casting, rehearsals . . . it's a dream come true, and I'll want to see as many performances as possible - not to mention the fact that the book will be for sale in the lobby, and it always helps to have the author there signing copies. It's a great little 108-seat theater, not a bad seat in the house - though not wheelchair accessible: there is one flight of stairs.
I'm so glad it's finally official, and I can talk about it! We had our first read-through in August, and it was a blast. Next one's coming up, so I'd better get back to my rewrites now. Tante Miriam gets a lot more lines in this version. And I think we're double-casting her with the Demon King, as they're never onstage at the same time. What a great part! (UPDATE: Auditions are Oct. 10th, and are posted through breakdown express and can be accessed via actorsaccess.com, or write to "kids" at "VitalTheatre" with that dot org thing at the end.)
The Klezmer Nutcracker
a.k.a.
The Golden Dreydl
a.k.a.
the Project that Would not Die . . . .
will be produced in December by Vital Theater Company as The Klezmer Nutcracker.
It is, indeed, an adaptation of my live performance > radio show > album > chapter book. I'm having a blast working with director Linda Ames Key, and choreogapher Dax Valdes, to create a fully-staged extravaganza with 8 adult actors and Shirim's brilliant wacky klezmer version of Tchaikovsky's famous tunes! (The music is pre-recorded - this is children's theater, everyone keeps explaining to me: no budget, but lots of fun, and so far I totally agree.) Like the book itself, and the show I do with the band, this is suitable for older kids: 7-12 is my ideal audience, though I've seen very small kids have a great time, too. Depends on the kid. But most of Vital's other shows are slanted a bit younger, so I hope we can get the word out that now that you're 10 (or even 13) you're not too grown up for The Klezmer Nutcracker!
Performances run December 6-January 3, Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 1pm, with Additional Shows December 29, 30, 31, January 1, 2 at 1pm and Evening Shows Dec. 18, 19, 26 & 29th. Feel free to make your reservations now! I can't promise to be at every single show, but I'll be at many: I am in love with the process - read-throughs, casting, rehearsals . . . it's a dream come true, and I'll want to see as many performances as possible - not to mention the fact that the book will be for sale in the lobby, and it always helps to have the author there signing copies. It's a great little 108-seat theater, not a bad seat in the house - though not wheelchair accessible: there is one flight of stairs.
I'm so glad it's finally official, and I can talk about it! We had our first read-through in August, and it was a blast. Next one's coming up, so I'd better get back to my rewrites now. Tante Miriam gets a lot more lines in this version. And I think we're double-casting her with the Demon King, as they're never onstage at the same time. What a great part! (UPDATE: Auditions are Oct. 10th, and are posted through breakdown express and can be accessed via actorsaccess.com, or write to "kids" at "VitalTheatre" with that dot org thing at the end.)