In the News
Three Pianos, a theater work inspired by Franz Schubert's song cycleWinterreise, brings together three friends for song, contemplation, and wine. Lots of wine.
Three Pianos at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge is a loving tribute to Franz Schubert (1797-1828) and his romantic song cycle Winterreise
At a Valentine’s Day party several years ago, three friends — Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duff, and Dave Malloy — discovered a shared love for Austrian composer Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise.”
As they played the music, drank and debated, an idea was born: to create a theater piece that incorporates Schubert’s music.
The result is “Three Pianos,” and it takes place both in Schubert’s time and today, at an all-night party where pianos are not only played but used as props– they’re sat on, spun in circles, used as a bar and a bed. Even the audience gets to drink wine and take part.
The Village Voice describes the show as “like being cozily tucked away with a clutch of nerdy music-loving friends.”
“Three Pianos” won an Obie in New York and is currently playing at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge Massachusetts. Here & Now‘s Robin Young met with all three performers there. They told her that the show is a recreation of something called a “Schubertiad,” a type of party that Schubert held with poets and composers where they would make art.
“Three Pianos” is an awesome party for music nerds.
In a season that’s notably short on Christmas shows compared to recent years, it’s actually pretty incredible how the three polymath players behind Three Pianos have turned Schubert’s melancholy and heartbroken song cycle Winterreise into a warm and jocular testament to music, music making, and friendship.
WILD SWANS AUDITION NOTICE
The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) will be holding an information/audition session for Non-Equity Local Ensemble roles in the upcoming production of Wild Swans.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 from 5:30-7:30 PM.
Not knowing all that much about Schubert I came away informed and curious, which may be what his emphatic cheerleaders want us to be. And, hey, if they want to turn Schubert into a household name, perhaps they should convince Lady Gaga to do a few dance remixes.
In the same spirit as that of the Muppets, the iconic puppets created by Jim Henson whose mayhem and mischief speak to children and adults, “The Snow Queen,” complete with its own set of enchanted puppets, engages audiences of any age with a clever and elegantly reimagined version of the classic fairy tale by Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The new stage adaptation is the work of a group of students from the A.R.T. Institute, a two-year, graduate training program for aspiring actors and dramaturges. Institute student Tyler J. Monroe adapted the story for the stage.
