Starting Gate Productions presents...
A theatrical masterpiece, immortalized on stage and screen, exploring artistic genius and obsessive aspiration toward the effortless, the Divine and the indelible.
Directed by: Don Eitel
Assistant Director and Stage Manager: Jess Johnson Frohling
Featuring the Talents of:
Jane Froiland, Ryan Grimes, Vanessa Magowan Horrocks, Richard Jackson, Carson Lee, Jerome R. Marzullo, Mo Perry, Dale Pfielsticker, Carl Schoenborn, Courtney Sebo, and Wade Vaughn
Set design by Tamatha Miller, Lighting design by Mark
Webb, Sound Design by David Schliep, Props by Katie Oliver, Costumes
by Tina Frederickson, and Wigs by Elin Anderson, Masks designed and built by Jen Rand
January 26 - February 18, 2007
Fridays - Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sunday Matinees at 2:00pm
PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE NO LONGER THURSDAY EVENING PERFORMANCES
Audio Described Performance - Sunday, February 11
Pay What You Want - Monday, February 5 (7:30)
All Performances are at the Mounds Theatre in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood just east of downtown Saint Paul.
Tickets are $18 general, $16 students and seniors.
Call for tickets 651-645-3503
Press Section
Thoughts from the Director:
When the opportunity came, after 5 years as Artistic Director, to direct a play for Starting Gate, Amadeus was the first one to come to mind. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. It’s not the kind of play a ‘small theatre company’ produces…but then again, neither is “Death of a Salesman,” “A Lie of the Mind,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” or “A Raisin in the Sun” all plays in which I had a hand in selecting. In these productions we managed to find success in that the story was told through a meaningful theatrical experience.
Amadeus is a play that requires a sure director, a mess-load of period costumes, a simple but effective set, intricate lighting to set place and time, sound worthy of the music of Mozart, and actors to pull off an amazing feat of talent. I knew that this was the right play at the right time for me.
I’ve been teaching guitar at East Metro Music Academy for the last three years. I’ve been composing guitar music for various plays/theatres across Minnesota (Jon Hassler Theatre in Plainview, Paul Bunyan Playhouse in Bemidji, Pioneer Place on Fifth in St. Cloud, Actors Theatre in St. Paul, and Illusion Theatre in Minneapolis). All along, I was looking for the moment when my skills in music and theatre would finally find synthesis.
Peter Shaffer’s script requires a conductor to set the tempo, rhythm, and meter. The cadences flash and thunder in moments of stunning theatricality. It approaches its subject matter in an operatic fashion; Gods, Heroes, and Tragedy.
There is a fine line to draw between the very human and the melodramatic elements of the script. That balance is part of the fun in telling of the story...and what a fantastic story it is.
Don Eitel
TALKING POINTS
- Artistic Director Don Eitel's directing debut for Starting Gate
- Associate Artistic Director Richard Jackson's acting debut for Starting Gate
- Production opens on the weekend of Mozarts birthday!
- Production will remount at St. Cloud's Pioneer Place on Fifth in St. Cloud immediately after the run.
- 80% of the costumes will be hand made by Tina Frederickson
Further inquiries regarding the production please call Don Eitel 612-532-4718
Promotional Photos
Photos featuring Richard Jackson (front), Jane Froiland, and Carson Lee.
Download the photo in High Res JPEG format below
or on the picture. Right Click and select Save As:
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photos by John Autey
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