UNLV's production of the musical "Falsettos" will be performed in Washington, D.C., in May as part of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival -- one of only four university productions across America chosen for the prestigious festival.
"To be selected to perform at the Kennedy Center as part of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival is a great honor," said Joe Aldridge, chair of UNLV's theatre department."To be one of four shows chosen from a field of 2,000 is like making basketball's `Final Four,'" he continued.
This is the first time in more than 20 years that a UNLV production has been selected to go the Kennedy Center, Aldridge said. In 1975, the play UNLV took to the festival was "The House of Bernarda Alba."
Although the festival is not a competition, productions are adjudicated at several levels before the four finalists are selected.
Two UNLV productions were chosen to be performed at the regional level at Chapman University in February. In addition to "Falsettos," an original play by Walter Wykes, "The Father Clock," was performed.
Following the performances at Chapman, "Falsettos" was chosen to go to the final level of the festival in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Todd Horman and Jim Ballard, the two principal actors in "Falsettos," were honored for their performance excellence following their appearance at the regional festival.
Performances of "Falsettos" at the Kennedy Center are scheduled for the evenings of May 1 and 2 in the center's Terrace Theatre.
In order to give Southern Nevadans who missed UNLV's original run of "Falsettos" a chance to see the show before it goes to Washington, a special performance of the play has been scheduled for 8:30 p.m. April 11 in Judy Bayley Theatre. Tickets are $10 and are on sale at the Performing Arts Center box office at Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall.
For additional information on tickets, call the box office at 895-3801.
Written by James Lapine and William Finn, the Tony award-winning play was described by Time magazine as "the first and only great musical of the 90s ... the richest emotional experience on Broadway."
The first act, "March of the Falsettos," is set in 1979 and follows the life of Marvin, a nice Jewish man. He is married to Trina, devoted to his son Jason, and in love with a man named Whizzer. After coming to terms with his homosexuality, Marvin divorces Trina. Three years later in "Falsettoland," Trina marries Marvin's psychiatrist and Jason gets bar mitzvahed.
Bob Burgan, professor of theatre at UNLV, directed "Falsettos." The rest of the production staff was composed of UNLV students. They included set designer Michele Anderson, costume designer Jennifer Foster, and lighting designer Stuart Beck, all of whom are graduate students in the master of fine arts design/technology program. The technical direction was done by Steve Shumway, also a graduate student in the design/technology program. Brian Hicks, a graduate student in the music department, was the musical director.
In addition to Horman and Ballard, the cast includes Brian Anderson, Joanna Durso, Jessica Raymer, and Eric Deloretta. For the performances at the Kennedy Center, Raymer will be replaced by Stephanie Rose because Raymer will be performing in "Drood!" at UNLV.
For ticket information for the April 11 performance of "Falsettos" at UNLV, call 895-3801. For additional information on "Falsettos" or on UNLV's participation in the Kennedy Center/American Theatre Festival, call Linda McCollum at 895-3662.
