Original work directed and choreographed by DJ Salisbury
Book and lyrics by DJ Salisbury
Music by Neil Berg
Music Direction by Nathan R. Matthews
November 19-22 at 7:30 pm
November 22 & 23 at 2 pm
Buffalo, NY � The University at Buffalo Department of Theatre & Dance will present THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING from Wednesday, November 19 through Sunday, November 23 in the Black Box, located at Center for the Arts, North Campus. Performance times are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm. The original musical has a book by DJ Salisbury, music by Neil Berg, and lyrics by DJ Salisbury. The music director for the production is Nathan R. Matthews, UB Director of Music Theatre.
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING is a period musical based on Kipling�s novella of the same name. Set in Imperial British India, in 1888, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING tells an adventurous tale of legendary treasure, greed, imperialistic hubris, mistaken identity, love, and treachery. Two former soldiers, after being threatened with deportation, seek to secure their fortune by pursuing a rumor of ancient gold in the remote villages of the Hindu Kush mountains. On their quest, they rescue a young woman from a dreaded pre-arranged marriage and quickly become the leaders of the mountain tribes. Soon after, one of the rogues � by virtue of a medallion under his shirt � survives an arrow to the heart and is declared the long awaited Messiah. Sitting out winter until they can make their way back over the mountains and return to England as rich men, one falls in love with the woman they�d rescued, and the other transforms into a noble man as he pretends to be a god. But when the �Messiah� decides to stay behind and continue the charade by marrying the woman his friend loves, their pact of friendship is pushed to a breaking point... as is the strict religious code of the people. The tragic and intriguing adventure is woven via flashback sequences.
The musical has had a developmental reading at The Village Theater in Issaquah, WA (directed by Tony Award winner Brian Yorkey, writer of Next To Normal), a staged reading at the Rubicon Theater in CA as part of the Los Angeles Musical Theatre Festival, and a showcase presentation at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Moises Kaufman of the Tectonic Theater Project has also supported the piece with dramaturgical guidance. The fully-orchestrated CD recording, featuring Brian d'Arcy James, Marc Kudisch and Mandy Gonzalez can be found on iTunes.
The production will be directed by guest artist DJ Salisbury. Salisbury has directed and/or choreographed nationwide including Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, Dallas Summer Musicals, the Sacramento Music Circus, and the Riverside Theater of Vero Beach, FL. In New York City he has worked at Jazz@LincolnCenter, Hudson Guild Theater, Queens Theater in the Park, and the Zipper Theater.
Composer Neil Berg is the composer/lyricist of Off-Broadway�s The Prince and the Pauper, which ran for two years at the Lambs Theater in New York City. He is collaborating with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Robert Schenkkan on a new rock musical called The Twelve which will open at the Denver Center in the spring of 2015. Neil also composed the musical Grumpy Old Men based on the Warner Brothers film, the musical Heidi (book by Julia Jordan), Hexed in the City (Off-Broadway), the fairytale musical Never Grimm (book by Jonathan Feldman, screenwriter for the film Swing Kids), and Tim and Scrooge (with book and lyrics by Nick Meglin, former editor of Mad Magazine). As a Producer, Neil is the creator and co-producer of Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway, the number one Broadway touring concert in the United States for nearly a decade.
Nathan R. Matthews, UB Director of Music Theatre, will music direct and conduct the production. The founding Producing Artistic Director of the Riverside Opera Ensemble in NYC and a former member of the music staff of the Santa Fe Opera, Matthews has collaborated on Broadway and across North America with artists such as Dixie Carter, Malcolm Gets, Mark Hamill, and Anne Hathaway. In WNY he has also music directed at the Irish Classical Theatre Company (A Man of No Importance), Musicalfare (Sweeney Todd), Kavinoky Theatre (Glorious!) and at Artpark (Smokey Joe�s Caf�).
Students in the Music Theatre B. F.A. degree program comprise the cast of THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING.
Produced by University at Buffalo�s Department of Theatre & Dance.
Tickets for THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING are $20.00 for the general public and $10.00 for students and senior citizens. Tickets are available at the Center Box Office (Mon.-Fri. 10am-6pm) and all Ticketmaster locations including tickets.com. To charge tickets call 1-888-223-6000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For more information, call 645-2787. For Group Sales, call 645-6771. The Center for the Arts is a TICKETFAST location. Students (of any school) must present valid student ID at the Center Box Office to receive a discount.
INFORMATION
EVENT:
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
WHERE:
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
BLACK BOX THEATRE
UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, NORTH CAMPUS
WHEN:
NOVEMBER 19-22 AT 7:30PM
NOVEMBER 22 & 23 AT 2PM
TICKETS:
$20.00 GENERAL ADMISSION
$10.00 STUDENTS & SENIORS
CENTER FOR THE ARTS BOX OFFICE
(MON-FRI, 10AM-6PM)
tickets.com
PHONE:
CHARGE: 1-888-223-6000
INFO: 645-2787
GROUPS: 645-6771
WEB SITE:
www.ubcfa.org |
