KU Theatre Presents The Magic Flute

The University Theatre and
The Department of Music and Dance
Present A Virtual Reality Production of

The Magic Flute
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Featuring the KU Symphony Orchestra

Director: Delbert Unruh
Music Director and Conductor: Steven McDonald
Scenic Designer and Virtual Reality Technologist: Mark Reaney
Costume Designer: Ione Unruh
Lighting Design: Stephen Hudson-Mairet
Make-Up Design: Aaron Dyszelski
Choreography: Leslie Bennett

Since its first performance in 1791, The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote) has been immensely popular with audiences who love its farcical story and dazzling spectacular effects. Symbolism, fairy-tale adventures and obscure Masonic lore succeed one another in a dizzying sequence that never fails to convince and captivate. This opera enchants both the novice and the sophisticate, the child and the connoisseur. No opera has a more universal appeal, transcending age and experience, language and class, than does The Magic Flute.

This production, a joint effort of The University Theatre and the KU Department of Music and Dance, will build upon earlier experiments with computer-generated scenography by placing an increased emphasis on the use of CGI-enhanced characters. This production will expand the technology used in the 2001 Theatre for Young People production of Dinosaurus, where computer-generated dinosaurs and live performers were combined to create a hybrid character that had the shape and scale of an actual dinosaur yet retained the emotional and vocal versatility of the human performer. In The Magic Flute this technique will be used to create the fantastic dragons, sorcerers and other fairy tale characters that inhabit the story. A singer may be given the body of a fantastic beast, perform in front of a giant version of the character, or be made to appear to float through imaginary landscapes, all with the aid of digital projection. To create these characters, projection surfaces that can move with the performers and be manipulated by them are required. Digital images will be projected onto specially designed costumes, props and masks.

A wonderful story, gorgeous music, and virtual renditions of the Queen of the Night, Prince Tamino, Papageno, Pamina, and the evil Sarastro should make this new staging of Mozart's masterpiece one to remember.

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CAST

Tamino: Joshua Mochel (April 26, May 2 & 4)
Brandon Snook (April 27, May 1 & 3)
1st Lady: Kristin Johnston
2nd Lady: Kelli Berry
3rd Lady: Andrea M. Coleman
Papageno: David Lara
Queen of the Night: Yoojin Jeon (April 27, May 1 & 4)
Ashley Elizabeth Winters (April 26, May 2 & 3)
Monostatos: Andrew J. Graves
1st Slave: Kelley Bryce Davies
2nd Slave: Kellen Cruden
Pamina: Greer Davis (April 27, May 1 & 3)
Soyoun Lim (April 26, May 2 & 4)
Speaker: Evan C. Grosshans
Sorastro: Benjamin Winters
1st Priest: Brian Heinen
2nd Priest: Darren Maloney
1st Armed Man: Dustin Peterson
2nd Armed Man: Evan C. Grosshans
Papagena: Akiko Imkawa

Bühnenarabiter
Katrina Alford
Thomas Davis
James F. Horton
Anne Schmader
Joshua Vignery
Andrew York
Spirits Melissa Hambleton
Katie Niesen
Laura Willms

Chorus
Avguste Antonov
Michael Brown
Emily Chaney
Hilary Dow
Emily Hernandez
Dylan Hilpman
Sara Koven
Shannon Marsh
Shaun Whisler

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