Press Notes: from MMDG
February 02, 2009
LOVE LIVES ON
By: MMDG
MARK MORRIS’ ROMEO & JULIET, ON MOTIFS OF SHAKESPEARE RETURNS TO THE U.S. THIS SPRING
London Praise for Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare:
“Mark Morris's recreation of Prokofiev's 'lost' Shakespearean score exudes eccentric charm.”
-The Observer (U.K.)
“…many witty, poignant details of human interchange which make his [Morris’] the most intelligently faithful to Shakespeare of the choreographed versions…”
-Times Literary Supplement (U.K.)
The Mark Morris Dance Group’s (MMDG) new production of Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare, returns to the U.S. this spring. Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare, choreographed by Mark Morris, will be performed by the Mark Morris Dance Group and various orchestras led by Stefan Asbury.
Commissioning the $1.3 million production in association with The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College and the Mark Morris Dance Group are: barbicanbite08, London; Cal Performances, Berkeley; Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Millennium Park, Chicago; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Virginia Arts Festival; and additional, individual commissioners.
Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare performance dates are:
March 13-14, 2009
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts with Sinfonia da Camera (Urbana, IL)
May 8-10, 2009
Virginia Arts Festival, Chrysler Hall with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (Norfolk, VA)
May 14-17, 2009
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Rose Theater with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (New York, NY)
MetLife Foundation is the Official Tour Sponsor of the Mark Morris Dance Group.
This historic event features a new, fully-staged dance production by Morris set to Prokofiev’s original score and scenario by Soviet dramatist Sergey Radlov, based on exclusive documents unearthed in Moscow by Princeton University musicologist and Bard Scholar in Residence Simon Morrison, and represents the first time Prokofiev’s music for Romeo and Juliet is being performed according to the composer’s instructions.
The production features two alternating casts dancing the lead roles: MMDG dancers Maile Okamura and Noah Vinson; and Rita Donahue and David Leventhal. The roles of the lovers’ parents, the Montagues and Capulets, will be performed by former MMDG dancers Teri Weksler and Guillermo Resto, Megan Williams and Shawn Gannon respectively. The pivotal male roles of Mercutio and Tybalt are danced by female company members Elisa Clark and Julie Worden.
Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare features scenic design by Allen Moyer, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, and lighting design by James F. Ingalls, all of whom are longtime collaborators with Mark Morris.
A website dedicated to the production is online at www.lovelives.net.
