Area-Premiere: Queen of the Mist
at the Broadview Heights Spotlights
The Broadview Heights
Spotlights will present the non-New-York-City premiere of Michael John
LaChiusa’s musical, The Queen of the Mist. The play tells the
amazing, true story of Anne Edson Taylor, a 63-year-old school teacher who, on
October 24, 1901, was the first person to travel over Niagara Falls in a barrel
and survive. This year marks the 115th anniversary of her
remarkable feat. This production will be exclusively sponsored by The Dennis
Agency: Insure for Epic Drama.
The show is directed by
Tim Anderson, music directed by Ryan Bergeron, and choreographed by Zac
Hudak. Peggy Newton stars as the ambitious Anne, and Nick Bailey plays
the role of Frank Russell, her manager. The show also features a quintet
of five performers including Lydia Hall, Pam Matthews, Justin Schickler, Adam
Bowers, and Tim Anderson. Jean Brennan is the stage manager.
“We happened to be
in New York City five years ago and saw the original production. I was
mesmerized by this woman and by the ridiculously beautiful music,” said
Anderson. “The piece is so well crafted and lends itself to inventive staging
and storytelling. When the performance rights became available, I jumped
at the opportunity to get to do it.” The Spotlights is the second theater ever
to produce this musical.
Coincidentally, shortly
after rehearsals began at the Spotlights, a fifth-anniversary concert featuring
the original Off-Broadway cast was announced. Several members of the Spotlights’
cast and production team are traveling to New York to see the concert in
October.
The Spotlights’
production runs from November 4 through 20. Performances will occur on
Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30PM, and there will be a Sunday matinee on
November 13 at 3:00PM. All performances are held at the Broadview
Heights Cultural Arts Building, 9543 Broadview Road in Broadview Heights (next
to the police station).
Tickets are $15 for
adults and $14 for seniors and students. The play contains a few moments
of specific adult language and is not recommended for children or people who
are easily offended. Tickets may be purchased on-line at www.broadview-heights-spotlights.org.