Kimmel Center Presents the U.S. East Coast Premiere of Robert Lepage’s The Andersen Project at UArts’ Merriam Theater, June 11, 12 & 13
APRIL 23, 2009
From acclaimed Canadian writer-director Robert Lepage comes the U.S. East Coast premiere of The Andersen Project, presented by the Kimmel Center at the Merriam Theater of the University of the Arts from Thursday, June 11, 2009 through Saturday, June 13, 2009.
The boundary-pushing work is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's stories "The Dryad" and "The Shadow," as well as anecdotes drawn from the famed Danish author's Parisian travels. The one-man show, starring French-Canadian actor Yves Jacques, draws on some of Lepage's favorite themes: the juxtaposition of past and present, of Romanticism and Modernism, and of established and underground art forms. In this fascinating theater piece, Lepage also delves into more clandestine territories—sexual identity, unfulfilled fantasies and the thirst for recognition and fame—that derive from Andersen's life and writings, to serve as a filigree to the modern tale. To learn more, visit www.kimmelcenter.org/lepage.
Tickets for The Andersen Project are $38 and $48 and will be available for purchase beginning Friday, April 24, 2009 at 10am through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-982-2787 (Mon - Fri, 9am - 9pm; Sat, 9am - 8pm; Sun, 9am - 6pm.) Additional fees apply. Tickets are also available in person at the Merriam Theater Box Office, located at 250 South Broad Street in Philadelphia. The box office is open Mon - Sat, 10am - 5:30pm (later on performance evenings).
A limited number of $10 tickets will be available for each performance of The Andersen Project. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Merriam Theater box office beginning at 5:30pm the day of the performance. Limit one ticket per person.
Canadian-born playwright, actor and film director Robert Lepage has earned renown worldwide for his independent theatrical productions. A renaissance man whose influence extends far beyond theater, Lepage has also commanded the stage as artistic director of musical productions, such as Peter Gabriel’s 1993-94 Secret World Tour; opera productions, including La Damnation de Faust at the Metropolitan Opera, in Japan and Paris and Lorin Maazel’s Nineteen Eighty-four at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House in London in 2005; and, Cirque du Soleil’s permanent Las Vegas show KÀ at the MGM Grand in 2005. His acting credits include roles in films such as Jésus de Montréal (1989), Viper (1995) and Far Side of the Moon (2003).
Lepage is the founder of Ex Machina, a multidisciplinary production company, which has produced critically acclaimed works, including The Seven Streams of the River Ota (1994) Elsinore (1995), Geometry of Miracles (1998) and The Far Side of the Moon (2000); the latter of which won numerous awards, including four trophies at le Gala des Masques, Time Out Award and the Evening Standard Award. Lipsynch, a nine-hour multimedia epic, is slated for its North American debut at the Luminato International Festival in June 2009.
Lepage studied theater at Quebec City’s Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique from 1975 to 1978. In 2007, he was awarded the European Commission’s Europe Theatre Prize. In 2001, he was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
The Andersen Project story synopsis: Having come to Paris at the behest of the Opéra Garnier, which has commissioned him to write the libretto for a children’s opera based on a fairy-tale by Hans Christian Andersen, a Québécois songwriter settles down in a friend’s apartment, rue Saint-Denis. During his stay, he necessarily meets people: one of the Opéra’s senior managers (a man with some odd and unusual likings), a young janitor and graffiti artist of North African descent, as well as a dog who could well be guiding the tale along its way. Once again, Lepage tells the story of a Québécois whose travels abroad and meetings with others allow him to find out what defines, motivates and inspires him. Content appropriate for mature audiences only.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2008-09 Season is sponsored by Citi. Additional support is provided by PENN Medicine, American Express, and Interpark. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. NBC-10 is a media partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
This presentation of The Andersen Project is funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.
The Kimmel Center is the recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center's early childhood program "Bop and Swing," an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.
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