IU Theatre and Drama 75th anniversary includes Stephen Sondheim-Scott Simon appearance, gala event
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, widely considered the most influential artist working in American musical theater over the past half-century, will appear at Indiana University April 30, 2009, at the invitation of IU's Department of Theatre and Drama. The event is a highlight of the department's 2008-09 75th anniversary year celebration, which will culminate Saturday, May 2, in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center with the 75th Anniversary Gala "Launch" Party.
Sondheim will appear with author Scott Simon, host of NPR's "Weekend Edition Saturday," in a live, unscripted conversation at 8 p.m. at IU Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. (For ticket information, call 812-855-1103 or visit the IU Auditorium box office at 1211 E. Seventh St.)
The Sondheim-Simon appearance is made possible by the Ralph L. Collins Memorial Lecture Fund.
"It is a thrill to have a theatrical legend like Stephen Sondheim visit Indiana University during our 75th anniversary season," said Jonathan Michaelsen, chair of the Department of Theatre and Drama. "This is particularly exciting for our B.F.A. musical theater students, all of whom hope to become the next 'triple threats' on Broadway."
"Learning from greats like Sondheim helps us train and develop our musical theater program and our students to prepare for the future. Adding Scott Simon helps broaden the appeal to journalism and telecommunication students and everyone on campus who listens to him on NPR. We are delighted to share these two outstanding talents with the IU and Bloomington communities," said Michaelsen.
Chris Meyer
The Department of Theatre and Drama's Broadway Cabaret group will perform at a 75th anniversary gala May 2.
The department's May 2 gala features a gourmet dinner at 6 p.m. followed at 7:15 p.m. by a short film titled Memory Lane about the program's history and evolution and a performance by Broadway Cabaret -- a group directed by Emmy Award-winner George Pinney -- that features some of the department's top musical stars. After the show, at 8:15 p.m., is a cast party with a sing-along piano bar, a "Dancing with Our Stars" event, photo opportunities, a costume-and-set designer's boutique and exhibits that span the department's entire history.
Successful alumni planning to attend the gala include Tony Award-winning actor-director Stuart Vaughan, who received his Master of Arts degree from the department in 1952. Vaughn was founding artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Seattle Repertory Theatre and Repertory Theatre, New Orleans. He was also artistic director of New York's Phoenix Theatre and has directed 45 New York productions since 1955. Vaughan is also a Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning director.
Vaughn, now 83, says he "must be among the oldest of the department's extant graduates still active in the professional theater."
Some alums of the program shared memories of the program leading up to the 75th anniversary events.
John Mills, who received his doctoral degree from the program in 1961 and his Master of Arts degree in 1959, shared memories of working with Charles Kimbrough on Hamlet. Kimbrough went on to an illustrious acting career, but may be best known for his brilliant comedic turn as the news anchor on TV's hit sitcom "Murphy Brown."
"During rehearsals Chuck (appearing as Hamlet), as we knew him, was in the habit of saying 'something, something, something,' whenever he couldn't come up with a line," recalled Mills. "So, wouldn't you know, at one performance he dried up momentarily and, whether from force of habit or in sheer desperation, said 'something, something, something,' and that got him back on track. It nearly broke up the cast, but the audience, of course, was none the wiser. It sounded quite properly Shakespearean, after all. "
Bloomington's Anne K. Wiley, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956, recalled, "It has dawned on me that my husband (David W. Wiley, who earned a doctorate from the department in 1974) and I celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary this year, and we will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Department of Theatre and Drama."
Among other successful alums of the program:
• Eric VanTielen, who received his master's degree in fine arts from the program in 2006, performed in A Tale of Two Cities on Broadway in 2008.
• Nicole Parker, who received her bachelor's degree from the program in 2000, starred on Broadway as Elphaba in the hit musical Wicked.
• Taylor James, who graduated with a bachelor's degree of arts in stage management (through IU's Individualized Major Program) in 2005, is stage manager for Blue Man Group in New York City.
About Stephen Sondheim
Sondheim has collaborated on more than a dozen landmark shows and written countless standard songs and is also considered the most influential force in bringing the Broadway musical into the modern age. His artistic journey began when Sondheim was still in his 20s and contributed the lyrics to two classic collaborations with the playwright Arthur Laurents and director-choreographer Jerome Robbins, West Side Story (1957; music by Leonard Bernstein) and Gypsy (1959; music by Jule Styne).
Both shows have been repeatedly revived on Broadway and throughout the world. Daring and unorthodox for their time, they now are universally seen as twin pinnacles of the post-war Broadway musical.
Sondheim's first produced Broadway show as both composer and lyricist, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), had an even longer Broadway run than its predecessors. With such collaborators as director Harold Prince, director-playwright James Lapine and playwrights John Weidman, Hugh Wheeler, Burt Shevelove and George Furth, Sondheim would go on to create a remarkable succession of groundbreaking musicals: Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), The Frogs (1974), Pacific Overtures (1976), Sweeney Todd (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Into the Woods (1987), Assassins (1990) and Passion (1994). His most recent show, Bounce (2003), was produced in a revised version, titled Road Show, at the 2008 New York Shakespeare Festival.
About Scott Simon
NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon has reported from all 50 states and every continent. He has covered 10 wars, hundreds of campaigns, sieges, famines, hurricanes, earthquakes, civil wars, scandals, state funerals and opening nights. He has interviewed and profiled some of the most interesting personalities of the times, from Mother Teresa, Ariel Sharon and Wyclef Jean to roving street kids in Rio and refugees in Kosovo, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Simon has received numerous honors for his reporting, including the Overseas Press Club, Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University, George Foster Peabody, Ohio State, Directors Guild, Major Armstrong, and Emmy awards. He received a special 1989 George Foster Peabody Award for his weekly essays, which were cited for their sensitivity and literary style.
Simon has hosted many public television specials, including "Voices of Vision," "Life on the Internet," "State of Mind," "American Pie," "Search for Common Ground," and specials on privacy in America and democracy in the Middle East. He narrated the documentary film Lincoln of Illinois for PBS and was blown up by Martians in the Grammy Award-nominated 50th anniversary remake of The War of the Worlds (co-starring Jason Robards).
Simon has written for the New York Times Book Review and Op-Ed pages, the Wall Street Journal opinion and book page, The Los Angeles Times, Friends Journal and Gourmet Magazine (his Gourmet article, "Conflict Cuisine," recently won the International Culinary Professionals Award).
Simon's book Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan was published in the spring of 2000. It topped the Los Angeles Times nonfiction bestseller list, and was cited as one of the best books of the year in the Washington Post, Boston Globe and several other publications. His second book, Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, kicked off the prestigious Wiley Turning Points series in September of 2002, and was the Barnes and Noble Sports Book of the Year. It was reissued in 2007, the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinsons' entry into the major leagues.
Simon became a novelist in 2005. Pretty Birds, his novel about teenage girls during the siege of Sarajevo, was acclaimed as "the start of a brilliant new career," and is now in its 13th printing. His most recent novel, a political comedy called Windy City, was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2008.
Department of Theatre and Drama
For more information about the Department of Theatre and Drama, see http://theatre.indiana.edu/. Tickets for the Department of Theatre and Drama's 75th anniversary gala, including dinner, are $100. For show and cast party only, tickets are $50 for general public, $25 for IU students. Additionally, $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20 "play bills" honoring the department's chairs will be available in the lobby to spend for beverages, theatre boutiques, games and tips. All proceeds from the event will help launch an endowment campaign. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Patricia Kennedy at 812-855-5568 or patkenne@indiana.edu.
