Tony Award winning musical, "Nine," now on stage at IU Bloomington
Guido Contini had many successes before he reached age 40. But after the fateful birthday passed, he finds himself in a midlife crisis that impacts his creative ideas and leads him into a variety of romantic involvements.
This complicated scenario is the premise for the latest musical presented by the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center at Indiana University Bloomington. Nine, the Musical, is an adaptation from the Italian by Mario Fratti that follows the life of Guido Contini. Based on Italian director Federico Fellini's comic masterpiece of biographical filmmaking, 8 1/2, the Tony-Award winning musical continues today through April 21 at 7:30 p.m.
The part of Guido is played by graduating Master of Fine Arts acting student John Armstrong. Residing in both Bloomington and Indianapolis for most of his life, John has had both his undergraduate and graduate training at IU. Nine will be his last production at the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center after spending frequent time onstage in productions such as The Pirates of Penzance, Into the Woods, and Parade as an undergraduate, and memorable performances as the horrible Harold Ryan in Happy Birthday, Wanda June, the hilarious Robert Sideway in Our Country's Good, and the heartbreaking Marvin in Falsettos as a graduate student.
Armstrong just recently appeared in The Crucible, where he performed his M.F.A. thesis role of John Proctor. For this, his final role, Armstrong tackles a character made famous on Broadway first by the late Raul Julia in 1982, and then by Antonio Banderas in 2003.
The other members of the talented cast of Nine includes many graduate and undergraduate theatre and drama majors. Joining graduate John Armstrong is Master of Arts in Arts Administration student Heather Lynn as Stephanie Necophorus. Joining these graduate students are undergraduate women including Erin Daugherty (A Chorus Line, Bat Boy, Pal Joey) as Luisa, Margo Gendreau (A Chorus Line, Pal Joey, Urinetown) as Liliane La Fleur, Casey Searles (Urinetown, Bacchai, Wit) as Guido's Mother, Angie Perez (A Chorus Line) as Carla, Maggie Mountsier (A Chorus Line) and Molly Kruse as Lina Darling.
Rounding out the cast are Alyson Bloom, Nicole Bridgens, Rainelle Bumbaugh, Lovelee Carroll, Kellie Cullinan, Erin Ehlers, Alex Kilgore, Jamie Leonard, Katia Malarsky, Anna Malone, Betina Pereira, Rachel Sickmeier, Laura Sweitzer and Courtney Willibrand as members of the chorus. These theatre students have performed in theatres across the country, and they bring a wealth of knowledge and talent to the stage.
George Pinney directs Nine. Nominated for a 2001 Tony Award and National Broadway Theatre Award in choreography, Pinney received an Emmy Award for outstanding choreography for the PBS broadcast of Blast. He was a member of the creative team, acting director and one of three choreographers for Cyberjam, which opened at the Queen's Theatre in the West End of London. Pinney, a professor of theatre and drama, has directed and/or choreographed more than 150 productions for national tours, regional and university theatres. Recent productions at IU include A Chorus Line, Bat Boy the Musical, Pal Joey, Sweet Charity, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Parade, and the IU Broadway Cabaret.
Pinney has directed multiple times at the Brown County Playhouse, including the recent productions of Smoke on the Mountain and Forever Plaid. Last summer he directed Slow Dance with a Hot Pickup, the inaugural production of the new "Premiere Musicals: New Musical Development Workshop." Recognized for his teaching, Pinney was awarded the Friedrich Herman Lieber Award for Distinguished Teaching, five Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence in Teaching and membership in the Faculty Colloquium of Excellence in Teaching.
At IU, Pinney teaches musical theatre and stage movement and mentors numerous independent major programs in musical theatre majors. This fall, he will become the head of the Department of Theatre and Drama's new Bachelor of Fine Arts program in musical theatre.
Joining Pinney in creating Nine are M.F.A. Lighting Designer JoJo Percy (Macbeth, Honour) Costume Designer Robbie Stanton (Falsettos, Master Harold…and the Boys, Sweet Charity), Scenic Designer Fred Duer (Urinetown, The Cherry Orchard The Scarlet Letter), sound design by Andrew Hopson and Musical Direction by James Ivey.
All performances of Nine begin at 7:30 p.m. and will take place in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. Ticket prices are $18 for adults and $14 for students, seniors and anyone 30 and younger (discounts Monday-Thursday only). STUDENT RUSH tickets are available the day of each performance; students with a valid IU I.D. may purchase any available tickets for $10 cash. Group prices are available. For detailed ticket information, call 812-855-1103 and ask for information about Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center tickets. To purchase tickets by phone, call Ticketmaster at 812-333-9955 (for the Bloomington, Indiana area) or visit www.ticketmaster.com. For more information visit www.theatre.indiana.edu.
