World Premiere The Blue Bird Begins Holiday Run at Urban Stages Dec. 14 | Playbill

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News World Premiere The Blue Bird Begins Holiday Run at Urban Stages Dec. 14 The world premiere of The Blue Bird, Urban Stages' multimedia family-friendly holiday production, begins performances Dec. 14.
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Ronit Aranoff in The Blue Bird Photo by Natalia Katsaga

Former Urban Stages program director Lori Ann Laster and Stanton Wood, who provided Urban Stages with productions of The Snow Queen and The Magical Forest of Baba Yaga, adapted the original play penned by Nobel Prize-winning author Maurice Maeterlinck for the current production. The Blue Bird cast includes Ronit Aranoft, Drew Battles, Diana Buirski, Jenny Gammello, Francis Mateo and Maureen Silliman under the direction of Heath Cullens.

"A mysterious visitor on Christmas Eve," read Blue Bird press notes, "leads Martha, a materialistic city girl, on a fantastical journey. Armed with a magic hat that reveals the 'true nature' of things and accompanied by her household pets, Martha finds the 'blue bird of happiness.'"

Scenic design is by contemporary Russian design artist Andrei Bartenev, with original music by Colm Clark, video design by Alex Koch and lighting effects by Josh Bradford.

The physical design for The Blue Bird, created by Andrei Bartenev, is described as "synthetic performance spectacle." Bartenev is known for synthesizing different forms of contemporary art (video installation, performance, kinetic art, musical light shows, sculpture), technogenic materials (neon, plastic, cellophane) and combining them with video, graphic art and light-boxes in "a powerful burst of positive energy to ignite the viewer."

Commissioned for Urban Stages, The Blue Bird will continue its limited holiday engagement through Jan. 13, 2008.

Tickets are available by calling (212) 868-4444 or by visiting www.urbanstages.org.

Urban Stages is located at 259 West 30th Street in Manhattan.

 
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