Queen of the Mist

QMLogowebscroll

a new musical by
Michael John LaChiusa

directed by
Jack Cummings III

starring
Mary Testa

Commissioned by
Transport Group Theatre Company

with major support from
The Shen Family Foundation

Queen of the Mist
is produced in association with:
Sarah Ackerman
Sase Sham
Benjamin D. Goldberg & Jennifer Orr

SHOW PROGRAM

Info

October 18 - December 4, 2011

There is Greatness in a Single Fall

THE GYM AT JUDSON
243 Thompson Street at Washington Square South

Queen of the Mist is a world premiere musical with words and music by 5-time Tony nominee Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party, Marie Christine, Hello Again). Based on an astounding and outrageous true story, two-time Tony nominee Mary Testa stars as Anna Edson Taylor, who, in 1901 at the age of 63, set out to be the first woman to shoot Niagara Falls in a barrel of her own design. Navigating both the treacherous Falls and a fickle public with a ravenous appetite for sensationalism, this unconventional heroine vies for her legacy in a world clamoring with swindling managers, assassins, revolutionaries, moralizing family, anarchists and activists. Convinced that there is greatness in her and determined not to live as ordinary, she sets out to battle her fear and tempt her fate.

With a soaring score that incorporates turn of the century themes with LaChiusa’s signature complexity and insight, Queen of the Mist is the story of a single great fall, and how one woman risked death so that she could live. Directed by 4-time Drama Desk nominee Jack Cummings III (Hello Again, See Rock City & Other Destinations, The Boys in the Band), Queen of the Mist continues the long collaboration between Transport Group and Mr. LaChiusa, which includes the critically acclaimed Drama Desk-nominated productions of First Lady Suite and Hello Again.

Queen of the Mist was commissioned by Transport Group Theatre Company and is the first production of Transport Group’s ten-year cycle, “The 20th Century Project,” exploring themes from each decade in the 20th century. The show takes place during the first decade, 1900 -1910.

Queen of the Mist was first created through a developmental workshop in October 2010. For information on the workshop, click here.

Cast & Creative

	Mary Testa as Anna "Annie" Edson Taylor (Tony Award nominee: On the Town, 42nd Street, Drama Desk Award nominee: TG's First Lady Suite)
	D.C. Anderson (The Phantom of the Opera, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby)
	Stanley Bahorek (See Rock City & Other Destinations, Broadway's 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
	Theresa McCarthy (Floyd Collins, Titanic)
	Julia Murney (Wicked, Lennon, First Lady Suite)
	Andrew Samonsky (South Pacific, Tales of the City)
	Tally Sessions (The House of Blue Leaves, Yank!)

CREATIVE TEAM:

Choreography: Scott Rink

Musical Direction: Chris Fenwick

Orchestrations: Michael Starobin

Scenic Design: Sandra Goldmark

Costume Design: Kathryn Rohe

Lighting Design: R. Lee Kennedy

Sound Design: Walter Trarbach

Wig Design: Paul Huntley

Casting: Nora Brennan Casting

Production Manager: Charles Hubbard

Production Stage Manager: Wendy Patten

Dramaturg: Kristina Corcoran Williams

Associate Director: Gregg Wiggans

Assistant Stage Manager: Theresa Flanagan

Press

REVIEWS
"Testa... devours [her] role with riveting committment and power.” -TimeOut New York

“...Mary Testa[‘s] astute comic sense and copper-plated vocal power have made her one of the delights of our stage in recent decades.” -The Village Voice

“...the gifted LaChiusa continue[s] to treat the musical as an American art form.” -Backstage

"LaChiusa [is]... one of the most adventurous dramatists we currently have writing for the musical stage." -Broadway World

"a provocative score and inventive staging... an intriguing offering from the Transport Group." -Variety

"...a bravura piece of music... [Mary] Testa, a performer of radioactive presence and lungs of steel… has the stuff of which musical bulldozers are made.” -New York Times

"...gorgeously haunting score… Pretty damn devastating and unquestionably beautiful." -NYTheatre.com

“An imaginative new musical that is smartly crafted and distinctively composed... beautifully orchestrated... and splendidly sung." -New Jersey News Room

“Testa... prov[es] without a doubt why she is one of the most unique musical theatre performers that we have" -Lighting and Sound America

"spirited, witty melodrama” -Associated Press

“a very original and intelligent new musical” -The Examiner

“’There is Greatness in Me,’ Testa repeatedly sings throughout Queen of the Mist. She's got that right.” -TheatreMania

“entertaining, thanks to Jack Cummings III’s consistently inventive direction.” -NY Post

“a compelling, promising new musical" -Huffington Post

“Queen of the Mist is a thrilling work... ingenious orchestrations... brilliant." -Capital

“As fluidly and simply directed... Queen of the Mist is smarter than most musicals and certainly more musically engaging." -Exeunt

"rich arrangements... stylish staging... surges to life with only imagination, a few props and a talented cast." -The Daily News

FEATURES
NY1
FEATURE: Queen of the Mist on "On Stage"

Playbill
LaChiusa's Queen of the Mist, Starring Mary Testa, Plays Off-Broadway

PHOTO CALL: The Cast of LaChiusa's Queen of the Mist, With Julia Murney, Mary Testa, Stanley Bahorek, Meets the Press