Bluebird
Based on the play by Maurice Maeterlinck
Adapted by Brenna Geffers
May 2009
Mandell Theatre at Drexel University
Maeterlinck’s fantastical odyssey receives new life.
In collaboration with Drexel's Mandell Professionals in Residence Project, Artistic Director Lane Savadove staged Maurice Maeterlinck's Bluebird. Rarely produced in the United States, this pinnacle of the Symbolist Movement follows a young boy, his family lost to sickness, on a spiritual and mystical journey to find the meaning of life. This production also featured the incredible musical compositions of George Crumb, played live by Orchestra 2001.
Creative Team
Lane Savadove … Director
Orchestra 2001 … Live Music
George Crumb … Composer
Jim Freeman … Music Director
Dan Soule … Set Designer
Kiran Grace … Costume Designer
Matt Sharp … Lighting Designer
Amanda Hatch … Props Designer
Tim Urian … Video Designer
Mark H. Andrews … Technical Director
Danielle Kindt & Katie Ringwood … Stage Managers
Eric Snell … Production Manager
Natasha Metzger … Assistant Director
Doug Greene … Assistant Producer
Cast
Nick Allin … Night
Andrew Gorell … Time
Katie Gould … Light/Girl
Doug Greene … Dog
Megan Snell (Hoke) … Cat
Sean Lally … Tyltyl
Kelsey Malone … Mytyl
Rob Neddoff … Oak
Sarah Rachel Schol … Fairy
Anna Sweeny … Joy
David Sweeny … Cake
Ensemble
Carly Bodner, Chris Deter, Laurel Hostak, Arcadia Jenkins, Emily Kleimo, Neal Magnotta, Joe Matthew, Kevin Matthews, (Maria) Anti Nguyen, Rachel Semigran, Lee Singletary, Jeremy Toll, & Steve Pribis
About Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911 "in appreciation of his many-sided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers' own feelings and stimulate their imaginations." The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life.
He was a leading member of the group La Jeune Belgique, and his plays form an important part of the Symbolist movement. In later life, Maeterlinck faced credible accusations of plagiarism.