a
Musical Revue |
Conception,
English Lyrics and Additional material by |
Eric Blau & Mort Shuman |
Based
on Brel's Lyrics and Commentary |
Music
by Jacques
Brel |
Directed
by KIRSTEN
GOULD |
Music Director SUSAN MINOR |
Produced
by |
Jacques Brel is a librettoless miracle of a show! It includes 20-plus songs of the more than 300 that Brel wrote in his lifetime. Born in Belgium in 1929, Jacques Brel was the son of a cardboard manufacturer and was being groomed to take over the family business. Already interested in music, he spurned the idea of life in the family factory. Performing and writing were his keys to freedom. In his early twenties, Brel went to France and sang his songs in the taverns, cafes and inns of the villages and towns of the French countryside. Bit by bit he built up a large and most devoted audience, and became the leading "chansonnier" or "troubadour pop" singer and song writer of France. he went on to Paris as a true star and made the city his home. By 1959 his intriguing poetry and music had been discovered by producer/translator Eric Blau who, with rock composer Mort Shuman, adapted and assembled twenty-four of Brel's songs into a musical production format. Brel gave his approval, and in 1967 the show opened at The Village Gate in New York where it ran for five years. Because of Brel's strong opposition to American involvement in Vietnam, he refused to attend his show's world premiere. Several years later in 1969 Brel did attend a performance at The Village Gate. He returned again in 1972 when the show played to a packed house at Carnegie Hall in celebration of its fourth anniversary. He was delighted with the show, and took a bow. Jacques Brel died in 1978, but his music lives on. His songs are bittersweet, of somber subjects ... life hurts, youth dies, understanding heals, love warms. His words portray people who are unwilling, in spite of all they experience, to abandon either the joy of life or the hope that makes life worth living. He speaks to us in the universal language of the heart. This is the soul of Brel, and we are privileged to share it with our audience.
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Performance Dates
November 12, 13, 19, 20, 21 (matinee), 26, 27
curtain is at 8:00 and 2:30 mat
click
for pictures of
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The
Cast
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Lewis
Blair
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Larry Peterson | |||
Carissa
Burkhart
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Shana
Dirik
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Jacques
Brel
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Tom
Dinger
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click on cast member picture for bio
Musical Numbers ACT I |
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Overture
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Marathon
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Company |
Alone
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Lewis |
Madeleine
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Carissa, Larry, Shana, Tom |
I Loved
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Shana |
Mathilde
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Tom |
Bachelor's Dance
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Larry |
Timid Frieda
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Carissa with Larry, Lewis, Tom |
My Death
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Shana with Carissa, Lewis |
Jackie
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Larry |
Statue
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Tom |
Desperate Ones
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Company |
Sons Of
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Carissa, Shana |
Amsterdam
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Lewis and Company |
ACT II
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The Bulls
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Tom with Lewis, Shana |
Old Folks
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Carissa with Larry, Lewis, Shana |
Marieke
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Shana and Company |
Brussels
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Carissa with Larry, Tom |
Middle Class
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Lewis, Tom |
Fanette
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Lewis |
Funeral Tango
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Larry |
No, Love, You're Not Alone
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Shana |
Next
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Tom and Company |
Carousel
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Carissa and Company |
If We Only Have Love
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Company |
Intermission music: Recordings of Jacques Brel performing his own works
The
Crew
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Stage manager | |
Assist stage mgr | |
lighting designer | |
lighting | |
lighting | |
lighting | |
Set Designer | |
Set Design | |
Head Set Builder | |
Head Set Builder | |
Set building | |
Set building | |
Jim Kerkam
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Set building |
Frank
Counihan
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Set building |
costume designer | |
costumes | |
make-up | |
Props | |
props |