Music students at William Paterson University will present Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and Kamala Sankaram's Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers from April 20 to 23 in the Hunziker Black Box Theatre on campus.
This double-bill production explores how families adapt during times of social change. Trouble in Tahiti, a one-act opera written by Leonard Bernstein in 1951, focuses on a 1950s family in suburbia as they try to find connections amid constraining social norms. Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, a 2017 one-act children’s opera by Kamala Sankaram, fuses monkey stories from India, China, and West Africa and challenges the idea of a of male-dominated society and considers what it would be like if women led the world.
William Paterson’s production features an all-student cast; each cast will perform during two performances of the four-show run. The cast includes:
Trouble in Tahiti, April 19 and 22: Zoe Vandergast of West Caldwell, Thomas Jefferson of Cape May Court House, Allysa Totten of Edison, Scarlette Horvath of Greystone Park, Owen Gavigan of Hillsborough, Matthew Rodriguez of Nutley, Haleigh Long of East Stroudsburg, PA, and Timothy Barral of Mahwah.
Trouble in Tahiti, April 21and 23: Bridget Maresca of Fair Lawn, Salvatore Montero of Washington, Allysa Totten, Taylor Andresen of Westwood, Alejandro De Los Santos of Dover, Austin Sidito of Holbrook, NY, Viviana Kaszubski of Boonton and Timothy Barral.
Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, April 19 and 22: Haleigh Longo, Matthew Rodriguez, Megan Stephens of Wayne, Owen Gavigan, and Timothy Barral.
Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, April 21 and 23: Viviana Kaszubski, Austin Sidito, Megan Stephens, Alejandro De Los Santos, and Timothy Barral.
Christopher Herbert, vocal area coordinator and assistant professor of music, serves as stage director and producer, with Charity Wicks as musical director. Student Emily Wynne of Verona serves as assistant director and production stage manager.
Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, with music by Kamala Sankaram and libretto by David Johnston, was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera and developed in partnership with American Lyric Theater. The work was premiered by Houston Grand Opera at the Heinen Theater on February 2, 2018.
Performances will be presented on April 19, 21, and 22 at 7 p.m., and April 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $10 for students and members of the WP community. For tickets, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the box office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
William Paterson University
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, New Jersey 07470
973-720-2000
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