Image from Brundibar © Maurice Sendak 2003

A family opera for the holidays from Maurice Sendak and Tony Kushner! Creators of Where the Wild Things Are and Angels in America COMEDY ON THE BRIDGE / BRUNDIBAR COMEDY ON THE BRIDGE libretto by Tony Kushner adapted from Václav Kliment Klicpera music by Bohuslav Martinu BRUNDIBAR libretto by Tony Kushner adapted from Adolf Hoffmeister music by Hans Krása production designs by Maurice Sendak with Kris Stone featuring members of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra music director Valerie Gebert directed by Tony Taccone November 11–December 28, 2005 The Roda Theatre running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes, including one 20 minute intermission “HEARTWARMING!…for every member of the family”—KGO Radio “FANTASTICAL!”—National Public Radio “FIRST-RATE!…a dream-like comic world”—San Francisco Chronicle “JOY!…gives audiences the feeling they’ve stepped into a Sendak story”—Contra Costa Times “A BIG HOLIDAY PRESENT”—Oakland Tribune Hear an NPR feature on the show (5.5 MB mp3) Berkeley Rep is proud to present Brundibar, a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between two artistic giants: Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak. Not only is Kushner the acclaimed author of Angels in America and Homebody/Kabul, he wrote the brilliant libretto for Caroline, or Change—now he’s penned a new libretto for this remarkable musical fable. Sendak’s singular style is famous from books such as Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen—don’t miss his spectacular designs for this production. An allegory of innocence triumphing over evil, the opera Brundibar was originally composed in the ominous years leading up to World War II and was performed by children imprisoned at Terezín, the Nazi’s notorious “model ghetto.” In 2003, Kushner and Sendak published a picture-book version of this classic tale; now audiences can enjoy it live! Brundibar will be presented alongside the pair’s adaptation of Comedy on the Bridge, an absurdist commentary on war also written in Czechoslovakia in the thirties. According to Kushner, “Both shows are a testament to the creative power of human beings, even in dark times, to turn ugliness into music.” They will be directed by his longtime collaborator, Artistic Director Tony Taccone, and performed by a multigenerational cast that includes a chorus of 29 local school children. FOR PARENTS BRINGING CHILDREN We recommend that your children seven and younger remain at home. Children under 10 will find Brundibar more accessible than Comedy on the Bridge, which is performed first. Each piece runs about 40 minutes. There’s an intermission in between. Persons leaving the theatre during the performance cannot be readmitted except at intermission. Download our parents’ guide for children. (You must have Adobe Acrobat to view this document. Download a free Adobe Acrobat reader.) INTERESTING LINKS Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Judah L. Magnes Museum Holocaust Center of Northern California UC Berkeley Jewish Studies program