About us > Past productions > 2005/06 > Comedy on the Bridge / Brundibar
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
main season | roda theatre
november 11–december 28, 2005
Running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes,
including one 20 minute intermission
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.
Image from Brundibar
© Maurice Sendak 2003
