Kushner Adds New Play to Brundibar at New Victory

The New Victory Theater’s upcoming production of Brundibar, which will run April 28-May 21, will not feature Comedy on the Bridge as was the case with the show’s prior productions in California and New Haven. Instead, playwright Tony Kushner has written a new short play to pair with the one-act opera: But the Giraffe, a Curtain Raiser to Hans Krasa’s ‘Brundibar’. The production, to be directed by Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone, will open officially on May 8.

Brundibar, which features music by Krasa and an original libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister. The show, which was first performed in 1938, is an allegory about innocence triumphing over evil. It was eventually performed by the children in Terezin, the Nazi concentration camp located not far from Prague.

The show’s cast will feature Matt Farnsworth, Geoff Hoyle, Euan Morton, Angelina Reáux, Martin Vidnovic, William Youmans, Anjali Bihmani, Henry DiGiovanni, Aaron Simon Gross, Devyn Pedell, Danielle Fried, and a chorus of young performers from Rosie’s Broadway Kids, an arts education organization founded by actress Rosie O’Donnell.

The show features production design by legendary author/illustrator Maurice Sendak. The creative team includes Kris Stone (scenic design), Robin I. Shane (costume design), Donald Holder (lighting design), Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound design), and Valerie Gelbert (musical direction).