FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Cindy Moran,
Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761
June 3, 2010
New Artistic Collaboration
to begin
Mark Clements’ Tenure
at The Rep:
Michael Pink to Choreograph
The Rep’s
First-Ever Full-Scale Musical
Milwaukee Repertory Theater is thrilled to announce Milwaukee Ballet
Artistic Director Michael Pink as the choreographer of CABARET,
The Rep’s Quadracci Powerhouse 2010/11 season opener and
the first production directed by its new artistic director, Mark
Clements. CABARET opens September 14 and runs through October
24.
Michael choreographed Milwaukee Ballet’s world premiere
of Peter Pan, the Company’s recent sold-out, smash
hit production. This will be the first time these two international
artists have worked together and also the first time the artistic
directors of The Rep and Milwaukee Ballet have collaborated on
a production.
Both Mark and Michael are committed to forging new artistic collaborations
with other Milwaukee arts organizations. “I am eager for
the opportunity to work with an artist of Michael’s caliber,” Mark
said. “He was one of the first people I met when I was appointed
Artistic Director this past October. We hit it off immediately
and wanted to explore working together. I couldn’t be more
delighted to be working with him on my directorial debut at The
Rep.”
Michael hopes their work together will inspire more collaboration
within the arts community. “Collaborating with Mark on CABARET,
an iconic piece of musical theater, and with an organization I’ve
always admired and respected, is something special I’m eagerly
anticipating,” Michael said. “I’m continuously
in awe of the abundance of opportunities available in Milwaukee
for arts groups to work together and I hope we can continue to
work together in the future.”
Michael Pink - Biography
Michael Pink began his tenure as Artistic Director of Milwaukee
Ballet in December 2002. Since that time, he has established
himself as a prominent member of the Milwaukee arts community,
demonstrating his commitment to the future of dance through new
work, education and collaboration. His artistic vision for Milwaukee
Ballet is both exciting and challenging. Michael’s dramatic
production of Romeo & Juliet took narrative dance
drama to a new level of interpretation. His new productions of The
Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, Giselle
1943, The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella,
have been hailed as “Classical ballet for the 21st century.”
Michael is also an international choreographer and teacher. He
trained as a classical dancer at the Royal Ballet, joining English
National Ballet in 1975. During his 10 years with the Company,
he danced many leading roles, most notably his partnership with
Natalia Makarova in John Cranko’s Onegin. From 1986
to 1998, he worked alongside Christopher Gable as founding director
of Ballet Central and Associate Artistic Director of the Northern
Ballet Theatre.
Throughout his career he has worked with such luminaries as Dame
Ninette de Valois, Sir Frederick Ashton, Rudlof Nureyev, Leonide
Massine, Nicholas Beriosoff and Glen Tetley.
His early choreographic work won him first place in the Ursula
Moreton Choreographic Competition and the Royal Society of Arts
Competition. He has worked as repetiteur for Rudolf Nureyev at
the Paris Opera and La Scala Milan.
His first professional work, 1914, was nominated for a
West End Theatre Award.
A long standing friendship with composer Philip Feeney has produced
over 20 original works. His other works include Don Quixote, Strange
Meeting, Swan Lake, Dracula, Giselle
1943, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Romeo & Juliet, The
Nutcracker, Solstice, Don’t Touch, Aubade, The
Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, as well as works
for theater and television. Michael is actively committed to the
promotion and development of all the arts in Milwaukee, and was
recognized by the Wisconsin Dance Council, which presented him
with a Choreography/Performance Award.
Mark Clements – Biography
With the 2010/11 season, Michael Clements begins his tenure as
The Rep’s new Artistic Director. He is a multi-nominated
and award-winning international theater director whose work has
been seen in more than 100 major theaters throughout Europe and
the United States.
His recent productions include: BORN YESTERDAY at Philadelphia’s
Walnut Street Theatre; LES MISERABLES (2008 Barrymore Award Winner
for Best Production of a Musical), Walnut Street Theatre; OF
MICE AND MEN (2007 Barrymore Award Winner for Best Director and
Best Production of a Play), Walnut Street Theatre; THE MILLINER
(Off-Broadway, World Premiere) at Classic Stage Company, New York;
MY FAIR LADY in Copenhagen and Danish National Tour; THE THING
ABOUT MEN (Off-Broadway Premiere; Winner of the 2004 Outer Critics
Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical); THE THING ABOUT MEN,
Walnut Street Theatre; FOLLOW MY LEADER, Hampstead Theatre/Birmingham
Rep UK; LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL, West
End, London & UK National Tour; THE GINGERBREAD LADY for Bath
Theatre Royal productions and UK National Tour; THE BROWNING VERSION
(Winner of Barclays/TMA Regional Theatre Award) at Derby Playhouse;
BLUNT SPEAKING (World Premiere) for Chichester Festival Theatre
and Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York, both starring Corin Redgrave.
Other productions include: SPEAKING IN TONGUES (U.S. Premiere)
with Kevin Anderson and Karen Allen, (SDC’s Joe Calloway
Award, Best Director Nomination) for the Roundabout Theatre Company,
New York; SPEAKING IN TONGUES (European Premiere; Barclays/TMA
Best Director Nomination) for Hampstead Theatre in London; GREAT
EXPECTATIONS (and Adaptation), Walnut Street Theatre; Creator and
Director of SOUL TRAIN (Laurence Olivier Award Nomination) West
End and three UK national tours; THE GLASS MENAGERIE (with Gwen
Taylor) and LOVE & MARRIAGE (with Adam Faith), both UK national
tours for Bath Theatre Royal productions; THREE VIEWINGS (British
Premiere), New End Theatre; THE RIVALS and BLOOD MONEY, Walnut
Street Theatre; THE COLLECTOR (World Premiere), Royal Lyceum Edinburgh,
UK; TESS OF THE D’URBEVILLES (and Adaptation), Salisbury
Playhouse, UK; SHIRLEY VALENTINE AND BOUNCERS, Grand Theatre, Swansea,
UK.
Mark was Artistic Director of the highly successful and award-winning
Derby Playhouse in the UK from 1992 to 2002. Productions included:
RICHARD III, THE LUCKY CHANGE, THE RIVALS, LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES,
DEATH OF A SALESMAN, DANNY BOUNCING (British Premiere), BLITHE
SPIRIT, AND A NIGHTINGALE SANG, WATCHING THE SAND FROM THE SEA
(WORLD PREMIER), LIPS TOGETHER TEETH APART (British Premiere),
ASSASSINS, CABARET, A CHORUS LINE, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, GREASE,
BLUES IN THE NIGHT, CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD, A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL,
FAR FROM THE MADDENING CROWD, ON THE PISTE and UP N UNDER.
From 2002 to 2008, Mark served as Associate Artistic Director for
Moving Theatre Company, the production company founded by Vanessa
and Corin Redgrave. He has also been Associate Director for the
New End Theatre, Hampstead, Royal Theatre Northampton, Torch Theatre,
Milford Haven and New Players Theatre.
CABARET, Book by Joe Masteroff; Based on the book Goodbye
to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred
Ebb, runs on Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Quadracci Powerhouse stage
from September 14 – October 24. Single tickets
will go on sale August 23rd. For more information, please
go to milwaukeerep.com or call 414-224-9490.
To
learn more about Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s 2010/11
season, please go to milwaukeerep.com. To learn
more about Milwaukee Ballet’s 2010/11 season, please go to milwaukeeballet.org.
###
Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally recognized
theater company that presents a critically-acclaimed selection
of compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary
works and lively Cabaret shows on three stages from September through
May. The Rep also produces an annual production of A CHRISTMAS
CAROL. The Rep's home, the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex,
accommodates the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the Stiemke Theater
and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep is also home to a Resident Acting
Company of actors who perform with The Rep throughout the season.
The
Rep is proud to be a member of the United
Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual
financial support. Through
community support of the United Performing Arts Fund, UPAF
Member and Affiliate Groups are able to provide education
and outreach to over 400,000 children, provide over 2,000
live performances and reach over 1,000,000 people every year.
When everyone supports the arts through UPAF, they help our
local economy, improving education and strengthening outreach
programs to the disabled and elderly – all while adding
culture to their own life. Support of UPAF is critical to
UPAF Member Groups’ ability
to continue to offer exceptional live performances, award-winning
education and outreach programming and substantial economic
impact to our region. To learn more about UPAF or to donate,
go to www.upaf.org.
The Rep is supported in part by a grant
from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of
Wisconsin. The Rep is a member of the League
of Resident Theatres (LORT), a management association
of some of the nation's largest non-profit professional
theaters that collectively bargains with the unions that
represent the actors, directors and designers that work
at The Rep; a constituent of Theatre
Communications Group (TCG), the national organization
for the nonprofit professional theater; and a member of Theatre
Wisconsin, the statewide association of non-profit
professional theaters. This theater operates under an
agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors'
Equity Association, the union of professional actors
and stage managers in the United States. The set, costume
and lighting designers are members of United
Scenic Artists,
a national labor union. This theater is an equal opportunity employer.
Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting
is decided based on ability, not race.
Milwaukee
Repertory Theater
Patty & Jay Baker Theatre Complex
108 E Wells St Milwaukee, WI 53202
Ticket Office: 414-224-9490 Ticket Office Fax: 225-5490
Administrative: 414-224-1761 Fax: 414-224-9097
milwaukeerep.com |
