October 28, 2004
Fairy Tale ‘The Green Bird' coming to McLeod
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Enormous singing apples, dancing water and a luxurious, larger-than-life green bird who's really a king will fly into Southern Illinois University Carbondale's McLeod Theater in mid-November in the fantastic fairy tale "The Green Bird."
A modern adaptation of Venetian comic playwright Carlo Gozzi's 1765 original, "The Green Bird" will begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday Nov. 10-14 with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14.
Tickets are $11 for adults, $9 for seniors and $6 for students and children. The box office is open weekday afternoons, an hour before performance and will accept credit card reservations at 618/453-3001. The theater is in the southeast wing of the Communications Building.
Media Advisory
For interviews, photo sessions or more information, reporters and photographers should contact SIUC's Thomas Kidd, the show's director and an assistant professor of theater, at 453-7583.
Spectacular costumes, pop music, acrobatics and dancing are all part of the production. It chronicles the foibles and discoveries of abandoned twins in search of their true identities.
To prepare for their parts, cast members are polishing up their stilt-walking, tumbling and wild dance moves -- under the tutelage of visiting professional actors.
The set is a virtual playscape of originally designed and constructed pieces to depict everything from a castle to a magic grotto.
A free presentation at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14, will give the matinee audience a deeper appreciation for the 1700's-era Italian comedy genre.
The presentation will be in the Christian H. Moe Laboratory Theater, just up the hall from the McLeod Theater. Anne Fletcher, assistant professor of theater and master's student Ben Alexander, who's studying technical direction in theater, will be the guest speakers.
They'll explain the play's historical roots and show how the age-old art form influences such contemporary performers as those in the Cirque de Soleil.
Providing cultural experiences to the greater community is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.