SHOW BOAT

STADTTHEATER BERN (2005)
World Premiere of a New Version based on the 1927 Original

CONDUCTOR
Franz Klee

CAST
N. Nadelmann, D. Bernardini, W. A. Müller, Queen Yahna, A. Huber

PRODUCTION
N. Muni (Stage Director), F. D. Davis (Choreographer), S. Rieckhoff (Scenery), K. Voyce (Clothes), N. Muni (Lighting)
R. Cawood (Projection Design)

PRODUCTION DESCRIPTION
In this production, we view the piece as a critique of American white society. The unit scenic environment, an enormous barn-like room with walls made of raw wood, is divided into two distinct areas: a raised, pristine deck surrounded by an idealized image of the Mississippi River with a show boat floating in the water. Underneath this clean deck is the impoverished underbelly, the moorings of the white world above, where the African-American community lives and works. Whites and blacks remain segregated within these two areas with the exception of Magnolia, who is comfortable in both societies, until she is forced to leave her black friends below and join Ravenal in the white world above. The piece begins with a photo montage, projected during the overture, taking the audience from the Civil war through the end of the Showboat era. In Act II, during “It’s gettin’ Hotter in the North” there is a second photo montage using images from the roaring 20’s and the Great Depression.

PROJECTION DESIGN COMPONENT

Working with acclaimed opera director, Nic Muni, I was asked to create two large-scale video pieces to be projected at the start of Act I and Act II. Leveraging Creative Commons found footage of the era, videos were created to play in concert with the score from Show Boat. These videos were integral to setting the specific tone of this production.