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SEATTLE CHILDREN'S THEATRE TO
PRESENT THE WELL-LOVED
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
(Seattle, WA)- Seattle Children's
Theatre (SCT) will conclude its 30th anniversary season with the staging of the
well-loved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,
with book and lyrics by Judith Viorst and music by Shelly Markham, April 8
through June 12. This musical comedy brings to life the story of Alexander
and the misfortunes of his very bad day.
This is not Alexander's morning-he
wakes up with gum in his hair, and things only get worse with mishap after
mishap in school, at the dentist's office, in the shoe store and at his dad's
office. Alexander wishes he could move to Australia, where he is sure
things would be better. That night, as his mom tucks him in, she helps
Alexander understand that everyone has bad days, but tomorrow will be a fresh
start.
Public performances of Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day run Fridays at 7 p.m. and
Saturdays and Sundays at 2 and 5:30 p.m. in SCT's Eve Alvord Theatre, located at
201 Thomas Street at Seattle Center. Tickets range in price from $14 to
$28 and may be purchased by calling the SCT Ticket Office at (206) 441-3322 or
by visiting the website at www.sct.org. Alexander and the Terrible,
Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is recommended for ages five and older.
"We've chosen to end the season
with a very creative and fun adaptation of an incredibly popular book-Judith
Viorst's look at a day in the life of one little boy who just can't get a break,
is a favorite of many generations of kids," said SCT Artistic Director
Linda Hartzell.
Alexander and the Terrible,
Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day has been produced widely across the nation.
The book, which was inspired by Viorst's accident-prone son, was published in
1972 and went on to be her most famous; she also wrote the script and lyrics for
the play. She is the author of several works of fiction and collections of
poetry for children as well as adults. Among her children's books are two
other Alexander stories.
"Alexander, the youngest of my
three sons, seemed to be having A LOT of bad days. He fell out of trees,
fell off of chairs, broke his wrist, knocked out his front teeth, and, in
addition to these breaks and bruises, was involved in a variety of non-physical
disasters and disappointments," said Viorst. "I thought that the
notion of 'a bad day' could serve for him, and for all kids, as it does for
adults, a 'container' function, suggesting that this day-this bad news-would
come to an end."
Los Angeles-based composer Shelly
Markham has scored for film and advertising and written dance and vocal
arrangements, including some for major television shows. When he lived in
New York City, Markham played and conducted for Broadway and off-Broadway shows.
He also composed for Viorst's Love and Shrimp, a contemporary revue
based on her poetry.
This will be Finque's first
production with SCT. Although she lives in the Midwest, Finque recently
directed the world premiere of (L)imitations of Life at The Empty
Space. She was a member of Seattle Bathhouse acting ensemble for two
seasons and was produced as a solo artist by On The Boards. Finque was
also the co-artistic director of Seattle's Alice B. Theatre for nearly a decade.
"Director Susan Finque takes
Alexander and his horrible day seriously, honoring the child's perspective, and
the theatricality of the show is a wonderful reflection of a child's sense of
play," said Hartzell.
SYNOPSIS
Have you ever had one of
those days where everything seems to go wrong? Well, this is definitely
one of those days for Alexander. Not only does he wake up late, but he
also has gum in his hair. His sweater gets soaked as he's getting ready to
go, and there's no prize in his cereal box-all this before he even leaves for
school! His drawing gets dismissed, people snicker at his singing, he gets
rejected at recess, and his very own mother forgot to put a dessert in his
lunch.
After the trauma of school he has to
face the terrors of the dentist, and a cavity! There are only ugly shoes
in his size at the shoe store. A trip to dad's office gets Alexander in
trouble, dinner's icky, TV's boring, and he has to wear his least favorite
pajamas to bed. If only he could move to Australia, then everything would
be okay. But at least this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is
finally over, and Alexander has learned that some days are harder than others,
and there's always tomorrow to look forward to!
CAST AND DESIGN TEAM
The cast for Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day includes Eric Ray
Anderson as Father, Stacey Bean as Mother, Jason
Collins as Nick, Brian Earp as Anthony, Felicia
Vonshell Loud as Ensemble, Sarah Rudinoff as Ensemble,
and MJ Sieber as Alexander. Laurie Bialik,
Anthony Curry and Sarah Rudinoff are the understudies.
The production features choreography
by Marianne Roberts, music direction by David Duvall,
scenic design by Etta Lilienthal, costume design by Scott
R. Gray, lighting design by Andrew Duff, sound design
by Chris R. Walker, and projection design by Jeffrey T.
Miller and Michael K. Hase.
A limited amount of $10 rush tickets
will be available Friday nights at the ticket office, located at 201 Thomas
Street in Seattle. There will be an American Sign Language interpreted
performance of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons on Saturday, June 4, at 2 p.m. For
more information, call (206) 441-3322, voice, or (206) 443-6938, TTY.
Seattle Children's Theatre would like
to thank season sponsor Microsoft, season education sponsor Washington Mutual,
and show sponsors U.S Bank and Front Porch Classics.
Now celebrating its 30th Anniversary
Season, Seattle Children's Theatre performs September through June in the
Charlotte Martin and Eve Alvord Theatres at Seattle Center. The second
largest children's theatre in the nation, SCT is a leading producer of theatre,
education programs and new scripts for young people. Since its inception,
Seattle Children's Theatre has presented 167 plays, 83 of which have been world
premieres, and entertained over 4 million children.
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