BROTHER RUSSIA sizzle reel featuring Doug Kreeger
From the Signature Theatre production that ran from March 20th – April 15th, 2012
“Dempsey’s lyrics are exceptionally witty, and Rowe’s music jaunty and tuneful, yet with the sophisticated sweep of a Sondheim.” — TIME Magazine
Book & Lyrics by John Dempsey
Music by Dana Rowe
Scenic Design Misha Kachman
Costume Design Kathleen Geldard
Lighting Design Colin K. Bills
Sound Design Matt Rowe
Orchestrations August Eriksmoen
Music Direction Gabriel Mangiante
Choreography Jodi Moccia
Directed by Eric Schaeffer
World Premiere
A world premiere rock musical from the award-winning creators of The Fix and The Witches of Eastwick.
In a desolate potato field north of Omsk, a comically fourth-rate Russian theatre troupe sets up its tents and wows the local farmers with rock-fueled adaptations of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Tonight, however, the company will toss classic literature aside to showcase the life story of their impresario and star, the seemingly immortal Brother Russia — more commonly known as Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. Yes, that Rasputin: the hypnotic mystic who seduced and ruled the Tsar and Tsarina in the waning days of Imperial Russia.
Brother Russia is sponsored by Tony Garro, MD and is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation Award for New American Plays and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support was provided by Shugoll Research.