PAST PRODUCTION

December 14th – January 13th

HOLIDAY FAMILY TREAT:
The Blue Bird

by Stanton Wood & Lori Laster, based on the classic by Maurice Maeterlinck

directed by Heath Cullens 

Bring the Blue Bird of happiness into your holiday spirit as you join us for our winter production.

PRAISE FOR THE BLUE BIRD:

"... With exuberance and at times wicked humor, The Blue Bird achieves something irresistible: an adventure that is genuinely fun to embark on. It deals with death, grief, poverty, alienation, and fear, but it is never gloomy or self-conscious. The other half of the success comes from the renowned Russian avant-garde artist Andrey Bartenev's scenic and costume design. By marrying high-tech with high art, the familiar tale emanates as something strikingly new. " nytheatre.com

The New York Times says the show does a "lovely job at evoking magical worlds and characters," while Backstage praised Andrey Bartenev's "spectacularly original" costumes and Alex Koch's "fanciful projections that include movement, such as a blue bird that flies around the room." 

In this new play based on the early 20th-century classic by symbolist Maurice Maeterlinck, a mysterious visitor on Christmas Eve leads Martha, a materialistic city girl, on a fantastical journey. Armed with a magic hat that reveals the "true nature" of things, Martha finds the “blue bird of happiness”.

This multimedia extravaganza features innovative scenic design by world famous Russian artist Andrey Bartenev, original music by composer Colm Clark, video design by Alex Koch, lighting effects by Josh Bradford. This new version of the story was written by Lori Ann Laster and Stanton Wood (The Snow Queen, The Magical Forest of Baba Yaga) and commissioned specifically for Urban Stages.   

Children and adults are welcome (5 and older).

Artwork by Andrey Bartenev.

This play was commissioned by Urban Stages to Stanton Wood and Lori Laster.

Urban Stages received a grant from Theatre Communicatons Group to bring Andrey Bartenev to New York for this project. This production is also made possible with the support of National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York Department of Culture, The Shubert Foundation, The PeterJay Sharp Foundation, The Dramatist Guild, and many more. see our "support" page for detailed list of Urban Stages' funders.

(photo by Natalja Katsaga, Ronit Aranoff, costume by Andrey Bartenev) 

photography by Pavel Antonov, from left to right: Francis Mateo, Ronit Aranoff, Drew Battles, Jenny Gammello, Maureen Silliman, Rachel Evans