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04.03.09

Contacts: Arts at Emory, Jessica Moore, 404-727-1687, jkmoore@emory.edu

Release written by Hunter Hanger

Theater Emory Presents Abridged “Peer Gynt”

Theater Emory concludes its 2008-2009 season focused on “Searching for Oneself- and that Other” with a new production of Henrik Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt” directed by Theater Emory’s Artistic Director Tim McDonough, who has adapted Ibsen’s original dramatic poem into an often comedic and fanciful script. Ibsen originally wrote “Peer Gynt” as a dramatic poem that takes the audience everywhere from the hills and valleys of Norway to the deserts of North Africa, from a troll kingdom to a shipwreck on stormy seas. McDonough’s script is a new adaptation with contemporary language that runs approximately two hours. Performances are 7 p.m. on Apr. 16-18 and 22-25, and at 2 p.m. on Apr. 19 and 26 in the Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs University Center. Tickets ($18; discount category members $14) are available at 404-727-5050 or www.arts.emory.edu.

Exploding with youth, desire and every sort of comedy, “Peer Gynt” recounts the epic misadventures of a misfit and dreamer on his mad quest to become Emperor of the World. “Peer Gynt has grandiose fantasies about himself and his future,” remarks McDonough, “and he prefers to live in the freedom of his imagination.” It is this sense of playfulness that led McDonough to set his adaptation on a children’s playground, a “place where young people create imaginary worlds.”

The “Peer Gynt” cast includes professionals Hugh Adams, Janice Akers, Allan Edwards and Bryan Mercer, as well as a host of Emory students. “The company will play multiple roles,” explains McDonough, “and every actor is setting out to discover what ties these many roles together. This production will view Peer with the same ambivalence with which we view ourselves.”

Set design for “Peer Gynt” is by Emory faculty member Sara Ward. Costume design is by Alan Yeong; light and sound design is by Emory faculty member Joseph P. Monaghan III.

Free parking is available in Peavine and Fishburne Parking Decks. For Theater Emory information, visit www.theater.emory.edu.

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NOTE: Digital photos are available upon request.

THEATER EMORY
Theater Emory is the producing organization of Emory University and is affiliated with the Department of Theater Studies. It is a member of the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts and operates under a season agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

ARTS AT EMORY MISSION
Emory University provides a dynamic, multi-disciplinary environment for the study, creation and presentation of the arts.

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