HEAVEN
Flying Foot Forum’s emotional, dance filled musical returns
MEDIA CONTACT
Connie Shaver, shaver@parksquaretheatre.org
Park Square Theatre and Flying Foot Forum present Heaven, on the Proscenium stage from May 31 through June 23, 2019. Created and directed by Joe Chvala, H
EAVEN is a choreographic blend of frenzied dancing, music and theatre set in war-torn Bosnia during the 1990s. The production features Orkestar Bez Ime, a Balkan party band, music by Chan Poling (The Suburbs, Glensheen) Joe Chvala, Victor Zupanc, and Natalie Nowytski, and actors who sing and speak in English and Serbo-Croatian as this story steeped in history celebrates the Bosnian culture and the dignity of those who lived through the war.
Heaven was first presented in March 2011 at the Guthrie’s Dowling Theatre. That production was ironically timed as the Arab Spring uprising was engulfing Egypt. Chvala is finding the messages of the play are as timely today as they were in 2011.
“Heaven is a show of sharp contrasts, filled with beautiful music, love stories and raucous dancing, as it brings us inside the violence of the Bosnian War,” said Chvala. “It is a cautionary tale of the need to find common ground rather than fight those who are different from us.”
The play begins in a café, the crowd singing Bosnian songs. Photo journalist Peter Adamson is documenting the war and is frustrated that his photos are not prompting the world to take action. He finds himself on a journey with his translator Faruk to save Faruk’s wife. Amid the horrors of war, there is humor, love and hope as the characters try to maintain their humanity. “This is theater that grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you in your seat.” (How Was the Show)
The production is enriched by a series of public events created in partnership by Park Square Theatre, Flying Foot Forum, World Without Genocide, The St Paul Rotary Club and the Minneapolis University Rotary Club to take audiences into the heart of the Bosnian War, genocide and through the transitional justice efforts that have followed in the decades since the war ended. Next up:
Exhumations and Justice
Post-show conversation following the Sunday, June 16 performance
A discussion following the performance will be led by Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who served as a forensic pathologist in Kosovo.
Sex Trafficking and Genocide
Film The Whistleblower and FBI talk on sex trafficking
Tuesday, June 11, 7:00 p.m.
Mitchell Hamline School of Law, 875 Summit Avenue, St. Paul
This 2010 biographical crime drama starring Rachel Weisz and Vanessa Redgrave is the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer recruited as a UN peacekeeper for DynCorp International in post-war Bosnia in 1999. While there, she discovered a sex trafficking ring serving (and facilitated by) DynCorp employees, with the UN’s SFOR peacekeeping force turning a blind eye. A post-film talk will be moderated by FBI Special Agent Michael Melcher of the sex trafficking unit.
The production team for Heaven includes Emma Lai (Assistant Director); Jake Endres (Music Director); Robin Mcintyre (Scenic Design); Cindy Forsgren (Costume Design); Kirby Moore (Properties Design); Marcus Dilliard (Lighting Design); Cody Anderson (Sound Design); Steve Campbell (Video Design); Stela O’Center (Language and Culture Consultant); Joe Papke (Dialect Coach); Rachel Lantow *(Stage Manager);and Paran Kashani (Assistant Stage Manager)
CAST:
Jeremy Bensussan
Jan Campbell
Joe Chvala
Peter Colburn
Michelle de Joya
Ariel Donahue
Kevin Dustrude
Mary Gantenbein
Karla Grotting
Liam Hage
Christian LaBissoniere
Cooper Lajeunesse
Helena Magalhaes
Riley McNutt
Natalie Nowytski
Charles Robison
Jessica Staples
Molly Stoltz
Nicolas Sullivan
Lara Trujillo
Eric Webster
Joe Weismann
Mabel Weismann
BAND
Colleen Bertsch
Jeffrey Gram
Jake Endres
Scott Keever
Eric Ray
Ticket prices: Previews: $20-$37. Regular Run: $25-$60. Discounts are available for seniors, military personnel, those under age 30, and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square ticket office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), or online at parksquaretheatre.org. #PSTHeaven
*Member, Actors Equity Association
CALENDAR INFORMATION
Heaven
Park Square’s Proscenium Stage
Previews: May 31 – June 6, 2019
Opening Night: June 7
Regular Run: June 7 – 23, 2019
Tickets: Previews: $20-$37; Regular Run: $25-$60
PARK SQUARE THEATRE, 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul
Ticket office: 651-291-7005 or parksquaretheatre.org
UP NEXT ON THE PARK SQUARE PROSCENIUM STAGE:
The world premiere of:
Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant
Book and Lyrics by Keith Hovis
Directed by and Laura Leffler
Previews: June 14 – 20, 2019
Opening Night: June 21
Regular Run: June 21 – July 28, 2019
PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. Ticket Office: 651.291.7005. www.parksquaretheatre.org
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