Ridgefield Playhouse to Screen the Met's MARNIE

Composer Nico Muhly unveils his second new opera, Marnie, for the Metropolitan Opera, with this gripping reimagining of Winston Graham's novel. The opera, set in the 1950s, tells the story of a beautiful, mysterious young woman who assumes multiple identities. Director Michael Mayer and his creative team have devised a fast-moving, cinematic world for this exhilarating story of denial and deceit, which also inspired a film by Alfred Hitchcock. Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard sings the enigmatic Marnie, and baritone Christopher Maltman is the man who pursues her-with disastrous results. Robert Spano conducts. The Metropolitan Opera's production of Marnie will be shown on the big screen in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, November 11 at 2pm. It is part of the Classical Series with support from The Ridgefield Press and Whistle Stop Bakery and underwritten by Lori and John Berisford, Jeanne Cook, Liz & Steven Goldstone and Sabina & Walter Slavin.

Commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera, Nico Muhly and librettist, Nicholas Wright began work on bringing this 1960s novel to the stage in the light of the #metoo movement. The retro styling and costume in technicolor and noir tones create stunning visuals for the complicated story of a "frigid" woman who is raped by her husband on their honeymoon, whose first words are "Don't touch me!" and who steals and changes her identity with every move she makes. The New York Times raves, "The particulars of the plot are never in doubt; Mr. Mayer's production, with its candy-colored mid-century dresses and shifting panels, moves smoothly and stylishly."

The Metropolitan Opera is a vibrant home for the most creative and talented singers, conductors, composers, musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers from around the world. The Ridgefield Playhouse offers free tickets to The Metropolitan Opera in HD series to students 18 and younger as a way for parents to introduce their children to the arts. FREE tickets are also available to students 18 and younger for Live in HD screenings of The Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre of London.

For tickets (FREE- $25), call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.