Victoria Clark & Jerry Dixon to Co-Direct Industry Presentation of New Musical HANSEL & GRETL & HEIDI & GÜNTER

The new musical Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter, which will have its West Coast premiere at Village Theatre outside of Seattle in 2020, will receive an industry reading co-directed by Tony Award-winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza) and Jerry Dixon (If/Then) on May 3, 2019 at 3PM.

With book by Hannah Kohl, lyrics by Daniel Maté, and music by Will Aronson, the show was a hit at Village Theatre's 2018 Festival of New Musicals. Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter is a smart and irreverent modern-day, Chicago-set sequel to the Grimm's fairy tale where young Heidi & Günter aim to transcend the family trauma experienced by their overprotective single mom Gretl.

Co-directed by Clark and Dixon, the show will feature music direction by Matt Castle (Roundabout and Fiasco's Into the Woods).

Gretl - yes, that Gretl - is now a single mom living in modern day Chicago, still suffering from the trauma of her fairytale childhood. Her exceedingly modern kids are fed up with stuffing their pockets full of pebbles, and dream of the impossible: a normal childhood. But when long-lost Uncle Hansel shows up at their doorstep, they are plunged into an unexpected adventure that brings the family together. This smart and bold new musical is a riotous tumble of past and present that will leave you grinning from ear to ear.

Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter will receive one presentation on May 3, 2019 at 3PM. The reading is closed to the general public and seating is limited. Industry professionals interested in attending should inquire at bivie@villagetheatre.org.

About the Writers
Will Aronson (Music) is a writer and composer whose work includes Maybe Happy Ending (2017 Richard Rodgers Production Award); Pete the Cat (Lucille Lortel Theatre); Mother, Me & the Monsters (Barrington Stage; Boston Globe Critic's Pick); Bungee Jump (various Seoul productions; Best Score, Korean Musical Awards); My Scary Girl (Best Musical, NYMF 2009); The Trouble With Doug (NAMT Fest '10; Fredericia Teater); and Wind-Up Girl (Ars Nova Uncharted). www.willaronson.com

Hannah Kohl (Book) is a composer/lyricist and bookwriter whose work includes The Houdini Box with Brian Selznick (Chicago Children's Theater, 2012), Die Weihnachtsbäckerei (Hamburg, Germany, 2018); The Game of the Name (Joe's Pub/The Public Theater 2016, La Teatreria, Mexico) and The Light and Leonardo da Vinci (NYU, 2009). She is also an acclaimed papercutting artist whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, The NY Times and at the inauguration of One World Observatory (NYC). Hannah teaches art and theater workshops around the world. Her upcoming papercutting book, The Brambles, is represented by Rebecca Sherman at Writers House NYC. www.athousandtinysnips.com

Daniel Maté (Lyrics) received the Edward Kleban Prize, awarded annually to the "Most Promising Lyricist in American Musical Theatre". His lyrics and music have garnered the ASCAP Foundation's Cole Porter Award and a Jonathan Larson Foundation Grant. Previous work includes The Trouble With Doug (with Will Aronson), whose 2017 European premiere was directed by Victoria Clark, and the song cycle The Longing and the Short of It. Daniel holds an MFA. from NYU and has taught theatre songwriting to local artists in his hometown of Vancouver, BC. He is currently collaborating on two books with his father, the internationally renowned physician and speaker Dr. Gabor Maté. www.danielmate.com

About the Directors
Jerry Dixon became Artistic Director of Village Theatre, June 1st, 2018. Village Theatre Mainstage: Show Boat, The Full Monty, and premiere productions of A Proper Place, Take Me America, and Great Wall. Regional: Ferguson, Barnstormer, Funked Up Fairy Tales, Bernarda Alba, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Crowns. Performance: Original Broadway casts of If/Then, Once On This Island, and Five Guys Named Moe, numerous off-Broadway, and regional theatre productions.

Victoria Clark. Director: Fredericia Theater, Denmark (The Trouble With Doug by Maté/Aronson), New York Musical Theater Festival (Newton's Cradle by Seattle-ites Kim Saunders and Heath Saunders), Goodspeed, NAMT, 92nd St. Y (NYC), Texas Opera Theater, Philadelphia Opera Theater. and others. Actor: 12 Broadway plays and musicals including The Light in the Piazza (Tony Award.) [Upcoming TV series: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.]

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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