BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE to Have American Premiere at Odyssey Theatre

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble will present the American premiere of Bluebeard’s Castle, a dark musical thriller inspired by a medieval French fairy tale. Written and directed by Sofia Streisand and featuring music by Sergey Rubalsky and Artem Petaykin; lyrics by Elena Hanpira; and choreography by Irina Lyahovskaya, this horror-infused romance makes its English language debut following runs in Russia, Serbia, Montenegro and France. Performances take place at West L.A.’s Odyssey Theatre from November 1 through November 23, with a “special event” preview set for Halloween, on October 31.

The long years of war are over, and the towns and villages lie in ruins. The air is filled with the wails of widows and mothers in mourning, but also with the peal of wedding bells as a young girl is married off to a war hero with a wicked past — it’s rumored that his previous wives were killed or buried alive in his castle. Who would give a girl to be the bride of a monster? Casey Burke (Blackbird at Rogue Machine), Shannon Lee Clair (The Winter’s Tale, Top Girls at Antaeus) and Nathan Mohebbi (The Boy from Oz, Die Mommie Die! at Celebration Theater) star in this tragic romance of deceit, murder, blood and forbidden chambers. It’s not a performance for the faint of heart!

“Bluebeard is a tale from the past that speaks urgently to the crises of today,” says Streisand. “The cycle of violence is endless and deeply destructive for all parties involved. Be it domestic abuse in the home or international conflict, there is never a winner.”

La Barbe Bleue (“The Blue Beard”), a French folk tale about a wealthy nobleman who murders his wives, was first published in written form by Charles Perrault in 1697. The legend can be traced back to real people such as Gilles de Rais, a military leader in the Hundred Years War who was later convicted as a serial killer, or Conomor the Accursed, a Celtic ruler of Brittany who murdered his predecessor as well as his wives. 

Bluebeard’s Castle features songs adapted to English by Nancy Magarill. The atmospheric set design is by Mark Guirguis, with moody lighting by Leigh Allen and elaborate costumes by Elena Koriagina. Casting is by Victoria Hoffman, and the stage manager is Katie Chabot. Sofia Streisand and Beth Hogan produce.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Streisand headed the production department at the Mikhailovksy Opera Theatre, the second largest opera house in St. Petersburg. She directed numerous operas, festivals and galas, including the 250th Anniversary gala concert of the State Hermitage Museum, featuring Anna Netrebko, Ildar Abdrazakov and Barbara Frittoli among others, which was broadcast internationally on Channel Mezzo. Streisand has interned and worked at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the L.A. Opera in Los Angeles, and the Komische Oper in Berlin, leaning on her international career to pioneer musical theater in Russia, a relatively new genre for the Russian stage. A few of her directing credits include The Master and Margarita, based on the famous Russian novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, which remains one of the most successful musicals in Russia, running at different venues with full houses for more than 12 years; Oscar and the Pink Lady; Onegin; and a new musical based on Alexander Pushkin’s masterpiece The Queen of Spades, which she also co-wrote and produced.