NINE at Pullman.vs.Paxton Productions at Erickson Theatre Off Broadway

Pullman.vs.Paxton presents
NINE
A Benefit for Lambert House

Book by Arthur Kopit
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston
Adapted from The Italian by Mario Fratti
Directed by Georgina Spelvin
Assistant Direction by Erin Lee Smith
Musical Direction by Dustin Schisler

NINE, written by Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston, is the Tony Award Winning musical adaptation of Federico Fellinis masterpiece of cinema 8 1/2 Troubled filmmaker Guido Contini (played by vocal powerhouse Erin Lee Smith) struggles with creative stasis as she attempts to get a new movie off the ground. We follow the fragmented stream of consciousness of Guidos brain presented as a maximalist collage of the mind with inner chaos, a picture book of mental collapse. Images falling from all directions in a vaudevillian way. Overwhelmed by her work and personal life, the director retreats into her thoughts, which often focus on her loves, both past and present, and frequently wander into absurdist territory. As she tries to sort out her many entanglements, romantic and otherwise, Contini finds her production becoming more and more autobiographical and unmanageable.

From Director Georgina Spelvin and Assistant Director Erin Lee Smith: Our updated staging has Guido read a smidge younger, cooler, more relatable. We see Guido as an aging queer Millennial auteur filmmaker with anxiety issues and a substance abuse problem. Well also see some contemporary takes on the rest of personalities in Guidos universe. One of our primary goals with PVP is to reflect our own community and highlight underrepresented or non-traditional voices in our productions. Our cast features a delightful collection talent from local LGBTQIA+ burlesque artists, singer-song writers, and actors. We think this is the version of NINE we all need in our lives in 2023.

Our end product lands somewhere between The Pee Wee Herman Show and John Waters, Maurizio Cattelan and Nadia Lee Cohen - a juxtaposition of high and low, aesthetic, art and trash. Some type of intersection between commercialism of a musical and the avant-garde. It's a Vogue spread directed by a 10-year-old with a joke book who loves writing BOOBS on their calculator. A celebration of youthful creativity within the wild west of sh*tposts and anxiety in our minds until we just have to hit pause and figure the whole mess out.

Proceeds from this production benefit Lambert House. Lambert House empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth through the development of leadership, social, and life skills. Learn more at https://www.lamberthouse.org/

Content Warning: Though our show is all ages, please be aware that there are themes featured in NINE that can be potentially activating or triggering. NINE contains multiple R-rated scenes presented in a darkly comedic tone that include sexually explicit jokes, course and potentially offensive language, instances of simulated suicide, simulated drug use, smoking, profanity, sexual situations and burlesque-level nudity. A full plot summary is available for those who are concerned about the content.

For more information, please visit www.pullmanvspaxton.org or like us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pullmanvspaxton/