Media Contacts:
Kathleen Godwin
Arts YOUniverse
Noreen O’Connor
Dept. of English, King’s College
570-991-5914
For immediate Release
October 1, 2011
October 1, 2011
“BUNNICULA”
At Arts YOUniverse
“Come laugh and be bitten by the theatre bug -- er, vampire”
October 22-23, 2011
October 22-23, 2011
Wilkes-Barre, PA (October 1, 2011) Arts YOUniverse and King’s College present Bunnicula, a charming musical mystery play that is sure to enchant both children and parents alike through its loveable, goofy characters and clever plot. This story of a vegetarian vampire bunny is especially fitting for the Halloween season because of its playful, kid-friendly take on today’s most popular monster.
Bunnicula will be performed at Arts YOUniverse on Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 8:00 pm and Sunday, October 23, 2011, at 2:00 pm. The Sunday production will be followed by a meet-the-cast reception, featuring a Halloween costume contest. The play is appropriate for all ages. Tickets are $5, and will be sold at the door. Tickets may be reserved in advance--call 570-970-2787 or e-mail arts@epix.net.
Proceeds from this production will benefit children in our community in two ways. One portion will go to the West Pittston Library to help its children’s collections recover from the devastating effects of this month’s flood. A second portion will be used to establish a children’s theatre program within the Arts YOUniverse Foundation, a non-profit that promotes and provides access to the arts in Wilkes-Barre.
First published in 1979, James and Deborah Howe’s Bunnicula is a modern classic for young readers that has spawned several sequels including Howliday Inn, and The Celery Stalks at Midnight. Adapted for the stage by Jon Klein, with music by Chris Jeffries, the howlingly funny mystery is centered on the Monroe family’s pets--Harriet the dog, Chester the cat, and family’s newest pet, Bunnicula, a rabbit they found at a movie theater showing “Dracula.” The family soon finds that all of the vegetables in their refrigerator have turned white because someone has drained them of their juice, and the vampire hunt begins. The Washington Post in 2010 positively described a prior production as “brainy,” “delightful,” and “a celebration of reading.” The Seattle Southside, also affirmatively stated, “[Bunnicula] is a sweet, funny tale that everyone in the family can enjoy together.”
Bunnicula’s director, Angel Berlane, is also a children’s drama teacher at Arts YOUniverse and a professional actor. Berlane has purposely taken on the challenge of creating the play with a number of young community actors in its cast. Says Berlane, “I am certain that you will enjoy this show no matter what age you are and that you will go away feeling entertained by this young cast who have been working so hard to create this clever, witty, funny show.”
The production stars pet sleuths Harriet the dog, played by Brenda Wenner, and her partner Chester the cat, played by 9-year-old Nicole Orlando. The title character will be played by a custom-designed bunny puppet with retractable vampire teeth and black-and-white markings reminiscent of a vampire’s cape. 11-year-old Daniel Hancuff will be the puppeteer. The play also features Kevin Lazarowicz as Mr. Monroe, Tonya Hill as Mrs. Monroe, and real-life sisters Mia and Cades Linder as Tabby and Patty, the Monroe children. Ensemble cast includes Gianna Dickson and Adit Mansury
To support this production, college students from the King’s College English/Professional Writing program have partnered with the Arts YOUniverse Foundation through a course called “Writing for the Arts.” The King’s students—Isabel Silva, James Donnelly, Angela Warner, Sarah Scinto, Kevin Conroy, and Jessica Kush—have been integral to the play’s entire pre-production process and have chosen as a class to give proceeds from the production back to the community.
King’s students are helping support Arts YOUniverse Foundation, a non-profit part of Arts YOUniverse, to create a program that promotes children’s theatre and art in the local community. After the severe flooding in our area this September, the students also decided to make the production of Bunnicula a fundraising event to benefit the West Pittston Library.
“I am truly inspired by the commitment, imagination, and civic-mindedness of my students,” says King’s English professor Noreen O’Connor. “They are learning and also practicing all aspects of professional writing to support this project—writing a documentary blog (bunnicula-kings-artsyouniverse.blogspot.com), fundraising letters, grant research, press releases, and the play’s program. It has become a very meaningful project. Bill Bolan, of King’s Shoval Center, and I worked on creating a course with real opportunities for service learning with ‘Writing for the Arts,’” says O’Connor. “The Bunnicula production is really turning out to involve the entire community, more completely than I could have hoped. Working with Kathleen Godwin has been wonderful, because she is so open to trying new ideas with my students. It has been such a valuable experience for everyone so far.”
Founded by Kathleen Godwin, Arts YOUniverse is dedicated to promoting the arts through productions, classes, and space rentals for local artists, bringing all the arts to one location making them accessible to anyone who is interested. Now, Godwin is delighted to be continuing her efforts to expand the community involvement by working with King’s College to put on the production of this delightful children’s play.
“The secret to success,” says Godwin, “was knowing who to call! In the case of Bunnicula, it was Noreen O'Connor and her students in the Professional Writing Program at King's College (my alma mater). With the energy and commitment of her students, a great script, fun music, and the fine young actors at Arts YOUniverse, we're sure to entertain. And this time, there's another bonus. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the West Pittston Library Restoration Fund. So come see, come laugh and be bitten by the theatre bug - er, vampire, (did I say that?)”
Bunnicula
· Based on the book by Debra and James Howe
· Adapted by Jon Klein; Music and lyrics by Chris Jeffries
· Directed by Angel Berlane
· Saturday, October 22 at 8:00 pm and Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 2:00 pm
· Tickets: $5 at the door.
· Tickets may also be reserved in advance by calling 570-970-2787 or by sending an e-mail to arts@epix.net.
· For all ages
· Meet-the-cast reception with Halloween costume contest after the Sunday performance
· Bunnicula Project Blog: http://bunnicula-kings-artsyouniverse.blogspot.com/
Arts YOUniverse
· Located At: 47 N. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
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