Venice Little Theatre www.venicestage.com
CONTACT PERSON
[NOT FOR RELEASE] : Maureen Holland, 484-4033 x 221FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 17, 2008 (a pdf file of this release is also attached)
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit:
VLT’s Generations Series to bring Tolkein’s The Hobbit to Pinkerton Theatre in May
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
But what is a hobbit? Author J.R.R. Tolkein asked the same question after he scribbled the sentence down on a blank page while grading papers. He answered that question – for generations of fans - when his book, The Hobbit, was published in 1937. Since that first publication, versions of the story have been adapted to stages, film and every sort of media. And the answer to ‘what is a hobbit’? Hobbits are ‘a peaceful race of gnomes living in the fantastical world of Middle Earth: a place where goblins, fairies, trolls and elves frolick.’But in this world that Tolkein created, all is not well. The thieving dragon, Smaug, has stolen the castle and treasure of the Dwarf King, who is determined to regain his loss. With the help of Gandalf the Wizard and Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit, the king sets out with a merry band of dwarves to slay the dragon and regain his castle and treasure. In the process, audiences are treated to the strange, wonderful and sometimes terrifying world of The Hobbit.
The Pinkerton Theatre at Venice Little Theatre is undergoing an unusual transformation and when all is done, it will have moved in time and place and become Middle Earth, the land of The Hobbit. Based on the classic story by JRR Tolkein, Patricia Gray’s theatrical adaptation opens in the Pinkerton on May 8 and runs through May 18, 2008. Performances are at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $12.00 and are currently onsale at the theatre’s box office. They are also available by phone at 941-488-1115 or online at www.venicestage.com.
Directing is Ronald Krine Myroup, a Sarasota playwright and actor who makes his VLT directorial debut with this show. Myroup has been working for a few years with many of the young actors at the theatre in workshops, classes and various performance projects, and he’s a long time fan of Tolkein’s writings and of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So when VLT’s Artistic Director Murray Chase approached him about directing this particular show, Myroup says "it was pure serendipity."
Myroup added "It’s a real challenge to meet the production values audiences now expect – young audiences especially – because of the movies they’ve seen featuring these characters. But I think we’re up to it: this is a remarkably dedicated cast and they’re going to make it happen! We are turning the Pinkerton Theatre into Middle Earth!"
That metamorphosis of the Pinkerton Theatre is under the inspired hand of Scenic Designer Donna Buckalter, who designed the theatre’s current MainStage production of Urinetown, among many others.
Costume design is by Nicholas Hartman with sound design by Dorian Boyd and Jaclyn LeDoux. Lighting design is by Alise Hart. Stage managing is Sandie Henderson.
Myroup has assembled a large cast of goblins, elves, trolls and fairies, headlined by Tony DeNiro as Bilbo Baggins (the Hobbit), Patrick Mounce as Gandalf the Wizard, and Hayley Balliet as the Thorin, leader of the Dwarves.
Tickets are $12.00 and are on sale now in the theatre’s box office, by phone at 941-488-1115 or online at www.venicestage.com
The theatre is located at 140 W. Tampa Ave on the island in Venice. The Box Office is open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Saturday and opens one hour before all performances.
CAPTIONS:
Tony DeNiro as Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)
Hayley Balliet as Thorin, leader of the Dwarves.
AN INTERESTING SIDEBAR: Myroup, also a skilled webmaster, built a website for the show which his cast and crew use as their meeting place and where all directions and notes for the cast and crew are posted. There have been no printed schedules or notes since the website went up! (www.ronaldmyroup.com)
JRR Tolkein’s The Hobbit
Adapted for the stage by Patricia Gray
MAY 8-18, 2008
Performances in the Pinkerton Theatre Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm
Tickets are $12.00
DIRECTED BY Ronald Krine Myroup
STAGE MANAGER Sandie Henderson
SCENIC DESIGN BY Donna Buckalter
COSTUME DESIGN BY Nicholas Hartman
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Alise Hart
SOUND DESIGN BY Dorian Boyd and Jaclyn Ledoux
PROPS BY Steve Credeur
ELF/GOBLIN COORDINATOR Jasmine Deal
THE CAST
Bilbo Baggins: Tony DeNiro
Gandalf: Patrick Mounce
Thorin, Leader of the Dwarves: Hayley Balliet
The Dwarves
Ori: Hunter
Cross
Oin: Timmy Polk
Bifur: Taylor Whitehead
Kili: Kenzie Balliet
Dwalin (DW):Logan Yates
The Inhabitants of Middle Earth
Gollum:Shane Oss
Queen Inwa Anwarunya Greenleaf of Mirkwood : Kaitlyn Terpstra
The Royal Sisters
Princess Elanesse : Roxanne Militaru
Princess Neinnia : Jasmine Deal
The Great Goblin, Siruis : Jake Fricke
Poor Mule, the Great Goblin's whipping boy/Grocery Hobbit/Lord Puck : Ryan Scott
The Trolls
Esse : Monica Kennedy
Thomas : Joe Pantera
Bertoda : Denelle Balliet
The Elven Folk and the Goblin Menace
Maypole / Punk : Pariesa Young
Knob / Gob : Francesca Bedford
Wind / Fang : Sydney Deal
Oak / Shank : Brant Biskup
Blade / Hiss : Zachary Tudor
The Fairy of the Mist : Kimmy Curhan
Shadow : Summer Hollerbach
Orb, the Fuzzy creature : Charlie Kollar
The Fairies of Mirkwood
Fairy Belle : Ella
Kennedy
Fairy Tish : Reese
Balliet