MasterVoices opens its 2023-24 season on November 3 and 4 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater, with three performances of a concert staging of Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove's The Frogs, as adapted by Nathan Lane. Ted Sperling, celebrating his tenth season as MasterVoices' Artistic Director, directs and conducts the 120–member MasterVoices chorus, an 18-piece orchestra, and an all-star cast of MasterVoices favorites. In addition to the two performances initially announced for Saturday, November 4, MasterVoices has added a third performance on Friday, November 3, at 8 PM.
The boisterously hilarious yet poignant musical was inspired by the ancient Aristophanes play of the same name. With the world at war and civilization imperiled, Dionysos, god of wine and theater, feels something drastic must be done. He journeys to the underworld with his servant Xanthias to find the world's best playwright, who will inspire and save mankind; along the way, the two travelers encounter many well-known mythic characters. This musical presentation of Aristophanes' comedy was “freely adapted” by Burt Shevelove and Stephen Sondheim in 1974 and “even more freely adapted” by Nathan Lane and Sondheim for its 2004 staging at Lincoln Center Theater. The script will be further adapted by Nathan Lane for MasterVoices' concert performances.
The Frogs is hopping with top Broadway veterans. Tony Award nominee Douglas Sills, last seen in MasterVoices' 2022 revival of Anyone Can Whistle, is Dionysos. Tony Award nominee Kevin Chamberlin, last seen in MasterVoices' concerts of Of Thee I Sing and Let ‘Em Eat Cake, is Xanthias. Peter Bartlett, who played Pluto in the 2004 production at Lincoln Center Theater, steps back into his toga to reprise the role. Tony and Emmy Award nominee Dylan Baker is George Bernard Shaw; Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, who also performed in Of Thee I Sing and Let ‘Em Eat Cake, is Charon; and Tony nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Marc Kudisch, seen in MasterVoices' 2014 Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), is Herakles. Tony nominee Jordan Donica is William Shakespeare and Ariadne is played by MasterVoices chorus member Candice Corbin. Nathan Lane, the three-time Tony Award-winning actor, will host the evening and provide narration. The choreography is by award-winning choreographer Lainie Sakakura and the sound design is by Scott Lehrer. Tracy Christensen is the costume designer and the lighting design is by Shelby Loera.
The Frogs
Friday, November 3, 2023, 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center
A play written in 405 B.C. by Aristophanes
Freely adapted by Burt Shevelove
Even more freely adapted by Nathan Lane
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Original direction and choreography by Susan Stroman
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Ted Sperling, Director and Conductor
MasterVoices Chorus
MasterVoices Orchestra
Choreography by Lainie Sakakura
Sound design by Scott Lehrer
Costume design by Tracy Christensen
Lighting design by Shelby Loera
Cast
HOST, Nathan Lane
DIONYSOS, Douglas Sills
XANTHIAS, Kevin Chamberlin
PLUTO, Peter Bartlett
George Bernard Shaw, Dylan Baker
CHARON, Chuck Cooper
HERAKLES, Marc Kudisch
William Shakespeare, Jordan Donica
ARIADNE, Candice Corbin
Tickets priced from $30, may be purchased online at jazz.org, at the Jazz at Lincoln Center box office, Broadway at 60th Street, or by calling 212-721-6500.
More About The Frogs
Aristophanes' 2400-year-old comedy The Frogs is set in a troubled war-plagued society that is bereft of moral and cultural leadership, with frogs embodying the complacency that keeps the world from moving forward. Burt Shevelove first adapted and directed a production of The Frogs when he was a graduate student at Yale University in 1941 and his concept was to stage it in the University's swimming pool with members of the swimming team as the frogs. In 1974, he was invited back to remount the play, and this time, he enlisted his friend Stephen Sondheim to provide music and lyrics (Sondheim and Shevelove had worked together earlier on A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, inspired by the ancient comedies of Plautus). Christopher Durang, Meryl Streep, andSigourney Weaver, then students at the Yale School of Drama, performed as members of the chorus, and the set design was by Michael Yeargan.
Fast forward to the early 21st century when The Frogs was presented in concert at the Library of Congress and given its first recording. In 2004, Nathan Lane, who had starred in this recording, joined Mr. Sondheim in expanding and rewriting the show for a production at Lincoln Center Theater, starring Mr. Lane as Dionysos and Roger Bart as Xanthias. Like Sondheim's rarely heard Anyone Can Whistle, which was performed by MasterVoices last season, The Frogs has a rich and varied score with a substantial role for the chorus; it includes one of Sondheim's most beautiful love songs, “Ariadne.” As Nathan Lane wrote in 2004, "There's something in this piece right now—where the country is and for me in particular—there's something idealistic about the notion of believing that the arts can make a difference. You can affect a change. And in The Frogs, that is Dionysos' dream—to go down to Hades and bring back this great writer. The belief that that could actually have an effect on the world is noble and touching and crazy—all at the same time."
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