Press Release
Playwright's Bio
Dramaturg’s Notes

 

The Master and Margarita

by Ron Hutchinson

based on the original novel by Mikhail Bulgakov

directed by Barry Kyle

Helen F. Spencer Theatre, James C. Olson PAC

FOR TICKETS:       816.235.6222

UMKC Theatre Presents “The Master and Margarita”
World Premiere of Masterpiece of Russian Literature

KANSAS CITY, MO (April 6, 2009) – UMKC Theatre will present a world premiere of Mikhail Bulgakov’s great novel, “The Master and Margarita”, adapted by multi-award winning screenwriter and playwright Ron Hutchinson. Directed by Barry Kyle, this brilliant work runs April 24 to 28 and April 29 to May 3 at the Helen F. Spencer Theatre at the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus.

“The last thing you do if you sit down to write a novel about Stalinist Russia is make a comedy of it,” remarks Hutchinson. “But that is what Bulgakov does. Nobody dared tell the truth about the Russian state, and Bulgakov, amazingly enough, way back in 1938 was trying to smuggle the truth about the Russian state to the rest of us.”

Bulgakov began working on his novel in 1928 and would continue its revision until his death 12 years later. Now, after 80 years in existence and countless attempts to stage it, UMKC Theatre has assembled an outstanding production team to assume this massive undertaking, which features no less than 60 roles.

The book, banned in the Soviet Union, is described by many as the greatest novel of the 20th century. At its most basic level, “The Master and Margarita” tells the Faustian story of Margarita giving herself over to Woland, a magical professor who is actually the devil, in order to save the Master, her lover who dared write a controversial novel using religious themes and characters. The comedy of this story written during the repressive society of 1930s Moscow is especially stunning.

“This is a hilarious and amazing work,” said Kyle. “It's a show which is part circus, part philosopher's stone, part heartbreaking love story. A vast work of the imagination, ‘The Master and Margarita’” may be the biggest production we have ever attempted.”

Zachary M. Andrews, a first-year actor at UMKC, plays Master. He last appeared as Jaggers in “Great Expectations”.  Hailing from Colorado, he received his BFA from the University of Colorado, and spent three seasons with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.  He is a former member of the Second City Conservatory and a graduate of their writing program.  Notable roles include Prospero in “The Tempest”, Bobby in “Company”, Marchbanks in “Candida”, Simon in “More Stately Mansions”, and Peer in “Peer Gynt.”

Julane Havens is honored to originate the roles of Margarita and Matthew for her final performance as a graduate student at UMKC, where she has been seen as: Poppy in “Noises Off”, Vi in “Goodnight Children Everywhere”, Margery Pinchwife in “The Country Wife”, and Fran, Debbie and Denise in “The Heidi Chronicles”. Other roles include Amelia in “Surfacing, Episodes 1 –3” (a new radio play written by Kyle Hatley for Chatterbox Audio Theater), Fan and Martha Cratchit in “A Christmas Carol “(Kansas City Rep), Marina in “Pericles”, Lady Macbeth and Witch in “The Macbeth Project “(Coterie Theatre), and Past, Fan and Belle in the West Coast Premiere of “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge” (Taproot Theatre).

Jay Akin, in the role of Berlioz, is finishing his MFA in acting at UMKC.  A native of Houston, TX, Jess worked at Houston Grand Opera, The Houston Shakespeare Festival, Stages Repertory Theatre and The Alley Theatre before attending UMKC.  In Kansas City, he has appeared in “Othello” and as Tybalt in “Romeo and Juliet” with Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Constable Warren in “Our Town” and Macbeth in “In Spite of Thunder: the Macbeth Project” at The Coterie.  At UMKC, he appeared as Sir Andrew in “Twelfth Night”, Sparkish in “The Country Wife”, Cleante in “Tartuffe”, and Selsdon in “Noises Off!” He is also an Advanced Actor Combatant and has choreographed fights for many theatre companies and opera houses. 

TJ Chasteen plays Ivan Nikolayich and is in his third year at UMKC’s MFA-Acting program, where he appeared in “The Heidi Chronicles”, “The Country Wife” and “Quindaro”. His local credits include the most recent production of “A Christmas Carol” at KCRep, “Our Town” with the Coterie Theatre, “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Unicorn Theatre, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s productions of “Othello” and the “Merry Wives of Windsor”. TJ also holds a BFA from Sam Houston State University.

Theodore Swetz, in the role of Bengalsky, began his career with the New York Shakespeare Festival, performing at Lincoln Center and the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Ted has had the privilege of studying with legendary teachers Morris Carnovsky, Phoebe Brand and Stella Adler, all founding members of the Group Theater. For 10 years, as an original member of American Players Theatre, a "Tony" nominated classical repertory company founded by Randall Duk Kim, Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright, he acted, taught, directed and served as assistant artistic director. As a principal actor, Ted has appeared in many regional theaters throughout the country. Some representative roles include Bottom in “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Falstaff  in “Merry Wives of Windsor”, Gloucester in “Lear” Claudius in “Hamlet”, Argan in ”Imaginary Invalid”, Max in “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”,  Percy in “The Boyfriend” and Donny in “The Lieutenant of Inishmore”. His work as a director includes “Mojo”, “ Side Man”, “ All in the Timing”, “Rabbit Hole” (Unicorn Theatre), “Misalliance” and “Room Service” (Commonweal Theater Company), “The Comedy of Errors” and “The Shorts Fest” (The Kansas City Rep), “Talley's Folly” (Kansas City Actors Theater) “Ferdinand the Bull” (Coterie Theater) and “The Cripple of Inishmaan” (Nebraska Rep). He serves UMKC’s Department of Theatre as The Patricia McIlrath Endowed Professor of Theater – Acting.

Playwright Ron Hutchinson has been Writer In Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre; and has had plays premiered there, at the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court and the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, among others. A winner of several awards for plays including “Rat in the Skull” and “Moonlight and Magnolias”, he has previously worked with Barry Kyle on “The Irish Play”, “The Dillen” (Royal Shakespeare Company) and “The Mysteries in Coventry Cathedral”. He is also an Emmy- winning screenwriter based in Hollywood, working in features and television and has taught screenwriting at The American Film Institute. Recently he has returned to also writing radio plays for the BBC in London.

Director Barry Kyle is an Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Founding Artistic Director of Swine Palace Productions in Louisiana. He was the first Artistic Director of the RSC's Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Mr. Kyle has directed more than 30 productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company. These include “Love's Labour's Lost”, “Measure for Measure”, “The Two Noble Kinsmen”, “The Taming of the Shrew”, “Richard II”, “Edward Bond's Lear”, and Marlowe's “Dr. Faustus”. His work has been seen in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Jerusalem, Moscow, Warsaw, Melbourne, and Singapore. He has been twice nominated for Olivier Awards as Best Director for his RSC productions of Shakespeare's comedies in London. In New York he directed an off-Broadway production of “Henry V” which was awarded the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Revival. Also in New York City, he adapted and directed “Henry VI”, which won a Drama Desk Nomination as Outstanding Revival. He has directed many major British actors including Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, Patrick Stewart, Kenneth Branagh and Ben Kingsley. He was the first Western director to work at the National Theatre in Prague where he directed Shakespeare's “King Lear” during the 'velvet revolution'.  He was awarded "Director of the Year" by Britain's Daily Mail newspaper in 2006.

“The Master and Margarita” is the final of six graduate productions in the UMKC Theatre program’s 2008-2009 Season, which kicked off in mid-September with “The Heidi Chronicles.” It contains material which some may regard as suitable for adults only.

Single tickets are adults, $15; seniors $10; students, $6; and groups of 10 or more, $5 each. Tickets are available through the Central Ticket Office at 816.235.6222.  Supported in part by an ArtsKC Fund Catalyst Grant.

“The Master and Margarita” Performance Dates: 

Preview

            Friday                          April 24                       7:30pm

            Saturday                      April 25*                     7:30pm

            Sunday                        April 26                       7:30pm

            Tuesday                       April 2                         7:30pm

Opens

            Wednesday                 April 29                       7:30pm

            Thursday                     April 30                       7:30pm

            Friday                          May 1                          7:30pm

            Saturday                      May 2                          7:30pm           

Closes

            Sunday                        May 3                          2:00pm

* Talk Back, after the performance. Audience members are encouraged to remain after the performance to learn more about the production and ask questions of the members of the cast and artistic team. UMKC Theatre has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report among the top graduate theatre training programs in the country. The program trains a select group of highly talented actors, designers, stage managers and dramaturgs for careers in the performing arts. Graduates from the UMKC program are invited to the most prestigious New York competitions and auditions to exhibit their work and secure positions with national and international performing companies. The program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) and is a member of the University/Resident Theatre Association (U/RTA).

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.  UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a three-part mission: visual and performing arts, health sciences, and urban engagement. UMKC has been designated as Missouri’s Campus for the Arts.

More information is available online at www.umkc.edu/theatre/.

For interviews and press passes to performances, contact Ellen McDonald, 816.444.0052 or ellen@mershonandmcdonald.com.

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Playwright's Bio

RON HUTCHINSON has been Writer In Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre; has had plays premiered there, at the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court and the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, among others. A winner of several awards for plays including RAT IN THE SKULL and MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS, he has previously worked with Barry Kyle on THE IRISH PLAY, THE DILLEN (Royal Shakespeare Company) and THE MYSTERIES in Coventry Cathedral. In association with Playbox Theatre he has written and devised plays for children and teenagers. He is also an Emmy winning screenwriter based in Hollywood, working in features and television and has taught screenwriting at The American Film Institute.

Recently he has returned to also writing radio plays for the BBC in London.

Dramaturg’s Notes

Building on Bulgakov’s Legacy with a Stage-worthy Adaptation of The Master and Margarita

by Johnny Wolfe

            Once in a generation a writer/artist comes along who creates a piece of literature that changes everything his or her contemporaries know about writing. Such was the case with Mikhail Afanasievich Bulgakov’s masterpiece, The Master and Margarita.

Bulgakov began working on the novel in 1928 and would continue its revision until his death twelve years later. Now, after the novel’s 80 years in existence and countless attempts to “theatrical-ize” it, the University of Missouri-Kansas City has assembled a production team to assume this massive undertaking.

“It’s a huge book and trying to compress it into a piece of theatre involves a great deal of choice, omission, and also passion,” says Kyle. “Ron has an impeccable idea of structure and I think he is an inspiration for students.”

In order to truly understand this novel, one must first recognize the despotic system of government under which Bulgakov was writing. In response to Flight, Stalin wrote a note to the author that became the subject of the literary community in Moscow. Those that wished to see Bulgakov’s work banned, exploited the letter, leading to an official ban of all his writings in 1929.

“I do not have the energy to exist,” Bulgakov wrote to government officials, “I am hounded, knowing that I am never again going to be published or produced within the borders of the USSR.”

Eventually, Bulgakov received the famous phone call of 1930 during which Stalin rejected his appeal to move outside of the country, but offered him substantial employment at the Moscow Art Theatre.

Bulgakov continued writing the novel in a satirical fashion knowing that at any time there was likely to be a raid of his apartment that would undoubtedly lead to the destruction of the manuscript. Such an incursion occurred once before when the secret police heard about his short story Heart of a Dog, which they seized along with all his other work.

“The last thing you do if you sit down to write a novel about Stalinist Russia is make a comedy of it,” remarks Hutchinson, “but that is what Bulgakov does. Nobody dared tell the truth about the Russian state, and Bulgakov, amazingly enough, way back in 1938 was trying to smuggle the truth about the Russian state to the rest of us.”

Bulgakov’s third wife, Elena Sergeievna Shilovskaya, was instrumental in both the “smuggling” process and in the novel’s completion. At this point, Bulgakov was on his deathbed and had lost his eyesight from sclerosis of the kidneys. Not only did she assist him in making corrections, adding the epilogue, and finally completing it, but she also made multiple copies of the manuscript and sent them to friends and family throughout the country in order to guard it from Soviet censorship. She later reassembled the novel back together for publication in France.

It is quite clear that The Master and Margarita (along with its title characters) is based on the relationship between Bulgakov and Elena Shilovskaya. In many ways, the story surrounding their love affair and eventual marriage is as beautiful as the novel’s depiction of love between the Master and his Margarita.

Elena Shilovskaya was “a woman of the world, a bit daring, intelligent and vivacious.” She was the secretary of Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Moscow Art Theatre and Bulgakov would often talk with her about his writing.

Bulgakov once led Elena Shilovskaya to Patriarch’s Ponds and told her the idea for his new novel that would later become The Master and Margarita. He then took her to the house of an old man. After feeding them, the old man asked her for a kiss. She granted his request and then he looked into her eyes and uttered the word, ‘Witch!’

This became Bulgakov’s pet-name for her as she had many qualities that were mysterious and enchanting, like her ability to complete errands in a fraction of the time it took others to do the same. He often joked that she flew around Moscow on her broomstick.

Naturally, we must thank Bulgakov for his great source material, but also Elena Shilovskaya for her diligence in preserving it. There is no greater appreciation and testament to their courage than for a truly stage-worthy adaptation to be realized.

“I had the idea of adapting The Master and Margarita, so I wrote to Ron and he replied within a few hours saying he’d ‘cut his arm off to adapt it,” says director Kyle. “Getting him on board was very important because Ron is a major dramatist and screenwriter and once he agreed to commit himself, we had a project.”

The next step was The Master and Margarita “boot-camp,” bringing together all areas of UMKC Theatre for a workshop on the emerging script.

“The week-long boot-camp for The Master and Margarita was an invaluable experience for everyone involved," commented costume designer Megan Turek (`09). "Spending the better part of a week working with fellow artists, diving head first into a text, and chasing down ideas without the pressure of failure, produces amazing work."

Russian theatre is deeply-rooted in the experience of all who were involved on this production as Barry Kyle directed Erdmann’s The Suicide for Clwyd Theatr Cymru, the national theatre of Wales earlier this year, Ron Hutchinson adapted Bulgakov’s Flight for the Royal National Theatre, Megan Turek costumed Chekhov’s Three Sisters here at UMKC, and Johnny Wolfe directed Nadya, an integration of a collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov with Tom Mardikes, Chair of UMKC Theatre.

 “The Russians are the big guys and there is something exciting about being a part of their work,” notes Hutchinson. Bulgakov’s work, specifically, has stood the test of time due to his ardent refusal to write according to an oppressive ideology, while the works of his seemingly more-successful contemporaries have diminished.

For over a year now, UMKC theatre has passionately committed itself to producing the theatrical equivalent to the brilliance of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita. Guided by such a gifted playwright as Ron Hutchinson and director as Barry Kyle, we hope that these efforts to breathe a theatrical life into Bulgakov’s masterpiece might serve as an homage to the efforts of those like Elena Sergeievna Bulgakov, who risked her safety to protect the words of her husband, a man who fought oppression with a pen and a piece of parchment.