The world premiere of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich's Here There Are Blueberries finishes its run at California's La Jolla Playhouse, co-produced with Tectonic Theater Project, August 21. The production began performances July 26 and officially opened July 31—read reviews for the premiere here. Kaufman is at the helm.
The piece is inspired by an album of never-before-seen World War II-era photographs and the team of historians who uncovered the shocking story behind them, a story that intersects with the Holocaust and the lives of Nazi descendants.
The cast includes Scott Barrow, Charles Browning, Rosina Reynolds, Jeanne Sakata, Elizabeth Stahlmann, Charlie Thurston, Grant James Varjas, and Frances Uku, along with UC San Diego MFA students Abby Huffstetler, Noah Keyishian, and Sabrina Liu.
Kaufman's creative team features scenic designer Derek McLane, costume designer Dede Ayite, lighting designer David Lander, sound designer Bobby McElver, projection designer David Bengali, dramaturg and associate director Amy Marie Seidel, and intimacy and sensitivity specialist Ann James. The production is cast by Stephanie Yankwitt and Jacole Kitchen of tbd casting co. Lora K. Powell is stage manager.
"We are honored to welcome back Moisés, Amanda, and Tectonic Theater Project for this searing new devised work that centers on a recently discovered photo album from Auschwitz and the shocking aspects of the human psyche it exposes,” said La Jolla Artistic Director Christopher Ashley in an earlier statement.
Kaufman directed Broadway's Paradise Square, with past credits including Torch Song, The Heiress, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, 33 Variations, and I Am My Own Wife. Kaufman's Tectonic Theater Project, for which Kaufman is founder and artistic director, is noted for its devised theatre works based on true events, with material culled from interviews conducted by members of the company, most notably 2000's The Laramie Project.
Visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org.
Elizabeth Stahlmann and Charlie Thurston in Here There Are Blueberries
Cast of Here There Are Blueberries
Scott Barrow in Here There Are Blueberries
Grant James Varjas and Charlie Thurston in Here There Are Blueberries
Rosina Reynolds, Grant James Varjas, and Elizabeth Stahlmann in Here There Are Blueberries
Rosina Reynolds in Here There Are Blueberries
Charles Browning and Frances Uku Scott Barrow in Here There Are Blueberries
Charlie Thurston and Jeanne Sakata in Here There Are Blueberries
Frances Uku, Scott Barrow, and Charles Browning in Here There Are Blueberries
Charles Browning and Grant James Varjas in Here There Are Blueberries
