11

August

“I just want to be remembered.”

Preludes

Music, Lyrics, Book, and Orchestrations by Dave Malloy

Directed by Courtney O’Connor

Music Director Dan Rodriguez

Spotify Playlist: Preludes

Learn Rachmaninoff's Influence on the Music of Preludes

RUNNING TIME: Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.

2022/23 Season Sponsors:

Paul Kastner

G. Lee & Diana Humphrey

Production: Sponsored by Don & Nina Berk

Director Sponsor: Courtney O'Connor Sponsored by Melissa & Ernesto Anguilla

Music Director: Dan Rodriguez, sponsored by Ron Sudol

Orchestra: Sponsored by James Kamitses & Cynthia Bencal

Sound Design: Andrew Duncan Will, sponsored by Madelyn & Paul Sorensen

This production includes a visual of a gun, gunshots, issues of mental health and depression.

Summary

When success and failure collide, can a young Rachmaninoff rediscover his musical genius?

Featuring incredible voices Lyric Stage audiences have grown to love joined by compelling new ones in a cast that shines. Dave Malloy's lush and exuberant compositions are interpreted by some of Boston's best musical theater performers in this musical gem that also features live on-stage Rachmaninoff pieces played by Music Director, Dan Rodriguez.

A musical fantasia, Preludes unfolds in the hypnotized mind of composer and virtuoso pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff as he attempts to overcome his writer’s block following a disastrous premiere of his Symphony No. 1 in D minor. In an array of hypnotic reveries, he is invigorated by some of the most influential artists of the time including Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Tchaikovsky. Creativity is unlocked and ignited through Dave Malloy’s (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) bewitching mashup of original compositions and Rachmaninoff’s own work that takes us on a glorious journey on an artist’s quest to secure a legacy and reclaim a voice.

Content Warning: Visual of a gun, gunshots, issues of mental health and depression.

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

** Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE

° Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

† Member of AFM Local 9-535

Press & Reviews:

‘In Dave Malloy's 'Preludes,' Rachmaninoff's career is decomposing | The Boston Globe | Christopher Wallenberg

“So ultimately it becomes a show about writer’s block and depression and overcoming that,” Malloy says, “but it’s also very much a celebration of Rachmaninoff’s music and legacy and what it is to be a writer and artist.”

"Rachmaninoff tells it to his shrink in 'Preludes' at Lyric Stage Company" | WBUR, Artery | Jacquinn Sinclair

"Dan Prior is part of a talented ensemble that includes Anthony Pires Jr. as opera singer Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin. The Elliot Norton Award-winning Will McGarrahan— who portrays multiple characters including Chekhov, Tolstoy and Glazunov — is delightful. Aimee Doherty and musical director Dan Rodriguez nicely rendered a four-hand arrangement of the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6, and Rodriguez provides gorgeous piano throughout."

"Get into the mind of a composer with a new musical at the Lyric Stage Company" | GBH | Jared Bowen

" The production quite literally “is really taking us into the artist’s mind and even body in the small confines of the Lyric Stage Company,” Bowen explains, featuring the sounds of a steady background heartbeat and a look into Rachmaninoff’s time utilizing hypnotherapy in an attempt to reinvigorate his creativity."

"Preludes" Review | METRMAG.com | Kevin T. Baldwin

"Make no mistake -Preludes is a work of art - complex, multi-layered, well crafted and well executed. The entire creative team involved deserves much credit for the overall visual presentation that compliments and enhances the Malloy score."

"Preludes" Review | The Arts Fuse | Aaron Keebaugh

"But the Lyric Stage production’s greatest strength is Kayla Shimizu’s performance as Natalya. Her optimism convincingly offsets Rachmaninoff’s moodiness. But the woman has her limits, and Shimizu’s heartfelt performance reveals that she also had to deal with depression."

"Lyric Stage Company delves into musical genius Rachmaninoff’s chaotic mind in mesmerizing ‘Preludes’" | The Sleepless Critic | Jeanne Denizard

"Prior’s subtle yet searing performance delves into a defeated man reaching for a lifeline through therapist Dahl, depicted skillfully by Aimee Doherty with a contemporary vibe in a Pink Floyd T-shirt, black glasses and edgy depth. Doherty’s inquisitive and unorthodox methods may be the calm in the storm. " -Jeanne Denizard, The Sleepless Critic

"Strange and Beautiful “Preludes” Enchants at the Lyric" | New England Theater Mirror | Michele Markarian

"Pires, Jr. is magnificent as Chaliapin. His solo turn in “Loop”, which opens Act II, is well worth the price of admission – he brings down the house, with Karen Perlow’s gorgeous purple lighting providing a psychedelic groove behind him."

"Lyric Stage’s Genre-Defying ‘Preludes’ Is A Trip" | New England Theater Mirror | Shelley A. Sackett

"Malloy and Lyric Stage Company have given us an opportunity to expand our theatrical horizons, loosen the reins and just go with the flow, and for that we thank them."

"A Slow Build to Preludes" | MySouthEndnews.com | Jules Becker

"Talented veteran music director-pianist Dan Rodriguez, performing part of the second piano concerto, finds all of the fire and precision of Rachmaninoff's own playing."

Preludes Review | Boston Arts Diary | Charles Munitz

"It’s a daring experiment in historical reflection on artistic anguish, and with its innovative compositional example, presents some truly interesting and offbeat ideas about what non-cookie-cutter musical theater can be."-Charles Munitz, Boston Arts Diary

A Prelude at the Heart of “Preludes” | The Boston Musical Intelligencer | Laura Stanfield Prichard

"The play concludes with “Hypnosis” (finally featuring Dahl, sung very movingly by Aimee Doherty), and “Mountains,” a shattering breakthrough featuring the first and second themes from the opening movement of his Second Piano Concerto. At last, we are released from the prison of the composer’s mind. Melody sweeps over the audience, cleansing us of the ordeal of composition, and leaving us with its fruits."

Aimee Doherty, Dan Rodriguez †, and Dan Prior. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Prior* and Aimee Doherty. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Rodriguez †, Kayla Shimizu, Anthony Pires, Jr., and Dan Prior. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Will McGarrahan, Kayla Shimizu, Anthony Pires, Jr., Dan Rodriguez †, and Dan Prior. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Aimee Doherty* and Dan Rodriguez †. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Kayla Shimizu, Anthony Pires, Jr., Dan Prior, Will McGarrahan, and Dan Rodriguez †. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Prior, Aimee Doherty, Kayla Shimizu, Dan Rodriguez †, and Anthony Pires, Jr. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Rodriguez † and Kayla Shimizu. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Prior, Aimee Doherty, Dan Rodriguez †, and Anthony Pires, Jr.* Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Prior, Kayla Shimizu, and Dan Rodriguez †. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Will McGarrahan, Dan Rodriguez †, Dan Prior, Kayla Shimizu, Anthony Pires, Jr., and Aimee Doherty. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Anthony Pires, Jr., Dan Prior, and Will McGarrahan. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Rodriguez † and Will McGarrahan. Photo by Mark S. Howard. Dan Prior, Aimee Doherty, Dan Rodriguez †, and Will McGarrahan. Photo by Mark S. Howard.

Ticket Prices

	Single Tickets
	Play Center	Musical Center	Play Side	Musical Side
ST Wed Mat	$55	$60	$40	$45
ST Weeknight	$70	$75	$50	$55
ST Weekend	$75	$80	$55	$60

	20% Prices for Group Sales
	Play C	Musical C	Play S	Musical S
ST Wed Mat	$44	$48	$32	$36
ST Weeknight	$56	$60	$40	$44
ST Weekend	$60	$64	$44	$48

11

August

Music, Lyrics, Book, and Orchestrations

Director

Music Director/Rachmaninoff

Dahl

Chekhov/ TCHAIKOVSKY/ TOLSTOY/ GLAZUNOV/ TSAR NICHOLAS II/ THE MASTER

Chaliapin

Rach

Natalya

u/s Dahl/Natalya

u/s Rachmanioff

u/s Rach/Tchaikovsky, et al

u/s Chaliapin/Assistant to the Director

Scenic Design

Costume Design

Lighting Design

Sound Design

Production Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager

Props Artisan

Wardrobe

Assistant to the Director

Assistant Music Director

Head Electrician

FOH Engineer/A1