Buran Theatre Company at the KC Fringe Festival present MONEY BUCKETS! The Untold Story of FDR
A world premiere Buran Original music composed
by Christopher Luxem & Ben Leifer with lyrics by Adam R. Burnett
July 22-26, 2009 Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre 3614 Main St. Kansas City, MO
Buran performed at the KC Fringe Festival after a year of producing in New York and Lithuania with a larger than life
theatrical event that made a blizzard of the FDR administration, the Marx Brothers, number theory, logic, our generation's
failing memory, and the impending future of our large, befuddled America.
The actual source text use, "Money
Buckets", is the long lost Marx Bros. script. It was written while they were with MGM between 1937 and 1939- but was
never produced due to its controversial political overtures. In 2003 co-artistic director Adam R. Burnett acquired the text
from a Marx Brothers historian in San Diego, Frederick Allison. In 2005 Burnett co-founded Buran Theatre Company with Alicia
Gian and in 2007, after a brief and ultimately painless legal battle, they acquired the rights to perform the script as long
as it was not performed in whole....
In an economy turned upside down FDR (Groucho Marx) asserts himself by hiring
two new men, outsiders to the Washington System, to take over the cabinets of Finance, Minister Fellini (Chico Marx), and
Agriculture (a beard for the War cabinet), Minister Bergman (Harpo Marx). But a villainous pair of Eastern European Socialists
have plans to dupe the president and his boisterous wife, Eleanor (Margaret Dumont), and steal all of the money from the U.S.
Government - buckets of money.
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| Marius Maciulis, Alicia Gian-Maciuliene, Val Smith, Justin Knudsen, & Brady Blevins |
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| Marius Maciulis, Brady Blevins, Alicia Gian-Maciuliene, & Justin Knudsen |
Ensemble: Brady Blevins as Chico Marx as Minister Fellini, as Assistant
to FDR, Buckminster Fuller, Erwin Piscator, and Brady Blevins Alicia Gian as Margaret Dumont as Eleanor Roosevelt, as Jazz Singer, Tatiana Ruskinskueva-Ivanonlinsky, and
Alicia Gian
Justin Knudsen as Groucho
Marx as Franklin Derby Ruse-Velt, as Justin Knudsen Marius Maciulis as Harpo Marx as Minister Bergman, as Secretary to FDR, Valdus,and Marius Maciulis Val Smith as Val Smith as Cute Blonde who Holds
up Cue Cards and Comments on the Action Christopher
Luxem as Luxem Ben Leifer
as Leifer Adam R. Burnett as Artistic
Director as Adam R. Burnett You as Whatever
Part you Wish to Play
DIRECTED by Adam R. Burnett ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/DISCERNING EYE/PROPS MISTRESS: Val Smith DRAMATURG/LIGHT DESIGN/LIGHT & SOUND OPERATOR: Henry Bial SET DESIGN:
Russell E. Burnett COSTUME ALTERING & DESIGN: Christopher Reed &
Ensemble SET CONSTRUCTION: Russell E. and Vicki Burnett & Ensemble WHERE THE BULLSHIT STOPS: Lawrence P. Henderson PUBLIC
DESIGN: Megan L. Rains "FDR" Mix composed by C-Dose *We
want to thank the support of our alma maters: Helen Hocker Theatre & the University of Kansas * Also, to our
hosts for the month of July - the loving, caring, generous Gian's in Garden City and the hospitable, nurturing, boisterous
Burnett's in Topeka.
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| Lara C. Thomas as 3, Carter Royce Waite as Leonard in "The Sensualist" |
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| Andi Porter as 1, Courtney Schweitzer as 2, Lara C. Thomas as 3, Carter Royce Waite as Leonard |
The Sensualist Press Coverage
The Sensualist Press Coverage 2
The Sensualist
A new drama
by Adam R. Burnett Original music composed by Ian Nichols wirth lyrics by Adam R. Burnett
February 2-11, 2007 @ the Lawrence Arts Center Black Box
"Why lie to oneself since all men are like this and perhaps cannot help being like this." -Fyoder Dostoevsky, The
Brothers Karamazov, 'The Sensualists'
THE SENSUALIST traverses the love lives of Leonard- a once great musician - and the women who discovered him. As the consequences
of past, present and future loves play out, each is faced with the reality of indulging one's appetites and starving one's
dignity. After not producing music for many years, Leonard has recently hired a young protégé to aid him in the creation of
a new album based on T.S. Eliot's 'The Wasteland'. As Leonard unsuccessfully tries to ceate new music, Leonard's past relationships
unfold: his marriage and the subsequent affair with his sister-in-law. Scenes with these women dovetail on and off the stage
and Leonard's inner conflict with his music increases as Interviewers enter in and out of his conscious longing for recognition,
validating his celebrity and belief in his creative work. As the three women begin to forge identities separate from Leonard,
he fights blindly to keep them present, to keep them alive aside his (potentially) dying talent.
LEONARD: Carter Waite
1: Andi Porter
2: Courtney Schweitzer
3: Lara C. Thomas
ORSON: Joe Carey
THE ACTOR: Stephen Ferrell
DIRECTED by Adam R. Burnett
ASSISTANT DIRECTED by Alicia Gian
COSTUME DESIGN: Lauren Marshall
LIGHTING DESIGN: Ann Sitzman
SET DESIGN: Adam R. Burnett
STAGE MANAGED by Lawrence P. Henderson
Co-produced by University of Kansas Theatre and the New Theatre Guild
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A GREATER RELEASE
A travelogue by Adam
R. Burnett
with additional material by Brady Blevins, Amy Virginia Buchanan, Matt
Crooks, and Tosin Morohonfola
Original music composed by Christopher Luxem & Alicia Gian
Ran July 2007
@ Oldfather Studios in Lawrence, KS
"I find that I am surrounded by those who are as alone as I am. Who are trying to
find a way home & cannot. I believe that's what these large cities are for - Paris, London, Rome - they are a holding
place for those who are waiting to either return home or find a place to call home. As much as I love these cities, it is
only a fleet ing holding place, where you wait for the greater release."
In this tapestry of travelogues, a gypsy and her faithful troubadour lead the audience through the greater part of western
Europe. Characters erupt, situations occur (from comedic to darkly disturbing) and identities are found, formed, and
lost in a whirling cycle of monologues and vignettes that speak to the solo, aimless globe-trotter.
GYPSY
POET: Alicia Gian
HER FAITHFUL TROUBADOR: Christopher Luxem
LUCILLE: Meghan Reardon
MARIE/CHORUS: Jenna
Bleeker
MARY KLAYDER/CHORUS: Amy Virginia Buchanan
ADAM/WAITER: Matt Crooks
GREAT AMERICAN NOVELIST: Erik
LaPointe
MICHAEL/BRADY: Brady Blevins
CHARLIE: Justin Knudsen
HENRY/CHORUS: Stephen Ferrell
SEBASTIAN/CHORUS:
Alex Haynes
AMY/CHORUS: Lara Thomas
MATT/CHORUS: Spencer Holdren
TOSIN/CHORUS: Tosin Moronhunfola
VAN
MORRISON/CHORUS: Joe Carey
ADAM/CHORUS: Adam R. Burnett
DIRECTED by Adam R. Burnett & Meghan Reardon
STAGE MANAGED by Megan Smith
LIGHTING CONSULTANT: Ann Sitzman
Co-produced by The New Theatre Guild
Greater Release Press Coverage
Greater Release Press Coverage 2
Greater Release Press Coverage 3
Greater Release Pod Cast
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| Matt Crooks as The Waiter and Erik LaPointe as The Great American Novelist in "A Greater Release" |
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| Alicia Gian as the Gypsy Poet and Adam R. Burnett as himself in "A Greater Release" |
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All
Men Are Whores:
Gender Performance Project
October- December 20007 William Inge Theater
Participants:
Lara C. Thomas
Val Smith
Spencer Holdren
Ryan Klamen
Directed by Adam R. Burnett
NOTE: Acting on the stage is a physical endeavor – an offering.
In our daily lives we strive to live from physical act to physical act without regret, remorse, or guilt.
Our precious consciousness breaks this. It would be much easier to fall from one bed to another,
in and out of love with anonymous entities – whether the comfort of our own warmth or the presence, the scent, the arms,
legs, lips, fingers, bare back, and hair of another. In love and in sex we are crippled by our mind, our
intelligence, and our understanding of the condition that disallows us every one of our deepest desires. In
rearranging Mamet’s work I have taken liberties with monologues that were assigned to two men and one women, recast
them as dialogues in dueling tenses (the past in the present) and without regard to gender. Our interest
is to find a universal, physical stage relative to each intimate encounter, prompted by music, impulse, and desire.
Source Texts:
All
Men Are Whores by David Mamet
Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body by Susan Bordo
The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Volume 1 by Michel Foucalt Gender and Anthropology by
Frances Mascia Lees & Nancy Black Re-Positioning Gender by Adam R. Burnett ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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| "Nightmares" publicity photo. Justin Knudsen and Lara C. Thomas |
NIGHTMARES: An Artful Demonstration of the Sublime
A buran by Adam R. Burnett Original music by
Christopher Luxem Feb. 13-16 @ the Lawrence Art Center's Main Stage
It is a difficult task to estimate the merits of this artist's work, by any rule
or criterion by which we judge of others. Pictures are, or ought to be, a representation of natural objects, delineated with
taste and precision. Mr Fuseli gives us the human figure, from the recollection of its form, and not from the form itself;
he seems to be painting every thing from fancy, which renders his work almost incomprehensible, and leaves no criterion to
judge of them by, but the imagination.
(Public Advertiser, 22 May 1786)
Joshua Chapman is happy with his life. He's an assistant
professor at a mediocre college full of mediocre students, and he has a new best selling book out on the life, art, and philosophy
of 18th century artist Henry Fuseli. Oh, he also has a beautiful, adoring wife, a sleek apartment in a large choking
city, and he has just recently purchased a copy of Fuseli's renowned painting, "The Nightmare," a personal dream
fully realized as it hangs on his living room wall... But when the credibility of this best-selling
book is questioned by a colleague, Chapman's once wonderful life begins to disintegrate and the painting on his living
room wall becomes the crux of what will be his sublimely terrifying, irrational, violent downfall.
FIGURE/HENRY
FUSELI/ADAM R. BURNETT: Justin Knudsen
JOSHUA CHAPMAN: Erik LaPointe
VALERIA CHAPMAN: Lara C. Thomas
DR.
ROSE/NIGHT FIGURE/INVESTIGATOR 2: Brady Blevins
NIGHT FIGURE/MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT/INVESTIGATOR 1: Meg Saricks
DIRECTED by Adam R. Burnett
ASSISTANT DIRECTED by Val Smith
SCENIC DESIGN by Nick Kostner
COSTUME
DESIGN by Kelly Vogel
LIGHT DESIGN by Ann Siztman
MAKEUP DESIGN by DeAndrea Herron
ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED
by Christopher Luxem
STAGE MANAGED by Ann Siztman
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGED by Val Smith
PRODUCTION CONSULTANT:
Lawrence Henderson
SET CARPENTER: Brian Lechner
ASSISTANTS TO COSTUME DESIGNER: Jenna Bleecker, Amy Virginia Buchanan,
& Lara C. Thomas
PROPS MASTER: Alex Dworkin
SOUND/PROJECTIONIST: Lizzie Hartman
COSTUME CREW: Erin Niedenthal
MAKEUP CREW: Rebecca Ralstin
STAGE CREW: Sara Finney, Lauren Heimbaugh, Jackie Koester, Christopher McGillivray,
& Jacob Schirmer
PHOTOGRAPHY: Joshua Efron
POSTER/PROGRAM DESIGN: Brady Blevins
USHERS: Jenna Bleecker,
Anna Hoard, Spencer Hess Holdren, Hilary Kelman, & Ryan Klamen
TALK BACK MODERATORS: Dr. Henry Bial & Dr. Mechele
Leon
Co-produced by the KU Student Senate Activity Fee, Coca-Cola Foundation, and the KU Honors Department.
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October 17, 2008
7:30 pm
Dramatists Guild-Frederick Lowe Room
New York, NY
Cast:
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.............................Justin Knudsen
BETSY/JOSEPH............................................Kate
Hurley
DOCTOR......................................................Theresa Buchheister
MARIA LETIZIA............................................Samara
Naeymi
JOSEPHINE/CLEOPATRA...............................Meg Saricks
DIRECTED by Adam R. Burnett
GRAPHIC DESIGNS by Christopher Luxem
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by Carlo Matos
June 7th, 2008
William Inge Theatre
Cast
DINA: Jenna Bleecker
GALO: Justin Knudsen
RACHEL: Meg Saricks
HOOK: Brady Blevins
STAGE DIRECTIONS: Lara C. Thomas
DIRECTED
by Adam R. Burnett
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Lara C. Thomas
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NIGHTMARES: An Artful Demonstration of the Sublime
By Adam R. Burnett Oct. 28, 2007 Murphy Hall, Room 209
CAST
FIGURE/HENRY
FUSELI/ADAM R. BURNETT: Matthew Crooks
JOSHUA CHAPMAN: Joe Carey
VALERIA CHAPMAN: Lara Thomas
DR. ROSE/NIGHT
FIGURE/INVESTIGATOR 2: Brady Blevins
NIGHT FIGURE/MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT/INVESTIGATOR 1: Val Smith
STAGE DIRECTIONS:
Brian Ervin
Directed by Adam R. Burnett
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THE
NEXT GREAT THING Two
One Act Plays By Adam R. Burnett
May 12, 2006, 7:30 pm William Inge Memorial Theatre
'OUR
FATHERS' CAST LINDA: Kate Giessel JUlIE: Lauren Marshall MATTHEW: Elliot Sowards 'IT'S
ALWAYS A WOMAN' CAST VAL: Matthew Crooks ANDREA: Lindsay Ohse BRAD BRADLEY: Justin Knudsen BEA
BRADLEY: Courtney Schweitzer Directed by Adam R. Burnett & Hilary Kelman Stage Managed by Brady Blevins -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENEATH
THE BED
By Adam R. Burnett Dec. 10, 2005 , 7:30 pm William Inge Memorial Theatre
CAST: PAUL BROWN: Justin Knudsen
EMMA: Lara C. Thomas
FATHER: Carter Royce Waite
SHARON
BROWN: Blake E. Bolan
JEREMY BROWN: Brian Ervin
DR. HOWARD MANCHESTER/SIDNEY LOFT: Brady Blevins
MEREDITH
BROWN: Hilary Kelman
LISA COLE/WAITRESS/YOUNG GIRL: Aubree Bowen
Directed by Adam R. Burnett
Stage
Managed by Megan Smith
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