The Green Bird
BY CARLO GOZZI
ADAPTED BY STEVEN EPP
DIRECTED BY NIC DIMOND
Apr 14, 2002–May 18, 2002
3829 N. Broadway
Tartaglia, King of Monterotondo, hits town after 18 years of waging war to discover that his mother, the evil Tartagliona, has done away with his Queen, Ninetta, on a trumped up charge of crimes against nature. The Queen Mother, egged on by her scheming toady, the poet Brighella, is determined to hold on to the throne at all costs!
Little does the King know that his wife still lives, as do his children, the twins Barbarina and Renzo, who have survived a villainous attempt to do away with them and grown up in the care of Truffaldino and Smeraldina, the King’s Sausage Maker and his Wife. Respectively.
The road to resolving this mess involves a sexy statue, a know-it-all stone head, a trip to Nowhere Mountain, a snake of biblical proportions and a mysterious Green Bird upon whom everything hinges.
Written in the 18th century by Carlo Gozzi and given a dash of rocket sauce by Steven Epp of Theatre de la Jeune Lune, The Green Bird is directed by Strawdog emeritus member Nic Dimond, director of The Waltz Invention, Measure for Measure and Return to the Howard Bowl.
Cast
Jennifer Avery
as Barbarina
Michael Dailey*
as Truffeldino
Anita Deely
as Tartagliona
Chris Hainsworth
as Calmon, The Big Giant Head
Kyle Hamman*
as Renzo
Tom Hickey
as Accordion Ninja
Shannon Hoag*
as Pompea
Kat McDonnell*
as Smeraldina, Sausage Mistress
Gregor Mortis
as Ninja, Calmon's Hand
James Anthony Zoccoli
as Tartaglia the King
Creative Team
Nic Dimond
Director
Gregor Mortis
Musician
Kimberly Senior
Puppets
* Strawdog Theatre ensemble member