Candide to open at Hayward’s Douglas Morrisson Theatre
October 30, 2014
Assembled by award-winning directors Michael Mohammad and David Möschler, the upcoming production of the musical Candide features 21 performers from all over the Bay Area, including two CSUEB staff members, Marianna Wolff and Pamela Hicks.
Candide, based on the novel by Voltaire, is a lively musical satire that chronicles the life of Candide, a simple soul whose glass is always half full. The show will be opening at Hayward’s Douglas Morrisson Theatre on Nov. 7.
“I think the combination of Candide’s exquisitely beautiful and intricate score with the extremely intelligent, witty and moving lyrics, all at one and the same time, is what really sets Candide apart from the pack,” said Susan Evans, artistic director of Candide.
Both Mohammad and Möschler are veterans in theater. In 2007, Mohammad won the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Musical for his work on “Wilde Boys,” while his co-director received the same award in 2013 for the musical “Into the Woods.”
Mohammad is now the director of the Musical Theatre Ensemble at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Also a highlight, actress Angela Jarosz, who plays the character Cunegonde, delivers what Evans calls “a tour de-force” performance of the song “Glitter and Be Gay.”
The show, is appropriate for audiences ages 12 and up. “It is a rare opportunity to see one of the most important pieces of American musical theater fully staged with a live orchestra,” said Evans.
Costumes featured in the show will be made from recycled materials like corks, wallpaper, bubble wrap, and coin rolls.
Candide will run Nov. 7 through Nov. 30 on Thursdays – Sundays, with one preview show Nov. 6 for $10. Discounted prices are available for students at the box office and tickets can be purchased online at www.dmtonline.org, or by phone at (510) 881-6777.
