The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Nebraska’s only regional, professional theatre, re-launches with “Abigail/1702,” which opens Sept. 30.
“Abigail/1702” by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Nebraska Rep Artistic Director Andy Park has performances Sept. 30, Oct. 4-6 and 11-13 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 1, 8 and 15 at 2p.m. in the Lied Center’s Johnny Carson Theater.
The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, affiliated with the Actors’ Equity Association, has been on hiatus since its final summer season in 2014. A new collaboration between the Nebraska Repertory Theatre and the Lied Center for Performing Arts, and a merger of the Nebraska Rep and University Theatre begins with “Abigail/1702.”
“’Abigail’ is going to be such a tremendous show,” Park said. “You can just tell, sometimes, when a project really starts to click, and it started to click really early on.”
Ten years after The Crucible’s infamous seductress, Abigail Williams, danced with the devil in Salem, darkness returns in “Abigail/1702.” As she cares for a young sailor on the brink of death, a mysterious stranger from Abigail’s past catches up with her, sending her on one final, suspense-filled quest for redemption.
“Arthur Miller wrote a really important play, ‘The Crucible,’ and it deals with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692,” Park said. “It was also a larger comment on witch hunts and the Red Scare when it came out in 1953.”
Nicholas Russell, a senior performance major from Oceanside, California, plays John Brown, the sailor.
“It’s a redemption story,” he said. “My character is a sailor who has been at sea for a long time. He’s an interesting guy, maybe not the best with words, when it comes to women. But he has his beliefs. I can relate to him.”
Abigail Williams was one of the girls that pretended to see witches to save themselves when they were caught dancing in the woods.
“I can’t think of a better antagonist in any play,” Park said. “And this play takes off where ‘The Crucible’ left off. So Abigail is in love with John Proctor, and she can’t bear to watch him hung because he is ultimately accused of being a witch. So she steals her uncle Rev. Parris’s money, and she flees. And there have been a lot of rumors about what actually happened to Abigail Williams. Some have said she became a harlot; others say that she fled to Barbados. No one really knows.”
Playwright Aguirre-Sacasa imagines what happened to her with this play.
“What’s tremendous about it is it could have ended in so many ways—justice, for example. He could have watched her go to trial for her crimes of basically killing 20 innocent people,” Park said. “But what he chose to do instead is surprising and beautiful, and it becomes this quest for redemption.”
Park also says audiences will be surprised by the play.
“When you go into a show like this, you might have the idea that because it’s about the Salem Witch Trials that it’s so serious and extremely sad,” Park said. “And I would just say that it challenges those preconceived ideas of what it can be. It is surprisingly funny in places. It’s heartwarming, and it’s rather inspirational.”
Russell said the play has a little of everything.
“It has singing. It’s not a musical, but it has beautiful music sung by The Twenty,” he said. “There are funny moments; there is scariness; there are flashbacks and special effects. We bring a film-like aspect to the theatrical world. It’s a big production with lots going on.”
Four guest artists are cast in the play including Abbey Siegworth (Young Woman), Don Richard (Older Man), Professor of Theatre Virginia Smith (Older Woman) and Huck Madsen (Little Boy).
“Interestingly enough, Abbey Siegworth played Abigail Williams in ‘The Crucible’ when she was in high school, so this has been really cool for her,” Park said.
Siegworth, from New York City, recently finished playing Electra at the Dallas Theater Center, which won the 2017 regional Tony Award. She is a member of the Dallas Theatre Center’s Brierley Resident Acting Company and has extensive experience in Chicago and Milwaukee.
Richard, from Chicago, earlier in his career, toured Nebraska for two years with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. He has appeared on Broadway in the original cast of “Jane Eyre,” “Urinetown” and in the recent revival of “Side Show.” He has performed in the original national touring company of “Wicked.”
Smith served a decade as the artistic director for the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. She has taught in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film since 2000. Her acting and directing credits include “This Random World” for University Theatre and “Act a Lady” for the Nebraska Rep.
Madsen is eight and a half years old and making his debut with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre.
“I’m still a student, so to be on stage with these professional actors, I have to elevate to their level,” Russell said. “But they’ve been supportive, and we’re constantly discussing things. They’ve been helpful.”
In addition, 14 students from the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film are also cast in the play, as well as some alumni.
“It’s a huge show, and they’re doing a tremendous job,” Park said. “It gets to the heart of what we’re trying to do here—the belief that giving our students an opportunity to interact and work with these professionals will raise what they even think is possible for themselves.”
Many of them are playing “The Twenty.”
“The 20 people that Abigail Williams is responsible for hanging are sort of implied in the script,” Park said. “She talks about how she sees ghosts in the woods, and that sort of thing. But in our production, we decided to actually cast them, so we see The Twenty. What we also did is have them sing. They sing early American music, and just vocally they’re doing an incredible job. It really is going to be stunning and extremely moving.”
The production is music directed by Alisa Belflower and designed by Janice Stauffer (costumes), Christine Duncan (makeup), Laurel Shoemaker (lighting), J.D. Madsen (scenic) and Jeff O’Brien (sound design and composer). Mitch Critel is the technical director. All of them are faculty and staff members of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.
“One of the things I’m really excited about is that, from top to bottom, we just have a professional team working on the show,” Park said. “There are a lot of special demands in the show, and how they’ve been engineering the problem pieces of the show has been really cool, so I just think that the team assembled is really strong.”
Park is excited about what the Nebraska Rep can become.
“I see a huge opportunity here,” he said. “And I see a state that is one of the few that doesn’t have a professional, regional theatre, until now. I’ve seen first-hand what regional theatres bring to a community, and as we begin to build over time, people will view the Rep as something that is helping the community work. There’s just so much potential.”
Park hopes audiences have high expectations for “Abigail/1702” and the future Nebraska Rep productions.
“We are asking people to pay more for tickets than we ever have,” he said. “And there’s a reason for that. It’s because we are deliberately trying to up the ante. We are trying to bring production values that people are not used to seeing and talent that they don’t typically have access to. So I hope audiences will hold us to the highest quality standards, and we’re going to work our hardest to meet them.”
Russell said, “We’re putting a lot into it. It will be cool.”
Tickets are available through the Lied Center Box Office at (402) 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231 or online at http://www.liedcenter.org. A five-show season ticket is $120 general and $60 students/members of OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute). Individual tickets for “Abigail/1702” are $30 general and $15 for students/youth/members of OLLI.
The Nebraska Repertory Theatre season continues with:
• “The Serpent” by Jean-Claude van Itallie, Nov. 3-19
• “The Holiday Cabaret” conceived by Park and featuring Chicago’s The Lakeshore Dolls, Dec. 13-17
• “Avenue Q,” March 2-16
• The Rep’s Rising Stars, March 30-31
• William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams, April 13-22