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April 29, 2008/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Marla Carpenter, 336-770-3337, carpem@ncarts.edu NORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC RADIO TO BROADCAST HAMLET, WITH NCSA TIES, ON MAY 5 As Part of North Carolina Symphony Broadcast Series
WINSTON-SALEM – If you missed it the first time, there’s one more chance! North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC (91.5 FM) will broadcast Hamlet, a groundbreaking adaptation of Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, at 8 p.m. Monday, May 5. It is part of WUNC’s North Carolina Symphony Broadcast Concert Series. John Mauceri, chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts and long-time director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, leads the North Carolina Symphony and a talented group of NCSA actors in Hamlet, which was performed Feb. 14 in Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill and Feb. 15 and 16 in Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh. The performances marked the world concert premiere of Dmitri Shostakovich’s score written for Russian director Grigori Kosintsev’s 1964 film version of Hamlet.	Hamlet rehearsal
The actors for these performances included former NCSA School of Drama faculty member Cigdem Onat Houseman as Gertrude, and NCSA School of Drama alumni Lucas Hall as Hamlet, John Woodson as Claudius, Sarah Viccellio as Ophelia, Richard Fullerton as Polonius, and Jerry Miceli as Laertes – all under the direction of School of Drama Dean Gerald Freedman. For more information, including interviews with Mauceri and Freedman, visit http://wunc.org/programs/north-carolina-symphony-concert-series. Roy C. Dicks, in the Raleigh News & Observer, said: “The N.C. Symphony gave its classical series a vigorous shake-up Thursday in Memorial Hall. An evening-length Hamlet, combining a Shostakovich film score with live actors, offered an innovative alternative to traditional programming. “The idea came from Conductor John Mauceri, chancellor of the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Noted for his operatic and classical work, he is equally at home with Broadway and Hollywood. When symphony officials asked Mauceri for ideas for a guest engagement, he drew on his 16 years with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and his considerable expertise in film music to suggest this project. “Mauceri had long admired Shostakovich's richly evocative score for the 1964 Russian film of Hamlet. But the concert format, with comparatively short musical segments, seemed unsuitable for performing the complete work. After he accepted the Winston-Salem post, he asked Gerald Freedman, a director of Shakespeare in New York and London and dean of NCSA's drama school, to devise an abridged script to fit the score. The result, now on stage in Raleigh, is an intriguing concept with many satisfying aspects,” Dicks continued. “Mauceri's crisp, sweeping command demonstrated the worthiness of the music, with its thrilling fanfares, rousing action sequences, haunting themes for ghosts and madness, and gripping melodies for sorrow and melancholy. The orchestra, particularly the brass and percussion, confidently took on the brash and tender score with aplomb. “The dramatic presentation by NCSA alumni was buoyed by the riveting presence of Lucas Hall's Hamlet. Emphasizing the character's youth, energy and wit, Hall employed a range of emotions and vocal colors and conveyed the text clearly, especially in Hamlet's soliloquies. Freedman's staging was clean and direct, with several clever echoes of the 1964 film. Norman Coates' lighting lent appropriate atmosphere, and Dale Girard's fight choreography brought the final scene to a swashbuckling climax,” Dicks concluded. Two NCSA School of Music alumni who performed Hamlet are members of the North Carolina Symphony; they are percussionist Patrick "Scott" Pollard, who graduated from high school in 1992; and cellist Susan Gardner, who graduated from high school in 1968 and who received her Bachelor of Music in 1971. Several NCSA students participated in the event. School of Drama student Quin Gordon assisted Dean Gerald Freedman. School of Design and Production student Christina Zellet was the company manager, while D&P student Allison Pokladowki coordinated the costumes. School of Filmmaking student Chris Heckman (film music composition) and School of Music student composer Leo Hurley also assisted. North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC is a service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, broadcasting at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad, at 90.9 FM in Rocky Mount/Wilson, and at 88.9 FM on the Outer Banks. An arts conservatory of international renown, the North Carolina School of the Arts was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA became part of the University of North Carolina in 1972. More than 1,100 students from middle school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. Maestro John Mauceri, founding director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, has served as chancellor of NCSA since July 1, 2006. For more information, visit the School’s website at www.ncarts.edu. ###
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The actors for these performances included former NCSA School of Drama faculty member Cigdem Onat Houseman as Gertrude, and NCSA School of Drama alumni Lucas Hall as Hamlet, John Woodson as Claudius, Sarah Viccellio as Ophelia, Richard Fullerton as Polonius, and Jerry Miceli as Laertes – all under the direction of School of Drama Dean Gerald Freedman.

For more information, including interviews with Mauceri and Freedman, visit http://wunc.org/programs/north-carolina-symphony-concert-series.

Roy C. Dicks, in the Raleigh News & Observer, said: “The N.C. Symphony gave its classical series a vigorous shake-up Thursday in Memorial Hall. An evening-length Hamlet, combining a Shostakovich film score with live actors, offered an innovative alternative to traditional programming.

“The idea came from Conductor John Mauceri, chancellor of the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Noted for his operatic and classical work, he is equally at home with Broadway and Hollywood. When symphony officials asked Mauceri for ideas for a guest engagement, he drew on his 16 years with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and his considerable expertise in film music to suggest this project.

“Mauceri had long admired Shostakovich's richly evocative score for the 1964 Russian film of Hamlet. But the concert format, with comparatively short musical segments, seemed unsuitable for performing the complete work. After he accepted the Winston-Salem post, he asked Gerald Freedman, a director of Shakespeare in New York and London and dean of NCSA's drama school, to devise an abridged script to fit the score. The result, now on stage in Raleigh, is an intriguing concept with many satisfying aspects,” Dicks continued.

“Mauceri's crisp, sweeping command demonstrated the worthiness of the music, with its thrilling fanfares, rousing action sequences, haunting themes for ghosts and madness, and gripping melodies for sorrow and melancholy. The orchestra, particularly the brass and percussion, confidently took on the brash and tender score with aplomb.

“The dramatic presentation by NCSA alumni was buoyed by the riveting presence of Lucas Hall's Hamlet. Emphasizing the character's youth, energy and wit, Hall employed a range of emotions and vocal colors and conveyed the text clearly, especially in Hamlet's soliloquies. Freedman's staging was clean and direct, with several clever echoes of the 1964 film. Norman Coates' lighting lent appropriate atmosphere, and Dale Girard's fight choreography brought the final scene to a swashbuckling climax,” Dicks concluded.

Two NCSA School of Music alumni who performed Hamlet are members of the North Carolina Symphony; they are percussionist Patrick "Scott" Pollard, who graduated from high school in 1992; and cellist Susan Gardner, who graduated from high school in 1968 and who received her Bachelor of Music in 1971.

Several NCSA students participated in the event. School of Drama student Quin Gordon assisted Dean Gerald Freedman. School of Design and Production student Christina Zellet was the company manager, while D&P student Allison Pokladowki coordinated the costumes. School of Filmmaking student Chris Heckman (film music composition) and School of Music student composer Leo Hurley also assisted.

North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC is a service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, broadcasting at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad, at 90.9 FM in Rocky Mount/Wilson, and at 88.9 FM on the Outer Banks.

An arts conservatory of international renown, the North Carolina School of the Arts was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA became part of the University of North Carolina in 1972. More than 1,100 students from middle school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. Maestro John Mauceri, founding director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, has served as chancellor of NCSA since July 1, 2006. For more information, visit the School’s website at www.ncarts.edu.