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BEGUILING, POIGNANT,
EFFERVESCENT
When a young beauty whose father claims she’s
been sleeping for centuries is brought to a 21stcentury sleep disorder clinic, all the patients begin
to find themselves sharing a familiar fairy tale
dream. Two members of the pop trio GrooveLily
have collaborated with Tony Award-winning book
writer Rachel Sheinkin, and the result is an
intoxicating new musical that offers an unexpected
twist on this favorite fairy tale. With beguiling
characters, hypnotic lyrics, and a rocking score, this
musical about a father, a daughter, and an unlikely
suitor dives into the magical space between
dreaming and waking.
MAY 6
Opening Night
MAY 8
Dialogue on Drama Performance
MAY 11
Post-Performance Discussions
MAY 12
Pride Night Party
MAY 13
After Hours Party
MAY 15
Post-Performance Discussions
Sleeping Beauty Wakes in
MAY 21
Conversation:
Re-thinking the Princess Archetype
MAY 26
Girls Night Out
MAY 28
Open Captioned Performance
JUNE 1
Dinner & Theater
JUNE 4
ASL Interpreted Performance
JUNE 4
Audio Described Performance
Directed by Rebecca Taichman, who brought McCarter audiences her sumptuous Twelfth
Night in 2009, this effervescent new musical is written by the team who created the muchacclaimed holiday hit Striking 12: book writer Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee) composer Brendan Milburn, and lyricist Valerie Vigoda, both of the
band GrooveLily (McCarter’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
PRODUCTION / EMILY MANN ON SLEEPING BEAUTY
WAKES
Dear Patrons,
Where is that extraordinary place between sleeping and
waking when we often make our most profound
discoveries? What are the moments when we find
ourselves suddenly living life truly awake?
Sleeping Beauty Wakes may be a fairy tale, but it rings
beautifully true to life. It fuses the magical world of the
original story with the quirky and inventive imagination of
Rachel Sheinkin and the contemporary rock/pop/jazz
sensibilities of composer/lyricists Brendan Milburn and
Valerie Vigoda. The result is a modern fairy tale about
the magic of the ordinary world. I am utterly delighted to
be sharing it with McCarter’s audience. With the visually
sumptuous directing of Rebecca Taichman (whose
Twelfth Night had us all spellbound), it promises to be—
in a very literal sense—a dream of a production.
Words cannot express the gratitude I have to McCarter’s
Producing Director, Mara Isaacs, for her unflagging
efforts in bringing this gorgeous musical to our stage. Mara has been a champion and
shepherd for Sleeping Beauty Wakes throughout its life, including its remarkable four years
of development in our McCarter Lab. Mara is a trusted colleague and and great friend to me
and to all of the artists who work with us, and it seems fitting at this moment to
acknowledge, in this small way, the profound impact that her artistry and leadership
continue to have on this theater. Thank you, Mara.
Sleeping Beauty Wakes is the final production in the 2010-2011 Theater Series, but it’s not
too late to subscribe for our 2011-2012 season! The upcoming season promises to be one
of our most exciting to date. As The New York Times recently announced, our season
includes three of the most anticipated world premieres in the country: Marina Carr’s
Phaedra, Danai Gurira’s The Convert (both under my direction), and John Guare’s masterful
Are You There, McPhee? (directed by Sam Buntrock, whose work you will remember from
Take Flight). The season also includes Tom Stoppard’s hilarious Travesties (also directed
by Buntrock) and what promises to be an elegant and inventive new exploration of the
Rodgers and Hart songbook, Ten Cents a Dance (created and directed by Tony Award
winner, John Doyle)—featuring an ensemble of actor/singers who double as the
orchestra! Visit www.mccarter.org or call our Subscription Office at 609.258.5050 to
subscribe.
And please enjoy Sleeping Beauty Wakes!!
All best wishes,
PRODUCTION / THE COMPANY
Adinah Alexander (Restless Leg Syndrome)
Broadway: Original cast member of Wicked, Wedding Singer,
Parade, Urban Cowboy. Off-Broadway: Recent credits include the
critically acclaimed Adding Machine, Two Rooms by Lee Blessing
and Janis Joplin in Love Janis. Regional: TOTS tours of Sound of
Music and White Christmas, Jack's Mother in Into the Woods, Miss
Hannigan in Annie at CMT, Golde in Fiddler at the Fulton Opera
House, Mme. Thenardier in Les Misérables at The Pioneer Theatre,
Mama Rose in Gypsy at Sundance, Rosalie in Carnival, and Frau
Schmidt in The Sound of Music. Plays include Dirty Blonde, The
Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Lily Tomlin, Eleemosynary, Danny and
The Deep Blue Sea, All in the Timing. TV: Nurse Jackie, Law and Order, and Lights Out.
Jimmy Ray Bennett (Apnea)
Jimmy Ray Bennett is a founding member of the off-Broadway cult
hit, The Nuclear Family as well as The Extended Family on the
Sundance Film Channel and just completed successful runs of the
former in Boston, Miami, and at The Groundlings in Los Angeles.
Credits include The Daily Show, White’s Lies with Betty Buckley,
The Smoking Gun, Damn Yankees with Sean Hayes, Sundance TV
Lab, Broadway Three Generations at the Kennedy Center, and Fully
Committed all over. A member of the Dramatist Guild and WGA,
current projects are Walker in Bablyon, the new book for 1930’s
Fine and Dandy, and just wrapped on a pilot with CBS. Winner, 2006 World Domination
Improv Tournament; loser, 2007.
Steve Judkins (Sleepwalker)
Steve Judkins hails from Australia where he appeared in The New
Rocky Horror Show, West Side Story, Bad Boy Johnny, The
Prophets of Doom, Shout – The Legend of the Wild One, Billy Elliot,
Jekyll and Hyde and on TV in Water Rats, Big Sky and All Saints.
Steve’s UK credits include Macbeth, The Tempest (Edinburgh
Festival); Notre Dame De Paris (West End); The Full Monty (West End); and Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang (UK Tour). Steve toured the US in Spirit of Broadway and Broadway’s Christmas
Spectacular, as well as playing Curly in Oklahoma (Las Vegas). Steve recently appeared in
a guest role in the TV series Are We There Yet? (TBS Network).
Kecia Lewis-Evans (Doctor)
Broadway: Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone, Once on This Island,
Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Gospel at Colonus, Big River, Dreamgirls.
Off-Broadway: Dessa Rose (Drama Desk nominee), Once on This
Island, From the Mississippi Delta. Regional: Dreamgirls (Ovation
Award winner), Polk County (Bay Area Outer Critics Circle Award
winner), Smokey Joe’s Cafe, The King and I, South Pacific, The
Sound of Music, Shrek. TV: Law & Order, Kate Brasher, Crossing
Jordan, The Hughleys. Favorite role: Simon’s mommy. Kecia made
her Carnegie Hall debut this past November in the gospel version of
Handel’s Messiah, Too Hot to Handel.
Bryce Ryness (Orderly)
Bryce Ryness is so happy to be alive. Commonly known for his
Drama Desk-nominated portrayal of Woof in the Tony Awardwinning revival of HAIR, he most recently thrilled audiences as
Maffio in the world premiere of Dangerous Beauty at the Pasadena
Playhouse. In New York, he was also seen in Legally Blonde
(Aaron, u/s Emmett). Off-Broadway: See Rock City & Other
Destinations (Transport Group), HAIR (Public Theater), and
Crossing Brooklyn (Transport Group). In Los Angeles, he garnered
an Ovation nomination for his portrayal of Floyd in the LA premiere
of Floyd Collins. He’s appeared in Leap of Faith at the Ahmanson and Camelot at the
Hollywood Bowl. In 2006, Bryce toured the country as Roger in the 10th Anniversary
National Tour of Rent.
Bob Stillman
(King)
Bob Stillman was seen most recently on Broadway as George Gould
Strong in the musical Grey Gardens. He has been nominated twice
for Tony Awards, once as an actor (Claudia Shear's Dirty Blonde)
and once as a songwriter (Urban Cowboy: The Musical). He has played Molina opposite
Vanessa Williams in Kiss of the Spider Woman, and was featured in Tommy Tune's Grand
Hotel. Off-Broadway: Hello Again (Transport Group 2011, Lincoln Center 1994), Saturn
Returns (Public Theater), As You Like It (NYSF), The Last Session. Regional: Dirty Blonde
(Jefferson Award, Chicago), 33 Variations, Souvenir, Candide (Jefferson Award nomination,
Chicago). Proud graduate of Princeton University.
Aspen Vincent (Beauty)
Aspen Vincent is a veteran of both the stage and recording studio,
having been a professional actress, singer, and voice-over artist
since childhood. She has played arenas across the globe as Meat
Loaf's duet partner on several world tours,\and starred in the
documentary Meat Loaf – To Hell and Back. Stage credits include:
Broadway: American Idiot (Swing, Understudy – Extraordinary Girl).
First National Tour: Dirty Dancing (Lead Vocalist, Understudy –
Baby). Las Vegas: We Will Rock You (Scaramouche). Regional:
West Side Story (Maria), Grease (Sandy), Once Upon A Mattress
(Winnifred), Little Women (Jo March). Voice-overs: As Told by Ginger (Dodie), Rugrats,
Everquest II, Cover Girl, Disneyland, Iams, Chevrolet, Petco, Kodak, American Airlines,
Burger King, Ringling Brother’s Circus, Disney on Ice, and Sesame Street Live.
Donna Vivino
(Night Terrors)
Donna Vivino is a New Jersey native making her McCarter debut
with Sleeping Beauty Wakes. Donna recently starred as Elphaba on
the first national tour of Wicked. She made her Broadway debut in
Les Misérables, originating the role of Young Cosette, and can be
heard on the original Broadway cast recording. Other Broadway
experience includesHairspray (Shelley), Saturday Night Fever, and
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. Donna is also familiar to
television, with her role as Heather Dante in the popular HBO series
The Sopranos. Other television experience includes All My Children (young Erica Kane) and
Late Show with David Letterman. Donna earned her BA in English and Theatre at Barnard
College.
PRODUCTION / THE CREATIVE TEAM
Rachel Sheinkin (Book)
Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Tony Award, Drama Desk
Award). Off-Broadway: Striking 12 (also with Milburn-Vigoda, Lucille Lortel nomination). Offoff-Broadway: Serenade. Regional: Little House on the Prairie (Guthrie, national tour);
Sleeping Beauty Wakes (Deaf West/Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Ovation Award).
London: Blood Drive. Residencies, fellowships, commissions include: McCarter Theatre,
Eugene O’Neill National Theater Center, Baryshnikov Dance Foundation, MacDowell
Colony, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons. Rachel is a volunteer mentor for
TDF’s Open Doors program, a visiting instructor at Yale School of Drama, and an adjunct
faculty member of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.
Brendan Milburn (Music) and
Valerie Vigoda (Lyrics)
They have been writing songs together for 17 years, first for their band GrooveLily, and
more recently for musical theater and film. Their work includes two musicals written with
librettist Rachel Sheinkin: Striking 12 (off-Broadway and regional, dir. Ted Sperling) and
Sleeping Beauty Wakes (Center Theatre Group, Deaf West, McCarter, La Jolla Playhouse).
Other work: Wheelhouse (TheatreWorks), Toy Story: The Musical (Disney), Long Story
Short (Pittsburgh City Theatre, TheatreWorks, San Diego Rep), Tina Landau's A
Midsummer Night’s Dream (McCarter/Paper Mill Playhouse), and Ernest Shackleton Loves
Me (TheatreWorks/La Jolla Playhouse). Songs in four films about Tinker Bell (Disney).
Jonathan Larson Award (2006 and 2008), ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New
Horizons Award (2009). Their proudest production is their five-year old son, Mose.
Rebecca Taichman (Director)
Off-Broadway: The Scene (Second Stage, starring Tony Shalhoub and Patricia Heaton);
Menopausal Gentleman (The Ohio Theatre, Special Citation Obie Award). Regional: She
Loves Me (OSF); Cymbeline, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Theater);
Twelfth Night (McCarter Theatre); At Home at the Zoo (ACT); Dead Man’s Cell Phone
(Woolly Mammoth, world premiere); The Velvet Sky (world premiere); The Clean House
(2006 Helen Hayes Award Outstanding Resident Play); The Evildoers (Yale Rep, world
premiere); Iphigeneia at Aulis; Mauritius (Huntington Theatre, world premiere); The Scene
(The Humana Festival, world premiere); The Diary of Anne Frank (winner of three Helen
Hayes awards); A Body of Water (Round House Theatre); The Green Violin (The Prince
Music Theatre, 2003 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical); Swimming in
March (The Market Theater); The People vs. The God of Vengeance (The Theatre
Offensive). Ms. Taichman is an instructor at The O’Neill National Theater Institute, MIT, Yale
University, and the University of Maryland. She is a TCG New Generations Grant Recipient
with Woolly Mammoth, Drama League Directing Fellowship, and a Yale School of Drama
graduate.
James Sampliner
(Music Director/Orchestrations)
James Sampliner started as the music director of Williamstown Theatre Festival’s late night
cabaret series, then conducted Tonight at 8:30, Where’s Charley?, and The Threepenny
Opera. Broadway: Never Gonna Dance, BKLYN: The Musical, The Wedding Singer, Legally
Blonde (conductor and arranger). Mr. Sampliner supervised the Olivier Award-winning West
End production and US national tour of Legally Blonde for the last two years. Recordings
include cast albums of the above and At The Corner of Broadway and Soul, with Billy Porter.
Off-Broadway: Radiant Baby, The Mistress Cycle, Ghetto Superstar. As an arranger/cowriter, he has co-written two new African-American revues: Being Alive (music of Stephen
Sondheim) and The Soul of Rodgers (music of Richard Rodgers). Readings he has recently
been involved with include Heading East with B.D. Wong and Jawbreaker.
Doug Varone (Choreography)
Doug Varone choreographs/directs in dance, theater, and opera. His renowned company,
Doug Varone and Dancers, has performed in over 100 cities in 45 states across the U.S.
and in Europe, Asia, Canada, and South America. Opera credits: new productions of Le
Sacre du Printemps, Les Troyens, Salome, An American Tragedy at The Metropolitan
Opera; Orfée et Eurydice, II Barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Colorado; Faust, Cenerentola,
Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath for Minnesota Opera; among others. Theater
credits: choreography for Broadway, Baltimore's Center Stage, Yale Rep, Walnut Street
Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Music Theater Group, and The Vineyard Theatre. Honors
include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2006 OBIE Award (Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and
Euridice at Lincoln Center), and two New York Dance and Performance Awards (BESSIES).
Riccardo Hernandez (Set Design)
Broadway: Caroline, or Change (Olivier, Evening Standard Awards Best Musical, London);
Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Noise/Funk; The Tempest; Parade (Tony,
Drama Desk nominations); Bells Are Ringing. Recent: Il Postino (LA Opera, Theater an der
Wien, Vienna); Appomattox (San Francisco Opera); Let Me Down Easy (Second Stage, PBS
Great Performances); Lost Highway (London’s English National Opera/Young Vic); Offices,
Almost an Evening (Atlantic Theater); The Seagull (A.R.T.); Julius Caesar (A.R.T, Festival
Automne Paris). NYSF/Public Theater: Mother Courage, Stuff Happens, One Flea Spare,
The America Play, among others. Over 200 productions across US/Internationally: A.R.T,
Guthrie, Goodman, Lyric Opera of Chicago, NYC Opera, London’s National Theater, Old
Vic, Royal Court, Chatelet Opera, Avignon Festival, Centre Dramatique Orleans, Oslo,
Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Yale School of Drama. Princeton University Visiting Lecturer.
Miranda Hoffman (Costume Design)
New York: Well (Broadway); Stunning (Lincoln Center Theater); Beauty of the
Father (Manhattan Theatre Club); Satellites, Well (Public Theater); Essential Self
Defense, Spatter Pattern, She Stoops to Comedy (Playwrights Horizons); Oedipus at Palm
Springs (NYTW); Landscape of the Body (Signature Theater); Othello (Theater for a New
Audience). Regional: Cymbeline, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare
Theatre); She Loves Me (OSF); Let There Be Love (Center Stage); Romance (A.R.T.); Bus
Stop, Mauritius, Civil War Christmas (Huntington Theatre); Uncle Vanya, Titus
Andronicus (The Court Theatre); Godspell (Papermill); Betrayal (Yale Rep). Opera: La Voix
Humaine, Portrait de Manon (Glimmerglass); Portrait de Manon (Gran Teatre del Liceu,
Barcelona). Helen Hayes nominee, Henry Hewes American Theater Wing nominee,
NEA/TCG Career Development Grant Recipient. Yale School of Drama graduate.
Christopher Akerlind (Lighting Design)
McCarter: Twelfth Night, Mirandolina, Changes of Heart, The Triumph of Love. Broadway:
Top Girls, 110 in the Shade (Tony nomination), Talk Radio, Shining City, Awake and Sing
(Tony nomination), Well, Rabbit Hole, A Touch of the Poet, In My Life, The Light in the
Piazza (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Awards), Reckless, The Tale of the
Allergist’s Wife, Seven Guitars (Tony nomination), and The Piano Lesson, among others.
Recent credits include: Ariadne auf Naxos (Opera Nationale de Bordeaux), Martha Clarke’s
Garden of Earthly Delights (2008 revival), Anne Bogart’s production of I Capuleti e i
Montecchi (Glimmerglass), the premiere of Philip Glass’ Appomattox (San Francisco
Opera), and Kafeneion (Athens/Epidaurus Festival). Awards: OBIE for Sustained
Excellence; Michael Merritt Award for Design & Collaboration.
Leon Rothenberg (Sound Design)
McCarter: Herringbone. Broadway: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Tony nomination),
Impressionism. New York/off-Broadway: Timon of Athens (Public Theater), Play Dead
(Players Theater), On The Levee (LCT3), Encores: Anyone Can Whistle (NYCC), Diagnosis
of a Faun (La mama), Fall For Dance (2008-Present), and others. Recent designs around
the country include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (La Jolla), Year of Magical Thinking
(Intiman), as well as designs at the Kasser Theater, REDCAT, Canon, and others. For
Cirque du Soleil, Leon designed Kooza, currently in Japan, and Wintuk in NYC. Film credits
include My Roommate Was a Psychopath, Magnetic Sleep, Terrace 49, and others.
Peter Nigrini (Projection Design)
Broadway: Fela!, 9 to 5: The Musical, and Say Goodnight Gracie. Other designs include:
Grace Jones Hurricane Tour; Der Ferne Klang (Bard Summerscape); Haroun and the Sea of
Stories (City Opera); Blind Date (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance); The Elaborate Entrance
of Chad Deity (2nd Stage); Fetch Clay, Make Man (McCarter Theatre); The Orphan of Zhao
(Lincoln Center Festival); Sweet Bird of Youth (Williamstown); Dido and Aeneas (Handel
Haydn Society); Biro (Public Theater); Wings (Second Stage); No Dice (Nature Theater of
Oklahoma, 2008 Obie Award); Romeo and Juliet (Salzburger Festspiele); and Life and
Times, Epiode 1&2 (Burgtheater, Vienna), among others. He was also the designer on
Becoming Helen Keller (PBS American Masters), the London production of Fela!, and
Autumn Sonata (Yale Rep).
PRODUCTION / INTERVIEW WITH RACHEL SHEINKIN
McCarter will close the 2010-2011 season with a vibrant new musical, Sleeping Beauty
Wakes. When a strange man brings a sleeping girl to a modern day sleep clinic, her
presence there haunts those she encounters, and at night they find themselves drawn in to
a common dream world. McCarter audiences will remember composer and lyricists Brendan
Milburn and Valerie Vigoda from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but this is Tony-winning book
writer Rachel Sheinkin’s (Striking 12, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) first
McCarter production. Literary Manager Carrie Hughes spoke with her about writing Sleeping
Beauty Wakes.
Carrie Hughes: How did you come to collaborate with Brendan and
Valerie?
Rachel Sheinkin: Brendan and Valerie gave a concert at NYU, where I was studying
musical theater writing, and Brendan mentioned to Sarah Schlesinger, the program chair,
that they wanted to write a musical for their band GrooveLily to perform, but weren’t yet sure
how to approach structuring a narrative. Sarah, in turn, mentioned it to me and said, ―Check
out their music online, you might like it.‖ Well, of course I loved it. I wasn’t really planning on
approaching them right away, but signed up for their newsletter. Howeve r, Valerie is so
good at monitoring her newsletter that she immediately wrote and said, ―Who are you?
How’d you hear of us?‖ Their music suggested the idea for Striking 12 pretty quickly. I
pitched it to them and we were off. Striking 12 has, at its core, an adaptation of The Little
Match Girl and when someone from Deaf West Theatre saw our presentation, they thought
a similar style of storytelling would work well for them, and they commissioned a fairy tale
from the three of us. That was the start of Sleeping Beauty Wakes.
CH: When you were commissioned to adapt a fairy tale, what made
you pick Sleeping Beauty?
RS: I think the three of us were drawn to it for different reasons. I was initially fascinated
simply by the story of someone who wanted to wake up and couldn’t. A trauma puts a girl to
sleep and she needs some sort of jolt to break her out of it. That felt v ery real and personal
to me. Brendan and Valerie had a different way in; when we started they were about to
become parents for the first time. So when they encountered Sleeping Beauty, the idea of
this King and Queen who had everything in the world but could not have a child really hit
them. That became our initial way in, through the parents who, once they have their
daughter, try to protect her from every threat. I think where we’re finding the themes meet is
around issues of control, wanting it, not having, losing it. A lot of the characters in Sleeping
Beauty Wakes have put something of themselves to sleep in response to what feels out of
control in their lives. How do you live awake in a world of risk, and how do you let your kids
live awake in a world of risk? That’s become a central question.
CH: What do you think it is about fairy tales that lends them to
adaptation in general and particularly theatrical adaptation?
RS: They’re full of big, irrational acts and big emotions and there’s so much room to project
your own issues. They’re a good match for musicals, because neither is inherently
naturalistic. They open up worlds of magic and beauty and terror. They also transcend
psychology, if you let them.
CH: This is the second production of Sleeping Beauty Wakes, after the
Los Angeles premiere in 2007, and you’ve been working on it pretty
steadily since then. How has the story evolved?
RS: In so many ways. We’ve been shedding layers (for example, there used to be a chorus
of the world’s great sleepers, like Rip Van Winkle and Lao Tsu) and coming to focus on
central themes. That’s given us space to know our characters better. As we’ve worked, the
story has become more and more grounded in the sleep disorder clinic, in the people and
events there, and less about the original fairy tale. It’s also changing a lot in tone. It’s a
tricky mix of tones, admittedly. This is Sleeping Beauty in a sleep disorder clinic, after all,
which is to say, it’s a comedy! But it deals with some painful issues, like time mov ing
forward out of our control. We care that it has humor and energetic music that gets in your
body, but we don’t want to sacrifice substance for silliness. Certainly [McCarter Producing
Director] Mara Isaacs and [Artistic Director] Emily Mann, along with Rebecca Taichman, our
director, have encouraged us to move always toward what’s real. They’ve wholeheartedly
embraced this project and given us the support to find the right balance. I’ve learned a lot
about what a passionate producer can do for a piece; without Mara Isaacs’ gentle but
committed pushing, I have a feeling this musical itself might have gone into slumber.
McCarter is gently coaxing us awake.
PRODUCTION / ABOUT BRENDAN MILBURN AND
VALERIE VIGODA
Sleeping Beauty Wakes lyricist and composer Valerie Vigoda and Brendan Milburn are no
strangers to Princeton or McCarter Theatre. Two-thirds of the jazz-rock band GrooveLily,
which Michael Miller of The State called ―one of the most eclectic and engaging musical
groups in America,‖ this husband-wife team has performed at McCarter many times over the
last few years. A classically trained violinist, Val explored different musical styles in college
at Princeton University and rocks out on her electric violin. Brendan, who is also a record
producer and music arranger, joins her on the keyboard. You may remember their first
appearance in the Matthews Theatre when they, along with GrooveLily’s third member,
drummer Gene Lewin, composed music for and performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The couple has been composing and writing original works elsewhere that have met with
great success. In 2006, their own concert-musical, Striking 12, created with Rachel
Sheinkin, premiered in New York. In his review for The New York Times, Charles Isherwood
wrote that ―the music is rhythmic pop founded on a rich vein of melody, with Ms. Vigoda’s
electric violin adding a distinctive note to the clean but potent arrangements.‖ Long Story
Short, a musical adaptation of David Shulner’s An Infinite Ache commissioned by City
Theatre of Pittsburgh, premiered in 2009. Recently, the pair has been working on Ernest
Shackleton Loves Me, a 1-woman fever-dream musical for TheatreWorks and La Jolla
Playhouse, and with Disney on Toy Story: the Musical. We look forward to welcoming them
back to McCarter this spring!
–Emilia LaPenta
PRODUCTION / CALENDAR
SUNDAY
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
APR 29
APR 30
8:00 pm
8:00pm
MAY 1
MAY 2
MAY 3
7:30 pm
MAY 4
MAY 5
MAY 6
MAY 7
7:30 pm
7:30pm
8:00 pm
3:00 pm
Opening
Night
2:00 pm
8:00 pm
MAY 8
MAY 9
MAY 10
MAY 11
7:30 pm
2:00 pm
7:30 pm
Dialogue on
Drama
Performance
PostPerformance
Discussion
MAY 15
MAY 16
MAY 17
7:30 pm
2:00pm
Post-
MAY 18
7:30 pm
MAY 12
MAY 13
7:30 pm 8:00pmAfter
Pride Night Hours Party
Party
MAY 14
3:00 pm
8:00 pm
MAY 19
7:30 pm
MAY 20
7:30 pm
MAY 21
3:00 pm
8:00 pm
Performance
Discussion
7:30pm
MAY 22
MAY 23
MAY 24
7:30 pm
2:00pm
MAY 25
7:30 pm
MAY 26
7:30 pm
MAY 27
7:30 pm
MAY 28
3:00 pm
Open
Captioned
Performance
8:00 pm
MAY 29
2:00pm
7:30pm
JUNE 5
2:00pm
MAY 30
MAY 31
7:30 pm
JUNE 1
7:30 pm
Dinner &
Theater
JUNE 2
7:30 pm
JUNE 3
7:30 pm
JUNE 4
3:00 pm
ASL
Interpreted
& Audio
Described
Performance
8:00 pm
CONTEXT / THE SLEEP CYCLE
In 1937 three scientists identified five stages of sleep that make up the sleep cycle. In a
normal night’s sleep we usually go through three or four of these cycles.
1. Stage one is the transition from wakefulness to sleep. It is a light slee p: subject can
be awoken easily and may experience muscle contractions.
2. Eye movement stops and brain waves become slower, although there are occasional
bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles.
Sleep spindles are waves of brain activity during sleep that are thought to be
registering an attempt to block brain signals caused by external stimuli from traveling
and disturbing sleep.
3. Deep sleep begins in stage three. Extremely slow delta waves appear, interspersed
with smaller, faster waves.
4. Continued state of deep sleep. Subject is difficult to wake and groggy or disoriented
if awoken. Characterized by almost exclusive delta waves.
Deep sleep
Deep sleep occurs in stage 3 and 4. In deep sleep there is no eye movement or
muscle activity and this is usually when people experience night terrors or sleep
walk.
5. REM:
Rapid Eye Movement—REM is the fifth stage of sleep when breathing is rapid and
irregular, eyes jerk, heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and limbs are
temporarily paralyzed. It is during REM sleep that vivid dreams occur.
Famous Sleepers

It’s rumored that Leonardo da Vinci only slept 15 minutes once every two hours.

Napoleon Bonaparte, a man with a specific sleep routine and a fan of naps, gave
this prescription for sleep: ―six hours of sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and
eight for a fool.‖

In 1819 Washington Irving published a book about the fictional Rip Van Winkle who
took a nap that lasted twenty years.

Hans Christian Andersen’s popular tale, The Princess and the Pea, tells the story of
a young girl who is a very sensitive sleeper.

Harriet Tubman was believed to suffer from narcolepsy.
CONTEXT / THEORIES OF SLEEP, A TIMELINE

The Ancient Greeks believed in Hypnos, a minor god who is the personification of
sleep. The twin brother of death (Thanatos) and the son of Night, he was considered

a friend of mortals who was a healer of the body and mind.
Alcmaeon, a Greek physician from the sixth century B.C., proposed the first
documented theory of sleep. He theorized that sleep was a loss of consciousness

when blood drained from vessels on the surface of the body.
Around 350 B.C. Aristotle wrote On Sleep and Sleeplessness. He believed that
sleep was the result of vapors which rose from the stomach to the heart during
digestion.

The sleeping pattern of peasants in medieval Europe was fairly unique and is
referred to now as segmented sleep. One night’s sleep was divided by a period of
semi-conscious wakefulness (the two segments were called first sleep and second
sleep) during which time people often prayed or would interpret dreams that were
more vivid between sleeps then in the morning.

Shakespeare often wrote about sleep, dreams, and nightmares. The Elizabethans
thought that sleep was the opposite of being awake and often compared it to deat h.
O sleep! O gentle sleep! Nature’s soft nurse. (Henry IV)

In 1749, David Hartley published his theory of the Doctrine of Vibrations which
states that we are made up of moving particles that must eventually come to rest.
Sleep is necessary, but not positive, and oversleeping was considered a sign of sloth
and low intelligence.

Robert MacNish wrote the influential The Philosophy of Sleep in 1830 and claimed
that sleep ―is the intermediate state between wakefulness and death‖ and, further,
that ―sleep is temporary metaphysical death.‖

Narcolepsy was first identified as a chronic neurological condition in 1880 by JeanBaptiste Edouard Gelineau who observed patients who fell asleep uncontrollably at
strange times during the day.

The first sleeping pill, barbital, appeared on the market in 1903 and was popular with
insomniacs and people plagued with anxiety.

n the beginning of the twentieth century, French scientist Claparède proposed that

sleep is a reaction de disinterest, or a loss of interest in the external world.
Leading sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman opened the world’s first sleep
laboratory at the University of Chicago in 1925. His book, Sleep and Wakefulness,




was published in 1939.
Hans Berger documented the first recording of electrical activity along the scalp
(EEGs) in 1929, marking a turning point in sleep research.
The five stages of sleep were identified by Alfred Loomis, E. Newton Harvey, and
Garret Hobart in 1937.
Eugene Aserinsky, an advisee of Kleitman, discovered REM sleep in 1953, after
observing the eye movements in his son, who he watched in the sleep lab.
Another of Kleitman’s student’s, William C. Dement, established that sleep is
cyclical in 1954.

Stanford University opened the first sleep research center in 1970.

There are currently at least four commonly accepted theories of sleep: adaptive
(sleep is a survival function, developed to keep animals safe during the night when
they are most vulnerable), energy conservation (sleep reduces our energy demand,
especially when it is least practical to get food), restorative (sleep is an opportunity
for our body to be repaired and rejuvenated), and brain plasticity (sleep plays a
critical role in brain development).
Sources:

Discovery Healthy

Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep
Medicine: Healthy Sleep

Interactive Timeline
CONTEXT / DREAMS
We experience a dream as real because it is real … The miracle is how,
without any help from the sense organs, the brain replicated in the dream
all the sensory information that creates the world we live in when we are
awake.
-William Dement
Just as no one completely understands why we sleep or what exactly happens while we
sleep, the world of dreams is similarly a mystery. There’s much disagreement about the
purpose of dreams: are they random firings of the synapses, exercises for our brain
somehow related to memory, or a window into our psyches?
To read more about different theories and some of the science behind dreams, visit some of
these great links:

Discovery Health: On Dreams and Dreaming

Dream Library

The Science of Dreaming
Dreaming is, above all, a time when the unheard parts of ourselves are
allowed to speak.
-Deirdre Barrett
Dreams and Fairytales
(Excerpted from Psychology and Fairy Tales by Carrie Hughes)
Psychoanalysts have turned to fairy tales in an effort to understand the human mind. Freud
suspected that dreams and fairy tales stem from the same place, and the relaxation of
inhibition that occurs in the dream state is also true of many story tellers. F airy tales are
inextricably linked to the work of Carl Jung who believed that all human beings share a
―collective unconscious‖ which is revealed through archetypes found in ample evidence in
fairy tales. Jung’s disciples have gone on to interpret fairy tales as lives in miniature,
suggesting, for example, that each character within a tale may represent an aspect of
personality.
CONTEXT / GLOSSARY
Bobbin: cylinder on which wire, thread, film, or yarn is wound.
Cataplexy: rare disease that frequently affects those with narcolepsy, characterized by
sudden muscle weakness ranging from slackening to total collapse, often triggered by
emotions. During an episode, the patient remains conscious, but is unable to speak.
Cerebral Cortex: outer layer of the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention,
perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness.
CPAP Mask: mask used in a certain type of breathing therapy (Continuous Positive
Airway Pressure) which treats sleep apnea.
Delta Wave: high amplitude brain wave usually associated with the deepest stage of
sleep.
Didgeridoo: wind instrument developed by indigenous Australians. In 2005, the British
Medical Journal published a study that suggested that playing the didgeridoo reduced
snoring and sleep apnea by strengthening muscles in the upper airway. The didgeridoo is
also used is sound therapy and sound healing.
EEG (electroencephalography): recording of the brain’s spontaneous electrical activity over
a short period of time as recorded by electrodes placed on the scalp. Used in various
epilepsy tests and to monitor brain function in intensive care units, an EEG can also show
whether a person is awake, asleep, or anesthetized.
Electrodes: conductor through which an electric current is passed (from metal to
nonmetal in electrical circuit).
Flotsam: floating wreckage of a ship and its cargo.
Jetsam: part of a ship/cargo that is jettisoned overboard in times of distress to lighten the
load.
Lute: string instrument popular during the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Modafonil: drug used to treat excessive sleepiness caused by narcolepsy and also to
treat other disorders such as sleep apnea (sometimes called a wakefulness promoting
agent).
Narcolepsy: neurological disorder caused by the brain’s inability to regulate sleep-wake
cycles normally. Symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. Other
symptoms include hypnogogic hallucinations (during transition from wakefulness to sleep,
the patient has bizarre, often frightening dream-like experiences that incorporate his or her
real environment) and sleep paralysis.
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/
sleep-related-problems/narcolepsy-and-sleep
Night Eating: disorder characterized by overeating at night paired with anxiety and
insomnia. (There is also a condition called Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder in which
a patient consumes food in an unconscious or semi-conscious state, while sleepwalking, for
example, and is unaware of having done so).
Night Terrors: sleeping disorder that occurs during non-rapid eye movement sleep
where the patient is terrified and temporary unable to regain full consciousness. Night
terrors are most common in children, although adults may experience them (often after a
traumatic experience).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency
/article/000809.htm
Orderly: hospital attendant who assists medical and nursing staff with various routine
duties and interventions that pose no risk to the patient.
Post-traumatic Aphasia: cognitive disorder that results in impaired ability to express
or comprehend written and verbal language.
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS): neurological sensorimotor disorder which causes
an unpleasant tingling or tugging sensation in the legs. Symptoms usually get worse at night
and interfere with a person’s ability to sleep.
Sleep Apnea: disorder in which breathing is interrupted during sleep. With obstructive
sleep apnea, muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep airways open. With central sleep
apnea (much less common), the brain fails to control breathing during sleep.
Sleepwalking: behavior disorder which originates in deep sleep and results in walking or
performing other complex behaviors during sleep (such as sitting up in bed, talking, etc).
Spindle: device to spin fibers into thread. (Also, sleep spindles, see Sleep Cycle Stage 2).
Treadle: pedal operated by the foot for circular drive (such as on a sewing machine).
Valerian: flowering plant whose root is used in tea or capsules and is thought to hav e a
sedative effect.
CONTEXT / SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES: ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
Birbiglia, Mike. Sleepwalk With Me. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.
Hayes, Bill. Sleep Demons: An Insomniac’s Memoir. New York: Washington Square Press, 2001.
Jouvet, Michel. The Paradox of Sleep: The Story of Dreaming. Translated by Laurence Garey.
Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1999.
Lavie, Peretz. The Enchanted World of Sleep. Translated by Anthony Berris. New Haven: Yale
University
Press, 1996.
Macnish, Robert. The Philosophy of Sleep. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1834.
Morrisroe, Patricia. Wide Awake: A Memoir of Insomnia. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010.
Rock, Andrea. The Mind at Night. New York: Basic Books, 2004.

Discovery Health, How Sleep Works

DSM

Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine: Healthy Sleep

Interactive Timeline

National Sleep Foundation

Night Terrors

PBS: The Secret Life of the Brain

Sleep Association

Sleep Education Blog
EVENTS / DIALOGUE ON DRAMA:
A CONVERSATION WITH JAMES SAMPLINER
Sunday, May 8th
Directly following the 2pm performance; approximate start time 4:30
pm
Free and open to the public
Dialogue on Drama is an in-depth post-show discussion that offers audiences a window into
the process and artistry necessary to bring a play to life.
Join orchestrator and musical director James Sampliner for a discussion about the
engrossing and ingenious music of Sleeping Beauty Wakes. James will speak about how
music reveals character, enhances thematic threads, and serves as a unique and powerful
story-telling tool. As both orchestrator and musical director of Sleeping Beauty Wakes,
James brings unparalleled knowledge of and passion for the musical world of this
production. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear him discuss the process of bringing this
gorgeous new musical to life.
EVENTS / SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES IN
CONVERSATION: RE-IMAGINING THE PRINCESS
ARCHETYPE
Saturday, May 21st
Directly following the 3pm performance; approximate start time 5:00
pm
Free and open the public
McCarter Theatre invites you to join us on Saturday, May 21st after the 3pm performance of Sleeping
Beauty Wakes for an intimate and engaging discussion about the role of the princess archetype in
contemporary culture and performance. This panel of world-renowned scholars in the field of musical
theatre, children’s literature, and folklore will use McCarter’s production of Sleeping Beauty Wakes
as a jumping off point for a discussion of historical traditions and contemporary re -imaginings of
princesses in art and literature.
Featuring:
Dr. Ken Cerniglia – Literary Manager for Disney Theatricals; Developmental dramaturg for more
than forty plays and musicals with Disney including The Little Mermaid and Peter and the
Starcatcher.
Dr. Andrea Immel – Head Curator of the Cotsen Children’s Literature Collection at Princeton
University; editor of The Cambridge Companion to Children’s Literature.
Dr. Helen Pilinovsky – Folklorist and fairy tale scholar; frequent contributor to Marvels and Tales,
Journal of Mythic Arts, and Cabinet de Fes.
Dr. Stacy Wolf – Associate Professor of Theatre at Princeton University; award-winning author of
Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical.
The McCarter ―In Conversation‖ Series consists of symposium -style discussions among leading
artists, scholars, and other public figures that foster cross -disciplinary exploration of big questions
and concepts in McCarter’s plays. The Spring 2011 ―In Conversation‖ Series is co -sponsored by
Princeton University’s Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Ticket holders to the 7pm performance on May 21st are encouraged to attend this panel
discussion as a pre-show enhancement event!
Explore with us:
Why is the archetype of the fairy tale princess still so powerful and prevalent in contemporary U.S.
culture?
How have traditional images of the fairy tale princess been re-imagined through performance?
Can the idea of the princess be reclaimed as a feminist archetype?
How do power, privilege, beauty, and authority intersect in our understanding of the princess
archetype?
EVENTS / POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS
Post-Show Discussions at McCarter are highly interactive audience-based conversations facilitated
by an artist from the production. These discussions focus on a range of topics including how artistic
choices were made for the production, background information on the play, and reflections and
questions from audience members.
Post-Show Discussions for Sleeping Beauty Wakes will take place:
May 11, after the 8pm performance
May 15, after the 2pm performance
EVENTS / SOCIAL EVENTS
NO TIME TO PLAN YOUR OWN EVENT? SIGN UP FOR ONE OF OUR
ALL-INCLUSIVE PARTY PACKAGES:
Pride Night
Thu, May 12 – 6pm
Before the show, mingle with other LGBT and gay- friendly theatergoers at the party that
always satisfies!
After Hours
Fri, May 13 – 8pm
After the show, the lights come up on McCarter’s After Hours Party! Dance the night a way to
your favorite hits from yesterday and today.
*NEW pre-show cocktail hour starting at 7PM! FREE drinks for party package subscribers
and discounted drinks for single party patrons!
Dinner & Theater
Wed, June 1, 2011
Dine on an all-inclusive three-course chef tasting menu before the show at Mediterra
GIRLS NIGHT OUT!
Kick off your holiday weekend by pampering yourself with a Girls
Night Out at McCarter! Enjoy a Taste of Princeton, First Drink on us,
Door Prizes, Hand and Chair Massages, Goodie Bags and a humorous
NEW MUSICAL all for only $40!
Thursday May 26
5:30pm West Lobby, Matthew Theatre
7:30pm Performance, Berlind Theatre
Contact the Ticket Office 609-258-2787
EDUCATORS / CORE CURRICULUM STANDARDS
According to the NJ Department of Education, ―experience with and knowledge of the arts is
a vital part of a complete education.‖ Our production of Sleeping Beauty Wakes and the
activities outlined in this guide are designed to enrich your students’ education by
addressing the following specific Core Curriculum Content Standards for Visual and
Performing Arts:
1.1
The Creative Process: All students will demonstrate an
understanding of the elements and principles that govern the
creation of works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art.
1.2
History of the Arts and Culture: All students will understand
the role, development, and influence of the arts throughout
history and across cultures.
1.3
Performance: All students will synthesize those skills, media,
methods, and technologies appropriate to creating, performing,
and/or presenting works of art in dance, music, theatre, and
visual art.
1.4
Aesthetic Responses & Critique Methodologies: All
students will demonstrate and apply an understanding of arts
philosophies, judgment, and analysis to works of art in dance,
music, theatre, and visual art.
Viewing Sleeping Beauty Wakes and then participating in the pre- and post-show
discussions and activities suggested in this audience guide will also address the following
Core Curriculum Content Standards in Language Arts Literacy:
3.1
Reading: All students will understand and apply the knowledge
of sounds, letters, and words in written English to become
independent and fluent readers, and will read a variety of
materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.
3.2
Writing: All students will write in clear, concise, organized
language that varies in content and form for different audiences
and purposes.
3.3
Speaking: All students will speak in clear, concise, organized
language that varies in content and form for different audiences
and purposes.
3.4
Listening: All students will listen actively to information from a
3.5
Viewing and Media Literacy: All students will access, view,
variety of sources in a variety of situations.
evaluate, and respond to print, non-print, and electronic texts
and resources.
EDUCATORS / PRE-SHOW PREPARATION, QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION, AND ACTIVITIES
Note to Educators: Use the following assignments, questions, and activities to introduce
your students to Sleeping Beauty Wakes and its intellectual and artistic origins, context, and
themes, as well as to engage their imaginations and creativity before th ey see the
production.
1. Sleeping Beauty Wakes: Web Site Basics. Share the various articles, interviews,
and information found on McCarter’s Sleeping Beauty Wakes Web Site with your
students to provide a developmental and creative context for book writer Rachel
Sheinkin, composer Brendan Milburn, and lyricist Valerie Vigoda’s new American
musical.
2. Musical Theater and YOU? Considered one of America’s greatest contributions to
World Theater, the contemporary stage musical is perhaps the most popular and
prevalent of dramatic forms. Most high schools with drama curricula or after-school
programs/clubs mount a musical as a major (or only) production every year; musicals
are typically offered by the average local community theater; professional performing
arts centers around the nation feature touring versions of the Broadway’s latest
blockbusters; and much of Broadway itself caters to the musical theater tourist
dollar—at present, 25 of 42 shows running or in previews on Broadway are either
―book musicals‖ (in which song and dance are integrated into a story) or musical
revues. Ask your students to discuss their experiences with and thoughts about the
musical theater form below.

Compile a list of musicals that students have seen and/or in which they have
performed. Ask them to describe their interest in and/or relationship to
musical theater. Which were the students’ favorite shows and why were they
their favorites? For students who have little interest or a negative perception
of musicals, ask them to explain their disinterest or dislike. For fanatics of the
form, ask them to give explanation to their fondness.

How is the musical theater experience different from the experience of seeing
a nonmusical play? Ask students to consider the way in which music and
dance changes or affects the nature of theatrical expression and the audience
response. Which subgenre of musical theater—the book musical or musical
revue—do they prefer and why? To what kinds of stories and/or subjects is
musical theater best suited? (Ask them to review the stories and subjects of
the list of musicals compiled on the board.)

Ask students to consider what role music plays in their lives. When do you
listen to music? Where do you listen to music? Do you create or participate
in creating music? Are there any significant events in your life that are closely
associated with music? What meaning does music have in your life?

Ask students to consider what would appeal to them and their peers—in terms
of subject material and style of music—for a new musical production. Also
have them consider what stories might be ripe for book musical or musical
revue adaptation and what music and style of dance might best serve each
story.
3. Sleeping Beauties. For its first incarnation, Sleeping Beauty Wakes creators Rachel
Sheinkin, Brendan Milburn, and Valerie Vigoda were commissioned (i.e., hired and
paid to create a work of art by a person or institution/organization) to write a musical
based upon the familiar fairy tale by the Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles,
California. They were attracted to the idea of adapting a fairy tale in general,
because, according to book writer Rachel Sheinkin:
They’re full of big, irrational acts and big emotions and there’s so much room to
project your own issues. They’re a good match for musicals, because neither is
inherently naturalistic. They open up worlds of magic and beauty and terror. They
also transcend psychology, if you let them. (See Interview with Rachel Sheinkin)
The collaborators were specifically drawn to Sleeping Beauty for distinct personal
reasons: Sheinkin was ―fascinated simply by the story of someone who wanted to
wake up and couldn’t,‖ and Milburn and Vigoda, who were about to become parents
for the first time, were really compelled by ―the idea of this King and Queen who had
everything in the world but could not have a child…‖
The fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty has ―inspired artists across a number of artistic
styles and forms,‖ as contexualized and enumerated in this Sleeping Beauty Wakes
web item Fairy Tales and Adaptations.

Have your students explore, compare, and contrast the various imaginings
and adaptations of the Sleeping Beauty mythos from around the world in
literature, music, theater, dance, opera, film/television, and visual art.
(Welcome students to add any adaptation not included.)

Assign individual or small groups a version/adaptation or art form for research
and oral and illustrated (i.e., posters or PowerPoint) reports.

Following the presentations ask your students to consider what the various
versions, adaptations and depictions have in common. How do they differ?

Can they chart or track any interesting trends in contemporary adaptations of
the Sleeping Beauty story? What personal, social, or political issues seem
projected onto these later versions?
4. Exploring and Personalizing the Themes of Sleeping Beauty Wakes, Before the
Performance. The questions for discussion and activities immediately below are
designed to have your students explore one or more of the themes of Sleeping
Beauty Wakes from their own perspectives and particular experience before seeing
the performance.
″To Sleep, Perchance to Dream.″ The story of Sleeping Beauty Wakes is set in a sleep
disorders clinic which becomes an otherworldly dreamland for Rose, the musical’s title
character, and the worn and weary patients there for diagnosis and relief.
On Sleep: A Discussion

Ask students if they or anyone they know has suffered from a sleep disorder. What
was the nature of the complaint? How did it affect the individual and those around
him or her? Did the sufferer seek treatment? What was the nature of the
treatment? Did it work?

Have you ever spent a night unable to sleep? What details do you remember about
your experience of that night? How did you feel? What were you thinking about?

Have you ever been so tired that you were unable to stay awake, but staying awake
was necessary? What details do you remember about your experience of that
situation? How did you feel? What were you thinking about?
On Sleep: A Performative Art Activity

Ask students to create a work of performance art that captures and/or represents
their personal experiences of either a sleepless night or a somnolent day.

Student performances should be of their own making and design, but planned and
rehearsed. Each performance should be between 2 to 4 minutes in length.

Students should star in their own presentation, but can also utilize 1 to 2 other
performers from the class in minor roles.

Performances can utilize spoken and/or recorded text/dialogue, music, costumes,
props, elements of lighting, and/or special effects, but all elements of design and
production must either already be available in the classroom or provided by the
student on the day of the performance.

The goal of each performance should be to capture the essence of each student’s
unique experience with insomnia/somnolence. Class performances can be followed
by a ―post-show discussion‖ about analogous and divergent themes, as well as
memorable compellingly devised and performed moments.
*
*
*
On Dreams: Reflection and Analysis

Ask students to talk about their dream lives.
o
How often do you dream and when?
o
Have you noticed any patterns in terms of when you dream or don’t dream?
For example, have you been influenced by stress or fears, by what you’ve
eaten, by some life experience, or any other factors?
o
Can you recall both ―good‖ dreams as well as nightmares in equal measure?
Do you ever have recurring dreams?
o
Have you ever taken a biology or psychology class which looked at dreams
and dreaming? What are some of the know facts about subject? What
remains unknown?
o
Have you ever analyzed your dreams or had your dreams interpreted? What
did you learn, discover, or uncover?

Have students take a few minutes to recall and write about a dream that they have
had. Ask them to be as detailed with their reflection as possible, both in regarding
the content of their dream in terms of images and words and feelings, and regarding
how it made them feel and what they think it meant.

Next have students consult a dream dictionary to theorize on potential meanings for
their dreams. Dream dictionaries are widely available in online, in libraries, and in
book stores.
On Dreams: A Visual Art Activity

Ask each student to create a work of visual art that captures and/or represents his or
her dream described and analyzed above.

Students may work in any medium, including drawing (pencil, charcoal, markers,
etc.) painting (watercolor, oil, acrylic, pastel, etc.), collage, sculpture, photography,
film/video, computer, mixed media, etc.

Ask students to depict the story and spirit of their individual dreams through image
and the following elements of design: line, shape, size, texture, color, and value.
They should also title their pieces once they are completed.

Create an exhibition of Dream Art and ask students to present their pieces to the
class. They should explain their artistic choices in relation to the story of their
dreams and describe their process of translating their dreams into two - or threedimensional works of art.
Overprotective Parent vs. Awakening Adolescent. Most Sleeping Beauty tales feature a
King and Queen, a wished-for-child/baby princess, a vengeful fairy, an accursed gift, and
the promise of a magical counteragent in the form of a prince. At the heart of the musical
Sleeping Beauty Wakes are references to the same fairy tale types and plot points in the
midst of decidedly more familiar and relatable characters and themes, such as an
overprotective parent provoked and challenged by the perils of childhood which threaten
his/her child and sense of security, as well as an awakening adolescent pushing the
boundaries of childhood in search of adulthood, experience, and independence.
'Rents and Adolescents: A Discussion

Ask your student if they or someone they know (friend, cousin, neighbor, etc.) have
what might be considered an overprotective parent. What perils—real or imagined—
have proven provocative or challenging for the parent in question?

How does the parent’s shielding or controlling manner manifest itself through
behavior? How does the parent’s attitude and behavior impact his/her relationship
with his/her child?

What perils do you think actually exist for today’s youth in your town/city or
neighborhood? What childhood perils can you think of that exist for other children in
other parts of the world that you feel fortunate you will likely never have to worry
about?

Next ask students if, as adolescents, they have found themselves bumping up
against the boundary between childhood and adulthood at home, at school, in the
community and/or elsewhere? Ask those willing to share their stories with the clas s
to do so. Look for both common and divergent themes.

Then have students reflect in writing on a personal incident in which they have
experienced some sort of awakening or stirring in which they sought greater freedom,
responsibility or independence and were met with disfavor or restrictions based upon
their age. Ask them to write about the incident in as much detail as possible.
'Rents and Adolescents: Once Upon a Skit

Break students up into dyads or triads and have them share in their own words their
personal stories of awakening with their smaller groups.

Ask each group to choose one of the two or three stories shared in the group for fairy
tale dramatization and performance.

Students should collaborate in their groups to adapt and sketch out the scen ario as a
fairy tale and to make decisions on characterization, story, and dialogue. Each
member of the performance group should be cast to portray and develop a character
integral to the story/skit.

Each group should rehearse their skit a few times before performance.

The goal of each performance should be to both have fun and to capture the fairy tale essence of the true story upon which their skit is based. Class performances
can be followed by a ―post-show discussion‖ about analogous or reoccurring and
divergent themes, as well as memorable compellingly devised and performed
moment
5. A Composer Pens…and Blogs. Composer Brendan Milburn has documented the
rehearsal development of Sleeping Beauty Wakes on the McCarter Blog. We invite
you and your students to log on and read about Milburn’s process, observations and
musings inside and outside of the rehearsal room. To access the blog, click on this
link McCarter Blog and under ―2010-1011 Theater‖ click again on the ―Sleeping
Beauty Wakes‖ link. Feel free to post comments on Milburn’s various entries.
EDUCATORS / POST-SHOW QUESTIONS FOR
DISCUSSION AND ACTIVITIES
Note to Educators: Use the following assignments, questions, and activities to have students
evaluate their experience of the performance of Sleeping Beauty Wakes, as well as to encourage
their own imaginative and artistic projects through further explorat ion of the play in production.
Consider also that some of the pre-show questions and activities might enhance your students’
experience following the performance.
1.
Sleeping Beauty Wakes: Performance Reflection and Discussion. Following
their attendance at the performance of Sleeping Beauty Wakes, ask your students to
reflect on the questions below. You might choose to have them answer each
individually or you may divide students into groups for round-table discussions. Have
them consider each question, record their answers and then share their responses
with the rest of the class.
Questions to Ask Your Students About the Musical in Production
a. What was your overall reaction to Sleeping Beauty Wakes? Did you find the production
compelling? Stimulating? Intriguing? Challenging? Memorable? Confusing? Evocative?
Unique? Delightful? Meaningful? Explain your reactions.
b. Did experiencing the musical in performance heighten your awareness, understanding of, or
connection to its story and themes? What themes or ideas were made even more apparent
and/or significant in production/performance? Explain your responses.
c. Did Valerie Vigoda’s lyrics and Brendan Milburn’s music effectively help to tell the story of the
play and its individual characters? Did any single song stand out to you in particular? Which
song was it and why did you find it outstanding?
d. What overall effect did book writer Rachel Sheinkin’s imaginative and dream-like take-off on
the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale have on you? Did you find this to be an effective and
compelling adaptation?
e. Do you think that the pace and tempo of the production were effective and appropriate?
Explain your opinion.
Questions to Ask Your Students About the Characters
a. Did you personally identify with any of the characters in Sleeping Beauty Wakes? Who?
Why? If no, why not?\
b. What character did you find most interesting or engaging? Why were you intrigued or
attracted to this particular character?
c. What qualities were revealed by the action, speech, and song of the characters? Explain
your ideas.
d. Did any characters develop or undergo a transformation during the course of the play?
Who? How? Why?
e. In what ways did the characters reveal the themes of the play? Explain your responses.
Questions to Ask Your Students About the Style and Design of the Production
a. Was there a moment in Sleeping Beauty Wakes that was so compelling or intriguing that it
remains with you in your mind’s eye? Write a vivid description of that moment. As you write
your description, pretend that you are writing about the moment for someone who was unable
to experience the performance.
b. Did the style and design elements of the production, unified under the directorial vision of
Rebecca Taichman, enhance the performance? Did anything specifically stand out to you?
Explain your reactions.
c. Did the overall production style and design reflect the central themes of the story of Sleeping
Beauty Wakes? Explain your response.
d. What did you notice about Riccardo Hernandez’s set design? Did it provide an evocative
setting/location for Sleeping Beauty Wakes? How and why, or why not?
e. How were projection designer Peter Nigrini’s projections utilized as a design element? Could
you imagine the musical without them? What value do they add to the production?
f.
What mood or atmosphere did Christopher Akerlind’s lighting design and Leon Rothenberg’s
sound design establish or achieve? Explain your experience.
g. What did you notice about the costumes designed by Miranda Hoffman and worn by the
actors? What do you think were the artistic and practical decisions that went into the
conception of the costumes?
h. How did musical director James Sampliner’s orchestrations and choreographer Doug
Varone’s dance direction serve to illuminate the characters, themes, and style of the
musical?
2. Additional Post-Show Questions and Discussion Points for Sleeping Beauty Wakes.
Awakening Beauty.
Although Beauty/Rose and her awakening take center stage in the story of Sleeping Beauty Wakes,
the characters of the Doctor, the Orderly and the King also experience beautiful awakenings, make
life-altering discoveries, or are transformed in some significant way.
Ask your students to consider how and why Sleeping Beauty Wakes four main characters are
changed in the course of the action and conflict of the musical.

What is each like—emotionally and physically—at the story’s beginning?

What does each character want or face? With what is s/he each struggling?

What awakens each character? What is his or her moment of discovery?

How is s/he transformed by the musical’s end? What change of heart has s/he experienced
or what to new understanding has s/he come?
Musical Comedy: It’s Not Just Laughs
o
In one of his McCarter Blog entries (See Composer’s Pen—Day 20: The Writing Endgame),
Sleeping Beauty Wakes composer Brendan Milburn stresses that although there is ―a lot of
emotional stuff in this piece,‖ it is ―a musical COMEDY.‖
Musical comedy largely refers to the American genre of musical theater that integrates popular song
styles and dance into a traditional dramatic plot which characteristically focuses on a budding and/or
troubled love relationship, often includes comic or humorous incidents, and typically ends in a
reconciliation and celebration.

Share the above definition with your students. Make a list on the board of other musical
comedies students have experienced in performance. Ask them to describe each musical
comedy experience in terms of the above definition’s attributes (i.e., describe the styles of
music/song and dance, explain the plot/story, detail any humorous moments, and describe
the work’s resolution).

What are Sleeping Beauty Wakes musical-comedy attributes?

As you experienced the performance, did the Sleeping Beauty Wakes strike you as
particularly ―comical‖ or was your experience more complex than that? Can you explain how
the work struck you?

Were there moments in Sleeping Beauty Wakes that personally registered as more
―emotional,‖ serious, or touching than humorous?

After experiencing Sleeping Beauty Wakes, would you define it as a musical comedy or is
there another way that you would characterize the show?

What musical theater productions have you attended that were decidedly not musical
comedies? In what way did these productions deviate from the above definition?
3. Sleeping Beauty Wakes: The Review. Have your students take on the role of theater critic
by writing a review of the McCarter Theatre production of Sleeping Beauty Wakes. A theater
critic or reviewer is essentially a ―professional audience member,‖ whose job is to provide
reportage of a play’s production and performance through active and descriptive language for
a target audience of readers (e.g., their peers, their community, or those interested in the
arts). Critics/reviewers analyze the theatrical event to provide a clearer understanding of the
artistic ambitions and intentions of a play and its production; reviewers often ask themselves,
―What is the playwright and this production attempting to do?‖ Finally, the critic offers
personal judgment as to whether the artistic intentions of a production were achieved,
effective and worthwhile. Things to consider before writing:

Theater critics/reviewers should always back up their opinions with reasons, evidence and
details.

The elements of production that can be discussed in a theatrical review are the play text or
script (and its themes, plot, characters, etc.), scenic elements, costumes, lighting, sound,
music, acting and direction (i.e., how all of these elements are put together). (See Theater
Reviewer’s Checklist.)

Educators may want to provide their students with sample theater reviews from a variety of

newspapers.
Encourage your students to submit their reviews to the school newspaper for publication.
4. A Post-Show Multimedia Extravaganza. If your students just can’t get enough of Sleeping
Beauty Wakes after the performance, please direct them to the McCarter’s Sleeping Beauty
Wakes Web Site and its many multimedia features including music samples, cast and
creative-team interviews as well as production photos
CREDITS
Editors:
Carrie Hughes, Adam Immerwahr
Adam Immerwahr, Emilia LaPenta, Erica Nagel
Contributors:
Paula Alekson, Carrie Hughes,
Web Design:
Dimple Parmar
2010-2011 THEATRE SEASON SPONSORED BY