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Tickets on sale now through Ticketmaster
A Modofac® Production
by Henry H. Perritt, Jr.
Modofac Productions, LLC YTAMF Chicago 2010 Series is remounting You Took Away My Flag: a Musical About Kosovo at Theatre Building Chicago for an eight-week run, opening on 2 April 2010. Directed by George Cederquist; music direction by Jeremy Ramey.
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“Flag” is about the power of love to achieve the impossible. The story follows six people falling in love the midst of a political nightmare. Vjosa in love with Dragan; Driton and Arian with their country’s need for independence; Fatmir, the father, with tradition; the American Reporter with the resilience of the human spirit.
"The question this rock opera asks is: in a world where life is tough, where nothing is given to you, where everything you want is forbidden, what happens if you choose to fight for what you love? People in love don’t think about consequences, even if that consequence is death. They don’t necessarily even think about their actions. They think about the people they’re in love with and what they have to do to keep them close.
"Like any nightmare, this story takes place in a world one step removed from reality, where there are rules and there is logic but everything still feels heightened, unreal. It doesn't feel like a historical drama about historical figures. At its heart, “Flag” isn’t a story about politics, it’s about people and relationships." George J. Cederquist, Director
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| George Cederquist (Director) George Cederquist is a director of music theatre and opera. Please visit his online portfolio at gjcederquist.carbonmade.com. Productions include: NO EXIT (Chicago Opera Vanguard), REAGAN’S CHILDREN (COV), LA SONNAMBULA (Assistant Director, Metropolitan Opera), SWEENEY TODD (Northwestern University), ALCINA (AD, Wolf Trap Opera), AMADEUS (NU), THE MEDIUM (NU Opera), THE BARTERED BRIDE (AD, NU Opera), DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL (AD, Chicago Opera Theater). Upcoming: A FUNNY THING…FORUM (North Dakota State University). Training: Northwestern University (MFA), Wolf Trap Opera (fellowship), Lyric Opera of Chicago (observership), Yale University (BA). George lives in Chicago with his wife Elaine, their son Benjamin and their cat Bonnie.
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| Jeremy Ramey (Music Director) Most recently Jeremy was the music director and pianist for "C'est La Vie" at Light Opera works and conductor and pianist for “"Minister’s Wife"” at Writers Theatre. This summer, Jeremy was the music director for Tony Award winner Mark Hollman’s world premier of “Wild Goat at Steel Beam Theatre.” In April of this year, Jeremy was nominated by the Jeff Committee for best music director. Some recent projects have been the Chicago production of "Altar Boyz" at Drury Lane Water Tower, "American Dream Song Book" at Next Theatre , and "Hats!" starring Grammy Award winner Melissa Manchester under the direction of Tony nominated Lynn Taylor Corbett. Jeremy also served as the music director for the world premiere of “The Adding Machine” at Next Theatre. Jeremy received his training as a concert pianist and conductor at Rhodes College, Northwestern University, and The Juilliard School of Music. He is also the music director for Unity Church on the Northshore in Evanston.
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Jordan Phelps (Arian) Jordan Phelps is honored to make his Chicago Theater debut as part of the YTAMF cast. Native to Northwest Washington, he attended Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University majoring in Musical Theater. Jordan most recently played Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, which received national recognition in USA Today’s Best High School Musicals of 2008. Other credits at Bellingham High include West Side Story (Riff), Scapino! (Scapino), Anthing Goes (Billy Crocker) and Our Town (George Gibbs). He also performed in five seasons at Western Washington University’s Performing Arts Center and numerous productions at the Bellingham Theater Guild, Firehouse Theater and even an original work at the Theatre du Rocher in Toulon, France. An acclaimed vocalist, he was selected to the All Northwest Regional Music Convention, and awarded at Washington State solo and ensemble competitions. Jordan is currently enrolled at Act One and Lou Conte Dance Studios in Chicago.
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Ethan Saks (Fahri and Ensemble)
Ethan Saks is excited to be a part of YTAMF. Previous productions include The History Boys (Pittsburgh Irish & Classical), Othelloand Two Gentlemen of Verona (Utah Shakespearean Festival), The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Rivals(The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey), and Ghosts, Scapin, and The Father at Carnegie Mellon University where he recently received his BFA. He is currently working on Tell it & Think it & Speak it & Breathe it, a new short play festival, with Ruckus Theater in Chicago.
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Amy Steele (Vjosa) Amy Steele is grateful to be a part of this new show. She graduated from Indiana University with her degree in vocal performance. Chicago credits include Shout, the Mod Musical at Drury Lane Watertower, Madame X at Chicago Center for Performing Arts, Little Women at Jedlicka Performing Arts Center, The American Girl Revue at the American Girl Place, and Urinetown at the Mercury Theatre. She has also worked with Chicago Kids Company, Metropolis, Noble Fool, and Steel Beam Theatre. Love and thanks!
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Niq Schwartz (Driton)
Niq Schwartz is thrilled to be a part of the YTAMF cast. Originally from Iowa, he is currently finishing up his BA in Musical Theater Performance from Columbia College Chicago. Some of his Columbia credits include the Senator in Hello Again!, a policeman in Pirates of Penzance, Doc in West Side Story, and is currently rehearsing the role of Mary Sunshine in a faculty workshop of Chicago. Niq was also a member of the 08 summer internship program at the Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts in Fairfield, IA. Niq would like to thank his friends and family for all of their support.
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Shaun Nathan Baer (Dragan) Shaun Nathan Baer (Dragan) is thrilled to be working on YTAMF with Modofac Productions. Since moving back to Chicago from Minneapolis a year ago, Shaun has worked with Noble Fool Productions (Married Alive) and Hell in a Handbag Productions (Poseidon: An Upside Down Musical). Favorite roles include: Homer - Floyd Collins (Theater Latte Da); Bat Boy - Bat Boy: The Musical, Jonny Warner - Zombie Prom, Arbiter - Chess, Dwight/God - Jerry Springer - The Opera (Minneapolis Musical Theatre); Jack - Into the Woods (Paul Bunyan Playhouse) Matt - The Fantasticks (Whitney Fine Arts Center); Arpad - She Loves Me (Little Theatre on the Square). Love to JRO.
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| Ben Kizer (Fatmir) Ben Kizer was born in Nashville, TN.
He has been involved in music since an early age, performing with a number of
groups as singer and guitarist. In 1973, he opened for a then-unknown band that
was finishing up its first album, "Lynyrd Skynyrd". For the last
twenty-five years, he has served as a choir member, cantor and children/youth
choir director at his church. He also was a cantor with the Archdiocese of
Chicago's Filipino Choir. In 2000, he performed with a choir from Chicago at St. Peter’s in Rome
and at Assisi.
He was a featured male performer for the Chick Singer's “Are You Man Enough”
series. His previous theatrical roles include: Can-Can Dancer in a vaudevillian
revue and the Story Teller in “Tale of Wonders”. He and his wife of thirty-one
years have two daughters, both involved in theater. He would like to thank
Hank, the cast , crew and his family for their encouragement.
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Brian Birch (American Reporter)
Brian Birch is very excited to join the cast of the upcoming production of YTAMF. He has just finished an understudy role in The Castle of Otranto at First Folio Theatre. Previously he had appeared as Biff in The 1940's Radio Hour with Citadel Theatre. Other Chicago area credits include Night of the Living Dead: The Musical, Rehearsal For Murder, and An Actors Nightmare. He recently graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Theatre and Music Education. There, he appeared in The Blue Bird, The Medium, Marat/Sade, Die Flëdermaus, West Side Story, and Secret Garden: The Musical. Brian would like to thank his family and friends for their continuous love and support.
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Hillary Marren (Maltese Diplomat)
Hillary is thrilled to be a brand new resident of Chicago, and excited to be getting her feet wet in this great city's theatre scene. Originally from Ohio, she just arrived from New Zealand where she spent a year working in Auckland and befriending sheep, as well as re-igniting her passion for theatre, which had taken a brief hiatus after she received her BFA in musical theatre from Otterbein College. She would like to thank Hank for this great opportunity and her parents, friends and Kevin for their love and support.
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Daniel Spagnuolo (ZZtop, Ensemble)Daniel Spagnuolo could have easily been an attorney. Instead, his elementary school music teacher,
Judith Donakowski, told him that he could
sing. She ruined a promising legal career and Daniel couldn’t be more grateful to her. Daniel studied music theatre
performance at Western Michigan University
and currently studies classical voice in Chicago with Deborah
Bulgrin. Chicago-area credits include The Pirates of Penzance with Light Opera
Works and the upcoming Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: a Musical with
Chamber Opera Chicago. Other credits include A Chorus Line, Barnum, Kiss of the
Spider Woman, Spinning Into Butter, and West SideStory.
Daniel also performs with Opera on Tap, and
“A Little R & R,” a musical theatre cabaret hosted by his friends Aimee Radics and Robin Rotela.
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Michael Carey (Ensemble)
Michael Carey's Chicago-area credits include Len in "Book of Days" (Evergreen Theatre Ensemble) and The Announcer in "The Cat's Meow: A Vaudeville" (Prologue Theater Company). He is currently a student in the Annoyance Theater's Improv training program. Some favorite Indiana (his until-recently home) roles: Michael Douglas in "Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy" (Bloomington Playwrights Project), Captain Smollett in "Treasure Island" (Cardinal Stage Company), Will in "Cowboyily" (Bloomington Playwrights Project), Judas in "Godspell" (Shawnee Summer Theatre) and Fred in "Fred" (IndyFringe). He is thrilled to be a part of the production.
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Raymond Havey (Ensemble)
Raymond Havey just recently graduated from Denison University in Granville, OH with a B.A. in Vocal Music and Theatre. His professional credits include Fredrick in Pirates of Penzance at the Showboat Majestic in Cincinnati, OH, Multiple roles at the Weathervane Playhouse in Newark, OH, including Jack in Into the Woods and also has been appearing in Kid’s Musicals at the Theatre Building Chicago this past fall and spring. He is very excited to be working on this production of You Took Away My Flag.
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Teresa Scalise (Ensemble)
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Damien Rivalland (Ensemble) Damian Rivalland is a native of France, where he received a Degree of Fine Art
Design from the University
of Paris. He has attended
ERAC (a national drama school in the south of France)
and the Theatre School at Depaul. He has appeared in
Andromaque, The Trojan Women, Ruy Blas, Phaedra, La Deuxieme Ligne, and St.
Joan of the Stockyards. He is thrilled to be in this musical, which portrays a
conflict very much on his mind as he was growing up.
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Patrick Cannon (Swing) Patrick Cannon is grateful to be a part of the YTAMF cast. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, his professional credits include A Lyrical Christmas Carol (Narrator/Fred), West Side Story (Gladhand), Cinderella (Steward) High School Musical (ensemble u.s Jack Scott). Other credits include Chicago (Billy Flinn), Oklahoma! (Curly), Honk! (Cat), The Civil War, Awesome 80's Prom. Patrick would like to thank his wonderful Mom and Dad, his brothers, Jeremy, George, and Hank.
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You Took Away My Flag – a Musical About Kosovo had a very successful first run in Chicago in June, 2009. It sold out all four performances at Strawdog Theatre, and received extensive press and media publicity. Audiences responded enthusiastically. Modofac Productions, LLC is remounting the show at Theatre Building Chicago for an eight week run, opening on 2 April 2010.
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Synopsis
It’s the late 1990s, and violence in Kosovo, a small country
in the Balkans, is escalating between Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic and
a rag-tag bunch of guerrilla insurgents known as the Kosovo Liberation Army
(KLA).
An
eighteen-year old Kosovar Albanian boy, Arian, and his 20-year old sister,
Vjosa, struggle to find their futures in Kosovo. Despite her father Fatmir's efforts to impose traditional Albanian values on her, Vjosa is infatuated with
a 20-something Serbian youth, Dragan, who happens to be a member of the Serbian
tactical police. Vjosa and Dragan keep their romance completely secret because both
the Kosovar Albanian and the Serbian society would shun them—or worse--if
anyone knew.
Arian,
romantic about Albanian national history and well-read, argues with
his more passive father that he and his best friend, Fahri, should join other
youngsters and join the guerrilla insurgency. Arian finds a KLA band led by a
charismatic young fighter, Driton, and begs them to take him, trying to
overcome their skepticism that he is not tough enough.
Their
father, Fatmir, and other members of the political elite oppose violence and
make entreaties to international diplomats who treat them disdainfully and insist
on waiting out the diplomatic process. Despite international alarm about human
rights violations against the population, senior diplomats argue that the
Serbian dictator, Slobodan Milosevic, should be allowed to exterminate the
guerrilla “terrorists.”
Islamic
extremists, flush from their victory in Afghanistan, and emboldened by
their attachment to Bosnian Muslim fighters, try to infiltrate the KLA. The
internationals and Fatmir must choose between hope for NATO intervention and
the Islamization of their cause.
Vjosa
and Dragan, already tormented by doubts about his brutal duty, struggle with
their loyalties, their love, and their humanity. Arian’s spirit infuses the
divergent hopes in both America and Kosovo.
YTAMF expresses universal themes of aspirations and hardship.
Dreams and disasters, cunning and cruelty, bravery and brutality, fear and
fortitude, define lives.
The currents of great-power politics shape the lives of the
Vjosas, Arians, Fahris and Dritons of the world, blocking love, abrading patriotic
fervor, frustrating ambitions of succeeding in public life or in business
through “legitimate” channels, and spawning corruption and betrayal. Waves
crash over them, and hidden undercurrents tug them away from shore.
The struggle continues, decade after decade. “Too many brave
kids had to fight and die,” declaring, “Even if they shoot me, I’ll never stop;
point out a hill and I’ll be at the top.” Their tormenters, like Dragan,
sometimes have doubts: “I sometimes wonder what I have become.”
And when the political straitjackets occasionally relax,
they quarrel over who is entitled to the credit: “You sat in your conference
rooms, huddled with fear; we were in front and you in the rear.”
Some journalists, analysts, and human rights workers, like
the American Reporter in YTAMF, “chronicle their deeds to witness a quest, for
respect and to hold up their heads—even make their own mess," only to be
confronted by worldly diplomats who declare, “The people here are savages,
Muslim threats.”
Each of us—in Kosovo, Kabul, Kurdistan,
or Cook County—struggles to discover the path
for becoming who we are, only to find it blocked many times. The test of our
character is having the courage to punch through the obstacles we can and the stamina
to find new pathways around those that exceed our strength.
Everyone wants to be able to sing, one day: “We’ve dreamed
this dream for centuries, to be free and to have our own country.” Some are
crushed by the challenge. They run away, or hide behind complaints of fate and powerlessness. Others reach their destinations and celebrate
their accomplishments, but are scarred by their past misdeeds. A few spill their
blood and lose their lives in the effort; their souls are the symbols for
future pathfinders—new Arians to help all of us live free.
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| Audience comments: Strawdog production June 12-20, 2009 |
“We were delighted with the score, a true mix of light rock
and modern musical theatre. The music was excellent and showed a
remarkable variety of forms and tempi, all with absolutely superb
orchestration. We found ourselves rocking to the beat, tapping our feet, and
swaying with the sounds. It was a delightful experience, both theatrically and
musically. As the scenes went back and forth on the small stage in front of us,
we began to envision this musical being presented (we kid you not) on the
stage of the Metropolitan Opera House using the same sets they and Chicago's
Lyric Opera used for Il Travatore the last two seasons. The music is certainly
a lot better, more interesting and with more depth than most of what is being
performed on professional stages in the last many years.”
Nancy Z. Hablutzel
"Hank Perritt has pulled off something quite remarkable: A
didactic rock opera about freedom, terrorism, and human dignity that also
manages to keep your feet tapping. Musical theatre is delicate
territory, and yet "You Took Away My Flag" is both informative and entertaining--a play that is
part New York Times Op-Ed, part Gilbert & Sullivan. Who knew the diplomatic
process was this hummable? "
David Safran
“In
Arian, as with Vjosa and Dragan, the Serbian/Albanian conflict is personified
though strong emotions; audiences from any background can relate to: love,
ambition, patriotism, courage, and an unrelenting determination to prove one’s
worth. The musical score,
providing historical context without taking away from the musical’s vibrant
personality, wonderfully complements You Took Away My Flag’s compelling plotline. The instrumentation alone is so
engrossing it can only be described as magnetic."
Aaron Zaluzek
“I
really enjoyed it. The highlights for me . . . were the music and the
lead actors. I also really liked how the historical context got dropped
into the play to orient the audience. It helped bring the characters more
to life, and served to break up the action. The music was
phenomenal. I would buy the CD, it was that good.”
Mike Congiu
“This
first-time theatrical effort . . . causes one to ponder how conflict plays a
role in daily life around the world. . . . reminiscent of the Montagues and Capulets, and
Perritt’s own experiences in Kosovo. Many of the characters’ passions center
not on policy, but on their relationships to each other and what it means in
human terms to align with a particular group that walks a different path than
those one loves the most. . . . [A] moving account of his characters’ lives
through the war-torn nation and beyond.”
John Derscheid
"My wife and I were immediately struck by the music and the
talent of the musicians. Our goodwill towards the orchestra lasted the
entire performance. . . . I would be keenly interested in seeing it in a bigger
space . . . ."
Patrick McKenna
"[T]he gentleman sitting in
front of me starting crying. "
Julinda Milla
"I
think I was most drawn into the play by how the frustration of the young people
manifested itself, into playing national songs or joining the revolutionary
army: it was structured in such a way that the characters were compelled to
act, with the boorish, drunken Serbian army hounding them on one side and their
parents / politicians preaching caution and faith in a flawed, non-existent
system on the other. . . . I liked all of the music compositions and the
projections onto the wall during the battle scenes . . . ."
Jason Carlson
"The
music arrangements with strings and horns really brought it all together.
I thought the musicians were great . . . . I was amazed at the wealth of
material."
Darren Garvey
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WGN Radio interview 19 April 2009
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