It’s not easy to recreate a man’s life story in one theater production.
But that’s exactly what the University Theatre Department is doing for the next three weeks, beginning with tonight’s performance of “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.”
The production of “Nicholas Nickleby,” a play based on the novel by Charles Dickens, caps a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary season of theater productions at the University’s Robinson Theatre. The enormous scope of the production ­ which contains 140 named characters, requires three directors and runs in two three-hour parts ­ is a fitting tribute to the theater’s golden anniversary.
“We were looking for a project that would involve everyone in the program and that would be much bigger and grander than anything we’ve done before,” said University Theatre’s development director Joseph Gilg, “and we narrowed it down to ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ fairly quickly.”
Although the story ­ which chronicles the life of a virtuous young man in Victorian England ­ takes six hours to tell, Gilg said he prefers not to focus on the length of the show. That tends to turn off audiences right away, he said.
“I liken it to a good novel ­ the kind that you can’t wait to read the next chapter,” Gilg said. “The story is put together in that way. It’s so engrossing that as an audience member it just sort of draws you in.”
Since its 1980 premiere as a theater production, the prodigious “Nicholas Nickleby” has received equally grand praise. It won the Tony Award and the New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award for 1981 and was hailed as one of the greatest theatrical triumphs of the 20th century. But because of its demands on a theatre’s resources, the play is not often mounted or seen.
While the University Theatre has done large productions in the past, “Nicholas Nickleby” is the largest in 20 years, said UO professor of costume design Alexandra Bonds in a press release. And while the play’s 32-member cast is not any larger than many of the musicals presented over the years, the fact that most of the actors present four to six characters each is remarkable.
“It’s in fact doing two plays at once,” Gilg said, “and even though we regularly do that, we don’t regularly do it with the same people. That’s where the challenge comes in.”
Besides the logistical challenges of casting, organizing rehearsals and determining which actors would wear which costumes in which scenes, the department also had to create countless props and costumes. With as many as 70 different locations and more than 150 characters, including the unnamed crowds of people in the streets of London and elsewhere, the department had its hands full.
Senior instructor and University Theatre designer Janet Rose faced the challenge of creating those 70 different scenes all on one set that could be transformed to the various locales by the use of different props and characters.
“Even though we’re doing a massive show, Robinson Theatre didn’t get any bigger,” Rose said.
Rose, who is also organizing the lighting for the play, said she will use approximately 200 lighting cues throughout the show. An average production uses closer to 60, she said.
Preparing for the overwhelming play was a long and tedious process that began in the winter of 1999 when the department chose “Nicholas Nickleby” as the single production that would involve everyone in the department. After months of preparation and with the opening performance right around the corner, everyone involved is ready to go.
“What we’re looking forward to at this point is the moment we get the audience in,” Gilg said. “They’re going to see a delightful story. I just think that all the energy is going to be real infectious with our audience.”
Part one of “Nicholas Nickleby” opens tonight at Robinson Theatre in Villard Hall with part two following on Friday, May 19. Part one will be performed on Thursday evenings, May 18, 25, and June 1; at Saturday matinees, May 20, 27, June 3; and at a Sunday matinee on May 21. Part two will be presented on Friday and Saturday evenings, May 19-20, 26-27 and June 2-3 with a Sunday matinee on May 28. Curtain times are 7 p.m. for all evening performances and 1 p.m. for all matinees.
Tickets for “Nicholas Nickleby” are available at the Hult Center and the EMU ticket office. Tickets are $10 for the general public; $8 for senior citizens, faculty and staff; and $5 for UO students with a $1 discount for Thursday performances. Patrons will need separate tickets for each part of the production.
Proceeds from tickets sold by the Community Internship Program for the May 21 matinee will benefit that program. For more information, call 346-4351.