The original musical Catherland will open at The TADA Theatre on December 6 at 7:30 pm.
Catherland is the story of an author who, with her husband, moves to Red Cloud, Nebraska, home of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Willa Cather. They hope to find a simpler life, but they instead find mysteries and shattered dreams — all in Cather’s shadow.
Catherland is directed by Juli Burney. Best known as a motivational humorist, Juli started her career behind the scenes as a director, designer and theatre instructor. With a Masters in Theatre from UNL, she held positions at Wayne State College and Doane College. The musical direction is by Jennifer Novak Haar.
The book and lyrics for Catherland are by Becky Boesen and music by David Von Kampen. In addition to her work as a writer, Boesen is an actor, director and teaching artist. She received a Nebraska Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the Nebraska Arts Council and was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Von Kampen won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award in 2015, one of several honors over his fledgling career. His music spans a variety of genres: choral music, chamber music and musical theater.
The cast includes Rhiannon Ling, Bret Olsen, Sandy Van Pelt, Laura Linder, Jay DuPont and Cole Larson. Stage management for Catherland is by Rod Grove, scenic painting by Juli Burney and Dustin Witte, costume coordination by Karen Statham, lighting design by Robert D. Rook and stage carpentry by Bryan Watson. Catherland is a collaborative production with TADA Productions, Inc. and Blixt. It is sponsored by The Mill with support from The Nebraska Arts Council. Donations for The Food Bank of Lincoln are encouraged when attending the production.
Catherland is on stage at The TADA Theatre at 701 P Street in Lincoln, Nebraska’s Historic Haymarket, December 6-16 with 7:30 pm curtain times Thursday-Saturday and 2:00 pm on Sundays. Reservations are encouraged by going on-line at tadatheatre.info. Tickets are $20. The TADA Theatre also offers V.I.P. reserved parking on show dates in the West Depot parking lot for its patrons. For details contact The TADA Theatre box office at (402) 438-TADA (8232) or showinfo@tadaproductions.info.
Pictured: Sandy Van Pelt (Willa) and Rhiannon Ling (Susan). Photo credit by Megan Rook