A NEW BRAIN

Area Premiere

November 3 – 27, 2000 – Bryant Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater

Music and Lyrics – William Finn
Book – William Finn & James Lapine

From the composer of March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland comes this joyous celebration of life.  Based loosely on the composer’s own near-death struggle with a brain tumor, A New Brain follows the journey of a young songwriter who – when faced with a similar crisis – guides the audience through a hourney of discovery that is at once wise, sad, compassionate and funny.  A New Brain triumphs in its ability to create such an innovative, uplifting work of art out of such potential adversity.

Director / Choreographer – Steven Meerdink
Musical Director – Kevin Hansen

Cast
Gordon Michael Schwinn – Kevin Hansen
Rhonda – Robbie Mancina
Mr. Bungee – Paul Reyburn
Richard – Eric Johnson
Roger Delli-Bovi – Steven Meerdink
Homeless Lady – Kathleen Hardy
Waitress / Nancy D – Suzanne Reyburn
Dr. Jafar Berensteiner – Alan Sorenson
Minister – Steven Todd Schmidt
Mimi Schwinn – Anne Hinnenkamp

Musicians
Katie Hoody (Piano)
Tony Schiefert (Percussion)

 “As performed by the Minneapolis Musical Theatre at Bryant Lake Bowl, Brain is a zippy, hilarious, touching two-hour romp through several neighborhoods not often visited by musical comedy … The stellar cast delivers more than 20 numbers with incandescent energy.” – Pulse

“A New Brain has got to set some kind of record for tunes per minute…The Minneapolis Musical Theatre staging…gets full marks for smoothly moving the 10-person cast on the bitsy Bryant-Lake Bowl stage and for skillfully blending the show’s comic and dramatic elements without ever going overboard in either direction.”  – St. Paul Pioneer Press