For Immediate Release Press Information: (718) 636-4129 BROOKLYNACADEMY OF MUSIC CELEBRATESTHE 10TH ANNIVERSARYOF THE NEXT WAVEFESTIVAL OCTOBER14 THROUGHDECEMBER 27, 1992 Frida, a music and theater piece based upon the turbulent life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo will open the 10th Anniversary/1992 Next Wave Festival, sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc., beginning October 14th at 7 p.m. Internationally known cabaret singer Helen Schneider will portray Frida Kahlo in this production which is a presentation of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in association with the American Music Theater Festival, Houston Grand Opera and The Women's Project and Productions. Frida blends striking imagery, larger than life puppets and a distinguished cast of performers to reveal a passionate, operatic tale. The 13 performances of Frida will take place October 14 - 25, 1992 in BAM's Majestic Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn. **(Press opening night is 10/15)** Frida will explore the personal and artistic journey of Frida Kahlo , who is perhaps, Mexico's most beloved and best known painter. Kahlo, who was marrried twice to another legendary artist, Diego Rivera, suffered a severe physical injury which left her nearly incapacitated. Her painful physical condition and her tumultuous romance with Rivera became the subject of her many autobiographical paintings. Virtually unrecognized as an artist by the public until after her death in 1954, Kahlo has recently been acknowledged as a major figure in the art world. Her extraodinary ability to portray the joy and suffering she endured and the strength of her personality has attracted adoration from a diverse group of aficionados that include art collectors, historians and Hollywood producers and entertainers . In Frida, the music is inspired by traditional Mexican sources, including pre­ Columbian and folk music, as well as North American forms, and the score features operatic arias and ensembles. Renowned cabaret artist, Helen Schneider portrays Frida. Brooklyn born, Schneider starred in the movie, Eddie and the Cruisers, and her credits include three one-woman shows at New York's "Ballroom"; A Flapper's Folly, Schneider Sings Sondheim and Schneider Sings Kurt Weill. She has recorded for CBS Masterworks Records and Sony Music. Most recently she made her debut at Rainbow and Stars in her one-woman show, Helen Schneider Sings Harold Arlen . .. A Woman's Prerogative. Hilary Blecher, who conceived, co-wrote and directed the production , is best known in this country for her production of the multi-award winning Poppie Nongena. Migdalia Cruz' (monologues and lyrics) plays have been produced by Playwrights Horizons, En Garde Arts, Maria Irene Fornes' Hispanic Playwrights Lab at INTAR, Home for Contemporary Theater and Art, and the NYSF's Festival Latino. Frida is composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez' 20th score for the stage; his works have received more than 600 professional operatic and symphonic performances over the last 5 years. He has held composer-in-residence appointments with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with whom he still serves as a consultant to Music Director Eduardo Mata. more ... BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC 30 LAFAYETTE AVENUE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 11217 7l.8.636.4l.l.l. FAX: 718.857.2021 Frida, pg. 2 Puppets are used throughout Frida to bring to life the artwork of Frida Kahlo. According to Frida director Hilary Blecher, "We use puppets to create some of the more fantastic aspects of Frida's paintings which would otherwise be very difficult to fully realize." Many of the puppets are over-sized and are three dimensional with the puppeteers themselves inside the heads of the characters. Puppetry for the production is created under the direction of Jane Geiser, whose innovative Jottay Theatre earned an Obie Award in 1989 for "Stories from Here." Frida was commissioned by and premiered at The American Music Theater Festival in 1991. THE EVENTS OF THE 1992 10TH ANNIVERSARYNEXT WAVEFESTIVAL Frida/featuring Helen SchneiderA October 14 - 25 Music/Theater Pura Fe/Robert Mirabal/Native Voices: October 15 - 17 Music Music of the Pueblo, Songs of the City Spiderwoman Theater/Power PipesA October 21 - 25 Theater Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker/Achterland* October 30 - 31 Dance/Theater Saburo Teshigawara/"dah-dah-sko-dah-dah"* November 6 - 7 Dance David Rousseve - Urban Scenes/Creole DreamsA November 10, 12-14 Dance/Theater Einstein On The Beach= November 19 - 23 Music/Theater Brooklyn Philharmonic/Glass Reflections+ November 13 - 14 Music Robert Lepage/Needles & Opium* December 8 - 12 Theater Mark Morris Dance Company/The Hard Nut* December 11 - 27 Dance +World Premiere -- *American Premiere -- ANew York Premiere =Revival The 1992 NEXT WAVEFestival is sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. This marks the tenth season that Philip Morris has supported the Festival. Frida has been made possible, in part, by grants from the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; AT&T Foundation; The Greenwall Foundation; and the Henson Foundation. The NEXT WAVEProduction Fund has been supported by: The National Endowment for the Arts; Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; The Ford Foundation; The Pew Charitable Trusts; The Rockefeller Foundation; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; The Bohen Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; AT&T Foundation; Morgan Guaranty Trust Co.; The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan; Quebec Government House; International Affairs Department of Quebec; Cultural Affairs Department of Quebec; Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A . ; The Harkness Foundations for Dance; The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust; The Greenwall Foundation; The William and Mary Greve Foundation; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the New York State Council on the Arts; the BAMNEXT WAVEProducers Council; the BAMNEXT WAVEAssociates; and the Friends of BAM. Selected international programs of the 1992 NEXT WAVEFestival are made possible, in part, by The Rockefeller Foundation . The NEXT WAVEProducers Council and the NEXT WAVEAssociates provide annual private patronage for BAM's NEXT WAVEFestival and also sponsor exhibitions and special events for the Festival throughout the year. more ... Frida, pg . 3 Sponsorship of Special Events during this season ' s NEXT WAVEFestival is provided by: Hugo Boss Fashions; New Yorker Magazine , Inc . ; and Kenneth Col e New York. BAM's audience development initiatives have been supported, in part , by a gran t from Chemical Bank. The BAMfacility is owned by the City of New York and its operation is made possible, in part , with public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with support from the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council and Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden. FRIDA PERFORMANCESCHEDULE. PRICES AND INFORMATION Frida performances are October 14 at 7 p.m., October 15 and 16 at 8 p.m, October 17 at 2 and 8 p .m., October 20 - 23 at 8 p.m . , October 24 and 25 at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets for Frida are $30, 25 and 10. For ticket information abou t Frida or the 1992 Tenth Anniversary NEXT WAVEFestival, please call the BAMTicket Ser vices Departm ent at 718-636-4100 . BAM is located at 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn , New York 11217. ### , For Immediate Release Press Information: (718) 636-4129 'o ';. ....1, FRIDA TO OPEN THE 1992 NEXTWAVE FESTIVAL 1;.'- OCTOBER14, 1992 \<',,, 0~ ,$' • C, "9,,,>--~-s1, .. PHtLll't,110"'"''~ HELEN SCHNEIDERFEATURED IN THE NEWMUSIC-THEATER PIECE '1t4 t ~992 BASEDON THE LIFE OF MEXICANARTIST FRIDA KAHLO. BROOKLYNACADEMY OF MUSIC CELEBRATESTHE 10TH ANNIVERSARYOF THE NEXT WAVEFESTIVAL OCTOBER14 THROUGHDECEMBER 27, 1992 Frida, a music and theater piece based upon the turbulent life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo will open the 10th Anniversary/1992 Next Wave Festival, sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc., beginning October 14th at 7 p.m. Internationally known cabaret singer Helen Schneider will portray Frida Kahlo in this production which is a presentation of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in association with the American Music Theater Festival, Houston Grand Opera and The Women's Project and Productions. Frida blends striking imagery, larger than life puppets and a distinguished cast of performers to reveal a passionate, operatic tale. The 13 performances of Frida will take place October 14 - 25, 1992 in BAM's Majestic Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn. **(Press opening night is 10/15)** Frida will explore the personal and artistic journey of Frida Kahlo, who is perhaps, Mexico's most beloved and best known painter. Kahlo, who was married twice to another legendary artist, Diego Rivera, suffered a severe physical injury which left her nearly incapacitated. Her painful physical condition and her tumultuous romance with Rivera became the subject of her many autobiographical paintings. Virtually unrecognized as an artist by the public until after her death in 1954, Kahlo has recently been acknowledged as a major figure in the art world . Her extraordinary ability to portray the joy and suffering she endured and the strength of her personality has attracted adoration from a diverse group of aficionados that include art collectors, historians and Hollywood producers and entertainers. In Frida, the music is inspired by traditional Mexican sources, including pre­ Columbian and folk music, as well as North American forms, and the score features operatic arias and ensembles. Renowned cabaret artist, Helen Schneider portrays Frida. Brooklyn born, Schneider starred in the movie, Eddie and the Cruisers, and her credits include three one-woman shows at New York's "Ballroom"; A Flapper's Folly , Schneider Sings Sondheim and Schneider Sings Kurt Weill. She has recorded for CBS Masterworks Records and Sony Music. Most recently she made her debut at Rainbow and Stars in her one-woman show, Helen Schneider Sings Harold Arlen ... A Woman's Prerogative. Hilary Blecher, who conceived, co-wrote and directed the production, is best known in this country for her production of the multi-award winning Poppie Nongena.