On Saturday, Sept. 21, Southern Utah University will be hosting the first ever reading of an original musical based on the unfinished Mark Twain novel “The Mysterious Stranger.” The reading, directed by SUU professor Lisa Quoresimo and starring SUU students, will take place at 7 p.m. in the Thorley Recital Hall. It is a collaboration between Quoresimo’s Catalyst: a Theatre Think Tank and San Francisco Youth Theatre.
In addition to directing the show, Quoresimo served as the show’s dramaturg. She has been working closely with playwright Cliff Mayotte and composer Emily Klion for the past year to create the show. Mayotte and Klion are both traveling from San Francisco to Cedar City to attend the reading.
“I have worked both with Cliff and with Emily before, so I know that they do high quality work. I love working with both of them, and I love Mark Twain,” said Quoresimo. “Just knowing that this had not been done before made me think it was a really interesting project.”
“The Mysterious Stranger” follows a group of three boys, Téo, Nikolaus and Seppi, in Eseldorf, Austria as they befriend the titular stranger and learn formative life lessons.
“At its core, it’s about love. It’s about finding it, it’s about losing it. I think it’s a lot about what to do with that love once the person you have is gone,” said Shay Wilkey, a student who plays Lisa Brandt in the reading. “[It’s about] morals in your life and what to do when those things are challenged and when those things change.”
While performances at Southern Utah University are typically more full-scale, “Mysterious Stranger” will be a staged reading, with the performers behind their music stands.
“[It is] very unconventional for most theatrical performances, but is one of my most favorite because to me it feels the most alive, it feels the most community involved,” said Oliver Estrada-Brown, who plays Traum.
Since this is the first reading of the show, it has gone through many changes. Some of these changes, such as new scenes and song keys, come from the creative team, while some come directly from the student performers.
“They ask us a lot, ‘what does your character need that we don’t have?’ Or, ‘what do they not need that we have an excess of?’ And then they change it,” said Wilkey.
According to students such as Wilkey, these changes are also due to the collaborative atmosphere brought to the rehearsal room by Quoresimo.
“It’s been really enjoyable exploring and being able to have so much input on where the story is going and how we’ve reached the climaxes that we need,” said Zac Barnaby, who portrays Nikolaus in the reading.
The students that appear in the show were all asked to be in the reading by Quoresimo, based upon availability and Quoresimo’s knowledge of their work ethics.
“We’ve found a lot of humor in the show that I didn’t see right away on the page, and that’s because of what they’re bringing to the process,” said Quoresimo.
Quoresimo’s students have all gained valuable industry experience while working on the reading, which was a motivating factor for her.
“If you’re in the industry, a lot of your career is working on new works,” said Quoresimo. “I love giving them the opportunity to be able to do this.”
The staged reading is free to attend, offering the SUU community the opportunity to have an accessible and unique experience.
“You’re seeing something that’s never been done before, you will never experience what we put on that stage ever again in your life…” said Mary Sue Anderson, who in addition to playing the role of Winnifred, was given the opportunity to create a puppet for the reading. “…It’s something that we’ll never see again or feel again, but we get to hand off that torch to other people.”
Author: Tessa Cheshire
Photographer: Tessa Cheshire
arts@suunews.net