Elegies: A Song Cycle set for Keegan Theatre

The Keegan Theatre announced the cast of Elegies. A Song Cycle. This celebration of life and music is penned by Tony Award-winning composer William Finn (Falsettos. A New Brain. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee).

"Coming out of the pandemic," production director Christina A. Coakley remarks, "many of us experienced giant losses that we had to grieve privately. Our hope in producing this musical is to provide a public memorialization for all members of our community and to temporarily resurrect those impactful people or experiences. Elegies is reparative to the soul and a celebration of these extraordinary connections that make life worth living."

Music director Josh Cleveland adds that "Elegies is an ode to those we've lost. It dwells not, however, on their departure but on the ways they lived their lives and the connections they made along the way. The Elegies lyric I keep coming back to as a statement of the theme is: "the ending's not the story." What is the story, then? It's the thousand little things that compose a life - the facial expressions, the Thanksgiving dinners, the neighborly chats, the memories one leaves behind. This cast and creative team is committed to interpreting the songs of Elegies with this sense of sadness-inflected, celebration-of-life energy at the forefront."

Elegies is a rousing theatrical work with unforgettable songs that remembers the lives of both real and fictitious people. Finn's buddies, his mother, his pets, and the World Trade Center collapse victims - these people and their stories will charm and uplift your spirits in this magnificent masterpiece that celebrates the human experience while also acknowledging life's brevity.

In addition to director Christina A. Coakley, music director Josh Cleveland, and assistant director Chris Gillespie, the artistic team includes Jeremy Bennett (Projections Designer), Gabrielle Busch (Stage Manager), Shadia Hafiz (Costume and Hair Designer), Cindy Landrum Jacobs (Properties and Set Dressing Designer), Matthew J. Keenan (Resident Scenic Designer and Lead Carpenter), Elliot Lanes (Sound Engineer), Alberto Segarra (Lighting Designer), and Colin Smith (Dramaturg).

Elegies runs October 22 - November 20, 2022 with performances Thursday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and matinee performances at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. There is a free "Meet the Artists" Audience Talkback after the matinee performance on October 30, and a Young Professionals Happy Hour before the evening performance on November 18.