AGING MAGICIAN

A new music-theatre work, Aging Magician is a composite of sonic and visual elements that paints an allegory on time, youth, and the peculiar magic of ordinary life, and, perhaps, the ordinary magic of a peculiar life.

Accompanied by a string quartet and a choir of young people, Aging Magician moves us along with Harold from the surgical repair of a timepiece to the magic show of time itself, lives and deaths, appearances and disappearances. The man’s vibrant last adventure is brought to life by a team of multidisciplinary artists who combine music, theatre, puppetry, instrument making, and scenic design to create an enduring work for the stage.

This work features vocalist Rinde Eckert, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Attacca String Quartet, and original musical instrumental by Mark Stewart.

Aging Magician was commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, VisionIntoArt, the Walker Art Center, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Developed with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, OPERA America Repertoire Development program, supported by The Opera Fund, the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and National Theater Project with lead funding from The Mellon Foundation.

Residency support from Mass MoCA, the Park Avenue Armory, the PROTOTYPE Festival, and The Watermill Center Artist Residency Program. Additional performances have included Balboa Theater presented by San Diego Opera.

Poignant, entrancing...the rich artistic elements of “Aging Magician” come together powerfully.
The New York Times
New York retains a remarkable cadre of composers... but chief among these is the singular figure of Paola Prestini.
Financial Times
...he finds vivifying parallels between the theological quest of one man and the theatrical quest to capture and illuminate life." (Praise for Rinde Eckert)
The New York Times
Julian Crouch is a mastermind...
FringeArts

Creative Team

CO-CREATED BY — PAOLA PRESTINI, RINDE ECKERT & JULIAN CROUCH
COMPOSER — PAOLA PRESTINI
WRITER & PERFORMER — RINDE ECKERT
DIRECTOR & SCENIC DESIGN — JULIAN CROUCH
CONDUCTOR — DIANNE BERKUN-MENAKER
SCENIC & COSTUME DESIGN — AMY RUBIN
VIDEO & LIGHTING DESIGN — JOSHUA HIGGASON
INSTRUMENTS MADE BY — MARK STEWART
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR — KATE HOPKINS
FEATURING — BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS & ATTACCA QUARTET