Quantum Theatre

The Arabian Night

by Roland Schimmelpfennig
translated and directed by Melanie Dreyer
Spring Way Center

June 13–29, 2003

American premiere of a new play by German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig, translated and directed by Melanie Dreyer. Quantum staged it in slick, modern Spring Way Center, to approximate the multi-levels of a contemporary German apartment complex in which racial tensions between Germans and Turkish immigrants simmer.

Previews and Reviews

Stage Review: Quantum gets mystical in 'Arabian Night'
Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 20, 2003

The Wild Duck

by Henrik Ibsen; adapted by Robert Brustein
directed by Rich Keitel
The Carriage House, Western PA Family Center

August 8–24, 2003

Ibsen's classic drama in Robert Brustein's accessible translation. Directed by Richard Keitel, the play was staged in the 19th century carriage house of the Western PA Family Center in Highland Park. Design team Tony Ferrieri, Pei-Chi Su, C. Todd Brown, and Greg Granger created exact period detail both in and outside the carriage house.

Previews and Reviews

Stage Preview: Norwegian Gothic in 'The Wild Duck'
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 8, 2003

'The Wild Duck:' A claustrophobic stage and a 10-page prop list
Anna Rosenstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 8, 2003

Stage Review: Quantum tells a tale of many truths in 'Wild Duck'
Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 2003

Closer

by Patrick Marber
directed by Karla Boos
The Jackman Building

November 7–23, 2003

Regional premiere of this sexy, dark British play by Patrick Marber. Quantum staged in the parking garage complex of the Jackman Building, downtown, in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Previews and Reviews

Stage Review: Dark 'Closer' cuts deep
Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 12, 2003

Kafka’s Chimp

by John Metcalf; libretto by Mark Morris
music direction by Nizan Leibovich; stage direction by Karla Boos
The Pittsburgh Zoo

January 30–February 12, 2004

The American premiere of this opera, which was created in 1996 at the Banff Centre by Welsh composer John Metcalf and Canadian librettist Mark Morris. An international cast of five opera singers was led by Michael Douglas Jones and Richard Morris, under the musical direction of Nizan Leibovich and stage direction by Karla Boos. The Pittsburgh Zoo provided a location, and Tony Ferrieri created a scaffolding cage enclosing both action and audience, as a set. The company included dancers Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope, and an ensemble of eight instruments who moved throughout the space, playing largely from memory.

Previews and Reviews

Stage Preview: Quantum visits the zoo for the American premiere of 'Kafka's Chimp'
Anna Rosenstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 30, 2004

Dancers get loose with opera and show 'Kafka's Chimps' the ropes
Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 30, 2004

Stage Review: Kafka story evolves into poignant comic opera
Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 4, 2004