"Nine" the Musical Opens at AFD April 10

AFD has been filled with twenty gorgeous women singing and dancing their way around one gorgeous man (and three charming boys) as they bring the Tony-award musical, Nine, to life. After a slow start due to the unrelenting winter and its subsequent parking bans and rehearsal cancellations, the spring thaw has brought an excellent cast of singers together under the musical direction of Mario Cruz and stage direction and choreography of Arlington resident Jennifer Condon.

Other Arlington residents include Benjamin Pierce, a fifth grader at the Bishop School. Ten-year-old Ben has been in numerous productions with Menotomy Musicals, but this is his community theater debut, on the stage for the first time with adults. His parents, Judson and Laura Pierce are no strangers to the stage themselves. Laura was in plays through high school and college, while Judson has appeared on the AFD stage in Laramie Project, Moonlight and Magnolias and To Kill a Mockingbird, to name a few. Three of the women in the show are also Arlington residents: Emily Earle and Susan Rubin play Italians (“Maria” and “Francesca,”) while Emily Gauthier plays Olga Von Strum, a German. Emily Earle was last seen on the AFD stage in Carousel, while the others are new to Arlington Friends of the Drama.

The plot of Nine revolves around a famous film director suffering from a creative block and a mid-life crisis, along with personal difficulties with his wife, mistress, the actress who serves as his muse, and his female producer. A musical adaptation of the Federico Fellini film 8 ½, this theater piece tells the story of celebrated director Guido Contini, pursued by hordes of beautiful women all clamoring to be loved by him and him alone, while he struggles to come up a script for his next movie. Combining elements of opera, concert, storytelling and theater into a mixture of straightforward narrative, memory and dreams, in many ways this piece defies categorization, yet in the end it all fits together in an award-winning show. Favorite tunes include “A Call from the Vatican” and “Be Italian.”

Production dates April 10-12, 17-19 and 24-26, performances are Friday and Saturday at 8PM and Sundays at 4PM. Tickets are $25. Order your tickets online at www.afdtheatre.org or call the box office at 781 646 5922. All performances are held at AFD Theatre, 22 Academy Street (behind Town Hall and across from the Senior Center). The theater is wheelchair accessible and assisted listening devices are available.

Plus:

FREE dress rehearsal for seniors and students on Thursday April 9th at 7:30pm

FREE opening night champagne reception after the show on Friday April 10th

FREE talk-back with the cast following the Sunday April 12th performance.