Salamander F's Someone's Life

from FML...

Went to watch Salamander Leviathan, Sat in the very front seat where the actors are only 2 ft away from you. Embarrassedly cried my eyes out as the actor awkwardly seemed to stare at me…T__T

"Bears" - Live at Tin Can Alehouse

The Salamanders took it to the streets on Sunday, April 17th following opening weekend. Cast, crew, friends, and fans met for drinks/dancing at San Diego's Tin Can Alehouse. The show was booked in an effort to bring SL's actors onto a different kind of stage and raise public awareness/interest in the Baldwin New Play Festival.

Original Cast and Crew

*from Manuel Rotenburg's pre-show snapshot album

Charlene Baldridge's Review

From Charlene and Brenda in the Blogosphere:

Krista Knight’s Salamander Leviathan (directed by Anthony Luciano)

is a musical fantasy with songs...or is this some kind of concert with a play goin’ on? At any rate, the piece is this year’s winner of the KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Fund) Musical Theatre Award.

Guitarist Barry Brinegar is credited with song writing and there are indeed some clever lyrics...Music director Brendan Nguyen is on keyboards, and Stuart Field on drums. Halei Parker’s costumes, especially for the women, are a delight throughout.

Salamander Leviathan (appealing Zachary Martens) is the wealthiest man in Wisconsin. His wealth is in the trees on his immense property. But like Faust, Salamander is lonely and wants a wife and family. No sooner said than the black leather-clad Devil (Maurice Williams) appears, red horns and all. The Devil promises Salamander a wife and children in exchange for you-know-what, but this Devil turns out to be the good guy. After all, he was a fallen angel, remember?

Zachary Martens photo by Jim Carmody

Anyway, along comes Gracie (lovely Sarah Halford), the potential mother and wife. She has a past (clue: she looks a bit like Amanda Blake as Kitty in Gunsmoke but she’s not that good-hearted). Gracie she wields a vial of poison, a la the traveling troupe in Hamlet enacting The Murder of Gonzago. This poison only gradually incapacitates Salamander, who finally gets his wish. Jenni Putney and Dan Morin, as Gracie’s evil twin and the villain, play other characters in the story, which is imaginative and funny.

Photos by Manuel Rotenberg

Click here for Rotenberg's complete album.

Meme

Write-up in The Guardian

baldwin new play festival

Anthony Luciano, the director of the Krista Knight-penned “Salamander Leviathan,” a self-described “casio-pop” style musical about what happens when an optimistic man is confronted with the devil, believes the play will have a life after the Baldwins.

“None of us think this is going to be the last time we do this play together,” he said. “It’s cool to be part of something that you think will move forward.”

“Salamander Leviathan” is like the raucous brother of the bunch. The play is a rock ‘n’ roll musical, with tunes written by Arkansas native Barry Brinegar.

The composer, who also leads the band David’s Pegasus, penned music that director Luciano believes is “loud, fun and really earnest.”

It’s the first musical Luciano has directed, though music has still found a place in his previous work. (A veteran of Shakespearean theatre, the director sneaked live music into his production of “The Tempest.”)

Even though the play sports some familiar traits — the delta-blues score and sell-your-soul-to-the-devil narrative — Luciano says that it also reflects the state of the world today (all with a “super hot” cast).

“The play proposes a question that is really pertinent right now. It feels like the world is a little strange… it feels as if any sort of positive change is impossible,” Luciano said. “I think the play is really surprising because it remains hopeful. But it’s not in any way adolescent or idealistic. It recognizes that change is still possible but it recognizes that it comes at a great cost.”

Salamander Leviathan - Live Songs

Here's all of the songs (except interludes/instrumentals) from Salamander Leviathan, in order of appearance, recorded live at the Baldwin New Place Festival at UCSD's Forum Theatre. These tracks are performed by the original cast, recorded by SL's sound designer Melanie Chen.

Salamander Leviathan Wins KCACTF Musical Theatre Award

The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival has given Krista Knight's play, Salamander Leviathan, this year's award for musical theatre. Here's a full list of all award categories and nominees.

We Listen For You - Salamander Article

Art/music blog We Listen For You had some nice things to say about SL. Click here for the full article.

"The Pegasus teamed up with fantastic playwright Krista Knight for Salamander Levithan at the Baldwin New Play Festival at UCSD..."

Thanks for the support, Hank!

Salamander Leviathan Trailer