frankenstein
Created, Directed and Composed by Mat Sweeney, and adapted for the stage from Mary Shelley’s novel with collaboration from Sebastian Peters-Lazaro and Jesse Rasmussen
Premiered to a sold-out season at the Wallis
ELEVEN OVATION AWARDS- Best Play * Best Direction * Best Ensemble * Best Choreography * Best Scenic Design * Best Costume Design * Best Sound Design * Best Projection Design * Best Lighting Design * Best Featured Actor - Max Baumgarten*
"Ingenious...a hypnotic progression of sights, sounds, and ideas...a master-class of physical performance...a jaw-dropping combination of performance, stagecraft and technology that unites past and present in a spectral vision conveying the all-encompassing dread of a future mankind has created in its own image."
-LOS ANGELES BLADE, Jon Paul King
"Spectacular...a visual and aural treat that engages you from beginning to end...Mat Sweeney’s intricate concept and beautiful compositions are brilliantly realized...superb staging, design, music, and libretto...virtuosic performances...a satisfyingly cerebral and viscerally spellbinding piece of entertainment."
-ARTS BEAT LA, Pauline Adamek
“Frankenstein is a major work...visually and aurally breathtaking- and terrifying in equal measure...creepy and gorgeous...it’s a play but also a concert, and at moments an opera, at others a musical and a dance piece...Frankenstein will punch you in the gut.”
-KCRW, Anthony Byrnes
"Exquisite...Frankenstein is a mad and brilliant creation, weaving together dark and beautiful elements into one awe-inspiring and horrific mass...the artistry verges on scientific mastery"
-STAGE RAW, Vanessa Cate
"Four Larks has created a fascinating creature from the bones of Shelley’s novel...thrillingly realized in an inventive movement-theatre style...visually enthralling...Max Baumgarten is an extraordinary physical performer"
-LOS ANGELES TIMES, Charles McNulty
"Boldly different, fearless in its risk, and absolutely mesmerizing...It's frightening, it's inventive, it's creative...the cast is impeccable"
-LA THEATRE BITES, Patrick Chavis
"Illuminates the ethical questions about science and technology in a collage of creative storytelling...Max Baumgarten is mesmerizing, Joanna Lynn-Jacobs is exquisite"
-ON STAGE, Jill Weinlein
OVATION RECOMMENDED
STAGE RAW TOP TEN
LA THEATRE BITES BEST THEATRE OF 2020
Contact us for touring info
Premiere Production | the Wallis | February 12-March 7, 2020:
Creature: Max Baumgarten
Mary Shelley / Voice of Frankenstein & Creature: Claire Woolner
Victor Frankenstein: Kila Packett
Female Creature / Elizabeth Lavenza: Joanna Lynn-Jacobs
Henry Clerval: Craig Piaget
Sisters: Katherine Washington & Yvette Holzwarth
Brother / Captain Walton: Lukas Papenfusscline
Father: Philip Graulty
Specimens: Lu Coy, James VitzWong, & James Waterman
Direction: Mat Diafos Sweeney, Choreography: Sebastian Peters-Lazaro
Set/Prop: Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, Set Dressing: Regan Baumgarten
Costume: Lena Sands, Make-Up: Jesse Rasmussen & Pamela Bjorklund
Projection: Laskfar Vortok, Lighting: Brandon Baruch
Sound: Alex Hawthorne, Additional Music: Ellen Warkentine