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Columbia City Ballet Brings Frankenstein
Back to Life at the Koger Center
Columbia City Ballet has resurrected its original production of Frankenstein for a four-performance run at the Koger Center, October 26 through 28.
Frankenstein premiered at the Koger Center to rave reviews from critics and audiences in 2000. The production was Executive & Artistic Director William Starrett’s tenth original ballet for the Company.
“I was inspired to bring Frankenstein back because of the unique talent I found in Tommy Blue and the fact that it is 75th anniversary of the movie,” says Starrett of one of the Company’s new dancers, who measures in just shy of 7 feet tall. “It’s always thrilling to bring a ballet back to the stage; I’ve had to time to step away from it, look at it from different angles. The ballet evolves and strengthens, and it’s rewarding to share that with an audience.”
Columbia City Ballet’s danced version stays true to Mary Shelley’s novel, published in 1818. Frankenstein lends itself very well to live performance; the first stage version came less than five years after the novel was published, and the first film version was created in 1910. These performances of Frankenstein coincide with the 75th anniversary of the 1931 classic film version starring Boris Karloff.
Just as in the movie, the great special effects scene is the re-animation of the Monster. In the ballet production, the scene includes period lab equipment and a wall of lab experiments onstage, as well as on-stage explosions and fireworks during the reanimation. Technical Director Barry Sparks, who created the lighting and technical aspects for the original Frankenstein production in 2000, says that working with pyrotechnics and lab equipment is exhilarating for him and for the audience.
“Normally, my job is lighting a scene in a subtle way that’s not distracting to the action,” says Sparks. “In this instance, I get to provide the action!”
Frankenstein also utilizes the talents of one of the largest groups of dancers in Company history: 42 dancers from around the world. “We have an incredible pool of talent in the Company this year,” says Starrett. That pool includes returning Premier Danseur Peter Kozak, in the title role of Dr. Victor von Frankenstein, who originated the role in 2000. Alternating the role of Elizabeth Lavenza, Dr. Frankenstein’s fiancé, are Ballerina Victoria Cholkas and Principal Dancer Regina Willoughby. Dancer Tommy Blue will portray the Monster, and character artist Stann Gwynn will play the role of Baron von Frankenstein, Victor’s father. Rounding out the cast are Columbia City Ballet favorites Principal Dancer Jose Serrano, Principal Dancer Paunika Jones and Soloist Kathryn Smoak.
The score for the production is partially taken from the 18th century ballet Sylvia by Leo Delibes, one of the most respected ballet composers, and the remainder of the score was composed by Thomas Semanski. Frankenstein is Semanski’s fourth composition for Columbia City Ballet. His first was Dracula, which won an ASCAP popular music award and rave reviews from Dance Magazine.
Frankenstein is presented by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Time Warner Cable and The State newspaper are the season sponsors. Performance times are:
Thursday, October 26 at 7:30 pm
Friday, October 27 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 28 at 5 pm and 8:30 pm
Ticket prices range from $12 to $42. For tickets, call (803) 251-2222 or visit www.capitoltickets.com. Season memberships are available – for more information, call (803) 799-7605 or visit www.columbiacityballet.com.
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