THE LISBON TRAVIATA BY TERRANCE MCNALLY August 19 - September 12 2004 Call 341-2757 for tickets There will not be a performance on Thursday August 26th

Purchase Tickets Reviews Cast/Crew “...McNally is a real writer with a flair for crackling dialogue.” —Variety. “ ...a defiant attempt to confront demons.”—NY Times. “...McNally is a lovely writer, his dialogue crackles crisply...”—NY Post.

SNAP! Productions presents The Lisbon Traviata, a play by Terrence McNally.An incisive play that veers from high comedy to stark tragedy as it follows the troubled course of a relationship—using an obsession with grand opera as a metaphor to underscore the larger-than-life passions that bring the play to its explosive conclusion.

Don Nguyen directs this compelling drama that features a cast that includes Michal Simpson, Jerry Evert, Brian Margritz and Nick Zadina.

SNAP! Productions is pleased to bring you The Lisbon Triviata, August 19 - September 12, 2004 at 3225 California Street. Curtain times are 8:00 pm, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 6:00 pm on Sundays. The theater opens a half hour before curtain time. Reservations may be made by calling 402-341-2757 or Purchase Tickets Now. Tickets are $15.00, general admission; $10.00, students, senior citizens, and TAG members.

A successful Off-Broadway production, this incisive, brilliantly executed play veers from high comedy to stark tragedy as it follows the troubled course of a homosexual relationship--using an obsession with grand opera as a metaphor to underscore the larger-than-life passions which bring the play to its explosive conclusion. "...McNally is a real writer with a flair for crackling dialogue." --Variety. "...a defiant attempt to confront demons." --NY Times. "...McNally is a lovely writer, his dialogue crackles crisply..." --NY Post.

THE STORY: The first act is set in the fussily ornate apartment of Mendy, a ferociously dedicated opera buff who begs and cajoles his friend Stephen to let him borrow his copy of the pirated Maria Callas recording of La Traviata made during a performance in Lisbon, Portugal. Stephen, a blocked playwright whose detailed knowledge of opera exceeds even Mendy's, delights in showing off his expertise while dodging his friend's entreaties, but beneath their often hilarious banter it is evident that both men are deeply unhappy--Mendy because of his loneliness, and Stephen because he is aware that his longtime roommate (whom he loves deeply) is having an affair with someone else. Both it seems, are trapped within opera, with its grand but contrived passions becoming a neurotic substitute for real life. But in the second act, which takes place in Stephen's starkly modern apartment, reality arrives with stunning force as Stephen confronts his roommate, Mike, and tries to salvage their relationship. Sensing his failure, Stephen turns on Mike and his new lover, Paul, driving the latter away and taunting Mike so venomously that all hope of a reconciliation is soon shattered. And, in the end, it is the operatic, the grandly tragic, which assumes control again as Stephen, unable to accept life and reality on their own terms, stabs his errant lover--tortured by his continuing lack of creative fulfillment and by the compelling need to preserve the illusion of love and fidelity to which he has clung so desperately.

CAST & CREW

Contacts:
Liz Heim, SNAP! President (402) 552-9326
Michal Simpson, SNAP! Artistic Director (402) 346-1773
Todd Brooks, SNAP! Publicity Director/President Elect (402) 968-5543 or Brooks1965@aol.com
Don Nguyen, Director (402) 391-2414 or nguyen.don@cox.net
Production Dates: August 19 - September 12, 2004
Venue: 3225 California Street
Curtain Times: Thurs., Fri., Sat. – 8:00 pm and Sun. – 6:00 pm
Reservations: 402.341.2757 or www.snapproductions.com
Photos: Available upon request.
Production Staff:
Director-Don Nguyen
Props-Rhonda Hall
Costumes-Nancy Ross
Publicity-Todd Brooks
Advertising Design-Mark Cramer
Mission: SNAP! Productions is a nonprofit theatre organization with the mission to provide Educational
and Humanistic Support of AIDS-Related Programs and to Promote Understanding and
Acceptance of All Members of the Community Through Artistic Expression.