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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Susan Galardi
631-283-2118 x122
galardis@parrishart.org
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World Premiere of Mixed-Media Theatrical Adaptation of
Kurt Vonnegut’s Novel, Galápagos, at the Parrish, July 21- 25
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Created by Tucker Marder and Christian Scheider, the production comprises 26
professional actors featuring Bob Balaban, original live underscoring, and a 2-story set.
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Galápagos poster courtesy Tucker Marder and Christian Scheider
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WATER MILL, NY 6/26/2014 – The Parrish Art Museum will present a world premiere theatrical event
based on Kurt Vonnegut’s 1985 masterwork, Galápagos, created by Tucker Marder and Christian
Scheider. The performances of Galápagos at the Parrish’s Lichtenstein Theater are scheduled for
Monday, July 21, Wednesday, July 23, and Thursday, July 24 at 6pm; Friday, July 25 at 4pm. Admission is
$20 for general public; $10 for Parrish Members and students, and includes Museum admission.
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Endorsed by the Kurt Vonnegut Estate, the multi-media production features 26 performers including
Academy Award nominee Bob Balaban; live orchestral underscoring composed and conducted by Forrest
Gray featuring Max Feldschuh on vibraphone and Ken Sacks on mbira; elaborate animal costumes by
Isla Hansen; a dynamic two-story scenic design by Shelby Jackson; experimental projections by
James Bayard; choreography by Matt Davies; and satirical physical comedy under the direction of Marder
and Scheider. Additional principal cast for the production include Chloe Dirksen, Nicholas Gregory,
Terrance Fiore, Spencer Carlson, Madeline Wise, Margy Love, Catlin Morris, and Christian Scheider.
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Galápagos is the first fully staged theatrical production presented by the Parrish Art Museum in the 200seat Lichtenstein Theater. The program reflects the Parrish, rooted in the artistic life of the East End, and
its mission to illuminate the creative process and provide opportunities for artists of all genres to engage
with one another and the community. Vonnegut had close ties with the East End, living and working in
Sagaponack during the 1960s and 70s. Both Scheider and Marder (as well as much of the cast and
production team) are East End natives.
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Galápagos, Kurt Vonnegut’s eleventh novel, published in 1985, was influenced by current events of the
time, including the global financial crisis of the 1980s. The protagonist, Mary Hupburn (played by Dirksen)
is a beloved high school teacher from Ilium, New York who plans to embark on the “Nature Cruise of the
Century” from Ecuador. With the onset of yet another crisis, a disease that renders all humans infertile,
Hupburn sets off aboard the ship, Bahia de Darwin, with a group of passengers—all of whom become
marooned among the flora and fauna of the Galápagos archipelago. The only fertile humans remaining,
they set off the evolution of a new species during the next million years.
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“Kurt Vonnegut always writes on grand themes—in this case, humanity's place in evolutionary time,” said
Marder and Scheider. “In adapting his novel, we felt it was worth considering the questions: What would
the world be like without the ‘sophistication,’ ‘ingenuity,’ and ‘progress’ of the human brain? Do we need to
evolve into a simpler species to get ourselves out of the economic and ecological crises we find ourselves
in? Maybe so.”
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Galápagos is the second theatrical adaptation by Marder and Scheider, following their sold-out original
production of Ray Bradbury’s The Murderer last summer at Sag Harbor’s Old Whalers’ Church. “Tucker
Marder and Christian Scheider are a creative and energetic team, aptly suited for an adaptation of such
an imaginative, humorous, and ‘out there’ narrative as Kurt Vonnegut’s Galápagos,” said Parrish Curator
of Special Projects Andrea Grover. “The two young directors are a force of nature and have the
entrepreneurial attitude that is a hallmark of their generation.”
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Artist, curator, and director Tucker Marder was selected for the 2012 Watermill Center Summer
Residency and his piece Avatar was presented at the Center’s Big Bang Benefit. He was chosen by artist
juror Robert Wilson to participate in the Parrish Art Museum’s 2013 Artists Choose Artists exhibition, and
curated the show BAD JOKES: Satire and Spectacle at The Silas Marder Gallery. Marder created a large
scale, outdoor puppet show for The Nature Conservancy’s Beaches and Bays Gala in 2012, and last May,
collaborated with Dan Allende on For the Birds, a live bird abstract performance that premiered at the
National Aviary in Pittsburgh. Marder is currently a graduate student in the College of Fine Arts at
Carnegie Mellon University.
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Christian Scheider studied theater and received a B.A. in Philosophy from Bard College. Recently,
Scheider appeared in the film Words & Pictures, directed by Fred Schepisi, that premiered at the 2013
Toronto International Film Festival and recently had its national theatrical release. Recent theater credits
include RED at Guild Hall in East Hampton, and Eccentricities of A Nightingale by Tennessee Williams,
and Passion Play by Sarah Ruhl at Bard. Scheider produced, directed and performed in 8, a
dramatization of the Proposition 8 trials in California written by Academy-Award winning screenwriter
Dustin Lance Black. Scheider recently performed as Ken in John Logan’s “RED,” opposite Victor Slazack
as Mark Rothko.
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Galápagos Production Team
Writers/Producers/Directors: Tucker Marder and Christian Scheider
Original Music: Forrest Gray
Choreography: Matt Davis
Scenic Design: Shelby Jackson
Property Master: Evan Desmond Yee
Costume Design: Isla Hansen
Video Design: James Bayard
Puppet Design: Tucker Marder
Lighting Design: Ryan Anderson
Sound Design: Clark Hamilton
Production Stage Manager: Maddy Hykes
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Lead Cast
Mary Hepburn/Booby: Chloe Dirksen
Roy Hepburn/James Wait/Booby: Nick Gregory
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Principle Cast
Mandarax: Bob Balaban
Prokaryote: Terrance Fiore
Siegfried: Spencer Carlson
Adolf: Madeline Wise
Selina: Margy Love
Hisako: Yuka Silvera
Akiko: Catlin Morris
Prince Richard: Christian Scheider
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Supporting Cast
Charles Darwin: Sawyer Avery
Johnson: Lydia Hodges
Tibbits Jr.: Travis Loschen
Head Konka Bono: Jessica Mortellaro
Sink: Johannes Golden
Lira: Christopher Golden
Lor: Oskar Golden
Iguana: Sylvia Channing
Seal Pup/Modern Seal: Nina Channing
Finch: Sophie the Dog
Penguin: Kane Brown
Frigate Bird: Vincent Cinque
Cormorant: Ana Ferraz
Tortoise: Hudson Galardi-Troy
Albatross: Daniel Allende
Hammerhead: Gigi Lama & Lola Lama
Ballet Lobster: Matty Davis
Salsa Lobster: Sarita Kiembock
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Orchestral Section
Vibraphone: Max Feldschuh
Mbira: Kenneth Sacks
Cello: Robert Davies
Saxophone: Miles Kozatch
Percussion: Ian Holden
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The Museum's programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the
support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the property taxpayers from
the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.
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About the Parrish Art Museum
The Parrish Art Museum is the oldest cultural institution on the East End of Long Island, uniquely situated
within one of the most concentrated creative communities in the United States. The Parrish is dedicated
to the collection, preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of art from the nineteenth century to the
present, with a particular focus on honoring the rich creative legacy of the East End, celebrating the
region’s enduring heritage as a vibrant art colony, telling the story of our area, our “sense of place,” and
its national—even global—impact on the world of art. The Parrish is committed to educational outreach, to
serving as a dynamic cultural resource for its diverse community, and to celebrating artistic innovation for
generations to come.
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