DESCRIPTION
The Off-Broadway hit that jumped to Broadway, this show fuses the ridiculous spectacle of Wagnerian Opera with the excitement of a live band and contemporary circus.
An Alice in Wonderland tour of a demented restaurant, this show has toured all over the United States and to Asia and Europe.
Created in 1996.
Off-Broadway Run at P.S. 122 in 1999.
Broadway Run at the Helen Hayes Theatre in 2000.
Reviews
“Ingenious, Hallucinatory, Hypnotic” - Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“Masterly Mayhem” - The Scotsman
“Surreal. Poetic.” - USA Today
“A blazingly unique spectacle! A flood of contraptions, visual jokes, and gloriously eccentric music that would stretch even Tim Burton’s imagination.” - Time Out New York
“Squonk inhabits its own reality warp, a place where squares and hipsters alike can seek refuge. To interpret or analyze this multimedia frolic would be like deconstructing a fun-house ride at a country fair…. when this critic looked at his notes the day after seeing Squonk he found a scrawled sentence he couldn’t remember writing: ‘I can’t believe I’m such a sucker for this!” - Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“EVEN IF YOU LIKE YOUR MUSICALS A LITTLE WEIRD, YOU STILL WON’T BE PREPARED FOR THE INSANE MAJESTY OF SQUONK” - SCOTLAND METRO
“IT WAS ABSURD, IT WAS SURREAL, IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC… IT WILL SCARE YOU, GIVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS AND LEAVE YOU WITH THAT STUNNED, “WOW DID I REALLY JUST SEE THAT?” EXPRESSION.” - SCOTLAND’S THREE WEEKS
“DIT MULTIMEDIAFEEST: EEN BIZAAR MIX VAN MUSIEK, MAGIC, POPPEN EN PROJECTILES”
- ANTWERPEN ZONE
“ABSURDLY INSPIRED!” - VILLAGE VOICE
“A BREATHLESS JOURNEY THROUGH AN EVER-CHANGING EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE, FROM HORROR TO HUMOR TO RAVISHING BEAUTY. THERE MAY BE CHEAPER WAYS TO BLOW YOUR MIND, BUT ALMOST ALL OF THEM ARE BAD FOR YOU!” - FINTAN O’TOOLE, NY DAILY NEWS
VIDEOS
Performances
World Music Theater Festival
Uijeongbu, South Korea
Cultuurcentrum Muze
Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Cultuurcentrum Brugge
Brugge, Belgium
Cultuurcentrum Kortrijk
Kortrijk, Belgium
Cultuurcentrum Ieger
Ieper, Belgium
Cultuurcentrum De Herbakker
Eeklo, Belgium
Cultuurcentrum Ter Vesten
Bevern, Belgium
Arenbergschouwburg
Antwerp, Belgium
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Edinburgh, Scotland
Helen Hayes Theatre – Broadway
New York, NY
P.S. 122 – Off-Broadway
New York, NY
Public Theatre – Joe’s Pub
New York, NY
Prince Music Theater
Philadelphia, PA
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
at the University of MD
College Park, MD
Lied Performing Arts Center
Lawrence, KS
Humboldt State University
Arcata, CA
The Performing. Arts Center
Purchase, NY
Three Rivers Arts Festival
Pittsburgh, PA
Huntington Summer Arts Festival
Huntington, NY
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Connecticut College
New London, CT
The McAninch Arts Center
Glen Ellyn, IL
The Music Hall
Portsmouth, NH
St. Bonaventure University
St. Bonaventure, NY
Richard L. Swig Arts Center
Hightstown, NJ
Madison Civic Center
Madison, WI
Byham Theatre
Pittsburgh, PA
ARTSwego at SUNY Oswego
Oswego, NY
Lincoln Center
Ft. Collins, CO
Miami University
Oxford, OH
Washington State University
Pullman, WA
John Drew Theater
East Hampton, NY
Delta State University
Delta, MS
Warhol Museum
Pittsburgh, PA
Kutztown University
Kutztown, PA
John Harms Center
Englewood, NJ
First Night Providence
Providence, RI
University of North Carolina
Asheville, NC
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington, PA
Mr. Small’s Theater
Pittsburgh, PA
Laurel Arts
Somerset, PA
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA
Touchstone Center for the Arts
Bethlehem, PA
Main Street Ft. Worth Festival
Ft. Worth, TX
Montgomery Cty. Comm. College
Blue Bell, PA
First Night Providence
Providence, RI
First Night Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Buffalo State College
Buffalo, NY
City Theatre
Pittsburgh, PA
CenterStage
Reston, VA
Ohio State University
Sidney, OH
Rare Gem Productions
Toronto, ONT
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, IN
Rock Valley College
Rockford, IL
First Night St. Louis
St. Louis, MO
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Brooklyn, NY
University of North Carolina
Wilmington, NC
Baltimore Theatre Project
Baltimore, MD
Byham Theater
Pittsburgh, PA
Photos
ARTISTS
THE ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
Steve O’Hearn & Jackie Dempsey
THE BAND
Double Bass
T. Weldon Anderson
Keyboard & Accordion
Jackie Dempsey
Vocals
Jana Losey
Acoustic & Electronic Percussion
Kevin Kornicki
Flute, Whistles, Wind Synth, Manybell Trumpet
Steve O’Hearn
THE TEAM
Music
Jackie Dempsey with Squonk
Design & Staging
Steve O’Hearn
Concept Development
Jackie Dempsey & Steve O’Hearn in collaboration with the original New York Squonk ensemble – T. Weldon Anderson, Jana Losey, Kevin Kornicki & Casi Pacilio
Stage Direction
Tom Diamond
Lighting Design
Tim Saternow
Lyrics
Jana Losey with Jackie Dempsey
Choreography
Michele de la Reza, Peter Kope, Lori Brungard
Video Design
Steve O’Hearn with Casi Pacilio & Nick Fox-Gieg
Assistant Musical Direction
Kevin Kornicki
Production Management
Casi Pacilio
Set & Prop Artists
Mark Barill, Norman Beck, James P. Buckley, Ben Carter, William H. Franko, Eileen Garrigan, Liz Hammond, Kevin Hogan, Matt Jackson, Sandy Jackson, Joel Mason, Yu-ling Mei, Andrea Paul, Gregory Puchalski, Elizabeth Przybylski, Matt Russell, Vincent M. Salvione, Sharky Schutte, Louis Taylor, John Teacher.
Broadway Producers
William Repicci, Michael Minichiello, Lauren Doll, Cookie Centracco, Chris Groenewold in association with Rare Gem Productions, Michael Stoller, Mastantuono/Palumbo and Eric Falkenstein
Steve and Jackie would like to acknowledge everyone involved in this production for their creative contributions, especially the Squonk musicians for adding their own individual flavor to the music, and the designers, builders and technicians who added detail and richness to the production.
