Expect to hear some Bluegrass in your German classic next week. It’s one of a few changes in a southern spin on “Woyzeck,” Ghostbird Theatre Company’s latest production.
You can also expect to see some familiar faces. The play will be directed by Professor Barry Cavin and will star several FGCU students.
Written by Georg Buchner and left unfinished upon his death, “Woyzeck” has been performed and adapted in a variety of ways since 1913.
This will be Cavin’s second time directing “Woyzeck.” His first, done for the TheatreLab in 2007, was mostly straightforward.
He doesn’t like to repeat past work, but he said, “some shows offer multiple opportunities at ways of viewing the play.”
The wrap-around for the story will follow a group of buskers from an isolated valley in the Appalachian Mountains as they travel from town to town, performing a play. In keeping with the show’s conceit, all of the dialogue will be done with a southern accent.
“It seems kind of funny, but when you see the play, it fits,” said Cavin. “With the society that exists inside this play, having it somewhere in the mountains, cut off from the rest of the world, is a nice place to let it fester.”
Cavin is also incorporating a lot of music into the production. Original music and reworked German folk songs will be presented as Country and Bluegrass tunes. With 25 scenes, the play can sometimes feel a bit fragmented. Beyond contributing to the southern tone of the show, Cavin said that the band “is going to serve as the glue that holds all of it together.”
Cast
Brittany Albury
Sarah Blinkhorn
Brittney Brady
Jim Brock
Jackie Degraaff
Becca Goldberg
Katelyn Gravel
Steph Langnas
Katherine Myers
Hanny Zuniga
 
Original Music
Philip Heubeck
Chris Ludvigsen
Performed By
Pearlie Mae and the Crawdaddy Boys.
If You Go
Where: Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center
When: October 16-18 & October 20
Price: $10