Alumnus Brings Theater Production “Nevermore” to Stonehill
February 01, 2010
Audiences can take a dark and mysterious journey into the life of Edgar Allan Poe when alumnus Joseph DeMita '05 brings his musical production Nevermore to Stonehill's Hemingway Theatre on Saturday, February 13 at 3 and 7:30 p.m.
Using Poe's poetry and short stories as its base and his shifting obsession with the women in his life as its catalyst, Nevermore breathes new life into Poe's work and explores a twisted true-life tale that is as bizarre as his classic stories of the macabre.
The play was the featured production of DeMita's theater company, The F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Co., this past November. The Boston Theatre Review called DeMita's direction in Nevermore "brilliant."
"With the perfect combination of stylized movement, natural scene work, unsettling dream sequence, and play with shadow and light, the audience is never quite sure what to expect; it's just on the edge of truly frightening without a touch of gore or violence."
"Edgar Allan Poe has always been one of my favorite writers," says DeMita. "When we were offered the rights to the New England Premiere of this musical, I jumped at the chance. Poe's beautiful words and [music writer Matt Conner's] haunting melodies work perfectly together to create an evening of interesting, artistic, and wonderful theater."
DeMita founded F.U.D.G.E. (Friends United Developing Genuine Entertainment) with two of his friends during his freshman year at Stonehill in 2002.
The three selected Merrily We Roll Along, Steven Sondheim's critically acclaimed musical about three friends who believe they can do anything they can dream of, as the first official F.U.D.G.E. production. Now in its eighth year, F.U.D.G.E. has 24 productions under its belt, with its latest, Half- Married, running January 29- February 6.
DeMita's mission through F.U.D.G.E., which is located in Wakefield, MA, is "to provide quality, affordable theatre productions to the people in the greater Boston area, cultivate an appreciation for and understanding of the arts, and provide a learning opportunity for those interested in a genuine theatre experience."
DeMita graduated from Stonehill in 2005 with a degree in psychology. His other directing credits include Jake's Women (Stonehill Theatre Company), Company (Winthrop Playmakers), and the F.U.D.G.E. productions of Once On This Island, Working, Rumors, Urinetown, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams, I Sing!, The House of Blue Leaves, and Into the Woods.
DeMita has also served as the directing intern to Rob Ruggiero, a 1983 Stonehill graduate, at TheatreWorks in Hartford, CT. In the Boston area, he served as the assistant director to Adam Zahler on the Lyric Stage's production of Talley's Folly.
Aside from serving as president of F.U.D.G.E., DeMita also works as a teacher and coordinator for the Runkle Extended Day program in Brookline.
Tickets for Nevermore are free to the Stonehill Community with I.D. Tickets for the general public are $5.00 and will be available at the door or via www.fudgetheatre.com.
Contact
For more information, contact Communications and Media Relations at 508-565-1321.