Old House Under the Elms
Roberts Theatre, Grinnell College
September 5-7, 2002
Producer: China Zhengzhou Qu Opera Company
Director: Xie Kang     Music: Pan Yongchang
Designer: Zhang Wei     Script: Meng Hua
Consulting Director: Sandy Moffett
 

Simeon Cabot (Ke Hu) - Yang Weilong Peter Cabot (Ke Bao) - Liu Junqin Eben Cabot (Ke Long) - Wang Haisheng Ephraim Cabot (Ke Tai) - Zhang Shengke Abbie Putnam (Aibi) - Huang Chunhua Sheriff - Liu Zixue

 

The Zhengzhou Qu Opera Company Production

In February of 2001, Sandy Moffett, Consulting Director at the Grinnell College Department of Theatre, received an email from his friend and fellow O'Neill scholar from Nanjing University, Liu Haiping, telling him that a provincial opera company in central China was producing an adaptation of O'Neill's play, Desire Under the Elms, in the style of the Chu Opera, one of the several styles of classical opera in China. Liu Haiping wrote that the company was interested in some critical input on their work and asked Moffett if he would be interested in traveling to Zhengzhou in Henan Province to see a performance. Moffett made two trips to Zhengzhou during the spring and summer of 2001, first to see the production, and then to work with the company in rehearsal with a possible trip to the U.S. in mind.

Plans were initially made for the company to travel to Grinnell during the first week in October, 2001. The events of September 11th forced the postponement of those plans. However, the Zhengzhou Chu Opera Company did indeed perform "Old House Under the Elms" on the Grinnell campus in September of 2002.
 

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Theatre Program