Director's Notes

Parents love their children - most of the time - and I'm no exception. But I don't have children the way most people have children. My offspring have dialogue where a body should be, choreography from where legs stem, stage directions for arms, and notes for a head.

It's a strange child in appearance, I'll admit, but when you go through labor to give birth to a baby, you love it, even if it's a bit odd. So I'm baptizing my child and you have all kindly gathered to witness the event. I hope that you will share in the joy I have of bringing a new life into the world. A young, inexperienced newborn, yearning to stand on its own, nursing on the teat of time. And hopefully, someday it will stand on its own four feet. But until then, Vincent's got a big, hunch-backed older brother to watch over him.

-Their Father

Summary

If you're the type of person who enjoys getting lost in an art gallery and figuring out what all the paintings mean on your own, then I suggest you stop reading now. If you hate being lost, and like to have a little art background before you enter a showroom, the summary comes highly recommended.

Act I

1912 - The German Sunderland Exposition in Cologne. Johanna Bonger van Gogh, a prominent art dealer and the widow of Theo van Gogh, runs into a young reporter who bears a striking resemblance to her late husband when they first met. This recognition sends Johanna into a flood of nostalgia and sense of loss.

1853 - Zundert, Holland, March 30. Vincent van Gogh, eldest son of Theodore van Gogh, a Protestant minister, is born. Vincent has a happy, normal childhood, and though he has four other siblings, he is particularly close to his younger brother Theo.

1869 - Vincent moves to The Hague, a thriving metropolitan city of Holland. There he apprentices at Goupil's, a prominent art dealership. Vincent keeps in close contact with Theo via correspondence.

1873 - Vincent is transferred to the London branch, where he secretly falls in love with his landlady's daughter, Eugenie Loyer. After a misunderstanding with Eugenie, Vincent leaves his apprenticeship with Goupil and joins the ministry. He is sent to the Borinage, the impoverished industrial coal fields of northern Holland to do his missionary work. While in the Borinage, Vincent comes into conflict with the senior pastor and is dismissed of his duties.

1880 - He returns to The Hague at the age of twenty-seven to begin his artistic career. It is at this time that the relationship between Vincent and Theo changes; Theo, who is starting to become a young, successful art dealer, starts to support Vincent in his artistic endeavors. It is Theo who introduces Vincent to Anton Mauve, a prominent local artist, which opens many unseen avenues for Vincent. Also at this time, Vincent meets the first love of his life, Christina Clasina Maria Hoornik, a prostitute. Theo, upon learning of this affair, convinces Vincent to leave Christina and move to Paris with him.

Act II

1886 - While in Paris, Vincent meets the great Impressionists of the era: Monet, Seurat, Cezanne, Pissaro and Gauguin, whom he befriends. Theo comes into contact with Johanna Bonger, who later becomes his wife. Vincent, not to be outdone by his younger brother, is seduced by a saloon owner, Agostina Segatori, and falls in love with the second love of his life: the drug absinthe. After experiencing an overdose, Vincent is admitted to the local hospital, where he is treated and also diagnosed with syphilis. Treatment proceeds (at the time there was no cure), and Vincent leaves Paris and goes south to Arles.

1888 - In Arles Vincent has a prolific outburst of creativity, producing most of his Sunflowers collection. It is also in Arles that he meets the prostitute Rachel, the third love of his life. His life in Arles is peaceful, and even his old friend Gauguin comes to visit him. However, the years of reckless living, the addiction to absinthe, the ravages of syphilis, and the onset of schizophrenia drive Vincent to mutilate his own ear after an argument with Gauguin . . . after which he gives the "prize" to Rachel.

Act III

1889 - After voluntarily interning himself at Saint-Rémy Hospital under the care of Dr. Felix Rey, Vincent moves north to Auvers. There he has a final burst of creativity . . . and finally succumbs to his insanity. On July 27, 1890, he shoots himself in the chest with a revolver. The wound is not initially fatal, and he lingers on for two more days before he dies. . . .

Cast

Vincent van Gogh	Scott Humphries
Theodore van Gogh	John Herrera
Johanna Bonger van Gogh	Sarah Barrett
(in order of appearance)
Eugenie Loyer	JoAnne Sweeny
Mrs. Ursula Loyer	Debra Einstein
Young Suitor	Rick Simon
Pastor Bonte	Kelson Vibber
Anton Mauve	Rick Simon
Christina Clasina Maria Hoornik: "Sien"	Ka-Ling Cheung
Agostina Segatori	Kelli LeMaster
Paul Gauguin	Kelson Vibber
Rachel	Shannon Smythe
Doctor Felix Rey	Rick Simon
	Ensemble Ka-Ling Cheung Debra Einstein Kelli LeMaster Julie C. Reyes Rick Simon JoAnne Sweeny Kelson Vibber

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Production Staff

Lyrics Arrangement	Sarah Barrett
Piano Accompanist	Gary Matsumoto
Production Manager	Nick Krestoff
Lighting	Matt Jacks
Costumes	Regan Norris
Program and Poster Design	Kelson Vibber
Set Construction	Michel Noverre, Matt Jacks, Nick Krestoff
Artistic Supervision
Head of Directing	Dr. Keith Fowler
Assistant to the Head of Directing	Andrea Peterson

Special Thanks

To Nick Krestoff & Edward Johnson, who have been my stalwart cohorts from the beginning in these musical endeavors, who'd "Raise me up when I would fall. . . ."

• Photos of the production
• A joke poster
• Van Gogh at the WebMuseum
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