Charlottesville, VA – Live Arts Theater’s Voyages Season 24/25 soars into summer with a teen show double-header: the musical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, and William Shakespeare’s Tragedy CORIOLANUS. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, directed by Ti Ames, with music direction by Abby Smith and choreography by Liberty DeLeon, will have seven performances, and CORIOLANUS, directed by Daniel Kunkel, will have five performances. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and CORIOLANUS are sponsored by Lauren Ryan and Silas Byrne. The two plays run in rotating repertory in the Gibson Theater, July 10 through July 26, 2025, at Live Arts Theater, 123 E. Water Street, in Charlottesville. Tickets are $20 for adults and $16 for students and senior citizens and are available through the Box Office at boxoffice@livearts.org, by phone at 434-977-4177 x123, or online at livearts.org/tix. Special double-show ticket package also available.
Live Arts will host three special events for these two shows: opening night reception following the CORIOLANUS performance on Friday, Friday, July 11, 2025; and post-show audience talk-backs on Thursday, July 24 (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) and Friday, July 25 (CORIOLANUS). (7:30pm curtain). Audiences are welcome to enjoy beverages and concessions one hour prior to the performance and at intermission.
Of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN:
“The Broadway Musical at its dizziest, glitziest and funniest! … divine silliness and a touch of genius. … “– New York Post
Of CORIOLANUS:
“ ‘Coriolanus’ takes us into the mind of a warrior. He is an antihero and hero merged into one.” – Ashland News
The plays open with the following framing device:
“Welcome to Live Arts High School in Charlottesville County, VA. It’s no surprise that, like many other schools, the theater budget has been slashed yet again, only this time the drama club director FINALLY quit. Can one quirky cast and crew pull off two completely different productions—YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and CORIOLANUS?!”
That’s the premise and backstory to this quirky, unconventional and fun pairing for Live Arts Summer Teen production. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Director Ti Ames says, “By weaving the two productions into an offstage storyline where each actor essentially plays three roles, we invite audiences to delight in the silliness of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, the weight and grit of CORIOLANUS, and the intricate world we’ve created to house them both.” The young actors in these two theater classics inhabit three characters – not only their two distinct roles in a gloriously silly musical and in a Shakespearean tragedy, but also a third persona, as a member of the hard-scrabble student drama club trying to put it all together.
“The Live Arts Education Team is very excited to be tackling two difficult but rewarding shows with the same cast and production team. Finding the ways these stories interact and weave between and around each other is immensely rewarding, “ says Live Arts Education Director Kunkel. “This promises to be a fresh and at times unexpected look at two classic works of theatre and how the world we live in affects the stories we tell.”
Live Arts productions of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (“YF”) & CORIOLANUS (“C”), directed by Ames and Kunkel, respectively, feature a shared cast of versatile, young local theater artists: Max Davis as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (YF) and Ensemble (C); Cooper Charles as The Monster (YF) and Ensemble (C); Christopher Early as Igor (YF) and Ensemble (C); Sylvia Moses as Inga (YF) and Ensemble (C); Franny Rabasa as Elizabeth Benning (YF) and Tullus Aufidius (C); June Bennett as Frau Blücher (YF) and Ensemble (C); Levi Hofman as Inspector Hans Kemp (YF) and Ensemble (C); Chloe Nabb as The Hermit (YF) and Menenius (C); Jacob Walton as Dr. Victor Von Frankenstein (YF) and Junius Brutus (C); Robin Baranowski as Ziggy (YF) and Titus Lartius (C); Connor Ash as Ensemble (YF) and Ensemble (C), Sophia Christensen as Ensemble (YF) and Volumnia (C), Saturn Edwards as Ensemble (YF) and Cominius (C), Ben Lohr as Ensemble (YF) and Caius Martius Coriolanus (C), and Campbell Murray as Ensemble (YF) and Virgilia (C).
The two shows also share a creative team: Abby Smith (music director); Liberty DeLeon (choreography and movement); Mandy Shuker and Becca Budrock (production stage managers); Daniel Feigert (scenic designer); Mix Rudolph (lighting designer); Daniel Angell (sound designer/engineer); Anna Stockdale (costume designer); John Rabasa (Assistant Costume Designer); Daryl O’Connor (properties designer); and Daniel Kunkel (fight choreographer).
About the Writers/Composers
Mel Brooks (Writer, Composer & Lyricist, Producer of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) Director, actor, writer, songwriter, filmmaker with a long, distinguished career spanning over seven decades, Mel Brooks has written for television and for Broadway, recorded award winning comedy albums, created television series (Get Smart), and wrote, directed and often acted in numerous films (including The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights). For The Producers on Broadway, Mel Brooks received three 2001 Tony Awards (Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Musical) and two Grammy Awards (Best Musical Show Album and Best Long Form Music Video). He has also won other Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and Emmy Awards (he is one of very few entertainers to win the EGOT).
Thomas Meehan (Book, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) is an award-winning Broadway writer; musicals he has written books for include The Producers, as co-writer (Tony Award); Hairspray as co-writer; Annie, Rocky, Elf the Musical, Cry-Baby, Young Frankenstein, Chaplin, Bombay Dreams, I Remember Mama, Ain’t Broadway Grand and Annie Warbucks. In addition, he was a long-time contributor of humor to The New Yorker, an Emmy-Award winning writer of television comedy, and a collaborator on a number of screenplays.
William Shakespeare (Playwright, CORIOLANUS) was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor, born in 1564 and died in 1616. Shakespeare was a prolific writer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre. His 37+ plays, divided into Comedies, Histories, Tragedies and Romances are perhaps his most enduring legacy, but his poems also remain popular to this day. [Shakespeare Birthplace Trust]
About the Directors
Daniel Kunkel (he/him) wears too many hats as an educator, director, writer, stage combatant, and popcorn enthusiast. He has taught theatre in person and remotely across the country; and he has been producing and developing plays, podcasts, and videos since 2016. He currently serves as the Education Director at Live Arts. Previous directing credits include: BATTLEKNIFE: THE 300XX MUSICAL, THE LIGHTNING THIEF, YOU DON’T KNOW JACKSH*T ABOUT THE MOTHMAN, and HEATHERS THE MUSICAL: TEEN EDITION.
Ti Ames (they/them/theirs) is an educator, director, singer, and theatre maker from Charlottesville, VA. They’re a lifelong volunteer at Live Arts, even working on staff as Education Director from 2022-2024. Ti is currently pursuing an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University. As a Black and queer person, their approach to education aims to engage and uplift marginalized communities through ritual and consent-based practices. Recent directing credits: FIREFLIES, YOU DON’T KNOW JACKSH*T ABOUT THE MOTHMAN, CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY, RENT (Live Arts); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, BLACK MAC (CPG); and The Brothers Size (Oberlin College).
About the Music Director
Abby Smith Abby Smith is currently the choir director at Western Albemarle High School. She also teaches private instrumental and vocal lessons at the Music Education Center. She has been part of Live Arts for the past six years, including instructing summer camps, playing in the orchestra for previous shows, including CRYBABY, RENT, and IN THE HEIGHTS. Most recently Abby music directed HEATHERS THE MUSICAL:TEEN EDITION, KINKY BOOTS, and THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL.
About the Choreographer
Liberty DeLeon (She/Her) is an active educator and advocate of the arts. While being an educator is a passion of hers, Liberty loves to be on stage as well! Previously choreographed shows include Little Shop of Horrors, Cinderella, Once on This Island, and Rocky Horror. Most recently, Liberty stage and music-directed Shrek Jr. at Buford Middle School, where she is the Urban Farming Teacher.
About Live Arts
Founded in 1990, Live Arts is celebrating more than 34 years of forging theater and community. Powered by more than 1,000 volunteers, Live Arts is a national model for engaged community theater, known for exceptionally high caliber productions, provocative programming and for supporting new works. Live Arts is guided by these organizational priorities: Artistic Integrity; Educational Excellence; Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; and Volunteer & Community Engagement. As the anchor tenant in a four-story space, Live Arts proudly serves as a vital cultural resource in the heart of downtown Charlottesville with two state-of-the-art stages, rehearsal studio space, a library, and a rooftop event space.
The 2024/25 VOYAGES Season is made possible by:
The generous support of C-VILLE Weekly, WTJU 91.1FM, Ting, PJ Networks Computer Services, the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and by hundreds of theater lovers. Live Arts is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
For more information
Please contact Marketing Coordinator Andrew Bryce by email at andrew@livearts.org or 540-447-4563; or phone at 434-977-4177 x103, or visit livearts.org.
CALENDAR INFORMATION
WHO: LIVE ARTS THEATER presents
WHAT:
- YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks, directed by Ti Ames, music direction by Abby Smith, choreography by Liberty DeLeon
- CORIOLANUS by William Shakespeare, directed by Daniel Kunkel
CAST: Connor Ash, Robin Baranowski, June Bennett, Cooper Charles, Sophia Christensen, Max Davis, Christopher Early, Saturn Edwards, Levi Hofman, Ben Lohr, Sylvia Moses, Campbell Murray, Chloe Nabb, Franny Rabasa, Jacob Walton
DATES:
Thursday, July 10: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN OPENING
Friday, July 11: CORIOLANUS OPENING WITH OPENING RECEPTION
- through July 26, 2025
SHOWTIMES:
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Performances: July 10, 12, 18, 19*, 20*, 24, 26* [*2pm matinee performances]
CORIOLANUS Performances: July 11, 17, 19, 25, and 26.
Thursdays through Saturdays @ 7:30pm
Saturday, July 19, and Saturday, July 26, @ 2pm
Sunday, July 20 @ 2pm
Closes SATURDAY, July 26
WHERE: Live Arts Theater, 123 East Water Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902
SPECIAL EVENTS:
July 11: Opening Night Reception
July 24: Post-Show Audience Talk-Back
- YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
July 25: Post-Show Audience Talk-Back
- CORIOLANUS
TICKETS: $20 for adults, $16 for students and senior citizens. Pay-What-You-Can tickets sponsored by Ting available on Saturday, July 19th, for YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at 2:00 PM, and for CORIOLANUS at 7:30 PM.
Free tickets to the invited final dress rehearsal performances of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN on Tuesday, July 8th at 7:30 PM, and of CORIOLANUS on Wednesday, July 9th at 7:30 PM can be reserved through livearts.org/tix.
SPECIAL TICKET PACKAGE: See both YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and CORIOLANUS and save!!! Double show tickets: $35 for adults, $30 for students and seniors.
Discounts also available for seniors and youth.
BOX OFFICE: 434-977-4177 x123 or online at livearts.org/tix
INFO: andrew@livearts.org or visit livearts.org. SAFETY: Please visit livearts.org for our current health policies.
