THREE PADEREWSKIS, a new American musical hybrid, explores the life and work of composer and founder of the Polish nation, Ignace Jan Paderewski. With book by University of Southern California professor and playwright Oliver Mayer and music by award-winning composer Jenni Brandon, this 40-minute work looks at three versions of the great Paderewski (one of them female) as they sift through a lifetime of memories far too large for any one person. Ignace the pianist/composer, Jan the visionary statesman, and Paderewski the viticulturist assess a lifetime of love and loss, exile, war and wine. But when the ghost of Antonina, their long-departed wife, rejoins them, memories become immediate with a vibrancy that sheds light on the depths of their endless love.
This project has been commissioned by The Adam Mickiewicz Institute in collaboration with the following Institutions: UCLA TFT, USC School of Dramatic Arts, Ghost Road Company, Playwrights’ Arena, Wang Music International, CAC New Orleans, UNO, Tricklock Company, UNM, Tisch School of the Arts, Philadelphia Theatre Company, MASS MoCA, The Consulate General of Poland in Los Angeles, The Polish Cultural Institute in New York as part of the international cultural program POLSKA100 accompanying Poland’s Centenary of regaining independence. Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the multi-annual program NIEPODLEGŁA 2017-2022.
Watch Videos from the performance at the University of Southern California in December 2018!