FSU News

FSU alumnus Marlette brings musical Kudzu to campus

The wit of an FSU alumnus, cartoonist/artist Doug Marlette, has come to life on campus in a musical production of Marlette's comic strip, Kudzu.

Theatre Southeast and The Tallahassee Democrat are presenting Kudzu: A Southern Musical, at the Richard G. Fallon Theatre located in the Fine Arts Building on the FSU campus June 17 and 18 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the Fine Arts Ticket Office at 850-644-6500. Theatre Southeast is the summer professional theatre extension of FSU's School of Theatre.

The musical, which has played at regional theatres, showcases the writing of Doug Marlette and the musical talents of Jack Herrick and Bland Simpson of the Red Clay Ramblers, who collaborated on the book, music and lyrics.

Kudzu: A Southern Musical is the story of a boy who comes of age against the changing face of the American South.  Like the comic strip from which it is adapted, this musical celebrates the values, humor and original characters still found in the disappearing rural America.

The production brings to life the title character, Kudzu Dubose, named for the pesky vine. Kudzu's pursuit of true love and his dreams of becoming a writer and leaving the town of Bypass set him on adventures that will entertain even the youngest audience members.

Marlette, a 1972 graduate of Florida State University, is especially excited about this performance, saying, "I would never have guessed I would have written a show that would be produced by my university. How cool is that?"

Says Marlette, "Kudzu is about the eternal strivings for love, power and the perfect barbecue sauce, which led it to be a natural fit for a musical, a southern musical."

After graduating from FSU Marlette began drawing political cartoons for The Charlotte Observer. He joined the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1987, New York Newsday in 1989, and the Tallahassee Democrat in 2002.

His editorial cartoons and his comic strip, Kudzu, are syndicated in hundreds of newspapers worldwide. He has won every major award for editorial cartooning including the 1988 Pulitzer Prize. He has received the National Headliners Award for Consistently Outstanding Editorial Cartoons three times, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award for editorial cartooning twice, First Prize in the John Fischetti Memorial Cartoon Competition twice and was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

Marlette and Herrick worked with FSU student actors during rehearsals of the Theatre Southeast production.   "We are knocked out by this cast. They are terrific. This is the first time that we did not cast this show and it is great to see someone else's vision of our work," Herrick said.

The play is Marlette's first venture into writing in the theatre realm.

Directed by FSU School of Theatre Faculty member George Judy, the production is a part of the Tallahassee Democrat's 100-year anniversary.

The artistic and design team, utilizing regional seasoned professionals includes Kate Gelabert as choreographer, Ben Gunter as music director, Mike Johns as costume designer, Gerry Leahy as scenic designer, Michael Pasquini as lighting designer, and Michael Smith as sound designer.  Erin Wilkinson is the stage manager of Kudzu: A Southern Musical, and the entire production is under the technical direction of Ralph Walker.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, and $14 for students, with substantial discounts offered to parties of 20 or more. Tickets are available by calling 850-644-6500 or visiting the Fine Arts Ticket Office located in the Fine Arts Building on the corner of Copeland and Call Streets.

To learn more about Kudzu: A Southern Musical or Theatre Southeast's other productions visit the FSU School of Theatre's website at http://theatre.fsu.edu.

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