Holy Cross Theatre Department Receives Moss Hart Award for Best College Production

WORCESTER, Mass. – The department of theatre at the College of the Holy Cross has been awarded the New England Theatre Conference’s (NETC) Moss Hart Award for best college play, for its 2007 production of My Life with Albertine, book and lyrics by Richard Nelson, music and lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon. Lynn Kremer, professor of theater, will receive a plaque commemorating the award at the NETC’s annual conference and awards banquet on Nov. 22, 2008 in Warwick, RI.

This is the second consecutive Moss Hart win for the Holy Cross theatre department.

The annual award is given in memory of Hart, an American playwright and director who dedicated his life to theatre. The award recognizes outstanding theatrical productions throughout New England, in the areas of human courage and dignity, strong literary and artistic merit, and productions that are fresh, imaginative, and creative.

According to the NETC website, the award, “seeks to encourage artistic growth and the highest standards of excellence in theatre.”

The rarely-produced 2003 musical, My Life with Albertine, based on portions of Marcel Proust’s celebrated work, Remembrance of Things Past, was presented in November 2007 on the Fenwick Theatre stage. The production was directed by Kremer, with music direction by Michael Lapomardo. The sets and lights were designed by Barbara Craig, assistant professor of theatre, with costumes by Kurt S. Hultgren, costume designer in the theatre department.

The cast featured Danny Goodman '11 as the Narrator; Jason Frank '09 as Marcel; Lauren Doucette '08 as Albertine; and an orchestra including Cellist Ning Tien, director of the New England Cello Ensemble.

The musical was originally performed off Broadway by Playwrights Horizons, Inc. in association with AT&T: On Stage in March 2003. The Holy Cross performance was the first mounting of the production since the world premiere.

The play is about a middle-aged Parisian who recalls his first love affair with the tempestuous Albertine, whom he met at the end of the 19th century while vacationing at the seaside with his grandmother. The 17-year old Marcel lives in the liminal state between childhood and adulthood, longing for an adult love with Albertine, but afraid to let go of the petty jealousies and selfishness of childhood.