Scripts and scores available by request. marienne@marienne.com
TESLA’S MISTRESS
Book, music, and lyrics by Mariénne Kreitlow, art by Tim Berg
Why was Nikola Tesla nearly written out of history? Who was his mistress? Why was he obsessed with pigeons? And why did one of the world’s greatest geniuses die penniless?
Set in America during an era of endless innovation when men competed for patent rights, money, power and fame, Tesla lost at playing that game. Tesla’s Mistress exposes his charming charisma, obsessive genius, naive confidence, and fatal flaws seen through the eyes of the women who loved him. We experience his precocious childhood in Serbia, hard-won rise to fame in America, and tortured descent into near-obscurity while desperately trying to complete his life’s work. Unacknowledged by Tesla, an embittered fellow Serb inventor and Columbia University professor vows to write him out of history. Despite the devastating consequences, Tesla’s innovations still power our world today.
Scenes and songs range from hilarious to heart breaking, malicious to transcendent, humiliating to triumphant. Tesla’s Mistress is a show about the endless bounty of creation, the ongoing triumphs of his inventions, and love revealed in strange and unexpected ways.
“Entwining history and magic with vulnerability, Tesla’s Mistress works! – Maggie Burr, actress
“An artist or engineer who thinks beyond what’s normal in the world sees differently. Tesla’s Mistress is a result of such perception.” – Tim Kiernan
“The title! Did not strike me until the end. Gave me chills.” – T. Peterman “Elevated and elevating.” – Ann Brummer
https://www.teslasmistress.com/
YOURS, THROGNOG
Book by Kitty Karn & Mariénne Kreitlow, music and lyrics by Mariénne
“My Uncle Burt’s letters time to his beloved Doris during World War II chronicled an intimate glimpse into a budding relationship in a tumultuous time. Often signing off with his quirky “Yours, Thrognog,” his letters provided the foundation for this show.” – Mariénne Kreitlow
Audiences will experience America at war and all that means: women entering the workplace, the soldiers’ vacillating boredom and terror, loss of loved ones, civilians doing without, and the summoning of immense courage. Interfaced with present time, the character of elderly Doris conveys how dementia allows ‘reality’ to morph into a personal healing mythology. We also meet a granddaughter desperately seeking direction and forgiveness. Within overlapping realities the enduring power of love prevails. Boundaries of space and time grow increasingly mutable. Lake Superior cradles the story beginning to end.
Songs drive the story, establishing the social milieu of the times, while exposing and deepening inner emotional drama. Sophisticated harmonies and strong melodies support songs that range in style from Swing Era to choral, hip-hop to driving ballads, playful to transcendent. Full-fledged dance numbers give ample opportunities for creative choreography. Setting: Doris’ home on Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minnesota (2016); rural and urban locations in Minnesota, Italy, and North Africa. (1941-1944) A cast of 9 to 20 portray a variety of roles.
VIDEO FOOTAGE short montage from partially-staged production by THEATRE & DANCE DEPT at Western Illinois University
SELECTED SOUND CLIPS from extended video
TROUBLE IN GRIMMLAND
Book, music and lyrics by Mariénne Kreitlow
When characters from the Brothers Grimm tales reunite for their hundred-year reunion something is terribly wrong. Not only is Rapunzel is losing her hair, Frog Prince stuck into frog form, and Bluebeard’s whiskers have turned a deplorable pink, but they are obviously, one by one along with their fantastical stories, being erased from THE BOOK! Then the Witches recall an ancient saying: “One perfect story unravels and un-riddles. Three riddles right, and the knot un-fiddles.” All agree to do their duty to tell one perfect story and solve the three riddles. It’s their only chance.
“Once Upon A Time” is thrown upside down, in desperate need of a happy ending.
Video of SELECTED SONGS from the GREAT Theatre production, May, 2011
EARL TRACY
Book, music and lyrics by Mariénne Kreitlow
The story of a man with a gift that consumed him.
Of the women who loved him but could not reach him.
Of the town that could not accept that one of their own could work miracles.
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the early twentieth century, this historically-based story traces the life of a charismatic and controversial figure. Renowned for his seductive powers with women and worldly ways, revealed in conflict with the conservative community in which he lived, Earl Tracy was widely known as a powerful faith healer. Before his death on Christmas day, 1938, at the age of 52, Earl attracted crowds of those desperate for his healing touch, taking in up to a thousand dollars daily during the Great Depression in a small Minnesota town.
This fascinating, multifaceted show incorporates Scandinavian folk influence with a contemporary flair. Songs like “It’s Changed”, “Emma’s Song” and “Take A Jump” portray the charm of this rural town. Traditional hymns create a powerful emotional bedrock, interwoven with heart rending ballads (“Why Doesn’t He Talk About Jesus?” and “Take My Pain Away”). Then there are big production numbers like the hot jazz of “Chicago”, a driving primal release in “The Power Of Love”, and Latin rhythms fusing with polka in “Tangled Tango”!
EXCELSIUS
Book, music and lyrics by Mariénne Kreitlow
The Excelsius is in trouble. The once majestic building that houses a struggling music store is in decay, reflecting the unfulfilled dreams and broken promises of her inhabitants. In a multicultural collision, the staff feuds as their place of work is threatened by demolition, all under the watchful beetle eyes of a homeless man with super sensitivities. The group includes a former ballet dancer who bears an injury of the body and heart; an alluring woman from Brazil who carries the rhythm of samba in her soul; a Plain Jane about to blossom; an incessant percussionist; a music nerd who can only theorize; and a single mother demanding a better world for her child. In trying to save the Excelsius they have a rare chance to save themselves.
The show’s Millennium Broadway music is fresh and enticing: from an intimate Brazilian ballad, a man-to-man love song, a bitter dirge, a vaudevillian show stopper, high powered gospel-blues, ethereal dance for madman and basketball, Celtic clogging, to a celebratory samba.
SELECTED SCENES FROM ONLINE PRODUCTION