Krishna and Radha

WHERE: Julia Morgan Theatre
2640 College Avenue, Berkeley CA
WHEN: Sunday, July 17 at 4 pm
TICKETS: $10 for adults and
               $5 for children
Community Box Office Network
tel. 925 798 1300
or purchase tickets at the door
INFORMATION:
sunandmoonensemble.org
juliamorgan.org
tel. 415 282 4331

Featuring Deepa Menon, Jean Fontana, Maia Scott, Michael McCamish, Valentina Emeri

Music by Jason Ranjit Parmar (tablas) and Jeff Palmer (bansuri flute, dilruba).

Sun & Moon Ensemble will present its new production, Krishna and Radha, at the Julia Morgan Theatre on Sunday, July 17 at 4 pm. The performance, directed by Maria Lexa, uses drama, dance, humor, storytelling, giant puppets, masks, and live music. The show is suitable for audiences of all ages, and marks the fourth year that Sun & Moon Ensemble has performed in Julia Morgan Theatre’s Sunday family matinee series. This show premiered in May 2005 at the Youth Arts Festival in Yerba Buena Gardens, and was received with great enthusiasm.

In a unique collaboration with performers and musicians from India, Sun & Moon Ensemble interprets the ancient myths and legends about the flute-playing god Krishna with his consort, the beautiful Radha, and their stories of love and enchantment in the magical forest of Brindavan. Krishna and Radha, the "Divine Lovers", are alternately represented by actors, dancers, dolls, and giant puppets, accompanied by traditional Indian musical instruments.

Dancer Deepa Menon relates India’s beloved stories of Krishna and RADHA through the Kuchipudi dance genre from her native Kerala province. She also serves as narrator and guide through the scenes of the piece urged on by a delightful comic character played by Maia Scott of Sun & Moon Ensemble. Michael McCamish and Valentina Emeri, also veteran performers with Sun & Moon Ensemble, portray Krishna and Radha, illustrating their adventures through movement, dance, and mask sequences. Finally, the “Divine Lovers”, Krishna and Radha, are portrayed in their full splendor as dancing 10 ft. high puppets played by Michael McCamish and Jean Fontana.

It has been a thrill and an honor for Sun & Moon Ensemble to work with musicians from the Indian tradition in this production. In the premiere showing of Krishna and RADHA, the Ensemble was fortunate to have Ramani Narayana from Madras as a guest musician. Ramani is a revered old master of the veena, a beautiful stringed instrument from Southern India. Jason Parmar, who trained at the Ali Akbar College, accompanies the performers on the tablas and his long time colleagues Eliyau Sills and Jeff Palmer play the bansuri, or Indian flute.