NPR Presents the World Premiere of Water +
in partnership with WWNO 89.9 FM
in partnership with WWNO 89.9 FM
NPR and WWNO are proud to announce the world premiere of NPR Presents Water + on Saturday October 25, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. ET at the Saenger Theatre. NPR Presents Water + combines national and local news coverage, music, poetry, storytelling, and visual projections to explore how too much or too little water is shaping lives and affecting communities around the country and the world. Tickets are available athttp://www.saengernola.com/shows/water.
NPR Presents Water + brings together Tony-Award winning director Kenny Leon, award-winning NPR Science Correspondent Christopher Joyce, and award-winning theater writers Arthur Yorinks and Carl Hancock Rux with an original sound score by acclaimed violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR). The show starts its eight-city tour in New Orleans. It will be co-hosted by NPR’s Michele Norris and WWNO’s Eve Troeh and will feature Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change); Tony Award-nominee, Michele Shay (August Wilson’s Seven Guitars); Jason Dirden (Tony Award-winning Production, A Raisin in the Sun); and Lucas Caleb Rooney (Boardwalk Empire).
“NPR Presents Water + brings together NPR’s journalistic rigor with the artistic and poetic nature of theatrical storytelling, amplifying local stories about water issues that are relevant and meaningful to each region,” said Indira Etwaroo, executive producer and director of NPR Presents. “We are thrilled to partner with WWNO, who received the Edward R. Murrow Award for their coastal coverage, to create and present the premiere event and to hold it at the historic Saenger Theatre, which reopened after its own dramatic water story post-Hurricane Katrina.”
“Water is such an important topic, not only for Louisiana, but also for the nation and the world. NPR Presents Water + will help to open conversations and the meaningful exchange of ideas in a new way,” said Paul Maassen, WWNO general manager. “We are honored to have the World Premiere here in New Orleans, and for WWNO to play a role in this local and national collaboration among NPR and public radio stations across the nation.”
“I am excited to work with NPR Presents on this meaningful and highly relevant undertaking,” Director, Kenny Leon stated. "Theater has the ability to illuminate the human experience in a way that is unique, vital and authentic. Our goal is to allow Water to showcase our shared humanity, our shared challenges across the US and the globe."
Building on NPR and Member Stations’ news coverage, the NPR Presents Water + series will highlight each city’s unique, nuanced relationship with water. The scripts are created in partnership with the Member Station combining local sensibilities with national themes. No artistic licenses are taken with the news content; stories are adapted from on-air and online coverage, as well as oral histories, into monologues and dialogues.
The Tour:
October 25, 2014, New Orleans in partnership with WWNO
November 8, 2014, Weekend in Washington, NPR
November 10, 2014, New York, NY in partnership with WNYC
November 12, 2014, San Francisco, CA in partnership with KQED
November 13, 2014, Seattle, WA in partnership with KUOW
November 17, 2014, Atlanta, GA in partnership with WABE
November 18, 2014, Cleveland, OH in partnership with Ideastream
November 19, 2014, Detroit, MI in partnership with WUOM