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Herra Puntila and His Man
Matti,
Take Stage at the Finlandia University
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HANCOCK – Four performances of the
Finnish musical comedy, Herra Puntila and His Man
Matti,
performed at the Finlandia University Finnish
American Heritage Center, this past weekend.
Sold
out performances took place Thursday, Friday and Saturday
evenings and a Sunday matinee , October 5,
Herra Puntila and His Man Matti (Herr Puntila und sein Knecht
Matti) was written in 1941 by German playwright Bertolt
Brecht, in collaboration with Finnish-Estonian playwright Hella
Wuolijoki.The play is one of Brecht’s modern social criticism plays. Its message suggests that genuine equality, not the whims of individual philanthropy, bridges the gap between rich and poor.
However, play director Melvin Kangas said the message is not why he chose to produce the play.
“I like to select plays where I can have a creative hand, especially with the music,” Kangas explained. “This play gave me that opportunity.”
Each of the play’s ten scenes is introduced by a song with music composed by
Kangas.
“Brecht wrote the words for the songs, but not the music,” Kangas said. “So each production of the play is different.”
And to enhance the Finnish ambiance of the play, Kangas has added performances of traditional Finnish dances between each scene. Dancers include Bob and Hester Butler, and Phyllis Fredendall and Hannu
Leppanen.
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| Directed by Finlandia music and drama instructor Melvin
Kangas, the musical comedy tells the story of landowner Puntila and his “Jekyll and Hyde” relationships with his daughter, his servant,
Matti, and the workers on his farm. The play was adapted from a Finnish folk tale and is set in Finland in the 1930s. |
| photo above - left to right, Megan Plis
(singer), Robin Oye (flutist) and Melvin Kangas,
director, composer, singer, pianist and costume
designer. Mr. Kangas did an amazing job
producing this play. Congratulations Mr. Kangas! |
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| photo above - Robin Oye provided music prior
to and during the show. |
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| opening scene - Puntilla in drunken stopor
with Judge Frederick Linderman scene take place
in the back room of the Park Hotel in Häme |
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above Puntilla meets his chauffeur (left) Matti
, who has been waiting in the car for three days
for the landlord. |
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above - Puntilla's daughter Eva and her fiancée
Eino, the attaché. |
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| Megan Plis (singer) did a fantastic job with
the music |
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| Puntilla proposes to manta, the chemist
assistant when he goes to kurkela village
to buy alcohol |
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| Puntilla will also propose to Sandra the
telephone operator (left) and to Emma the
bootlegger (right) |
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| Before returning to the manor Puntilla will
also propose to Lissu, the milkmaid |
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| Puntilla tells Eino about seeing Eva leaving
the sauna with Matti |
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| above - Matti confrots the four fiancées who
arrive for the wedding of Eva to Eino. The tell
Matti that they do not expect marry Puntilla,
but came to ridicule him and get to see the
manor house. |
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| Eva does not want to marry Eino,
Puntilla betroths his daughter Matti,
then she does not want to marry Matti. |
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| Puntilla tells Eino he cannot marry Eva and
sends him out of the manor house. |
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| Scene nine - Puntilla and Matti climb Mt.
Hatelmala |
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| Phyllis Fredendall and Hannu
Leppanen
(above)
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| Dancers Bob and Hester Butler perform during
scene changes |
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THE CAST |
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