World Premiere Musical SABINA Begins Performances Tonight At Portland Stage

After a two-year pandemic delay, the new musical Sabina arrives on stage tonight at Portland Stage. The new musical features Stephanie Machado in the title role, with Philip Stoddard as Carl Jung and Bruce Sabath (Company, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish) as Sigmund Freud. The cast also includes Jason Michael Evans (Anastasia National Tour) and Sarah Anne Fernandez (Wicked National Tour).

The musical written by Willy Holtzman (book), Louise Beach (music) and Darrah Cloud (lyrics), centers on the true story of Sabina Spielrein, a young, Russian Jewish woman who was pulled out of a catatonic state by Carl Jung using early psychoanalytic methods under the guidance of Sigmund Freud. Spielrein became a doctor, then colleague and lover of Carl Jung, and a brilliant scientist in her own right. But her contributions were largely overlooked due to scandal and simply because she was a woman. Spielrein was ultimately murdered by a Nazi death squad in Russia. The story was the basis of the 1996 play Sabina, written by Holtzman. Louise Beach's musical adaption of the play was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

The all-star creative team, led by Co-Directors Daniella Topol (Rattlestick Theatre Artistic Director) and Danilo Gambini, and Musical Director Bradley Vieth, includes Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Christopher Akerlind (Indecent), Sound Designer Charles Coes (Girl from the North Country) and Scenic Designer Anita Stewart. Orchestrations are by August Eriksmoen (Come From Away - Grammy and Drama Desk nomination).

Portland Stage had been instrumental in developing the work, supporting the creative team throughout the last two years of the pandemic. The story has deepened as current events have unfolded that mirror some of Sabina's own story.

Sabina runs at Portland Stage, May 4th through May 22nd, with an official opening night of May 6th. The show can also be streamed On-Demand from May 18th through June 5th. Tickets for live performances as well as online viewing can be purchased through the Portland Stage Box Office.