Groundhog Day

“Groundhog Day” Musical

Written by DANNY RUBIN Music & Lyrics by TIM MINCHIN

Based on a film made by Columbia Pictures studio and a text by Danny Rubin Translation: Marcin Wierzchowski and Rafał Dziwisz (lyrics) Directed by: Marcin Wierzchowski

Produced in collaboration with Music Theatre International www.mtishows.eu

The musical “Groundhog Day” premiered on July 15, 2016 at the Old Vic Theatre

An alarm clock, a groundhog, a broken coffee machine, the same people, the same conversations. Phil Connors, a cynical weather presenter, is stuck in Punxsutawney. But he's not the only one. The whole town revolves in a closed loop. Something's jamming. The day does not end. It starts all over again. And again. And again. Everyday life becomes routine, routine becomes a cage. Each of the residents experiences their own Groundhog Day. The question arises: is all this really happening, or maybe only in Phil's head?

This town looks like something familiar. A small, closed world, like a complicated portrait of a bizarre family — everyone is connected to someone. Partners, children, neighbors, old acquaintances. Everyone here plays something: role, duty, ritual, gesture. But beneath the smiles are cracks, private worlds pulsate — full of tension, fatigue, suspension. Everyone carries their own groundhog cage inside them: everyday life that has stopped working, relationships that no longer give support, a moment in life that should have passed, but does not want to end.

Every relationship in Punxsutawney is a balance between closeness and escape. Each character reflects something that Phil himself has to face. It is as if the inhabitants are at once someone from reality and someone from the past, and their relationship with Phil is like mirrors: sometimes distorting, sometimes revealing too much. They are figures of Phil's inner mental condition. In this sense, the spectacle resembles a dream — maybe even a nightmare — from which you can only wake up if you live it to the end.

It is not known who needs whom more to get out of the place — Phil's residents, or he them. Marcin Wierzchowski, director of “Groundhog Day”, brings Danny Rubin's iconic story with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin to the Capitol and asks the question: what does six more weeks of winter mean? The show does not give simple answers. But he hints: when everything repeats and nothing changes, sometimes you have to stop in place. And look really.

In the lead roles we will see Albert Pyśek and Mirella Burcewicz. The script was translated by Marcin Wierzchowski, and the lyrics were translated by Rafał Dziwisz. Maciej Bogdański is responsible for the dramaturgy, and the musical direction will be Łukasz Bzowski. The choreography will be prepared by Piotr Stanek, the costumes will be designed by Paula Grocholska, and the scenography will be by Joanna Załęska.

Photo: Raylivez Poster design: Katarzyna Kołdys