Book by Arthur Kopit; music and lyrics by Maury Yeston; adaptation from the Italian by Mario Fratti; directed by Paul Daigneault; musical direction by Nicholas James Connell; choreography by David Connolly; scenic design by Eric Levenson; costume design by Charles Schoonmaker; lighting design by Jeff Adelberg; projection design by Seaghan McKay; sound design by Aaron Mack
Cast in order of appearance:
Guido Contini, Timothy John Smith; Luisa, Aimee Doherty; Carla, McCaela Donovan; Guido's Mother, Cheryl McMahon; Stephanie Necrophorus, Amy Jackson; Liliane LaFleur, Maureen Keiller; Diana/Ilse Von Hesse, Brittney Morello; Maria/A Venetian Gondelier, Julia Broder; Lina Darling, Santina Umbach; Sarraghina, Kerry A. Dowling; Mama Maddelena, Shana Dirik; Annabella/Heidi Von Sturm, Rachel Prather; Giulietta/Ogla Von Sturm, Celia Hottenstein; Renata/Gretchen Von Krupf, Holly King; Claudia, Jennifer Ellis; Our Lady of the Spa, Kami Rushell Smith; Little Guido, Erik March and Andrew Stewart
Performances: Now through February 26, Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston
Tickets: $47-$57 ($25 for people under 25); $14 student rush with valid college ID, available at the Box Office one hour before curtain, subject to availability. Phone 617-933-8600 or visit www.BostonTheatreScene.com.
The key to making "Nine," the elegant yet earthy musical adaption of Federico Fellini's autobiographical film reverie "8 ½," work is in striking the delicate balance between central character 
Guido Contini's narcissistic self-absorption relative to women and art and the boyish vulnerability that fuels his irresistible charms. Happily, Boston's SpeakEasy Stage production, currently enjoying an extended run through Saturday, February 26, walks that elusive tightrope with effortless aplomb.
Director Paul Daigneault, who ranks "Nine" as his all-time favorite musical, teases every subtle nuance out of Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston's intricately layered story of the brilliant but perpetually adolescent movie maker whose approaching 40th birthday catapults him into a creative and emotional crisis. Just as the anxious Guido impulsively shifts his perspective from reality to fantasy when trying to appease the various women in his life and deal with conflicting demands, Daigneault shifts his ensemble, lighting, sound, and screen projections to take us from the here and now to inside Guido's fertile and hyperactive mind. The result is a stunning visual and emotional feast whose scenes transition as smoothly as if changed by cinematic fades and wipes.
In "Nine," writer/director/actor Guido (the perfectly lovable lout of Timothy John Smith) finds it almost impossible to separate fact from fiction when women both real and imagined intrude upon his efforts to write his next movie. Under the gun to come up with a script by the end of the week - and under pressure to choose between his wife, mistress and muse - Guido seeks refuge at a popular Venice spa. There he comes face to face with himself as a child of nine (a poised and talented Erik March in the reviewed performance, Andrew Stewart alternately) and all the women who have influenced him, then and now. Mother, Nun, Prostitute, Wife, Lover, Dominatrix, and Goddess - all are embodied in one form or another in the mind of this endearing man/child. Guided by his younger self, he relives his relationships with each of them. Finally gaining the proper perspective, he is able at last to move on with his life.
