World Premiere Theatrical Adaptation

of Seattle Author Tom Robbins’ Classic Novel

Jitterbug Perfume

Join the party at Café Nordo’s Culinarium!

Don your Mardi Gras beads and indulge your senses through story, food, music, and song

Café Nordo is proud to present its first ever solo adaptation, Jitterbug Perfume at Café Nordo’s Culinarium in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square. The show runs from March 14 – May 12, 2019. Set during New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, Jitterbug Perfume titillates the senses as it immerses you in the experience of living each day to its fullest; great food, passionate love, great sex, and passionate living.

THE ADAPTATION“This was the first time we’ve had to obtain the rights to anything,” said Café Nordo’s Artistic Director and Executive Chef Erin Brindley. “As luck would have it, a friend of mine penpals with Tom Robbins, so I asked for an introduction. I pitched the adaptation, and after a few weeks, I had a snail mailed letter from him, in his signature flowery language, he said, ‘the very audaciousness of the idea is what most appeals to me’ .”

The show is an adaptation of Jitterbug Perfume, Robbins’ 400-page novel that spans thousands of years. This daunting task was a theatrical challenge that co-adapters Stephan Robinson and Café Nordo’s co-Artistic Director Terry Podgorski were eager to accept.

The Café Nordo creative team met with Robbins at his home in La Conner, Washington, in the summer of 2018. “He answered the door with a cupcake [for Brindley’s birthday] and lit a candle,” said Brindley. “He showed us his home. We had a lovely time.” After meeting for two and a half hours, Robbins offered advice and words of wisdom as he gave the company adaptation rights to Jitterbug Perfume.

THE MUSIC

“There’s so much inspiration to pull from in Robbins’ writing, it’s a goldmine,” said composer Annastasia Workman. “Mardi Gras and New Orleans are central to the plot of the show, where I’ve drawn from Dr. John’s bluesy style piano, Terence Blanchard’s score for A Tale of God’s Will, and the bands Galactic and Michot’s Melody Makers. The music for this show is all over the space-time continuum, with other influences coming from Bollywood scores, György Ligeti, Marconi Union, and Hildegard von Bingen.”

This three-hour immersive experience is complete with an original score arranged and composed by Workman. Infused with the sounds of New Orleans jazz, Workman, along with Matt Manges and Beth Fleenor, transport audiences deep into the revelry of Mardi Gras.

THE CULINARY EXPERIENCE

Those familiar with Café Nordo’s style of integrating theater, food, and drink into a multi-sensory experience can anticipate that Jitterbug Perfume takes that adventure further than ever before. Playing off the dueling perfumiers in the story, Café Nordo’s award winning Chef Brindley uses aroma to create a theatrical culinary experience. “The obvious will not be on the menu,” said Brindley with a smile. “This epic tale gave me the opportunity to think deeply about aroma, how it enhances flavors and how it changes the experience of eating.” The menu merges New Orleans and Seattle cuisines with choose-your-own-adventure olfactory decisions that create a unique, individualized experience.

To enhance the festivities, beverages intentionally selected to pair with the food include  specially selected Wine Steward, Wine Sommelier, and Cocktail Flights, or, a specially-made Jitterbug Perfume wine from Chad Stock of Minimus Wine, an avant-garde Oregon winemaker. Beverages are not included in the ticket price.

THEATRICAL CREDITS

JITTERBUG PERFUME by Tom Robbins 
Copyright © 1984
Available in Bantam Trade Edition
Adapted by Terry Podgorski & Stephen Robinson
For Café Nordo

Director: Erin Brindley
Chef: Erin Brindley
Actors: Priscilla – Helen Roundhill
Alobar – Brian Picheu
Kudra – Marie Bolla
Pan the Goat God – Matt Manges
Ensemble: Chris Shea, Mara Palma, Lisa Viertel, Ronnie Hill, Opal Peachey, Madison Jade Jones.
Original Music: Annastasia Workman (keyboard, accordion)
Additional Musicians: Beth Fleenor (vocals, clarinet, electronics), Matt Manges (drums)
Costume Design: Fantasia Rose and Katrina Hess
Set Design: Terry Podgorski
Lighting Design: Ryan Dunn
Properties: Robin Macartney
Sound Design: Evan Mosher

FOR CALENDAR EDITORS

What:
Indulge all five senses as Nordo’s first in-house adaptation takes on this cult classic from beloved local writer Tom Robbins. Don your Mardi Gras beads and revel in humanity’s search for immortality as dueling perfumiers open Pan’s bottle, causing past, present, and future to collide at your table in a soaring ode to love eternal. Tickets include a four-course meal and the performance. Recommended for adults 18 years or order. The book, Jitterbug Perfume © 1984, was written by Tom Robbins. Adaptation by Terry Podgorski and Stephen Robinson for Café Nordo.

Where:
Café Nordo’s Culinarium
109 South Main Street
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 209-2002

When:
March 14 – May 12, 2019
Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7:00 p.m.
Sundays at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets:
$99.00, includes the performance and a prix fixe menu. Beverage and cocktail service additional.
*suitable for audiences 18 years and older.
Online Box Office: bit.ly/JitterbugNordo

Photos:
Please find high-res assets for download here: http://bit.ly/JitterbugPerfume_PressRoom

Social:
Website: www.cafenordo.com
Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/CafeNordo/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cafenordo/
Instagram – @cafenordo
#jitterbugperfume

About Café Nordo
Food, like theater – and to that end, life itself – is a communal experience. Routines are safe and comforting, predictable, and pleasant. Café Nordo was born to shake things up; it’s a seismic culinary event wrapped in an unpredictable theatrical experience. Erin Brindley and Terry Podgorski created Café Nordo in 2009 with their pop-up food show, A Modern American Chicken. They have since reinvented the concept of dinner theater with 10 years of original, immersive theatrical productions that have garnered critical praise and a loyal subscriber base.

In 2015, they moved into a permanent venue called “Nordo’s Culinarium” where the Elliot Bay Book Company once lived in historic Pioneer Square. Café Nordo’s menus are created through relationships with local farmers, ranchers, and fisherman; Café Nordo’s shows are born from the hive mind of inventive composers, actors, visual artists, and carpenters. While the address remains the same from show to show, every other element will be a complete surprise for both frequent guests and first-timers.