The Musical The Reawakening of the Gods: A Conversation with Marco Savatteri Plus a...Divine Performance

Composer and director Marco Savatteri has defined his creative trajectory with site-specific shows, mostly inspired by Greek mythology. He will talk about the decade-long story of his enchanting immersive musical, Il Risveglio degli Dei/The Reawakening of the Gods, set in the UNESCO site of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento (Italy), and about the embracing company he has created bringing people from different parts of Italy and even from abroad to a small Sicilian town on Mediterranean Sea. On its 10th anniversary, the show has gone viral (young people are singing the Faun's ballad in Poland as well as Japan thanks to free access to the show's soundtrack on all music platforms!), while it has already lived in an international dimension thanks to the collaboration with Montclair State University now entering its third year. 

On stage, Montclair State University students will recount their experience as performers in Sicily through an Inserra-Chair-supported internship moving into its third edition, as translators of the script from Italian into English for a public reading aiming at a full production, and as Musical Theatre majors taking Italian classes or minoring in Italian on campus.  

On Oct. 11, The Reawakening of the Gods company artists visiting from Italy will perform some excerpts from the musical along with students involved in its March 2026 English-language Public Reading. The selection presented will include songs in English and Italian to reflect the multi-cultural nature of the collaboration.

SPEAKERS

Marco Savatteri is an immersive musical theater director and composer. He is based in Italy (Agrigento) where he leads his own musical theater company (Savatteri Produzioni), directs the House of Musical he founded, and collaborates with local institutions to create and stage his site-specific performances, which he also tours around Italy. His main productions, along with Il risveglio degli dei, include Camicette bianche (about the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire), Caravaggio, and Icaro, as well as other works inspired by ancient mythology. Il risveglio degli dei/The Reawakening of the Gods is experiencing an extraordinary success both on site in the UNESCO Valley of the Greek Temples in summer, and on social media and music platforms, where a true viral phenomenon, mainly driven by young people enamored with classical myths, is taking place. See his full bio and the description of his productions.  

 

PERFORMERS

ITALIAN CAST

Toti Maria Geraci (Faun), Giulia Tarantino (Athena), Chiara Sardo (Hera), Ilaria Conte (Aphrodite) and Gioele Incandela (Poseidon).  

MONTCLAIR STUDENT CAST

Madison Fair, Lorenzo Hilliard, Lizzie Caldon, Mia Grizzuti and Emma Mason are all current or graduated Montclair students.

They are/were affiliated with the Musical Theatre Program, except for Emma Mason (Vocal Performance, Cali). The first three were performers in Il Risveglio with the Inserra scholarship in 2026 and the other two in 2025, but the experience was so unique that they went back for summer 2026. They will all share stories and anecdotes about this professional, cultural, linguistic and human experience which they consider "transformative."  

MODERATORS AND OTHER SPEAKERS

On campus she organizes regular film screenings and debates, as part of a multi-disciplinary cultural programming. In 2019 she was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy for her work in cultural diplomacy between Italy and the United States. She has coordinated internship programs for students for several years. The one linked to Il Risveglio degli dei  holds a special place in this area of work for the multi-faceted collaborative nature of the collaboration. 

Ryan Kasprzak (Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre, Theatre and Dance, College of the Arts) was the founding Co-Head of Acting for Musical Theatre at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Ryan served as Dance Supervisor for the And Peggy Company of Hamilton that premiered in San Juan, Puerto Rico with Lin-Manuel Miranda returning to the title role. He received a Chita Rivera Award nomination for his Broadway debut in Bandstand under the direction of three-time Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler. National Tours: Billy Elliot (Associate Resident Choreographer / Dance Captain), Fosse (Dance Captain). TV: NBC’s Smash (Asst. Choreographer), Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. Choreography credits include Southern Comfort (Public Theater), David Blaine’s Real or Magic, Brave New World (NC Stage), Mary Poppins (NCT). NYMF award winners Academia Nuts, Cloned, Volleygirls. Creator with multi Drama Desk Award nominated Parallel Exit: Physical Comedy Theater. BFA Acting from Marymount Manhattan College, MFA Choreography from Wilson College. https://www.ryankasprzak.com/

Brianna Coppolino is a graduate of the Vocal Performance Program at the Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. A member of the University Singers, Vocal Accord, Baroque ensemble, and opera workshop and productions such as La Calisto and Menotti's The Medium, she is currently pursuing her Artist Diploma on campus. In Summer 2025, she was one of the student interns in Il Risveglio degli dei (and Scopri il Teatro) in Agrigento. She is the translator of the script from Italian into English, which made possible the first presentation of the show in English on campus in March 2026 for a public reading (see video), and now the Oct. 11, 2026 bilingual performance. 

Sponsored by the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies, this event is part of an international multi-year project developing across colleges (CART and CHSS), departments (Musical Theatre in the Theatre and Dance Department; Italian Program in the Global Cultural Studies Department; Voice Program in the Cali School of Music) and offices (International Academic Initiatives) on campus, as well as a collaboration with the independent company Savatteri Produzioni.

TRANSPORTATION

• Driving: please park in the Red Hawk Deck on College Ave. $8 for a 2-to-6 hour stay. See map below to reach the venue after parking.

• Public transportation from New York City: unfortunately there is no bus or train that reaches the campus directly on weekends. 
  BUS: The only option is the NJT 197 bus leaving at 2:30pm from Port Authority. Get off at Willowbrook Mall (13mins wait) and take the 28 Newark Penn and ask the driver to stop at Montclair State University. Arrive at 3:53pm. Follow the directions in the map below to reach the venue.  
  TRAIN + Uber/Lyft: Take NJT train from New York Penn Station at 2:51pm change at Broad Street, (5mins wait) and take the 3:15pm train to Bay Street Station. Arrive at 3:28 PM. Take an Uber to campus (destination: Kasser Theater College Avenue, Montclair State University). You may be able to share it with other people coming to the event. Follow the directions in the map below to reach the venue. 

  On the way back we recommend sharing an Uber/Lyft with other people returning to NY. 

DIRECTIONS

Presentation Hall is inside the College of Communication and Media. Use the map below.