World Premiere of UnRavelled Explores the Intersection of Art, Science, and Dementia

For Immediate Release

PRESS CONTACT: Libby Huebner, 562.208.7993, libby@adlibpr.com‍

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World Premiere Set for

UnRavelled,
an Award-Winning Play Based on the True Story of

a Virtuosic Painting Inexorably Linked to a Musical Masterwork
and the Synergy between Art and Science

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Created and Written by Jake Broder

Directed by James Bonas

Music and Sound Design by Mark Grey
Produced by Cath Brittan

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Cast Stars Lucy Davenport, Andrew Borba, Larry Poindexter, Leo Marks, and Tracey A. Leigh

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Friday, October 17, 2025, 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 2:00 pm
at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills

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Presented in Partnership with
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration; The Kissick Family Foundation;
UCSF Memory and Aging Center; Global Brain Health Institute; Lilly Pharmaceuticals;
the Dana Foundation; and San Francisco Conservatory of Music

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(Los Angeles, CA – August 19, 2025) UnRavelled, an award-winning play offering a unique perspective on the extraordinary power of the human mind in the face of neurological disease by noted playwright Jake Broder (Louis & Keely Live at the Sahara, Our American Hamlet), receives its highly anticipated world premiere with three performances, October 17 and 18, 7:30 pm, and October 19, 2:00 pm, at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Art, science, and love intersect in this stirring true story about the remarkable connection between the work of Canadian painter and eminent biologist Dr. Anne Adams (1940–2007) and French composer Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), both of whom lived with the same rare brain disease, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), almost 100 years apart.

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James Bonas (Metropolitan Opera, BBC Proms, Scottish Ballet) directs the multi-media stage production, which incorporates live music and features composition and sound design by composer Mark Grey (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic). Cath Brittan is the executive producer.

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A virtual version of UnRavelled, which streamed in 2021 during the pandemic, was nominated for five Los Angeles Drama Critic Circle Awards, including best writing, production, and ensemble, and won for design. It also garnered the Pandemic Award for Best Scientific Play from This Week in New York and earned the Beverly Hills Theater Guild Playwriting Award in 2024. 

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UnRavelled centers on Dr. Anne Adams, who, in her fifties and at the height of her prestigious career exhibited radical personality changes, abandoning her life’s work to paint. Starting out with simple subjects — houses, strawberries — she became suddenly, inexplicably obsessed with Maurice Ravel’s symphonic masterpiece, Boléro, launching into a wildly different and masterful painting style. Through her stunning paintings, Dr. Adams’ work may offer clues to unlocking mysteries about the brain’s networks and creativity. 

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Similarly, Ravel’s most famous work, his captivating, single-movement, orchestral piece Boléro, deviated significantly from his deeply honed musical style. He composed it as a ballet for Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein in 1928, when Ravel himself was experiencing dramatic shifts in his personality. Boléro was one of the last works Ravel completed before dementia ultimately stripped him of his ability to compose.

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Story of Dignity

Broder based the play on true events, incorporating research and interviews he conducted as a Hellman Visiting Artist at UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center, under the direction of Dr. Bruce Miller, who helped diagnose and treat Dr. Adams. Dr. Miller, who gathered crucial scientific data about changes in Dr. Adams’ brain as her disease progressed, figures as a character in the play.

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Director of the Global Brain Health Institute as well, Dr. Miller says, “Dr. Adams’ is a case that comes around once in a century – one that changes the way we think about how the brain works, and incontrovertibly shows, through music and art, that we are capable of more than we ever imagined, even in the setting of a neurodegenerative disease.”

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He explains, “Maurice Ravel and Dr. Adams were both in the early stages of primary progressive aphasia, a form of frontotemporal dementia, when they were working. The disease apparently altered circuits in their brains, changing the connections between the front and back parts and resulting in a torrent of creativity. Telling their incredible story through this engaging theatrical production offers a profoundly important perspective on dementia on a level that is both relatable and accessible.”

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Broder, whose own father has been diagnosed with dementia, notes, “UnRavelled spotlights Anne’s humanity as well as her courage and will to communicate. It’s a story about dignity – not just the tragedy of dementia. By illustrating how creativity can survive and even emerge in the setting of a diagnosis of dementia, it offers a new narrative on the plasticity and capability of the brain, helping to reframe our understanding of the disease and even how we talk about brain health.”

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He continues, “At its core, UnRavelled ponders: What does it mean to lose one’s mind, yet still find ways to express one’s soul?” 

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Cast, Production Team Announced
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award-nominee Lucy Davenport (Scorsese’s Gangs of New York; Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland; Jay Roach’s Dinner for Schmucks) stars as Dr. Anne Adams. 

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Ovation Award-winner Andrew Borba (Straight Outta Compton, Interstellar, Live from Baghdad; The Little Foxes at Antaeus) stars as Anne’s husband, Robert Adams.

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Obie Award-winning actor Leo Marks (The Line; Mysterious Circumstances at the Geffen Playhouse) portrays Maurice Ravel. Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein is played by Obie Award and NAACP Theatre Award-winning actor Tracey A. Leigh (Modern Family; Law & Order; national tour of The Vagina Monologues). Ovation Award-winner Larry Poindexter (S.W.A.T.; Fatherland at Manhattan Theatre Club) is featured in the role of Dr. Bruce Miller.

Featured musical artists include Rachel Iba, violin; Michelle Elliott Rearick, cello; Aron Kallay, keyboards; Nathaniel Edison, winds; and Randy Gloss, percussion.

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In addition to Broder, Bonas, Grey, and Brittan, the creative team comprises Emma Kingsbury, set designer; Cydney Uffindell-Phillips, movement director; Masha Tsimring, lighting designer; Adam Larsen, video designer; and Molly Irelan, costume designer. The production team includes Cath Brittan, executive producer; Kerstin Heinrich, production manager; Hannah Frye-Ginsberg, stage manager; and Samantha Rose Williams, outreach director.

Pre- and Post-Performance Activities Raises FTD Awareness
UnRavelled Outreach, a fascinating and enlightening brain health “festival “at The Wallis offering a deeper dive into the play’s themes, runs concurrently with the production. Led by Outreach Director Samantha Rose Williams, the festival features an array of pre- and post-performance activities, including the first major art exhibition of Dr. Adams’ paintings, talk backs, informative lectures, art therapy workshops, and engaging interactive displays designed to transform the conversation around dementia to spread a message of hope, possibility, and creativity. UnRavelled Outreach also brings to the Los Angeles community a groundbreaking LA Caregiver Roadmap for FTD produced by Cedars Sinai, in partnership with UCSF and Emma Heming Willis. This first-of-its-kind resource guide was created to connect LA-based caregivers to local services, research and drug trial opportunities, and community support for individuals diagnosed with FTD. The much-needed tool will help ensure that patients and caregivers can access the essential support they need

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UnRavelled Partner Organizations and Supporters
UnRavelled and its ancillary programs are presented in partnership and with the generous support of the Dana Foundation; Global Brain Health Institute; Kristin Holloway; Lilly Pharmaceuticals; The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration; The Kissick Family Foundation; UCSF Memory and Aging Center; and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Local partners include Cedars-Sinai, For Their Thoughts Foundation, and UCLA Brain Research Institute. Support is also generously provided by the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. 

Tickets and Information
For more information on UnRavelled, visit www.unravelledplay.com. For tickets ($32 - $77), which include the brain health festival, and ticket information, please call 310-746-4000 or visit www.thewallis.org. The Wallis is located at 9390 N Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. 

EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE CALENDAR LISTING:

WHAT:
UnRavelled (World Premiere)
Created and Written by Jake Broder

CAST:

Lucy Davenport (Dr. Anne Adams)

Andrew Borba (Robert Adams)

Larry Poindexter (Dr. Bruce Miller)

Leo Marks (Ravel)

Tracey A. Leigh (Ida Rubinstein)

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MUSIC ENSEMBLE:

Rachel Iba, violin
Michelle Elliott Rearick, cello
Aron Kallay, keyboards
Nathaniel Edison, winds
Randy Gloss, percussion

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PRODUCTION TEAM:
Director: James Bonas

Executive Producer: Cath Brittan

Composer & Sound Designer: Mark Grey
Movement Director: Cydney Uffindell-Phillips

Set Designer: Emma Kingsbury
Lighting Designer: Masha Tsimring

Video Designer: Adam Larsen

Costume Designer: Molly Irelan

Outreach Director: Samantha Rose Williams 

Production Manager: Kerstin Heinrich

WHEN:
October 17-19, 2025
Friday, October 17, 7:30 PM

Saturday, October 18, 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2:00 PM 

WHERE:
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

RUN TIME:
90 minutes with no intermission 

NOTE:
Exhibition of Dr. Anne Adam’s paintings, talk back, and pre- and post-show experiential displays on dementia and FTD are included with play admission

TICKET INFORMATION:
$32-$77
www.thewallis.org
310-746-4000‍

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON UNRAVELLED:
www.unravelledplay.com