Tuesday, December 1, 2009

JUDE LAW AS HAMLET (& WATSON)


Jude Law is a terrific Hamlet.

He is clear, understandable, and looks just right.

Before I saw the show (the Donmar Warehouse production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, directed by Michael Grandage), I was skeptical of casting Jude Law as Hamlet: I've sometimes found him underwhelming in films; yet, he is a movie star. So I was afraid he might look wrong: too old, too movie-star-ish; and sound wrong: not have the vocal charisma to carry the role.

It was exactly the opposite.

Although he is six feet tall, he somehow looks young and small, at least compared to the "broad-framed" Kevin R. McNally who was cast as his uncle Claudius, the new king. So he seemed appropriate physically. And vocally he was commanding and completely understandable.

By the way, although Hamlet is said to be away at University, so we might think of him as quite young -- in his twenties or younger -- the Gravedigger says that Yorick has "lain in the earth three and twenty years," and Hamlet says he " knew him... a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times." Let's say Hamlet was 6 when Yorick died, give or take three years, that would make Hamlet somewhere between 26 and 32. So, in fact, a thirty-something actor is at an appropriate age to play this part.

The production as a whole is quite excellent. One of the clearest, simplest and most straightforward I've ever seen. I had only a few small problems with it. I was mystified by the reason for having the Player King and Ghost of Hamlet's father played by the same actor. It confused the meaning of the ghost (and the play), and added nothing. Also, I found the physical relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet weak. Especially since this version seemed strong (verbally) in describing their relationship: Though Polonius (but not Hamlet or Gertrude) feared that Ophelia was too much a "commoner" to be an acceptable queen for Hamlet, both Hamlet and Gertrude thought Ophelia and Hamlet had loved each other (before Hamlet left for the University). Gertrude thought they would marry. Yet, somehow, Hamlet never behaved with Ophelia convincingly as his one-time love, and Ophelia never behaved like a potential queen.

Despite these two minor issues, I enjoyed the play, and came out of this production with a much clearer understanding and appreciation of it. All in all, Jude Law and the director, Michael Grandage, and the whole Donmar company, created an especially well thought out and played presentation of this most difficult yet brilliant play.

Jude Law has a number of films currently in the pipeline. I'm looking forward to seeing him as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes:



JUDE LAW as Dr. John Watson
in "Sherlock Holmes".
Photo by Alex Bailey from WARNER BROS.



Guy Ritchie's casting, with Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock, and Jude Law as Watson, is certainly revisionist casting, after the "standard" films with a lean Basil Rathbone as Sherlock and a portly Nigel Bruce as Watson.


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

STELLAR CHARADES AT LABYRINTH THEATER BENEFIT

The Seventh Annual Benefit for the LAByrinth Theater Company features a stellar collection of celebrities scheduled to appear and compete in CELEBRITY CHARADES! "(all subject to continuing availability)" ... including Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Ortiz, Cupid himself (Bobby Cannavale), and not just one, but TWO Julias: Julia Stiles (now appearing on Bway in Mamet's Oleanna) and Julia Roberts.


Julia Stiles
Now in
Oleanna
Is scheduled to compete in Celebrity Charades
Photo by Eric Roffman
(Taken at the Tribeca Film Festival)

Here's the announcement:

Artistic Directors Stephen Adly Guirgis,
Mimi O'Donnell, Yul Vázquez
and the Board of Directors of
THE LABYRINTH THEATER COMPANY
invite you to the seventh annual benefit featuring

CELEBRITY CHARADES
JACKPOT!

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2009

VIP COCKTAILS
The 2009 Dave Hoghe Award
will be presented to
Time Warner Inc.

THE LIVE AUCTION
with John Patrick Shanley
Bid for our priceless packages,
including a chance to play Charades
with the stars and

CELEBRITY CHARADES!
with referee Eric Bogosian

PLAYERS WILL INCLUDE:
Ian Astbury
Bob Balaban
Bobby Cannavale
Erika Christensen
Tom Colicchio
Billy Crudup
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Padma Lakshmi
Jesse L. Martin
Christopher Meloni
John Ortiz
Julia Roberts
Sam Rockwell
Cynthia Rowley
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Julia Stiles
Justin Theroux
Yul Vázquez
David Zayas
(all subject to continuing availability)

Watch four celebrity teams bluff and bust
in a fearsome, hilarious no-limit charades tournament!

Be sure to check out the CHARADES WEBISODES
featuring our favorite celebrities as they try
their damnedest to find out the secret location
of this year's Celebrity Charades©.

More player announcements to come and
information at www.LABtheater.org

To Purchase Tables and Tickets
CALL (212) 513-1082
or
E-MAIL charades@LABtheater.org

THE HOUSE - $15,000
· Premium Table (seats 10) at
the VIP Cocktails and Celebrity Charades
· front page program credit,
press release and website acknowledgement*
· LAByrinth artist guest at table (optional)
**Very limited availability**
$14,000 is a tax-deductible
contribution to LAByrinth

THE PIT BOSS - $10,000
· Priority Table (seats 10)
at the VIP Cocktails and
Celebrity Charades
· program credit and website
acknowledgement*
· LAByrinth artist guest at table (optional)
$9,000 is a tax-deductible
contribution to LAByrinth

VIP - $1,100
· Priority table seating for 1
for VIP Cocktails and Celebrity Charades
$1,000 is a tax-deductible
contribution to LAByrinth

WINNERS' CIRCLE - $2,000
· Pedestal Table (seats 4) for
VIP Cocktails and Celebrity Charades
$1,800 is a tax-deductible
contribution to LAByrinth

CARD SHARK - $750
· Theater seating for 4 at
Celebrity Charades
$700 is a tax-deductible
contribution to LAByrinth

RAILBIRDS - $250
· Theater seating for 1 at
Celebrity Charades
$200 is a tax-deductible
contribution to LAByrinth

BANKROLL:
I cannot attend, but would like to
stake LAByrinth with a tax-deductible
contribution of $__________

*To appear in the program, names
must be received by Wednesday,
November 25

To Purchase Tables and Tickets
CALL (212) 513-1082
or
E-MAIL charades@LABtheater.org
or visit
https://secure.labtheater.org/charades.php

INSTANT THEATER

As part of LAByrinth Theater Company's exemplary Master Class Program, an incredibly diverse group of 16 ACTOR-DIRECTOR-WRITER-PRODUCERs (yes, quadri-hyphenates all) were challenged last Monday (11/9) to write, rehearse, produce and PUT ON LIVE FOR A LIVE AUDIENCE a REAL THEATRICAL EVENT! before next Monday (11/16 -- yep, that's 7 days).

The show will be Sunday evening (11/15) 8:00 PM
at 31-08 Northern Boulevard in Long Island City
FREE
with refreshments & discussion with the artists to follow.


Watch this space for more news (Bookmark this address!)!!

LAByrinth Theater Company assembled for this Master Class a diverse team: Each member falls somewhere differently in the actor-director-writer-producer (artist, musician) spectrum, tho' all are challenged to contribute to any and all specialties, especially not their own.

Athletic ability ranges from near couch-potato to near super-athlete; experience and age range from younger and recently in college to older and taught in college; employers range from steak houses to gourmet restaurants to colleges to self-employed to unemployed; ethnicities and nationalities range all over the place; talent and enthusiasm range from very high to very high!


Here's the "official" announcement:


LAByrinth Theater Company Master Class November 2009 Presents:

Elegies, etc...
Scenes from a funeral parlor


Sunday Nov. 15th at 8pm
3108 Northern Blvd.
Long Island City
[closest subway: N or W to 39th Ave.]

Entrance is FREE, refreshments, a sumptuous Portuguese dinner and discussion with the artists will follow. Running time: approx. 45 minutes.

In a series of vignettes, the performance explores with introspection, wit and humor our reactions and relation to death and loss: why do we mourn and for whom? In ELEGIES, ETC… the parlor becomes the space where the heroes open their hearts in ways they never have before, proving that, indeed, funerals are for the living.

As part of a class project, the 16 young dynamic artists of the LAByrinth Theater Master class joined forces to create this performance from scratch in less than a week. This is your opportunity to watch passionate art in the making!

Written by: Ernio Hernandez, Geoff Schuppert and Jonathan Blitstein.

Directed and performed by the Ensemble: Anastasia Morsucci, Brandon Scott Hughes, Danielle DeVito, Aktina Stathaki, Eric Roffman, Giovanni Sanseviero, Greg Seel, Jack Barley, Katie Van Rensalier, Mia Mountain, Rachael Richman, Sara Kubida, Soraya Butler, Ernio Hernandez, Geoff Schuppert, Jonathan Blitstein

Produced by the Ensemble.

Poster Design by Katie Van Rensalier

Check the Facebook Group The LAByrinth Theater Master Class 2009 for more info.


Monday, November 9, 2009

FREE FOR ALL

Free For All is a truly great book.

It's extremely interesting and well written, with fascinating recollections of the foundation and development of The Public Theater (and the arts of producing, directing, and acting, as well as fundraising and theater construction) from Joe Papp and actors, directors, and lots of others that worked with him. The interviews were conducted long ago, but only recently was Kenneth Turan given the release to go ahead with publication.



Author Kenneth Turan
At the "Free For All" Book Party
Photo by Eric Roffman

It should be the reading of choice for anyone interested in theater...

And required reading for:

  • Anyone interested in producing for the theater
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Anyone involved with a cultural non-profit
  • Anyone involved in public policy
  • Business schools
  • Acting and theater schools
  • Actors, directors and producers
  • Literature and drama classes
  • Historians of New York in the late 20th century
  • Everyone else

(Seriously, it has important contributions to all these areas of study... and more. And I hope that the original tapes/transcripts, etc will be donated to a museum, library or university because they will also be invaluable to future scholars -- in all these disciplines above... and more!)


Papp and The Public Theater were pioneers in developing experimental and off-Broadway theater, developing an American tradition of playing Shakespeare, and developing non-traditional casting.

(My own opinion is that this would be a great time to develop a new, vigorous, new-theater movement. Of course, there's currently lots and lots of theater in New York -- a truly amazing amount of theater -- but I haven't seen it breakout into a new aesthetic. This book gives some clues as to how one emerges.)

The book is filled with interesting gems. Here's theater critic Clive Barnes on how Papp believed in keeping The Public alive:

Clive Barnes: "Joe has always understood the necessity of expansion -- not the desirability of expansion but the actual necessity... An arts organization is a living organism..."

The Public Theater was sufficiently well established by Joe Papp that it survived its founding Director. (Something that's not that easy to accomplish.) The current Artistic Director (Papp, of course, was Everything Director), Oskar Eustis, is leading The Public in a rich and expanding program of activities very much in the spirit of the institution that Papp established.

Oskar Eustis
Current Artistic Director of the Public Theater
At the "Free For All" Book Party
Photo by Eric Roffman

Thursday, October 29, 2009

FREE PLAY READINGS FROM LABYRINTH THEATER

Free and almost free theater of the highest quality is rampant in NY right now... at EST (aka The Ensemble Studio Theater), RED BULL & LAByrinth Theater (among others). Here's a report from the LAByrinth Theater:

It's the last day of the Barn Series (readings of new American plays), and the start of Live Nude Plays. (Not physically nude, I think, rather philosophically undressed... These are informal readings without stage dressing.)

BARN:

FRIDAY:
CYNTHIA AND THE DREADFUL KITE
Book and Lyrics by Webb Wilcoxen
Music by Jonathan Comisar
Directed by Jill DeArmon
FeaturingCarlo Alban*J. Eric CookDanelle EliavCharles Goforth*Jinn S. KimJamie Klassel*Kelley Rae O'Donnell*Aaron Roman Weiner*

Someone has struck down Cynthia Schmidt's most cherished possession ... her kite. Now she is making something not-so-nice.

Friday, October 30th - 8PM

"Everything exists in Webb. His heart is big and colorful and compassionate without being afraid of real things - and his plays are like that. He can show you how two of the biggest human motivators - fear and envy - make their home in the human heart in slow, smoothe and winding ways - the way water moves on land, the fish inside it and the fog above it."-- Andrea Ciannavei, LAByrinth Company Member



LIVE NUDE PLAYS 2009

BEAUTIFUL - October 31 - 9:30 PM
Written by David Anzuelo
Directed by Louis Moreno

An art-dealing Lucifer is on an industrial rock-fueled killing spree and only a phone-sex addicted descendant of Job can stop him: it's New York City 1994 - where everyone came to get f*cked!

HANDBALL - November 1 - 6:30 PM
Written by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld
Directed by Terry Kinney

A handball court on a hot summer day sets a handful of characters off into explosive drama. Old time neighborhood beefs, young love and real estate are the combustible elements at hand as nine characters find their way through the changing labyrinthine landscape of a neighborhood in NYC.

girl in window
- November 1 - 9:30 PM
Written by Florencia Lozano
Directed by Pedro Pascal

love doesn't just stink, it sucks a**, and the people who help you get out from under the wreckage when your heart is busted open.

THE HALAL BROTHERS - November 2 - 6:30 PM
Written by Alladin Ullah
Director Liesl Tommy

When Two Bengali brothers- one unable to tell his sibling about his black girlfriend at city college and the other desperate to succeed in order to provide for family back home, try to keep afloat during the turbulent day of Malcolm X's assasination.

THE TALK - November 2 - 9:30 PM
Written by Frank Pugliese
Directed by Fisher Stevens

Four brothers come home for their mother's funeral, to find a past they never knew of, and the words to comprehend it.

NEUROTICA - November 3 - 6:30 PM
Written by David Deblinger
Directed by Padraic Lillis

Neurotica is about how someone we find so f*cking sexy and hot can also bring up sh*t about loneliness and rage and fear that can tempt fate with death ... or just the opposite. A dark comedy on love, with song and rap.

FREQUENTLY UNASKED QUESTIONS
- November 3 - 9:30 PM
Written by Daphne Rubin-Vega
Directed by John Gould Rubin

Its a play! And a concert! The life and music of DRV are completely intertwined. In
FUQ's, she explores the life of her mother who immigrated from Panama and the
resulting consequences of her choices.

EST OCTOBERFEST

Free and almost free theater of the highest quality is rampant in NY right now... at EST (aka The Ensemble Studio Theater), RED BULL & LAByrinth Theater (among others). Here's a report from EST:


Final Three Weekends for Octoberfest 2009!

We've passed the halfway point of this five-week festival of works in progress from EST Members, but there are still fifteen days left of readings, comedy and cabaret.

Over 65 performances left!
Check the full schedule.

All tickets are free, though a $10 donation to support the work in progress is suggested. Reservations are recommended! Save your seats by calling 212-247-4982 or emailing boxoffice@ensemblestudiotheatre.org.

Want to get an insider look at the festival? Check out the
EST YouTube page for interviews with the artists involved.


This Week's Schedule:

Thursday, Oct 29
7pm: Trade by Michelle Remsen* on the 2nd Floor
7pm: Doesn't Anyone Know What a Pancreas Is? by Carole Real* on the 6th Floor
8pm: A Story About a Girl by Jacquelyn Reingold* on the 2nd Floor


Friday, Oct 30
7pm: Desert Island Days by Emily Chadick Weiss on the 2nd Floor
7pm: Ghost Party: A Cabaret by Megg Farrell on the 6th Floor - VIDEO!
8pm: Murph by Bill Bozzone* on the 6th Floor
9pm: Ofest After Hours: New Plays on the 6th Floor, Drinks on EST!
Three new short plays by Elizabeth Diggs*, Maria Gabriele*
and Lloyd Suh*... plus drinks on us!


Saturday, Oct 31 - Halloween!
2pm: A Story About a Girl by Jacquelyn Reingold* on the 2nd Floor
2pm: St. Helena by Holli Harms* on the 6th Floor
4pm: Trade by Michelle Remsen* on the 2nd Floor
4pm: Doesn't Anyone Know What a Pancreas Is? by Carole Real* on the 6th Floor
7pm: Desert Island Days by Emily Chadick Weiss on the 2nd Floor
7pm: Ghost Party: A Cabaret by Megg Farrell on the 6th Floor - VIDEO!
8pm: Murph by Bill Bozzone* on the 6th Floor


Sunday, Nov 1
2pm: Time Will Tell by Kristen Lowman* on the 6th Floor
5pm: Famous: A Hollywood Musical by Yvonne Adrian* on the 2nd Floor
7pm: Time on His Hands by Kristen Lowman* on the 2nd Floor
7pm: Flight by Kent Alexander* on the 6th Floor


Monday, Nov 2
7pm: Famous: A Hollywood Musical by Yvonne Adrian* on the 2nd Floor
7pm: Flight by Kent Alexander* on the 6th Floor
8pm: The Cooperative Extension-Apple Pruning Workshop by Grace Woodard*
on the 6th Floor


Wednesday, Nov 4
7pm: Gustie Returns by Jane Wheeler* on the 2nd Floor
8pm: The Cooperative Extension-Apple Pruning Workshop by Grace
Woodard* on the 6th Floor

* denotes EST member

Sunday, October 4, 2009

OTHELLO



John Ortiz as Othello, Jessica Chastain as Desdemona, and
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago in OTHELLO
Photo by Armin Bardel


The LAByrinth production of Othello, (here's the text) directed by Peter Sellars, with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago, John Ortiz as Othello and Jessica Chastain as Desdemona, is a feast for students and directors of Shakespeare, but quite skimpy on the delivery of emotion, especially in (what is usually) the cataclysmic conclusion.

There are many strange features in this production, some of which help illuminate the richness of the play, some of which confuse the audience and dissipate the power of the story and some of which actually do both.

Peter Sellars, of course, is best known for opera productions which have a reputation for quirky originality.

The first striking feature of the production is the slow pace at which the actors speak. This allows an audience unused to Shakespearean language to understand and process far more than is ever possible when the actors (as Hamlet suggested) speak their words trippingly on the tongue. Audience members (and actors) are allowed to savor and appreciate the poetry and the words.

For audiences used to the rhythms of modern films, and more interested in the experience than the details, however, this rich but 4 hour long presentation can seem plodding and tedious.

A second feature of the production is that Desdemona's father Brabantio is cut out of the play, characters are combined, and suddenly the characters pull out cell phones and start talking to each other across the room and on microphones. This gets the play off to a shaky start (not to mention the fact that the sound system seemed to be flaky for a while the night I saw the show). People new to the play, and those who know the play by heart are equally able to be confused about who is who and why they say what they say, at the beginning. (Not surprisingly, the appearance of the cell phones provoked some not very supportive laughter from the audience.)

The play is set (mostly) in a military base in Cyprus. This provides a universal, timeless environment in which to enact the tragedy.

However, Sellars does not seem to take this setting seriously. Hoffman, with a pot belly, and casual clothes, never in uniform, is vocally a great Iago, but physically impossible to imagine as a candidate for Othello's next in command. Other characters are in and out of uniform, and the set design does not evoke a military base, except fleetingly.

In most productions, Desdemona is a problem: The relation between Othello and Desdemona (O & D) is vapid and unconvincing. Here, Desdemona is a strong, though naive character. And there is a lot of physical communication between Othello and Desdemona. They kiss a lot, and lie next to each other a lot. This is a big improvement over most productions. Yet it still seems like puppy love. Because of the open set design, the other characters can freely observe Desdemona and Othello making out on a super-modern, stylized electronic bed. But what they see and what we see is not what Iago describes to Brabantio, Desdemona's father:

IAGO: Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is topping your white ewe
.


This -- if taken to be an accurate representation of the O & D affair -- suggests that any glimpses we see of their physical relationship should be torrid passion, not innocent necking.

(If, in Sellars version, the intention is for Iago to be misleading Brabantio about the nature of Othello's affair, and the relation between Desdemona and Othello is intended to be depicted as almost High-Schoolish, then it takes away much of the urgency of the whole play. Note -- Since Brabantio is not in this production at all, I was a little confused at the time these lines were delivered, and it is hard to remember how these lines were used in this production.)

It was Sellars intention to create an Othello for the Obama generation. Sellars seems to consider most productions of Othello as demeaning to blacks in general and Othello in particular. It seems to have been Toni Morrison who changed his mind about the play (
see the video interviews -- click on see all!)

In assessing the treatment of Othello in the play, realize that here is a black man, in white Europe, hailed as a great soldier, loved by a beautiful white woman for his character, having sex with her (and possibly other women), marrying her despite some objection by her father, and commissioned for an important military expedition. This is in a play written more than 400 years ago. How many modern plays, TV shows or movies treat a black character in an interratial sexual/romantic relationship and interratial career, with such importance?

Othello, the man, the general, is not a puppet for a simple anti-black propaganda play; he should be taken seriously by the director, the audience and the world. He is a great man and a terrible killer. And his interratial marriage is at the center of the play. The play is about the reaction of all the characters to Othello, his position, and his beautiful wife.

So I think it is a mistake, even in accentuating other aspects of the play, as Sellars does brilliantly, to minimize the importance of the basic thread. The relation -- the interracial relation -- between Othello and Desdemona should not be minimized. Indeed it should be maximized to the extent of exhibiting a physically provocative -- rather than timid -- passion. (In the "pre-Obama world" a black man would not be shown coupling with a beautiful white woman. The "post-Obama world" should portray these people as they are created in the play.)

Generally speaking, the casting of a Latino as Othello, and a black man as Cassio, and a big black woman as a combination of characters, does support Sellars stated ambition of making the play more about universal issues, and less about a stupid, credulous, murderous black man than is perhaps (he believes) usually the case. Liza Colón-Zayas as Emilia, Iago's wife, excellently carries Sellars' idea of how her character's silence is as important as Iago's deception in deluding Othello, and how her courage in revealing the deception unwinds the plot. (However, casting Philip and Liza as a couple is dubious; they are not convincing as a married couple.)

Indeed Sellars'
essay and video interviews about the production are extremely interesting. He did accomplish what he set out to do. But, as so often happens, it is what he did not do and did not focus on and therefore did not do, that cause the weaknesses in the production.

It is at the end that the play has the greatest and strangest lapses:

1-- The classic line:

OTHELLO: Put out the light, and then put out the light

is not matched with any action that makes sense of the line. Othello is walking in meaningless circles around the bed.

2 -- The stylized electronic bed does not allow or evoke the emotions raised by the lines:

DESDEMONA: Prithee, tonight
Lay on my bed my wedding sheets: remember;


The wedding sheets, which should carry enormous emotional power, are missing from the bed, and can not deliver the message they should carry to Othello (and to the audience).

3 -- And finally, Ortiz simply does not produce the physical or vocal strength necessary to convey the powerful emotions that would illuminate this twisting of Othello from lover to killer and then convey the cosmic remorse that suddenly erupts when he realizes what horror he has committed; how he has been deceived, betrayed and destroyed.

So, all in all, I enjoyed this production and learned much from it, but did not exit from the theater emotionally devastated!



This is only the beginning of the "Othello Project," for Peter Sellars. According to the
notes distributed at the theater, Sellars and Toni Morrison are discussing a prequel to Othello, called "Desdemona," starting from the stories that Othello told Desdemona so that she fell in love with him. And Sellars is planning to return to Othello as well as Toni Morrison's "Desdemona," in part with the idea of developing a film. This project should be exceptionally illuminating to all those who love Shakespeare.


In addition, on Sunday October 4, there will be a free panel discussion about Othello:

OTHELLO DISCUSSION EVENT
FREE OTHELLO DISCUSSION SUNDAY October 4:


"Is It Possible?": Othello in the Age of Obama

Luis Argueta, documentary filmmaker;
Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dean of Tisch School of the Arts;
Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx; and
Carmen Peláez, playwright and actress.

Moderated by Dr. Avery T. Willis, who has collaborated with Peter Sellars as an assistant director and dramaturg since 2006.

OTHELLO Sunday Speakers Series

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 3:00-4:00PM

General Admission Lobby opens at 2:15PM

NYU Skirball Center
566 LaGuardia Place & Washington Square South

Here are some interesting links:

WEB VIDEO -- James Earl Jones -- Othello's Testimony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJybA1emr_g&feature=related




Kenneth Branagh's version:


Paul Robeson as Othello & Uta Hagen as Desdemona:


Monday, September 7, 2009

NEW TERM AT HB STUDIO

The new term at HB studio starts today (sic; yes; Labor Day -- Lo-o-ong tradition of ignoring Holidays there; hey! actors work on Holidays).

There are many interesting classes:

George Bartenieff is teaching Shakespeare & Classics. George was Cadmus in this summer's production of The Bacchae at Shakespeare in the Park, Chef Max Bugnard, the cooking instructor in Paris in Julie & Julia. And, he's been on 30 Rock!

George Bartenieff
as Cadmus in The Bacchae
with his thyrsus & fawnskin outfit.
Photo by Joan Marcus.

Tracey Jackson, who wrote Confessions of a Shopaholic, is teaching screenwriting. She is a brilliant teacher, and hilarious as well. Take the class for her riffs, not just to learn how to write screenplays and deal with the real life of a screenwriter.

Anne Jackson (r) with Jerry Stiller, Eli Wallach and Anne Meara
at last year's benefit honoring Stiller & Meara.
Photo by Eric Roffman
.

Distinguished actresses Anne Jackson and Louise Lasser and actor/director Austin Pendelton each teach courses for advanced actors.

There's a class this year reviewing Greek, Roman and other early plays.

Tony award winning director Jack Hofsiss is teaching a directing class as well as a career development class.

In addition to classes (in acting, speech, singing, movement, writing, and directing, etc) , there is a company of actors that regularly present plays in the theater next door. Coming up is Horton Foote's The Chase (see below **) with the HB Ensemble, including Catherine Kjome, one of my favorite actresses.

The faculty is excellent. They are all working actors (or working directors or writers or ...) Many of the faculty trace their careers back directly to Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghoff (or one generation behind, to teachers who studied with UH and HB) . The school is very serious about acting... or rather, not acting, but being real on stage.

There are classes for young 'uns too.

A la carte selection of classes is possible. There are day and evening classes. A full time program is also available. They cater to foreign students. Some classes are designed for advanced students with a required audition. Most classes are available to students at all levels, including beginners, with no prerequisites or audition required. Auditing a class before taking it is allowed and, in fact, encouraged. HB Studio is also one of the least expensive acting progams around, as well as one of the best, most professional, and most comprehensive. Many famous and successful actors have studied at HB.

Each year HB presents a benefit dinner. Last year Stiller & Meara were honored in a great evening. This year the dinner -- on November 9th -- will celebrate Horton Foote, in honor of Herbert Berghof's 100th birthday. (The Chase is being performed in conjunction with this celebration.)

HB is at 120 Bank Street. For information about classes, the benefit, the plays, or anything else... check their website: http://www.hbstudio.org/

(**The Chase, by Horton Foote opens September 13th and runs for 16 performances. For reservations call 212-989-7856 beginning August 31st. If you want to come to this, don't delay as tickets are free and will go quickly!

"The Chase" originally opened in New York in 1952, but it is still current. This HB Ensemble project was initiated a year ago. Horton Foote died this past March, so with this production we get to celebrate his life and his longtime collaboration with Herbert Berghof.

Horton Foote wrote the films "Tender Mercies," and "The Trip to Bountiful," as well as many, many important plays.)


Monday, August 24, 2009

THE BACCHAE -- AT SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK



Jonathan Groff as Dionysus & The Chorus
in The Bacchae
Photo by Joan Marcus

There’s a terrific production of The Bacchae (Βάκχαι), by Euripides’ (Εὐριπίδης), one of the greatest plays in all classic Greek theater, and indeed all theater, now at Shakespeare in the Park. Anyone with an interest in theater, Greek theater, or, generally, any theater which, remarkably, is as fresh now as if it had just been written, should see this version (playing just till Aug 30). It’s also outdoors, which is a rare connection these days with the ancient performances.

Greek gods often represented personalizations of archetypal human behavior or natural phenomena, or both. They were kind of living metaphors for strong, sometimes complex ideas.

Because the gods were archetypes, respect for the gods meant being respectful of the true nature of man and the power of nature. (Note 1 (disclaimer): This is one point of view. In one sentence. Many whole books have been written about the attitudes of Greeks to their gods.) (Note 2 (somewhat contrary view): See below: JoAnne Akalaitis, the director, takes a different point of view on the relation between the gods and men.)

Greek Gods did not exist a priori, they were created as myths, and the myths were refined by people, especially writers, and in the days of Greek theater, especially playwrights.

The story of Dionysus (aka Bacchus) and the Bacchae – the women followers of Bacchus – as described by Euripides was a combination of his invention with myths and history that were known to the Greeks. Each author that translated or adapted Euripides’ text and every director that staged the play since it was written added their own creative invention.

(Note: In a story about the National Theater of Scotland’s production of The Bacchae at Lincoln Center last year, I discussed in detail some of the alternative approaches to The Bacchae.)

Euripides’ version alludes to many themes associated with the myth of Bacchus:

THEME 1 -- It was a relatively new religion that swept in from the East.

This theme has echoes now in our modern world, where the western world is being tested by fervent promoters of a religion which is coming from the East.



THEME 2 -- Alcohol liberates the spirit, provides comfort – but also can provoke fighting.

This can be amplified to a basic cycle: a spirit of liberation, supported by forces of moderation; which is opposed by a repressive regime; and then there is an element which associates itself with the pacifist spirit, but which is violent.

This duality was certainly a part of the spirit of 1968-69 – the 40th anniversary of which we are celebrating now. It is epitomized by the journey from Woodstock (a festival of peace and love and mud) to Altamont (where, as described in Wikipedia, a member of the audience at a Rolling Stones Concert – one of whose anthems was “Sympathy for the Devil" -- was killed by a member of the Hell’s Angel’s). Or by the journey from the "summer of love" to the Manson murders.


Liberation:



Dionysus in 69
Directed by Brian De Palma & Richard Schechner, US, 1970;
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Richard Schechner


The liberation of the 60’s and its tie to the myth of Bacchus was expressed in the version of this play known as
Dionysus in 69. (Note: For a look back, visit the contemporary impressions of Time magazine, and The New York Times -- access to NYT may require registration.)


The Tribe/Chorus
in Hair
Photo by Joan Marcus


It was also expressed (with Pot more than booze as the liberating drug of choice) by Hair.

Interestingly, a terrific production of
Hair is currently playing on Broadway, where it was transferred after originating at Shakespeare in the Park last summer. Hair (especially the first act) could almost be an interpretation of the spirit of the Bacchic revelers in the present age.


Jonathan Groff as Claude
in Hair
Photo by Joan Marcus

It is also interesting – and more than a coincidence I would think – that the current version of The Bacchae, now playing in Shakespeare in the Park features
Jonathan Groff as Bacchus. He also played Claude in last year’s Hair at The Park, and also is part of Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, about the festival.

The current version takes note of, but does not show (much less enjoy) the spirit of liberation. There is no sex, no nudity, no Bacchants in this production. (The chorus may be Bacchants in name, but they do not participate in any Bacchic revels.) The chorus, which in many productions takes the role of the liberated women, here are purely commentators (which they do in an especially rich fashion, as we comment below). The description of liberated women is – except in the scene with Cadmus & Tiresias (Τειρεσίας), who are sympathetic to the revels – almost entirely in terms of how Dionysus has crazed the women, especially the daughters of Cadmus.

Note: Tiresias is the blind seer. Cadmus is the old, retired legendary king of Thebes who has given his crown to his grandson, Pentheus. His daughters are: Semele, the mother of Dionysus; Agave, the mother of Pentheus; Autonoe and Ino. Dionysus is thus the cousin of Pentheus and also a grandson of Cadmus.

Dionysus claims that his father is Zeus, and therefore he has divine lineage. His mother claimed Zeus was her lover, but neither Cadmus nor his mother’s sisters believed her. This rejection is the primary motivation behind Dionysus' return to Thebes to claim the respect he and his mother were denied. Continued disrespect is the motivation for his revenge.


Revenge / Violence:

This production stresses the theme of revenge. Dionysus comes out angry. The Chorus is fierce. Dionysus gives Pentheus a chance to respect him. When Pentheus does not, Dionysus arranges for Pentheus to be brutally murdered by his own mother.

On one level this is a counter-reaction of violence to repression. On another level, this is the representation (we alluded to before) of the aspect of drink that makes people fight.

Depending on how you view the play, this is
  • An expression of the barbarism of a pagan religion,
  • Or the realistic depiction of the fury that gods unleash when you do not pay them the respect they require,
  • Or the metaphorical description of the consequences of ignoring the reality the god represents.
  • (Or just fury -- its a god, no reason needed, see theme 4.)

THEME 3 – Cross dressing

In the course of his revenge Dionysus convinces Pentheus to dress as a woman so that he will not be attacked by the Bacchants.

This is a strange statement on the face of it, since earlier Euripides’ has (at least according to most translations) suggested that men and women were making love among the revelries and, besides, Cadmus and Tiresias had just gone up to join the revelers. The simplest explanation is that Dionysus was lying to Pentheus.

Pentheus expresses reluctance to wear a woman’s clothes, and the reaction the play seems to be looking for is that Pentheus is humiliated by dressing as a woman.

Jonathan Groff as Dionysus
With a smear of red lipstick
in The Bacchae
Photo by Joan Marcus

Bacchus, himself, in myths is portrayed as half-man half-woman. And stage directions in many versions of the play describe Dionysus, when he comes in, as having long blond hair, kind of androgynous. In this production, Dionysus wears just a smear of lipstick.


Anne Hathaway as Viola
in Twelfth Night
Photo by Joan Marcus



Some commentators on the play treat the theme of cross dressing as the paramount theme of the play. Indeed the ads for this whole summer’s Shakespeare in the Park stress Cross Dressing: the other play this summer being Twelfth Night, in which Viola (played by Anne Hathaway) dresses as a man.

(Note: Viola dresses as a man to be safe going around in a strange country by herself (aka himself). It was, of course, convenient for Shakespeare to have women dressed as young men, since they were, in fact, being played by young men.)

Neither play seems to make too much of cross dressing in these productions. (It was a much more important part of The Scottish Theater’s version of The Bacchae.) With respect to how cross-dressing illuminates the relation between men and women, they do take almost the same view (that in the world they live in, men are more important) in very different ways (inflating women and deflating men in Shakespeare; mostly mocking women and – perhaps mockingly – almost worshipping hunting and killing as manliness in The Bacchae
).

Twelfth Night notes how a woman can be just as manly as a man, when people think she’s a man. It bursts a bubble of assumed superiority for men, and elevates woman to the same level as a man.

The Bacchae, in the person of Agave, boasts how a woman can be just as strong as a man when she is crazed, while Pentheus, dressed as a woman is mocked: Men are strong, women are maddened by Dionysus; when a man is maddened, he is made to play the role of a woman and mocked; a woman can think she is as strong as a man only if she is maddened. In this view, Euripides is quite a misogynist. (Other interpretations of Euripides, stressing the androgynous nature of Dionysus, and the freedom and independence of women in the Dionysian rites, are quite different.)


THEME 4 – Human powerlessness in the face of irrational gods

I had no direct access to the creative team, but the NYT quotes
JoAnne Akalaitis, the director, as saying the play is “partly about human powerlessness in the face of irrational gods…” In this interpretation, Dionysus is not even revenging himself, his fury is irrational.

(If one wishes to put this irrationality in context, it could be tied back to the idea that excessive drinking makes one irrational, and to a modern notion that the gods of Greece were pagan gods.)


THE STAGING

There is an additional element in the interpretation of a play, especially a Greek play, and that is how the play is staged.

In
the story I referred to above, I discussed the staging of the play last year by The National Theater of Scotland. That staging was notable for its ability to find humor in the text, and for cross-dressing, and for its vivid effects.


The Chorus
in The Bacchae
Photo by Joan Marcus


In addition to being outdoors! (as Greek plays were originally staged), the most notable element of the staging in The Park is the magnificent score by Philip Glass, and the singing, chanting, dancing and appearance of the chorus. It is almost operatic, and is the central element for most of the play. (In the program, Eustis, the Artistic Director of The Public Theater, says the chorus was “almost really the starting point for this entire endeavor.”)

Watching The Bacchae, and listening, I thought back to the last opera I saw:
Doctor Atomic, with a score by John Adams. There is something about our times that is bringing a certain musical sensibility, large in scope, concerned with real and mythical events, recent and ancient events, that remind us of the precariousness of our situation, comfortable at home, but threatened by the possibility of imminent cataclysm.

There is a similarity between our times and the times when Euripides wrote The Bacchae – Athens was in grave danger, both militarily, politically, and philosophically, with much of the danger coming from Persia and the East. The Bacchae may be 2,400 years old, but it is a modern play, and this is a timely production.


(Note: It has little to do with rest of this article, but I just wanted to note that these are extraordinary photos by
Joan Marcus. These are not only great shots, but they show the extraordinary concentration and the incredible life that is going on with every one of the characters shown in the pictures. They are a great tribute both to the productions, and to the photographer.)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

NOISES OFF FROM THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NEW JERSEY

Noises Off
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Paul Mullins


Noises Off is one of the funniest plays ever written... or, more accurately, ever staged, since it is not just the words but the physical actions that are hilarious. It is classic farce.

"Noises Off (British for off-stage commotion that can be heard by the audience), by Michael Frayn pulls back the curtain on a third-rate troupe of actors performing the sex-farce Nothing On, where backstage romance, slamming doors, missing actors and a plate of sardines lead to hilarious chaos."



Scott Barrow plays Garry Lejeune, the love-struck leading man &
Katie Fabel plays Brooke Ashton, the beautiful but airy ingénue.
Photo: ©Gerry Goodstein.

There's a new production this summer (with great reviews from The New York Times & other major papers), directed by Paul Mullins, at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, an independent professional company which is performing this summer at Drew University.

Highlighting the production are a fabulous young English actress, Katie Fabel, the well known American actress, Laila Robins, and Tony Award™ winning actress Harriet Harris.

The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University
This summer's home to
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and Noises Off.
Photo by Andrew Murad

Noises Off
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Paul Mullins

August 5 - 30, 2009

F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre
at Drew University


36 Madison Avenue
Madison, NJ 07940

Phone: (973) 408-5600 Fax: (973) 408-5700
Administration: 973-408-3278


Online ticketing: http://www.shakespearenj.org/OnStage/PurchaseTickets-show4.html
Email:
BoxOffice@shakespearenj.org
36 Madison Avenue
Madison, NJ 07940

Theatre Notes: The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University is an intimate theatre with 308 seats, excellent sight-lines to the stage and no seat more than 32 feet from the stage. It is fully accessible to people with disabilities -- both audiences and Theatre employees alike, with wheelchair seating in both the orchestra and balcony and an infrared listening system for the hearing impaired.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

STRAWBERRY SEASON... BULL

One of the most interesting competitive short play festivals is here again. The Strawberry Festival, sponsored by the Riant Theater, begins tonight and runs for ten days, when the best play, director, actor and actress will be announced at an awards ceremony.

One of our favorite actresses, Kathleen Wilce-Kaczan, is in TAMING THE BULL (written by C.C. Corry and directed by Rob Anderson), playing Dominique De Wilde, showing Saturday. (See below, series G.)


Here's the schedule for the festival:


STRAWBERRY ONE ACT FESTIVAL
August 13th through August 23, 2009
At The Theatre at St. Clement's,
423 West 46th Street, between 9th Avenue & 10th Avenue


Tickets are $20 for Round 1 when purchased online and $25 when purchased at the Box Office.
Click here for tickets.

Series A
Thursday, August 13th at 7pm


AT NIGHT IN PRAHA
by Steve Capra
The most awful things happen at night in Praha – under German occupation. But the heart is never defeated.

JUMPING THE GUN
by Kyle Overstreet
Falling in love is about timing, or is it?

DREAMING OF A WHITE HOUSE
by Leanna Renee Hieber
When your ex wants you back and the offer is super hot, should you stay or run away?

I DO . . . I GUESS
by Michael Musi
His future arrived before his entrée.


Series B
Thursday, August 13th at 9pm

ANOTHER CHANCE
by Keith R. Higgons
Ultimatums and hangovers seldom go hand in hand.

BUSINESS OR PLEASURE
by Tom Diriwachter
A Spanish lesson at the local Starbucks turns into more than what each player bargained for.

THE CONCRETE WALL
by J. C. Svec
The most difficult time in life is when you say goodbye.

A BROKEN BARBIE
by Ree Merrill
Barbie, broken before shipping.


Series C
Friday, August 14th at 7pm

THE DEBT
by Jerry Della Salla
There is a price to coming home.

MELT INTO THE SUN
by Camilla MaxwellDeath leaves a heartache no one can heal, and love leaves a memory no one can steal.

HOW TO BE CUTE AND BREAK HEARTS
by Tommaso Matelli
Love and fear are good to be laughed at. Especially when they surface to make and break the walls you had.

CHRYSALIS
by Sue Hodara
In the winter of their life together, a husband and wife consider the marital vows they made to each other.


Series D
Friday, August 14th at 9pm

THE BABY
by Susan Kaessinger
A husband runs for cover when his pregnant wife becomes hormonal.

STRAIGHT MEN ARE BITCHES TOO
Written & Directed by Anthony Fusco
Watch what happens when 4 friends reunite at a local gay club in NYC to celebrate a 25th birthday party that turns into SCANDAL. Dirt will be dished tonight.

COMPUBOTS
by Paul Trupia
Isn't technology wonderful?

PRESCRIPTIONS
by Ellen Orchid
House sitting for your shrink can be weird.


Series E
Saturday, August 15th at 5pm

DOUBLE FEAR
by Joseph Lizardi
A couple is suddenly paralyzed by a fear they are afraid to reveal.

DRIVING: A LESSON
by Lucy Gillespie
Do you know who is behind the wheel?

CRIME STOPPERS
by Paul Schmitt
Do you want to be prey or predator?

LOOKING FOR TALIKA
by Von H. Washington
An evening of shared memories turns sour when hidden suspicions erupt in an outpouring of accusations that threaten to destroy what has been considered an ideal relationship.


Series F
Saturday, August 15th at 7pm


JOINING THE PACK
by Will Lenihan
Things heat up when Jack's girl friend comes to his house for dinner to meet his parents.

LIZ AND PAUL
by Jude Hinojosa
Breaking up is hard to do.

GENERAL ADMISSIONS
by Crish Barth
A neurotic couple's lovely night out at the theatre turns into a relationship altering revelation.

INTRODUCTIONS
by Laurence C. Schwartz
An incoming college freshman has her own ideas about female fertility, sex and the future; only to rouse the fear of her peers.

Series G
Saturday, August 15th at 9pm


TAMING THE BULL
by C.C. Corry
A powerful emotional drama depicting the last living moments of a larger than life man and his wish to die at home.

NOVEMBER MOURNING
by Rachel Knowles
When the truth finally comes out, is it really what you want to know?

A TIME IN SOUTH AFRICA
by Ayanna Nichell
A tale of liberation and retribution.


Series H
Sunday, August 16th at 5pm


JUST LIKE YOUR UNCLE AL
by Michael Monasterial
A man reflects on his childhood and the turning point in his life.

UP A RIVER/DOWN THE AISLE
by Jake Lipman
The neurotic girl's guide to scattering ashes and finding the right wedding dress.

I JUST WISH
by Burt Grinstead
Three different people find themselves feeling something we've all felt, alone.

Series I
Sunday, August 16th at 7pm


BIRD WATCHING
by Jeffrey L. Hollman
What else can be seen when bird watching in Central Park?

THE LIFTERS
by Carol Hollenbeck
When two teenage girls rebel, they definitely have a cause.

16 T0NS
by Adam Harlan
A man has a job to do and soon that's what he becomes. The job is all he knows.

STROLLER WARS
by Heather Gault
Two Park Slope couples collide in this hilarious battle of friendship, hypocrisy, and what it means to be a parent.

Series J
Sunday, August 16th at 9pm


DIFFERENTIATION
by Charlotte Rahn-Lee
What's love got to do with it?

BEASTIE BUSTER
by Gretchen O'Halloran
A woman confronts the beasties taking away her independence.

DEUTERANOMALY
by Jessica Fleitman
If you can't see the difference between red and green, how do you know when to stop and when to go?

TURKEY DAY
by E.K. Deutsch
An Arkansas farm family experiences revelation and tragedy on Thanksgiving Day.

The Strawberry One-Acts Festival Semi-Finals Summer 2009
Monday, August 17th and Tuesday, August 18th at 7:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m.
The best plays from Series A thru J of the competition.
Tickets: $20.00 online. $25.00 at the Box Office.
Call the box office 646-623-3488 after August 16th to see which shows are in the Semi-Finals or check OUR BLOG on our website.

The Strawberry One-Acts Festival The Wild Night Summer 2009
Wednesday, August 19th at 7pm & 9pm
The Artistic Director selects a few plays and gives them one more chance to be in The Finals. Tickets: $20.00 online. $25.00 at the Box Office.
Call the box office 646-623-3488 after August 16th to see which shows are in the Wild Night or check OUR BLOG on our website.

The Strawberry One-Acts Festival Finals Summer 2009
Friday, August 21st at 7pm

The best plays from the Semi-Finals & The Wild Night
Tickets: $25.00 online. $30.00 at the Box Office.
Price includes a reception during intermission.
Call the box office 646-623-3488 after August 19th to see which shows are in the Finals or check OUR BLOG on our website.

The Strawberry One-Acts Festival Awards Ceremony & Performance Summer 2009
Sunday, August 23rd at 1:30 pm

The four best plays from the Finals will perform.
Awards will be given to the Best Play, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor.
Tickets: $25.00 online. $30.00 at the Box Office.
Call the box office 646-623-3488 after August 21st to see which shows are going to be performed or check OUR BLOG on our website.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Coming: AFTER MISS JULIE

Strindberg's Miss Julie is a powerful play, which is also very strange and hard to make believable, since so much happens in a very short time, and the characters are extreme. But it is such an interesting play that people keep trying. (Here's one translation of Strindberg's script, including Strindberg's preface.)

In a new interpretation, changed enough, I guess, so that the name itself is slightly changed, one of the world's most exciting new playwrights, and three powerful young actors present their version at the American Airlines Theater in September as part of the Roundabout's new season.

After Miss Julie
By Patrick Marber
Directed by Mark Brokaw
With Sienna Miller, Jonny Lee Miller, Marin Ireland

Sept. 18 - Dec. 6, 2009
The Roundabout Theater Company
The American Airlines Theater
227 West 42 Street (btw 7th & 8th)

Patrick Marber wrote Closer.

Sienna Miller was recently in Interview and The Edge of Love.She's in G. I. Joe coming out this summer (Aug 7, 2009).

She was also in lots of gossip stories.

Marin Ireland was in Reasons To Be Pretty on Broadway, and is a rising star in films and theater.

Jonny Lee Miller was in Trainspotting. Some trivia (from Wikipedia) -- Jonny Lee Miller was in Hackers and married his co-star Angelina Jolie; he ran the London Maration in about 3 hours. He played the lead in Eli Stone, a series I rather liked, that was cancelled after 2 seasons (possibly a victim of the Writer's Strike).

Sienna Miller and Jonny Lee Miller, though both named "Miller" are not related.

The Story
In his new interpretation of August Strindberg's classic drama about class and sex, Miss Julie, playwright Patrick Marber transposes Miss Julie to the English countryside in 1945. Sequestered in her grandmother's country house on the eve of the Labour Party's historic landslide victory, young Miss Julie engages in a forbidden flirtation that quickly spins into a life and death struggle for power.

After Miss Julie
The Roundabout Theater Company

Sept. 18 - Dec. 6, 2009

American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42 St. (7th & 8th Aves)
Ticket Services: 212.719.1300

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Coming: DREYFUS IN REHEARSAL

DREYFUS IN REHEARSAL

By JEAN-CLAUDE GRUMBERG
Adapted by GARSON KANIN (Born Yesterday, The Rat Race, Do Re Mi)
Directed by Chad Larabee

Poland. 1931. A troupe of amateur Jewish performers attempts to put on a play about French Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Complications ensue as the frustrated director struggles to make the company understand the relevance of live theatre and help his young lead find the conviction to play the title character. Through it all, the troupe discovers the strength of their collective voice and what they mean to each other.

Dreyfus in Rehearsal begins performances this Thursday, July 30 at the Beckett Theatre, Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).

Tickets are $18.

Beckett Theatre,
Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).

Thursday, July 30 at 8pm
Friday, July 31 at 8pm
Saturday, August 1 at 3pm & 8pm
Monday, August 3 at 7pm
Tuesday, August 4 at 7pm
Wednesday, August 5 at 3pm & 8pm
Thursday, August 6 at 8pm
Friday, August 7 at 8pm

To purchase:
www.ticketcentral.com
or
(212) 279-4200
Or in person at the
Box Office at Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Ave.)

Featuring:
Paul Anthony Stewart* (2004 Revival of Fiddler on the Roof, "Guiding Light") as Morris,
Lori Wilner* (A Catered Affair, Awake and Sing) as Zina,
Bob Ari* (Frost/Nixon, The Constant Wife) as Arnold,
Ari Butler* as Michael,
Holly Ann Butler* (Lincoln Center's Happiness, 2007 Revival of Grease!) as Myriam,
Lee Zarrett* (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Jane Eyre) as Mendl,
Daniel Pollack* (Arthur Miller's The Prince) as Zalman,
Teddy Bergman* as Dr. Wasselbaum/ Bronislaw and
Timothy Sekk* as Yanek.

With set design by Ken Goldstein,
Costume design by David Zyla,
Lighting design by Cory Pattak,
Original music by Matt Gould and
Fight direction by Joe Travers.
Iris D. O'Brien* serves as the production stage manager.

Presented by:
Philip Morgaman, Emily Miller, Frankie Grande

Friday, July 10, 2009

JUDE LAW => HAMLET


Jude Law
will take the role of Hamlet in a Broadway production directed by Michael Grandage.

Preview performances start September 12, with the official opening on October 6.

(NOTE: Tickets are on sale to American Express Cardmembers only through July 17! Tickets will go on sale to the general public on July 18.)

Broadhurst Theatre 235 West 44th Street (Between Broadway and 8th Avenue)
New York NY 10036

Running Time: 3 hours and 10 minutes, including one 15 minute intermission

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

SUMMER THEATER 2009: LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL

Lincoln Center Festival 09 is presenting a fascinating series of plays this July by renowned theater companies from all around Europe: Hungary, Russia, Poland & more...

A Hungarian company is presenting Chekhov's Ivanov in a 20th Century Hungarian setting. Ivanov is Chekhov's deepest, darkest, and most disturbing and shocking play. The legendary Ariane Mnouchkine is making a rare New York appearance! This Festival is quite an important theatrical event!


The Lincoln Center
Festival 09
July 7 - 26

Global Theater!




Les Éphémères, Le Théâtre du Soleil, July 7–19

To begin the season, visionary director Ariane Mnouchkine and her acting collective share life experiences and find beauty in everyday moments.


lvanov, Katona József Theatre, July 7–11
Peasant Opera, Béla Pintér and Company, July 21–26

Two Hungarian companies present radically different works: Tamás Ascher's turn at Ivanov features Chekhov’s intense title character set in 1960s and 70s Hungary, and Béla Pintér and Company performs a hilarious musical soap opera, a farcical tale of taboos and tradition in the countryside.


Kalkwerk, Narodowy Stary Teatr, July 14–18

The masterpiece of renowned Polish director Krystian Lupa brings us face to face with madness, a work rooted in psychological complexity, humanity, and stylistic innovation.


Trilogia della villeggiatura, Piccolo Teatro di Milano/Teatri Uniti di Napoli,
July 22–26


Piccolo Teatro di Milano returns to the Festival to perform this uproarious commedia dell’arte satire, starring and directed by Toni Servillo (from the film Gomorrah).


Boris Godunov, Chekhov International Theatre Festival, July 22–26
Life and Fate, Maly Drama Theatre, July 21–26


Two acclaimed theater companies arrive from Russia with deeply moving works: the Chekhov International Theatre Festival presents an exposé of corrupt Tsarist Russia and the Maly Drama Theatre follows a deranged physicist under the direction of Lev Dodin.

Monday, June 15, 2009

SHAKESPEARE LAB PARTICIPANTS



Zaidan Jah & Lanna Joffrey
Two of the new members of the Shakespeare Lab
photos from imdb

The Public Theater Shakespeare Lab starts today and runs through July 24.

Lemon Andersen, Nathan Darrow, Paloma Guzmán, Zainab Jah, Lanna Joffrey, Modesto Lacén, Rebecca Lowman, William Mapother, Leslie Silva, Ryan Brooke Taylor, Molly Ward, and Victor Williams were selected from hundreds of applications to participate in this year’s program.

These are people to watch! They are among the best classical actors of their generation, and they are getting some of the best follow-up training here.

Under the direction of Barry Edelstein, The Shakespeare Lab immerses a carefully-selected company of professional, mid-career actors in a six-week intensive exploring the rigors, challenges, and joys of performing Shakespeare. The Shakespeare Lab is a unique opportunity for working American actors in mid-career to hone their craft and expand their classical skills. It aims to build a strong and diverse collective of classically trained actors which will expand The Public Theater’s community of artists.

The Lab’s workshops in Shakespearean performance are led by some of the most respected figures in American
classical theater training, including Christopher Bayes, Lisa Benevides, Barry Edelstein, Robert Perillo, J. Steven White, Grace Zandarski, Janet Zarish and others. Guest artists, including eminent members of The Public Theater community and other leading Shakespeareans, will frequently visit the Shakespeare Lab.

The Shakespeare Lab was founded in 1995, and in the 14 years since, numerous members of the Shakespeare Lab Company have gone on to secure roles in the Park, at The Public Theater, on and off-Broadway, and in regional theaters. The Lab is the cornerstone of a busy summer of Shakespeare-related activity at The Public Theater, including the production of Twelfth Night, directed by Daniel Sullivan (June 10 to July 12, 2009); Shakespeare Lab Jr., a program of free, one-week Shakespeare workshops for New York City schoolchildren; and Summer Shake-Up, a one-day celebration of Shakespeare at the Delacorte Theater for New York City schoolchildren and their families.


Here are brief descriptions of the participants.

LEMON ANDERSEN is a critically acclaimed and award-winning renaissance artist. As a poet he has the greatest number of appearances on HBO’s “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry”—seven times in five seasons. He is also an original cast member of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. He won a Tony Award for his writing and performance, as well as a Drama Desk Award nomination. He has been a mainstay in the spoken-word and theater scene for the past decade, performing in and selling out venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Apollo Theater, Chicago Theater, Hollywood’s Kodak Theater, and Philadelphia’s Live 8 Theater. His film credits include The Soloist and Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna, Sucker Free City, She Hate Me, and Inside Man. His theater and writing credits include Slanguage (New York Theater Workshop) and the book Ready Made Real: Poems.

NATHAN DARROW’s professional work includes productions of The Little Dog Laughed, Taking Sides, Translations, To Kill A Mockingbird, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Romeo and Juliet, The Pillowman, King Henry V, The Retreat from Moscow, The Game of Love and Chance, and Much Ado About Nothing, among others.

PALOMA GUZMÁN received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon where her Shakespeare credits include the role of Celia in As You Like It under the direction of Di Trevis (RSC, NT). Her TV and film credits include “Law & Order,” “Gossip Girl,” and the recent film Confessions of a Shopaholic. She was most recently seen in Michael’s Greif’s production of Boys’ Life at Second Stage.

ZAINAB JAH. Recent credits include Tranced (Azmera) at Merrimack Rep, Intimate Apparel (Mayme) at W.H.A.T, Trojan Women (Helen) with Classical Theatre of Harlem, In Darfur at The Public Theater, and Veronica Jonkers in the national tour of Athol Fugard's Valley Song. Film and TV credits include principal roles in “100 Center Street,” directed by Sidney Lumet, Dinner Rush with Danny Aiello, and “Law & Order.” Jah is a two-time winner of the Fresh Fruit Award for Acting for Nick Mwaluko’s plays Waafrika (2007) and S/HE (2008).

LANNA JOFFREY. Recent credits include Jason Grote’s 1001 (Denver Center, Denver Post Ovation Award), Nine Parts of Desire (Lyric Stage, Carmel O'Reilly, IRNE Award for Best Solo Performance) and Joffrey’s documentary play, Valiant (Tamilla Woodard, NY Fringe Festival Performance Award, NY Innovative Theatre nomination). Other credits include Metamorphoses (Capital Repertory, Maggie Mancinelli-Carter), Five Kinds of Silence (Boundless Theatre, Tlaloc Rivas), The Snow Queen (Urban Stages, Daniella Topol), Mac Wellman’s Cellophane (The Flea, Jim Simpson), Like I Say (Len Jenkin), Saviana Stanescu’s Waxing West (Jonathan Silverstein), Homeward Bound (Shannon Fillion), Marko The Prince (Immigrants Theatre Project, Marcy Arlin), Dancing at Lughnasa (Wendy Dann) and Israel Horovitz's Security and A Mother's Love. She has collaborated with Karen Finley on Lanna’s solo piece, Rain (The Flea). Film credits include Breathtaking, Security, The New Americans, So She Fell Silent and Someday Soon.

MODESTO LACÉN has been working for the past 16 years as an actor, director and producer in Puerto Rico and the United States. A graduate from the University of Puerto Rico with a BA in Drama (Magna Cum Laude), his Puerto Rican Theater credits include Medea; Blue Surge; The Boys in the Band; Godspell; Picasso at the Lapin Agile; Hamlet; Othello; El Bombón de Elena; Salsa Gorda (Best Actor 2004). Film credits include Las dos Caras de Jano; El Cimarrón; Desamores; Entremedio; 12 horas; Animal; Back in the Day; Dirty Dancing 2; Kidnapped in Paradise; and Second Honeymoon, among others. In 1998 Lacen established the company Nueva Escena with which he has produced: The Little Prince: the musical; Yepeto; Art (Director); Salsa Gorda ( Actor); and Los Coyotes (Actor). In 2004 he was recognized by the Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular as “Emblematic Actor” for artistic excellence and variety. Other theater credits include The Caucasian Chalk Circle, To Shakespeare With Love, Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Crúz (ACE and HOLA nominations), and Requiem por Yarini (ACE nomination).

REBECCA LOWMAN received an MFA from Columbia University in 1997. Favorite roles include Rosalind in As You Like It, Christopher in Tom Stoppard’s On the Razzle, Horatio in Hamlet, Meg in Crimes of the Heart, and the bellboy in first national tour of the musical Titanic. She has appeared on many television shows, including “Will & Grace,” “Without a Trace,” “Cold Case,” “Criminal Minds,” “Big Love,” “Private Practice,” and “The Shield”; she starred in an independent feature called Eve of Understanding and in the play iWitness at the Mark Taper Forum, directed by Barry Edelstein.

WILLIAM MAPOTHER. Television and film credits include “Prison Break,” “Lost,” “Criminal Minds,” “Viva Laughlin,” “K-Ville,” “Robot Chicken,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Threshold,” “The Inside,” “Line of Fire,” “Touched by an Angel,” “CSI: Miami,” “Law & Order: SVU,” Warrior, Hurt, Skip Tracer, The Burrowers, Moving McAllister, Moola, The Lather Effect, World Trade Center, The Zodiac, Lords of Dogtown, Chloe, Suspect Zero, The Grudge, The Kiss, The Pennsylvania Miners’ Story, Self Storage, Minority Report, Vanilla Sky, In the Bedroom, Mission: Impossible II, Magnolia, Trickle, Without Limits, and Born on the Fourth of July.

LESLIE SILVA performed in Chicago and Sleep Deprivation Chamber at the Signature Theatre in Washington, DC. Her other theater credits include Edmond at the Linda Gross Theater. Her television and film credits include “Numb3rs,” “CSI: Miami,” “Enterprise,” “Cold Case,” “The Agency,” “Odyssey 5,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Gideon’s Crossing,” “Girlfriends,” “ER,” “Providence,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Cosby,” “New York Undercover,” Reversion, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The 70’s, and Fools Rush In.

RYAN BROOKE TAYLOR began his early performing career as a classical dancer, performing with such companies as the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Pennsylvania Ballet. Taylor is a former student of Michael Miller's The Actor's Center where he studied with many great teachers, including Loyd Richards and Per Brah. More recently Taylor has performed as Actor and Creative Team member for Julie Taymor's Broadway company of The Lion King.

MOLLY WARD. Credits include The Seagull, Romeo and Juliet, and Three Sisters at American Repertory Theater. Three Sisters also went to The Edinburgh International Festival and she was nominated for an Elliot Norton Award. Other credits include the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's Our House at The Denver Center; Camille at Bard Summerscape; Before Breakfast at Provincetown Theater; Othello at Hartford Stage; Nobody with Rising Phoenix Rep.; Shaving the Pickle and The Shape of Metal with Origin Theater Company; Umbrella Plays in the NYFringe Festival 2008; and The Lacy Project in Ice Factory Festival 2007; As You Like It (NYFringe Festival 2000 in a parking lot, and moved to The Public Theater's New Works Now! series in 2001); The Stronger, with Chashama; and Richard Forman's Paradise Hotel (toured in Berlin, Salsburg, Copenhagen and Paris).

VICTOR WILLIAMS. He was most recently seen in the Public LAB workshop production of Philip Roth in Khartoum by David Bar Katz (dir. John Gould Rubin). He appeared as a guest artist in The Graduate Acting Program's production of Our Lady of 121st Street (dir. Michael Sexton). Other theater credits include Satisfy Me by Johnny Garcia at the Lillian Theater in Los Angeles (dir. Andrew Borba); Ohio Tip-Off by James Yoshimura at the Dallas Theater Center (dir. Kenneth Leon); and Troilus and Cressida at the New York Shakespeare Festival (dir. Mark Wing-Davey). His TV and film credits include “Fringe,” “ER,” “Girlfriends,” “Flight of the Conchords,” “The Practice,” “Animatrix,” “The King of Queens,” Copland, The Preacher's Wife, and Traci Townsend.