2008-2009 Repertory Season
January 11 - February 7, 2009
The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row
410 West 42nd Street (Bet. 9th & 10th Avenues)
New York NY 10036
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23 Knives
by Christopher Boal
directed by Eric Parness
In 44 B.C., the fate of the Roman Republic hangs in the balance. The most powerful man in the world, Julius Caesar, lies dead in the Theatre of Pompey, as politicians and military men ambitiously move to fill the void of power. Marcus Antonius summons the physician Antistius to uncover the truth about the assassination through a greek technique called "autopsy" . But as Antistius discovers more about the crime, the real truth becomes harder to find. Inspired by history's only mention of Antistius in Seutonius's The Twelve Caesars, 23 Knives utilizes contemporary language to weave a darkly comic mystery about politics, patriotism, and the nature of truth.
Featuring: Brian D. Coats*, Todd Alan Crain*, Rafael Jordan*, Patrick Melville*, Ryan Tramont
Caesar and Cleopatra
by Bernard Shaw
directed by Kent Paul
adapted by Eric Overmyer
Four years before Julius Caesar sailed to Rome to meet his untimely end, the great leader sought to conquer the outer reaches of the land, always questing for a kindred spirit to rival his own. What he finds, sitting on top of an ancient Egyptian Sphinx, is a young Queen Cleopatra, who beguiles him not only with her beauty, but because she may be the very match he's been seeking. Shaw's witty, satirical masterpiece personalizes the political relationship between an occupying force and a foreign power, and demonstrates that modern civilization has done little to advance the basic nature of the human soul.
Featuring: Pun Bandhu*, Alberto Bonilla*, Chris Ceraso*, Michael Chmiel*, Rand Guerrero, Christopher Hayes, Rafael Jordan*, Geraldine Librandi*, Joe MacDougall*, Sophie Maerowitz, Brad Makarowski*, Jessica Myhr*, Brian Tom O'Connor*, Krosby J. Roza, Wrenn Schmidt*, Sarah Stockton*, Grant James Varjas*, Maxwell Zener*
Production Team: Sarah B. Brown (Scenic Design/23 Knives, C & C), Sidney Shannon (Costume Design/23 Knives), Michelle Eden Humphrey (Costume Design/23 Knives), Pamela Kupper (Lighting Design/23 Knives, C & C), Nick Moore (Sound Design & Original Music/23 Knives, Sound Design/C & C), Robert C. Rees (Original Music/C & C), Paul Wilson (Props Master/23 Knives, C & C), Robert Neff Williams (Text and Voice Coach/C & C), Stephanie Klapper (Casting Consultant/23 Knives, C & C), Alberto Bonilla (Fight Director/C & C) (Joe Doran (Production Manager/23 Knives, C & C), Springer Associates PR (Press Representative/23 Knives, C & C), S. Kim Glassman (Logo Artwork/23 Knives, C & C)
PLUS OUR THIRD PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR:
May 16-June 6, 2009
(Opening Night: May 21)
Lion Theatre on Theatre Row
410 W. 42nd St & 9th Avenue, NYC
Reflections
An Evening of Short Plays
directed by Eric Parness
Including world premieres of
Their Town by Alvin Eng
What Happened Then by Michael Feingold Compromise by Ian Strasfogel
and revivals of
Catastrophe by Samuel Beckett
Swan Song by Anton Chekhov
The plays explore the themes of life, theatre, and what comes next.
Featuring: David Arthur Bachrach*, Todd Butera*, Bill Fairbairn*, Nicole Godino*, Grant James Varjas*, Christine Verleny
Production Team: Sarah B. Brown (Scenic Design), Colleen Kesterson (Costume Design), Pamela Kupper (Lighting Design), Nick Moore (Original Music & Sound Design), Jenna Lazar (Stage Manager), Joe Doran (Production Manager), Flora Vassar (Production Electrician)
Samuel Beckett’s Catastrophe utilizes a metaphoric relationship between an actor and his director to comment on themes of political power, manipulation and oppression.
Ian Strasfogel’s Compromise explores the relationship between a theatrical director and producer working on a production of Samuel Beckett’s Catastrophe as they try to balance artistic integrity with commercialism.
Inspired by Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Alvin Eng’s Their Town, depicts a man and his nemesis meeting in the afterlife as they struggle to find true redemption.
In Anton Chekhov’s Swan Song, an aging actor at the end of his career reenacts passages from Shakespeare, hoping to make peace with what he has sacrificed for a life in the theatre.
Inspired by an 18th Century narrative, Michael Feingold’s What Happened Then utilizes dramatic storytelling to reveal how the fates of two men were forever intertwined by a series of unlikely coincidences.
READING SERIES
Curated by Eric Parness, Artistic Director
Saturday, May 23rd
Another Menagerie by Zan Skolnick
Director Tamilla Woodard
The story of a young activist and his family in 1959, inspired by the paradigms in Tennessee Williams's Menagerie.
Saturday, May 30th
The Sleeper Awakens by Julie McKee
Directed by Jean Randich
An updated look at what Calderon’s Life Is a Dream means in contemporary terms.
Saturday, June 6th
The Bachelor by Mark Sacharoff
Directed by Alexandra Aron
An adaptation of Turgenev's play.