Interview with J. Stephen Brantley of "Eightythree Down"

By Byrne Harrison

Photo by Maki Ueno

J. Stephen Brantley is an actor and playwright whose work has been commissioned by Lincoln Center Director's Lab and Performance Space 122, where his Distortion Taco was named a Village Voice Pick Of The Year.

Brantley has performed with Big Dance Theatre, Horse Trade, Mabou Mines, Cucaracha, Lucky Artists, and Emerging Artists Theatre, and at venues including The Sanford Meisner, Soho Rep, HERE, PS 122, The Brick, The Palladium, and Provincetown Theater. Brantley's award-winning one-act Break has been produced in Provincetown, New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles and at the Absolut Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival.

Other plays include Blood Grass, Furbelow, Gatos Locos & The Ave Maria, Good God Enters Flossing, Hard Sparkle, The Jamb, Nevertheless, Shiny Pair Of Complications, and Struck. His Eightythree Down, which won the 2009 Georgia Theatre Conference Award opens September 1st at Under St.Mark's in NYC.

Brantley is an award-winning graduate of NYU's Experimental Theatre Wing, a member of TOSOS, and a quintessential Scorpio. He is currently collaborating with Theatre 167 on the final installment of their epic Jackson Heights trilogy. More at www.jstephenbrantley.com

First of all, I'm very excited to see Hard Sparks’ first full-length production.  What led you to start Hard Sparks?

It was time for me to take a leap, to do something completely ill-advised like start a not-for-profit theatre company during a recession. Really, it was about taking control. It became clear that if I was ever going to do the kind of work I wanted, I’d have to create a vehicle for it. I think it’s the future, artists making things happen for themselves.

Where does the name come from?

Hard Sparks comes from a passage in the Zohar, which is a two-thousand-year-old decoding of the Torah that serves as the primary text for the study of Kabbalah. It has to do with the gathering and elevating of the sparks of creation, of being a channel for divine light. That’s what theatre artists do.

Can you tell me a little bit about Eightythree Down?

Eightythree Down documents the final hour of 1983 in the basement bedroom of a closeted bird-watcher called Martin. Martin’s world is turned completely upside-down when his fabulous old friend Dina shows up just before midnight with a couple of very bad boys. What happens is pretty wild. I mean, this is not The Wedding Singer. This is a coke-fueled thrill-ride, it’s like looking back at the Eighties through blood-spattered Ray-Bans, it’s quite intense.

You've assembled a very impressive cast and crew for this production.  How did you bring them together?

Melody Bates and Brian Miskell
Photo by Daniel Talbott

Magic. Providence. Guts, maybe. I know a lot of great directors but hadn’t found quite the right fit until my friend Kathleen Warnock suggested I ask Daniel Talbott. I didn’t actually think I could get him, as busy as he is, and I was thrilled when he signed on. From there we built up a company piece by piece. He hand-selected a terrific design team with whom he already shared a vocabulary. Casting sessions combined actors we knew, actors recommended by friends, and actors discovered by our casting director Jenn Haltman. The quartet we ended up with is absolutely brilliant. Melody Bates, Ian Holcomb, Bryan Kaplan, Brian Miskell. What they’re doing in this show is just amazing.

You're an actor and playwright, and now you can add artistic director to your resume.  What is your theatrical background and how did it lead you here?

Well after lots of leads in high school and a regional production of Grease, I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to be in theatre anymore. I was a little bored. But then I came to New York at eighteen years old and saw all this amazing stuff – avant-garde theatre and rock n roll and post-modern dance and poetry slams - and I decided I had to study at NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing. So my early work was at PS122 and HERE, and with companies like Big Dance Theatre. Then I took a major detour into self-destruction and came back more playwright than performance artist. Honestly, it feels a little weird now to be doing naturalism. There are so many props. My next play may be a bit more meta. But then, I try to do something different each time.

What advice do you have for theatre students who might want to follow in your footsteps?

First, ask yourself if you love rehearsal. Not performance, but rehearsal. Do you ache to engage in the process of making theatre? Cool. Now make a pledge to respect yourself and your craft, and to never forget that what you do has worth. Theatre artists do extraordinary things and I just hate it when they allow themselves to be undervalued.

What is next for Hard Sparks?

We’re producing Nicole Pandolfo’s one-woman play Love In The Time Of Chlamydia for festivals and touring. It’s filthy and fun. And then in 2012 we’ll do two more new full-lengths. Maybe another one of mine, but I’m also reading stuff from several other playwrights at the moment. I really want to develop plays that speak to important social issues and raise awareness of community-based organizations working on them. The one that keeps me up lately is homeless LGBT youth.

What's next for you?

Seriously considering cleaning my apartment. Past that? I’d like to get back onstage, do something really hardcore. It’s been too long since I played a villain. And I should probably work on one of the five unfinished plays languishing in my computer…

If you could say one thing to your potential audience, what would it be?

Not to sit back and relax. But with Eightythree Down, they really won’t be able to.

And finally, if you had the opportunity to be in any play with any actor, what and who would you choose?

I’m supposed to say Mark Rylance, right? You know, I know so many fantastic actors. I’m dying to act with David Drake. I would love to have my ass kicked all over a stage by Daniel Talbott. I’ve written something for myself and Jackie Sydney. Karen Stanion. Jenny Seastone Stern. Hunter Gilmore. There’s an amazing play by David Parr called Listening To Pluto that I want to do with Joleen Wilkinson. And I would do anything anytime with the cast of Eightythree Down. It’s occurred to me they’d do a killer Burn This. But I guess I’d have to play Robbie.

September 1-17 at 8pm
Come early for drinks!
Under Saint Marks - 94 St. Mark's Place between 1st and A

Sound byJanie Bullard

Scenery by Eugenia Furneaux-Arends
 Lighting by Brad Peterson

Costumes by Tristan Raines

Stage Manager Amanda Michaels

Assistant Stage Manager Alex Mark
Assistant Director Evan Caccioppoli

Fight Choreographer Laura Ramadei
 
Casting Director Jenn Haltman

Press Representative Emily Owens

Graphics Julia Bernadsky

 Ticket now available at SmartTix
or by visiting HardSparks.com or HorseTRADE.info 

Interview with Anna Grace Carter of "Prom Night of the Living Dead"

By Byrne Harrison
Photos courtesy of BITE

Anna Grace Carter (http://www.anna-grace.net/) is the Producer/Co-Creator of Prom Night of the Living Dead and the Executive Producer/Director of Brooklyn Innovative Theatre Experience (BITE) with Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Kris Chung (http://www.bite-theatre.com/). Anna came to New York in December 2009 via Beijing, China where she has spent nearly half a decade producing, directing, writing, and acting in plays and musicals at the Peng Hao Theatre--one of China's only independently owned and operated theatres. Through workshops, festivals, and stagings of classic and modern productions from Shakespeare to Wit, her work in Beijing has helped create and maintain a vibrant independent international theatre community in China. Now, Anna Grace brings her unique views and experience to the independent theatre community of New York with the original interactive theatrical event, Prom Night of the Living Dead, based on a show first conceived and produced in Beijing. Anna Grace has also produced award winning shows in the Midtown International Theatre Festival and the Shortened Attention Span Horror Festival. Her regional directing/producing credits include Godspell, Annie, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Orphans, and the Diaries of Adam and Eve. She has also produced and starred in the Beijing premiere of Wit, a role for which she, naturally, shaved her head.

I've heard Prom Night of the Living Dead described as George Romero meets John Hughes.  So working that theme, in The Breakfast Club, which character did you most identify with?

Though I would like to say the Molly Ringwald princess, I think I most identify with Ally Sheedy's freak in that group. Our director/writer, Kris would probably say I am the mean old principal.

If zombies had attacked during that Saturday detention, who would have survived?

Definitely NOT the meanie principal! I guess that the freaks and geeks would last the longest. I suppose that Bender would find the most weapons.

Tell me a little bit about Prom Night of the Living Dead.

Prom Night of the Living Dead transports its audience into a Twilight Zone-like world, where they'll attend the Glendale High School 1962 prom with the graduating class -- best described in John Hughes archetypes -- jocks, princesses, geeks, and rebels. The night begins with plenty of dancing, drinking, and playing games. The story of the play involves a sensitive geek in love with the prom queen-to-be whose potential romance is cut short by an attack by the living dead, which the audience experiences firsthand with the survivors in a bloody battle finale.

Zombies are everywhere these days.  Well, not real zombies - that would be horrible.  But zombies are on TV, movies, and stage.  What do you think makes them so popular now?

Photo by Elia A. Roldan

In Romero's early films, zombies represent simple-minded conservative society that infects and poisons the younger generation and only gets worse with time and cannot be defeated because it is so pervasive. (Many of Romero's zombies were symbols of society and authority like cops, teachers, parents, etc. -- our show features these old school zombies as well.)

I think with all the unrest and evil in the world, the things that zombies represented back in the 1960s from Romero's first film are as true today as they were back then. The '60s were a time of unrest and uncertainty -- a loss of innocence after the more prosperous times of the '50s. History is a cycle and perhaps we are feeling that same kind of restlessness that was so pervasive during '60s with the booming Reagan and Clinton years leading to the Great Recession, 9/11, and unending wars in the Middle East. These and many other things are the zombies of today.

This is an interactive play, where the audience mixes and mingles with the cast as prom attendees themselves.  What made you decide to present it in this format?

We wanted the audience to feel like they are part of the action in a three-dimensional way. By having them start the evening by attending a "regular" prom they get lost in the event of partying and playing games and then all of a sudden the zombies attack -- the doors are locked and the groaning and moaning starts to come from all sides. The audience starts to feel like they are in a horror movie, not just watching a play.

Any challenges so far in this type of staging?

Photo by Mia Moy

It is very difficult to do interactive theatre because we need to create a balance between party and play. It's hard to make it clear when the audience should focus in on an important scene between the two main characters and when they should party and dance with the rest of the cast. We also have to make sure they don't try to fight the actors playing zombies in the final battle.

What has been the best thing for you about this show?

Seeing the reactions from the audience as the zombies start to flood the stage. People are scared and/or shouting along with the main characters to "hit them in the head!" It's fun to watch everyone get scared and have a great time as well. I also enjoy watching the whole room do the hokey pokey!

Tell me a little about your cast and crew.

Many of our cast are from the original staging of the one-act version from last year's festival. It's great to have the old gang back because it made the rehearsal process go much more smoothly with all the stage combat we had to learn. As for the crew I truly believe we have a fantastically talented team! Our director/writer, Kris Chung, is the ultimate zombie expert and fan. He always has an answer for the cast on what to do in any given zombie situation and he always manages to find a balance between the intimacy and urgency of the play without compromising the fun party atmosphere of the interactive event. Our fight choreographer, Stanley Brode, has put together a beautiful and more importantly, believable zombie battle. And our dance choreographer, Dustin Cross has efficiently taught our cast nearly every '60s dance from the Stroll to the Mashed Potato. We've got some amazing talent in this young, non-union cast of 18 and I am so proud of each and every one of them!

What is next for you?

We are working on finding a permanent home for the Prom on Off-Broadway. After this successful run, we plan to re-open around Halloween to initiate a long-running show. If any dance hall/school gyms are interested in hosting us, please contact me asap! I'm also writing a couple new musicals based on my life in China. I hope to get those started in readings and workshops by the end of the year.

And finally, if you found yourself stuck in The Walking Dead or Night of the Living Dead, what would be your survival strategy?

First of all, I would try to get as far away as possible from NYC or any city for that matter. I would prepare as much food and water as I could carry and learn to use a shotgun with or without bullets for maximum head damage. Honestly, I don't think I would last too long in a real zombie apocalypse, I can barely make it through a scary zombie movie without my hands over my eyes! 

Prom Night of the Living Dead

August 18- September 4
Thursday - Saturday 8PM
Sunday 2PM

Review - "Frankenstein With Mary Shelley" and "Gabriel"

By Byrne Harrison

As part of their "Summer of Creation," Redd Tale Theatre Company breathes life into a pair of one-act plays inspired by Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein."

The first, Frankenstein With Mary Shelley, is an adaptation of Shelley's work by Virginia Bartholomew, who also performs the piece.  This outstanding one-person play has Bartholomew at turns playing Shelley, Victor Frankenstein and his Creation, as Shelley recounts how the story came to be and brings it to life for her audience.  Bartholomew is a versatile actor and seamlessly moves from character to character, bringing a remarkable depth to her performance.  Her tormented Creation is particularly moving and effective.

Ably directed by Redd Tale Artistic Director Will Le Vasseur, Frankenstein With Mary Shelley is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, dark and somewhat creepy.  Le Vasseur's set and Jason Richard's lighting for the show successfully recreates the feel of a dark drawing room where supernatural things are bound to occur.

Across the board an excellent play, Frankenstein With Mary Shelley will no doubt be brought back for future productions (and if that isn't already in the works, it should be).

The second play of the evening is Gabriel, Will Le Vasseur's take on the Frankenstein story.  In it Le Vasseur plays Henry, an exceedingly wealthy man with a scientific bent, who discovers an astounding secret in human DNA.  With the unwitting help of his colleagues Susan and Pierce (Cameran Hebb and James Stewart), he is able to leapfrog human evolution by 2 million years.  The result is Gabriel - not a monster, but like Shelley's original, something unique, out of place and lonely.  To add to the sense of otherworldliness, Gabriel is played by two actors; Michael Wetherbee, who performs Gabriel onstage and Michael Komala, who voices the telepathic Gabriel from offstage.  It takes some getting used to, but it is an effective portrayal.

Le Vasseur's Gabriel is intriguing and does a good job of bringing the Frankenstein story out of the age of electricity and reanimated corpses and into the modern era of molecular biology and space travel.  The exploration of the ethical implications of creating something so different and strange is fascinating and well thought out by Le Vasseur, not to mention his exploration of the bonding that occurs between creator and creation, between a lonely man and the lost soul that he has brought to life.

The acting in the piece is strong, with particular praise going to Wetherbee for his child-like Gabriel, and Hebb for her comic timing.  Michael Komala does an excellent job with a potentially difficult part (playing a disembodied voice is no doubt challenging).  Stewart and Le Vasseur acquit themselves well, as usual, with Le Vasseur doing particularly effective work with Henry's longing - whether it be for love or to create a legacy.

My only issues with Gabriel have to do with its length and the juxtaposition of this play and Frankenstein With Mary Shelley.  Frankenstein With Mary Shelley draws much of its atmosphere from Gothic horror.  Gabriel is a much lighter piece, with dry humor and even some moments of farce (there is a wonderful bit of comedy between Hebb and Stewart after Hebb's Susan is accidentally put into sexual overdrive by Gabriel's telepathy).  This is a stark contrast to the creepy and intimate Frankenstein With Mary Shelley, and it is a bit jarring, even with the intermission between the two pieces.

But more to the point, Gabriel is a bit overstuffed.  Le Vasseur has a lot that he wants to explore in the play, and as a result some of the show, especially the love story between Henry and Gabriel, feels rushed.  This is not to say that Gabriel needs to be cut, rather that Gabriel deserves to be explored and nurtured into something larger.  I, for one, would like to see a full-length version of this play where Le Vasseur has time to fully explore his characters and themes.

With the loss of Nicu's Spoon Theatre, this will be the last full performance from Redd Tale this year (though I hold out hope that they will continue their one-off sci-fi movie festivals, radio shows, etc., until they find a new performance space), but they will be back with full productions in 2012.

Frankenstein With Mary Shelley
Adapted by Virginia Bartholomew
Directed and Edited by Will Le Vasseur
Featuring: Viriginia Bartholomew (Mary Shelley/Victor/Creation)

Gabriel
Written by Will Le Vasseur
Directed by Lynn Kenny
Featuring: Will Le Vasseur (Henry), Cameran Hebb (Susan), James Stewart (Pierce), Michael Komala (Gabriel's Voice) and Michael Wetherbee (Gabriel)

Set/Lighting/Website Design - Will Le Vasseur
Stage Manager - Brittany Ray
Assistant Stage Manager - Michael Komala
Poster Design - Graeme Offord
Ligting Design/Production Photos - Jason Richards

NYC: Broadway Stands Up for Freedom

Save the date for Broadway Stands Up for Freedom, the annual star-studded concert to support the youth programs of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

7:30 p.m. Monday, July 25, 2011
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
566 LaGuardia Pl. at Washington Square South
 
Performers Include...

• Tony Winner Beth Leavel (Baby it’s You!, The Drowsy Chaperone)
• Tony Winner Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon)
• Tony Nominee Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon)
• Tony Nominee Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project, Bengal Tiger)
• Tony Nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger
• Tony Nominee Gavin Creel (Hair)
• Tony Nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent)
• Tony Nominee De'Adre Aziza (Passing Strange)
• Tony Nominee John Tartaglia (Avenue Q, Shrek)
• Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Wire, Nurse Jackie)
• Nellie McKay (Get Away From Me)
• Krysta Rodriguez (Addams Family)
• Lindsay Mendez (Everyday Rapture, Grease)
• Carly Rose Sonenclar
• Erich Bergen (Jersey Boys)
• Kyra Da Costa (Baby It's You!)
• Crystal Starr Knighton (Baby It's You!)
• Christina Sajous (Baby It's You!)
• Liana Stampur
• Clinton Curtis
• The Bengsons
• Gray Reindhard
• Kate Ferber
• Marcelo Arias
• Justin Goldner

To purchase tickets, click here.

This Month's Title Photo

This month's title photo comes from the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity production of Yvette Heyliger's White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata!, which has received nine Planet Connections Theatre Awards nominations including Outstanding Play With Music.  The photo is by Yvette Heyliger.

White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata! is an anti-war comedy inspired by Aristophanes' Lysistrata. This "what if..." play is set in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House and stars the wives of the architects of the impending war in Iraq (Laura Bush, Lynne Cheney, Alma Powell, Cherie Blair and friends!). It takes place in 2002 before Congress votes on Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution. White House: Operation Lysistrata! captures Aristophanes' strong anti-war message laced in the bawdy sexual humor so enjoyed by ancient, as well as present day audiences.

"Now" - Linda Eder

Review by Sherry Shaffer

For her latest album, "Now," Linda Eder reunites with the man who brought her to Broadway in Jekyll and Hyde, Frank Wildhorn.  All the songs on the album are Wildhorn originals, including a cut from his new show, Wonderland.

Eder has dabbled in pop and country music, but she has such a massive voice it’s surprising she ever tried to get away from Broadway-style show tunes.  "Now" features big, lavish arrangements and beltable tunes.  It is clear Wildhorn has found a muse in Eder – it must be a joy to write for someone with such an incredible range.  When listening to this album, comparisons to Barbara Streisand are inevitable – and at this point almost overdone, which I think this does both women a disservice.  Sure, both pack a punch when it comes to being able to convey passion and feeling through song, and I doubt either really need a microphone to fill a room, but they have different voices, different taste, and are from different generations.  That being said, if you like one, you’re probably going to like the other.  Especially since many of the songs on "Now" sound like they are straight out of a Streisand-heyday '60s cabaret show.  I half expected Sammy Davis, Jr. to come in to perform a Burt Bacharach tune.

As much as I enjoyed a number of the songs on this album, I kind of wish Eder had chosen to do more than a Frank Wildhorn songbook.  Some of the tunes are great, the album starts off with a bang with a jazzy rumba, “Not Gonna Fall This Time,” then moves into the sentimental “No Finer Man” and “Ordinary People.”  But when it switched back to a Latin rhythm for “In the Heat of the Night,” I felt like I’d gone back to the beginning of the album.  It’s catchy, but very similar to the first track, and “What’s Never Been Done Before” and “More Than Heaven” seemed uninspiring.  While I think it was a misstep to include “The Mad Hatter” on this album – it just doesn’t fit in with what is otherwise a group of songs about love – at least it’s a fun song and may turn out to be a showstopper on stage.  Perhaps she did it as a courtesy plug for Wildhorn’s newest show. 

That, I suppose, is my only real criticism of this album.  In an attempt to do nothing but Wildhorn songs, Eder sacrificed some continuity of theme and the opportunity to show off her magnificent voice with a better variety of songs.  You are rarely going to find an album that doesn’t have a ho-hum moment or two, but Eder has the voice and charisma to put together a spectacular collection if she would just make careful choices among several composers. 

Bottom line: If you enjoy a big sound from a bigger voice, you’re going to like "Now."  Be sure to listen in a place where you can crank up the stereo and let the flood of sound wash over you. 

A Powerhouse of a Story - "Unnatural Acts"

By Judd Hollander

One of the most riveting plays to hit the stage this young 2011-2012 season is the fascinating Unnatural Acts, written by members of the Plastic Theatre, conceived by Tony Speciale and presented at Classic Stage Company.

Set on the campus of Harvard University in May of 1920 the play, based on fact, unearths a story that was kept secret for more than 80 years. That being a "secret court" as undertaken by the Harvard administration, peripherally to investigate the suicide of a former student, one Cyril Wilcox, but in actuality an attempt to purge the University of any homosexual influence, both in regards to students and faculty members.

Entangled in the investigation are nine students, all young men on the cusp of adulthood, with prospective future in athletics, law, acting, etc., many of whom share secrets they would do anything to keep hidden.

The chief focus of the investigation is Ernest Roberts (Nick Westrate), a somewhat spoiled congressman's son known for throwing wild parties in his dorm room, with alcohol flowing freely (this was during the Prohibition era) and where various sexual proclivities were also thought to occur. At least some in authority knew about these gatherings and turned a blind eye to the situation, but when Cyril's suicide becomes public knowledge, even though there are those who insist it was an accident, and certain incriminating evidence finds its way into faculty hands, events are set in motion which becomes impossible to stop.

Rather than simply showing an out-and-out bias against homosexuality, the play goes much deeper, painting a detailed look at not only the era depicted, but also the stage of life these young men find themselves when the world starts crashing down around them. College life, then and now, is a time for experimentation and beginning to find one's own way; insulated to a great degree from the pressures and responsibilities of the outside world. As such, these men feel free to embrace their feelings and emotions in a way they could not do so elsewhere. This is never more evident than during Roberts's final party where the students in question are having the time of their lives just being themselves. The fact that the audience knows what's coming, even though the characters don't yet, adds an extra layer of poignancy to the scene.

Also fascinating is how this wonderfully structured and directed production, (great work by Speciale, who also handles the directing chores) goes from being a museum piece in the beginning, with characters that are identically dressed and almost interchangeable, to feeling fresh and immediate with the inhabitants completely distinct individuals by the time it's all over. Such as with Kenneth Day (Roe Hartrampf), whose dream of competing in the Olympics may be denied; or Eugene Cummings (Brad Koed), who fears his family will found out about what he's done, in a time where "family means everything;" or Joseph Lumbard (Will Rogers) a shy young man who may be more guilty by association than anything else-at least in his own mind-and so on.

 The "court" scenes are terribly intimidating, the sequences staged to keep those sitting in judgment in deep shadow while shining a harsh spotlight on those on the "hot seat". Anyone who has ever been called in for questioning can certainly relate to the stomach-churning fear these moments bring out. Yet the trials themselves are not given nearly as much weight at their effects on the participants; the student's mostly jovial attitudes quickly becoming one of "every man for himself," and where friends and lovers quickly turn on one another. Some saying the truth as they see it and others trying to say as little as they can in order to hopefully emerge unscathed. A rather interesting sequence in this regard is where students Keith Smerage (Frank De Julio) and Nathaniel Wollf (Joe Curnutte) testify side by side (albeit at different points in time) with each man's answers basically contradicting the other.

An especially nice touch was the decision to mix in various bits of humor throughout the story, providing a much-needed bit of levity before plunging on to the next point of drama. Once such case in point is when Stanley Gilkey (Max Jenkins) is facing the court and claming not to be a homosexual, while at the same time desperately trying to stop himself from unconsciously making what may be considered effeminate gestures and thus giving himself away.

The acting is uniformly excellent. There is no one real star here, but all of the participants have pivotal moments in the story. Hartrampf is great as Day, a boy who wants nothing more that to get to the Olympics and who, like many others, tries to deny what he's feeling inside. Westrate is good as the somewhat smarmy Roberts, who delights at thumbing his nose at society, not caring what anyone else thinks or who he hurts. De Julio strikes a powerful note as Smerage, an aspiring actor brought down by one who professes to love him, while Koed has an absolutely dynamite scene as Cummings, one of the few who believes he can put an end to what's happening, only to find out that sometimes hatred and denial is too strong a weapon to overcome. Roderick Hill has a short but pivotal scene as Wilcox's bother and Jerry Marsini strikes the right note as a teacher who catches the eye of Gilkey and whose adult perspective on the same issues affecting the students offers a nice counterbalance to the younger men's reactions.

Speciale's direction, as mentioned above, is spot-on, creating a seamless blending of the insulated sphere of college life with the world of reality while making the entire process look completely effortless. Also quite good is the way the play ties up many of the loose ends after the events depicted, showing what did or didn't happen with many of those involved.

If the best thing theatre can do is teach while it tells a story, Unnatural Acts does exactly that, pulling into the light of day a long-buried incident and holding it up to the world for all to see. Great job on this one-go see it if you can.

Unnatural Acts

Written by Members of the Plastic Theatre

Conceived by Tony Speciale

Set Design: Walk Spangler

Costume Design: Andrea Lauer
Lighting Design: Justin Townsend

Original Music and Sound Design: Christian Frederickson

Production Stage Manager: Charles M. Turner III
Production Manager: Production Core

Marketing: HRC Marketing

Casting: Calleri Casting

Press Representative: The Publicity Office

Directed by Tony Speciale

Featuring: Brad Koed (Eugene Cummings), Roe Hartrampf (Kenneth Day), Nick Westrate (Ernest Roberts), Jess Burkle (Edward Say), Will Rogers (Joseph Lumbard), Jerry Marsini (Donald Clark), Max Jenkins (Stanley Gilkey), Frank De Julio (Keith Smerage), Roderick Hill (Lester Wilcox), Devin Norik (Harold Saxton), Joe Curnutte (Nathaniel Wolff)

Assistant Stage Manager: Courtney James

Classic Stage Company

136 East 13th Street

Tickets: 212-352-3101 or www.classicstage.org

Closes: July 17, 2011

A Wide Variety of Possibilities - Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon Evening "A"

By Judd Hollander 

Perception and changing realities are the keys themes running through Evening A of the Ensemble Studio Theatre's annual Marathon of One-Act Plays. Evenings "A" and "B" playing now through June 25th.

Evening A consists of five works in various stages of development, several of which have the potential to be much more than they are right now. The entire evening clocks in at approximately three hours, with two well-placed intermissions. Fortunately, the time for the most part, flies quickly by.

Things begin with Ten High, Ben Rosenthal's rather intriguing piece about two very different sets of people congregating at different areas of a nondescript bar. Jane (Tina Benko) is accusing her husband Miles (Chris Ceraso) of having an affair, a fact he categorically denies. As they argue back and forth-she has no substantial evidence other than her suspicions-Luke (Danny Mastrogiorgio) is going through a crisis of faith, being a professional killer and having failed to execute his latest target because he felt sorry for the intended victim. As Luke talks with his mentor Al (Ned Eisenberg), Al man unveils his newest tool of the trade; a poison so powerful it can kill in seconds, which he and Nick arbitrarily decided to test on Miles if he leaves the bar within a certain period of time.

This is play about coincidence and happenstance, (i.e. "of all the gin joins in all the world...") and just how fickle fate can be when peoples' lives intertwine, if only for a moment. None of the characters are really fleshed out, though Benko does a nice turn as a presumably wronged wife. However it's the story that holds one's interest here, with director John Giampietro nicely keeping the audience on the edge of their seats by slowly building the tension throughout the work. In another reality, this entire scenario might be an interesting television series. Though the idea may not be new, it's still quite involving.

Play number two, School Night by J. Holtham, looks at teenage and twenty-something angst and the need to belong to something, somewhere. In a nondescript suburb where nothing seems to happen, teenager Ammon (Curtis M. Jackson) asks classmate Lucy (Lucy DeVito), a girl who's "been around" (to put it nicely) over to his house one evening when his parents are out of town. However when Ammon gets home, he finds that his ner-do-well older half-brother Daniel (Lance Rubin) has unexpectedly stopped by. Daniel is in mourning for his dead cat, who he keeps in a nearby box. With the raging hormones of a teenager, Ammon wants Daniel gone so he can spend time alone with Lucy, but Daniel has no intention of leaving just yet.

The main theme here is people trying to escape their pain if only for a moment; Lucy being ready to jump into bed with Ammon because it's something to do for a while and then forget about. Though Ammon would like it to mean much more. At the same time Ammon and Lucy want to grow up and move on, while Daniel would like nothing better than to turn back the clock and come home. It's a premise with possibilities, but the characters are neither that interesting nor likeable, the text staying too much on the surface when it should be delving deeper into the lives and psyches of those involved.

The centerpiece of the evening is the excellent Tennessee by the late Romulus Linney. In 19th century North Carolina, farmer Herschel (Rufus Collins) works his land with soon to be of age son Cardell (Eamon Foley), as wife Mary (Julie Fitzpatrick) looks after the new baby while getting dinner ready. As the family is about to relax after a hard day's work, an Old Woman (Kristen Lowman) appears, saying she has walked all the way from Tennessee, a distance of about 80 miles, in order to return to her family home. The very place Herschel and his brood now call their own. Soon this stranger begins to tell the story of her past; of being a strong-willed woman with no patience for men and insisting she'll be nobody's wife. That is until Griswald Plankman (Scott Sowers), a kind and quiet, if not the best-looking fellow, promises to sell his land and move with her to Tennessee, a place she has always wanted to go, if she'll marry him. Never believing Griswald will do such a thing, the Old Woman agrees. But he does just that and she finds herself forced to honor her promise before the two set out on their journey.

As the Old Woman tells what happened long ago, director Harris Yulin takes Linney's wonderfully literate text and makes it all come brilliantly alive. During the course of the play we watch as the Old Woman takes the audience through her life, and the triumphs and tragedies that go with it. An important touch to this are the expressions on Herschel, Mary and Cardell's faces as they become enamored with the tale, smiling at certain points, looking serious at others. (At different times, they also become characters in this play within a play Linney has conceived.) Yet toward the end, the playwright adds a completely unexpected twist, causing those observing, both on stage and in the audience, to question just how much of the Old Woman's history actually happened, while adding an element of "The Twilight Zone" to the proceedings. Lowman is outstanding as both as the elderly woman and her younger self, the actress taking the entire narrative and making it almost explode off the page. Collins does a realistic job as Herschel, a proud man who has worked hard all his life for what he owns. Fitzpatrick is good in the smaller role of Mary, projecting a nice earthiness in the part. Sowers is excellent as the quiet and seemingly browbeaten Fitzpatrick, and possibly the one person actually in control of the entire situation. Foley is okay as Cardell and Helen Coxe is good in a brief cameo as the Old Woman's Tennessee neighbor.

This is the also first time in Evening "A" that the show's scenic deign plays a vitally important part in conveying the story, (good job by Jason Simms), the set being nicely constructed to give at various times, the impression of a farmhouse at twilight, a long wagon trip and a Tennessee home. Geoffrey Dubar's lighting is also quite good here.

From the longest play (Tennessee) we move to the shortest, In The Middle of the Night; the latter a work quite powerful in its own right. Student Dan (Jared McGuire) and his girlfriend Sherry (Irene Longshore) break into a building for a bit of excitement, only to be followed by Dan's rather overprotective mother Elise (Coxe) and her friend Jack (Sowers). Elise clearly someone who does not want her son and Sherry to be together. However it soon becomes apparent Elise has a desperate reason for her actions. Sherry perhaps not being as real as one first suspects, but rather an illusion/fixation in Dan's mind, with his mom desperately trying to understand her child's condition and help him.

McGuire does quite well here, slipping in and out of reality while never changing his overall attitude towards what is going on around and inside him. Coxe is excellent as a mother helpless to come to the aid of her child. Longshore is fine as the image who wants Patrick to stay with her, with their final dialogue together showing the depths of their commitment. Sowers does well as a sort of stand-in for the audience, watching the proceedings from the perspective of an outsider while seeing a scenario that's obviously happened many times before. Deftly written by Billy Aronson and well-directed by Robert Davenport, the show presents a look at mental illness not from its starting point, bur rather from somewhere in the middle, with an ending definitely open to interpretation. This is a show that could easily be expanded upon, showing events before or after those events seen on stage. Very good indeed.

The final work in the Evening "A" series is Bike Wreck, written by Qui Nguyen. It's both the darkest in terms of subject matter and also the most violent. It's also a play that centers on the subject of perceptions. As narrator/actor Michael Louis Wells mentions more than once. Perceptions about being talked down to, perceptions about race and attitude, and perceptions about what's really important in life. Also discussed are perceptions from the way one handles a gun, to the way one carries oneself when dealing with others, and the way one faces pressure (both from peers and outside influences) when having their very life threatened.

Wells plays "The Man," a white, middle of the road, somewhat struggling businessman who is accosted by a Bike Messenger (Charlie Hudson, III) and a Delivery Boy (Arthur Acuna). The Messenger is a youngish African-American who The Man sees everyday, while the Delivery Boy is a somewhat older Chinese delivery person, trying to learn both English and respect from others, both subjects as taught to him by the Messenger. Yet as the play shows, time and again, perceptions and people's reactions to them can spell doom for all involved if they let one lets passion outpace reason. Nicely directed by John Gould Rubin with good acting all around, this is another play that could definitely be expanded, both character and plot-wise.

While not a completely perfect evening, in EST Evening "A" the hits far more than make up for the few misses. The result being a collection of works definitely worth seeing, and where three hours go by in almost no time at all. Check this one out if you can.

Ten High

by Ben Rosenthal

Directed by John Giampietro

Stage Manager: Alice de Cent

Featuring: Danny Mastrogiorgio (Luke Montcreif), Ned Eisenberg (Al Clay), Chris Ceraso (Miles Dancey), Tina Benko (Jane Dancey),

School Night

by J. Holtham

Directed by Abigail Zealey Bess

Stage Manager: Kate Pressman

Featuring: Curtis M. Jackson (Ammon), Lucy DeVito (Lucy), Lance Rubin (Daniel)

Tennessee

by Romulus Linney

Directed by Harris Yulin

Stage Manager: Mark Karafin

Featuring: Rufus Collins (Herschel), Julie Fitzpatrick (Mary), Eamon Foley (Cardell), Kristen Lowman (The Old Woman), Scott Sowers (Griswald Plankman), Helen Coxe (Neighbor)

In The Middle of the Night

by Billy Aronson

Directed by Robert Davenport

Stage Manager: Kelly Ruth Coxe

Choreography by Wendy Seyb

Featuring: Jared McGuire (Dan), Irene Longshore (Sherry), Helen Coxe (Elise), Scott Sowers (Jack)

Bike Wreck

by Qui Nguyen

Directed by John Gould Rubin

Stage Manager: Philip Rudy Fight

Choreographed by Carrie Brewer

Assistant Director: Heidi Carlsen

Apprentice Director: Beth Drenning

Featuring: Michael Louis Wells (The Man), Charlie Hudson, III (Messenger), Arthur Acuna (Delivery Boy)

Costume Designer: Rachel Dozier-Ezell

Sound Designer: Chris Barlow

Press Representative: Bruce Cohen

Scenic Designer: Jason Simms

Production Stage Manager: Danielle Buccino

Technical Director: Derek F. Dickenson

Lighting Design: Geoffrey Dunbar

Production Manager: Kevin Feustel

Casting Associate: Stephen Brown

Properties Designer
Bruce Al Kraemer

Casting Director: Tom Rowan

Associate Producer: Web Begole

The Ensemble Studio Theatre
549 W. 52nd Street

(between 10th & 11th Avenues)

Tickets: 866-811-5111 or http://www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org/

Running Time for Evening A: 3 Hours

Series A ended June 18, 2011

Series B ended June 25, 2011

A Fun Time in the Old Country - "The Shaughraun"

By Judd Hollander

Ah, the classic melodrama. Filled with hissable villains, over the top characters and good-hearted heroes. Where one never doubts that truth, love and humanity will win out. This type of play is not often presented these days, as it takes a sure hand to showcase the work in a way that doesn't go over the line into parody. Fortunately director Charlotte Moore shows she has the perfect touch with the Irish Repertory Theatre's revival of Dion Boucicault's The Shaughraun, first produced in New York in 1874.

In County Sligo, on the coast of Ireland in 1867, Claire Ffolliott (Allison Jean White) and her cousin Arte O'Neal (Katie Fabel) live in a small cottage, often subsisting on game poached by Conn (Patrick Fitzgerald), the Shaughraun (vagabond) of the title. Arte is in mourning for her love Robert Ffolliott (Kevin O'Donnell), brother of Claire, who was shipped off to a British penal colony in Australia on a trumped-up charge. Now Arte is being pressured by the scheming landlord Corry Kinchela (Sean Gormley) to marry him or he'll seize their home and put them out. Meanwhile, British officer Captain Harry Molineux (Mark Shanahan), arrives to command the local garrison and happens upon the cottage, striking up a conversation with Claire who, despite her deep hatred for all things British, can't help but feel a deep affection for this dashing solider, especially when he stand up to Kinchela in support of the two ladies. It's a feeling which is quite mutual on Molineux's part.

Conn soon reveals he has been away from home these several months because he has gone to Australia and freed Robert from his captivity. Yet Robert is still a wanted man and Kinchela, the person who framed the young man in the first place so he could steal his inheritance, is determined to see Robert hanged before the truth is revealed. As for Robert, he believes this schemer to be a true and loyal friend, despite what everyone else says and winds up confiding in him far more than he should. Caught up in all of this is Molineux, torn between doing his duty (which requires him to apprehended Robert) or following his heart and doing what's right.

The Shaughraun is one of those stories that could be played either as a farcical comedy or heavy-handed drama, with Moore expertly navigating a middle ground between the two extremes. There are some terribly funny lines that make no sense when you think about them ("I have been madly in love with him for over three hours now"); as well as some nail biting moments when one wonders if Robert will be saved from the hangman's noose or a pistol shot. Not to mention just how in heaven will the various characters get away from the bad guys? But all in all the story feels like a sort of "easy read" novel, peopled with folks not quite real yet distinct enough to care about. While the characters sometime act as if they're in on the joke, they never acknowledge this point to the audience. At least not too much.

The characters are a lot of fun. (Several of the actors reprising their roles from the Irish Rep's 1998 production of the show.) Fitzgerald has a wonderful scenery-chewing role as the title character, a man who can spin a tale with the best of them. A hard-living fellow, with a reputation of a rascally ladies man, he is currently romancing Moya Dolan (Emma O'Donnell), to the dismay of her uncle (Geddeth Smith), the local parish priest. Conn is also one of those larger-than-life personalities you can't help but root for; his heart always being in the right place, even though his actions may not be. He also has some hilarious dust-ups with his mother (Terry Donnelly) just about the only person who can keep him in line, until her back is turned, that is. 

Shanahan is fine as Molineux, a good-hearted if somewhat dimwitted officer. Yet there's no denying his valor and conviction as he tries more than once to help Claire without betraying his duty as a solider. Kevin O'Donnell works well as Robert, another pure-hearted soul, and who also has the misfortune to trust the wrong people, such as his belief in Kinchela's ultimate valor. There's an interesting interplay between both Robert and Molineux when they first come face to face, showing how there's more to each of them than initially meets the eye.

White, Fabel and Emma O'Donnell all nicely portray the women in Molineux, Robert and Conn's lives. Strong and earthy, yet still wonderfully feminine, these ladies have learned how to survive as members of a somewhat lower class, at least where the British are concerned, and are definitely folks you want by your side in a fight. Donnelly has some good comic relief moments as Conn's mother, and Smith convincingly portrays Father Dolan. The latter at first a seemingly stereotypical role, but Smith also gets a chance to show the depth of Dolan's principles and the turmoil he feels when these principles run counter to protecting a friend.

Gormley does wonderful work as Kinchela, making the character more than just a simple cardboard villain. This is a man who has tentacles spreading to every corner of the county with always one more trick up his sleeve to ensure he'll end up on top, or at least get away unscathed. Though not if Robert, Conn and their friends have anything to say about it.

Klara Zieglerova's set works beautifully in the Irish Rep's relatively small space, offering a nice air of authenticity to the proceedings. Costumes by Linda Fisher and Jessica Barrios Wright are quite good, and the lighting by Brian Nason and sound design by Zachary Williamson are strong.

Also in the cast are Tim Ruddy (doing a very good job as a tormented informer), Rory Duffy, Laurence Lowry, Jake Zachry and Gwenfair Vaughn. Special mention must also go to Sadie who steals the show as Conn's loyal companion, Tatters

More like comfort food than a five star meal, The Shaughraun is a lot going for it. While you may not think too much about the play once you've left the theatre, there's a very good chance you'll be quite willingly swept up in this tale of love, loyalty and daring-do while watching the performance. Which is not a bad thing at all.

The Shaughraun

Written by Dion Boucicault

Directed by Charlotte Moore

Set Design: Klara Zieglerova

Co-Costume Design: Linda Fisher

Co-Costume design: Jessica Barrios Wright

Lighting Design: Brian Nason

Sound Design: Zachary Williamson

Associate Set Designer: Sonoka Fukuma Gozelski

Hair and Wig Design: Robert-Charles Vallance

Dialect Coach: Stephen Gabis

Choreography: Brian McNabb

Casting Director: Deborah Brown

Production Stage Manager: Elis C. Arroyo

Associate Stage Manager: Arthur Atkinson

Press Representative: Shirley Herz Associates

Producer: Ciaran O'Reilly

Associate Producer: Alexis Doyle

Featuring Kevin O'Donnell (Robert Ffolliott), Patrick Fitzgerald* (Conn, The Shaughraun), Allison Jean White (Claire Ffolliott), Kate Fabel (Arte O'Neal), Terry Donnelly* (Mrs. O'Kelly), Mark Shanahan (Captain Harry Molineux), Sean Gormley (Corry Kinchela), Geddeth Smith* (Father Dolan), Tim Ruddy (Harvey Duff), Emma O'Donnell (Moya Dolan), Jake Zachry (Sergeant Jones, Mangan), Rory Duffy (Prison Officer, Sullivan), Laurence Lowry (Reilly), Gwenfair Vaughn (Bridget "Biddy" Madigan), Sadie (Tatters-a dog)

* - member of the original 1998 cast

Irish Repertory Theatre

132 West 22nd Street

Tickets: 212-727-2737 or http://www.irishrep.org/

  

Running time: Two Hours, one intermission

Closed: June 12, 2011

Where pride indeed goest before the fall - "King Lear"

By Judd Hollander
Photos by Johan Persson

There's a surprising amount of humor and wit to be found in even the darkest Shakespeare plays, as wonderfully shown in the Donmar Warehouse's very satisfying production of King Lear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, starring Derek Jacobi in the title role.

In ancient Britain, the aging Lear, tired of a lifetime of royal responsibilities, decides to spit his kingdom into three equal portions, giving one segment to each of his daughters. However, first he asks his children to state just how much they love him. His two married daughters Goneril (Gina McKee) and Regan (Justine Mitchell), with their husbands looking on, loudly proclaim their undying and all-consuming love for Lear, who laps up the attention eagerly. (There's a wonderful bit of business with how and when each daughter kisses him during this sequence.) But when the youngest and as yet unmarried daughter Cordelia (Pippa Bennett-Warner) refuses to tell her father what he wants to hear, reserving her most powerful love for her future husband, Lear flies into a rage, banishing Cordelia from his sight after giving her to the King of France (Ashley Zhangazha), the only person who will accept Cordelia without a dowry. Caught up in the angry verbal crossfire is the loyal Earl of Kent (Michael Hadley) who, after desperately urging Lear to forgive Cordelia, is also ordered banished from Lear's domain.

However Lear's retirement doesn't go as planned. While intending to live with Goneril and Regan on alternate months, the two daughters quickly tire of this arrangement, and of having to feed and attend Lear and the 100 knights who accompany him. As such, they quickly close their doors to their father, stripping him of his entourage in the process. The resulting effect of Lear seeing the rug of his authority quite literally pulled out from under him threatens to send him over the edge into madness.

While all this is going on, there is also a subplot where Edmund (Alec Newman), son of the Duke of Gloucester (Paul Jesson) conspires against both his father and brother Edgar (Gwilym Lee) to gain control of the Duke's land and title. Edmund is illegitimate and while there was "great sport in his making," as his father points out, Edmund has no intention of watching his father's estate and power pass to Edgar, the legitimate heir. These two plot lines meet, separate and meet again several times before the final curtain.

King Lear is a work that lives or dies on the title character and thankfully, Jacobi gives a standout performance. The actor initially plays the role as a sort of aged, preening fellow who has grown somewhat complacent over the years. His major blind spot is his own ego, never dreaming that those who profess their love will eventually turn on him. All this leads to a remarkable transformation of the character when circumstances reduce him to little more than a beggar with only a few companions (including Kent, who has returned in disguise to become a servant of the King). Indeed, Jacobi spits out the line "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child" as if were a hail of bullets. Every word, syllable and nuance filled with angry, righteous, and yet ultimately impotent venom.

Even in the play's darkest moments, director Michael Grandage is able to evoke laughs. Such as when the addled Lear finds Edgar, who has disguised himself a mad beggar, and asks him if Edgar's daughters (he has none) are to blame for the young man's condition. This theme is also repeated in the not-often-seen "trial" of Regan and Goneril.

One of the main attractions in King Lear is seeing just which of the secondary scenes or sequences (i.e. those not totally essential to the plot) make it into the final staging in any particular production. In this case, great emphasis is placed on the Fool (more than ably brought to life by Ron Cook), with his corny jokes, shameless mincing and speaking numerous harsh truths when repeatedly chiding Lear for giving up his throne, and how in this case wisdom definitely did not come with age. There are many times when it appears that Lear is actually the fool, and the Fool is by the far the smarter.

Another character open to numerous interpretations is Edmund, here portrayed by Newman as a sort of angry rogue, but at the same time having enough charm to tempt both Goneril and Regan from their husbands' beds, coupled with a bemused sense of wonder that he is actually able to get away with his schemes. Yet at the same time there is no denying the hatred he feels for a condition of birth of which he had no control, as well as his complete lack of remorse against the innocent and not so innocent victims of his actions.

Unfortunately, while Lear, Edmond and the Fool all get their moments in the spotlight, many of the other characters don't fare as well. McKee and Mitchell, while both sweetly malicious at times (such as when they pass sentence on their father), feel almost interchangeable, neither really having their own identity. Bennett-Warner makes a good Cordelia, but has too little stage time in order to make a strong impression. (Her first scene with Lear is overshadowed by Jacobi's actions.) Jesson is fine as Gloucester but there's nothing in his performance to make him really stand out. (Same comments for Gideon Turner, who plays Regan's husband, the Duke of Cornwall.) Faring somewhat better is Tom Beard as the Duke of Albany, initially a sort of cuckold (married to Goneril) who slowly becomes a man in own right. Hadley is quite good as the valiant Kent, who would lay down his life for his king, while not at all afraid to get his hands dirty if need be. Lee is okay as Edgar, likable enough in the role but not all that particularly memorable.

Grandage's direction works well in telling the central stories, as well as when it comes to making the lead characters stand out. However, in making the entire work come together, his efforts fall a bit short. Some of the dialogue in the beginning also feels a bit rushed.

Christopher Oram's use of sets, basically a series of walls with minimum props, is an interesting choice. However when you go for the minimalist approach, the transitions between the scenes need to be especially sharp, which is not always the case here. Plus, for those who don't know the play all that well, it can hurt if you have to take a moment or two to figure out where the scene has shifted to, and when.

Lighting by Neil Austin is fine, sound design by Adam Cork is quite good. (There's a nice transitional effect during the storm scenes, switching back and forth from being outside in the elements to inside Lear's thoughts.) Fight direction by Terry King is engaging, if a bit shorter than it needs to be.

At its heart, the central theme of King Lear comes through perfectly. That being beware of foolish pride, for it can be very hard to undo the actions that result from this condition-assuming it's even possible to do so. An interesting interpretation with an excellent performance by Jacobi.

Also in the cast are Stefano Braschi, Amit Shah, Harry Attwell and Derek Hutchinson.

King Lear

By William Shakespeare

Director: Michael Grandage

Set and Costume Designer: Christopher Oram

Lighting Designer: Neil Austin

Composer and Sound Designer: Adam Cork

Casting: Anne McNulty CDG

Associate Director: Titas Halder

Associate Designer: Richard Kent

Associate Lighting Designer: Richard Howell

Associate Sound Designer: Sebastian Frost

Production Manager: Patrick Molony

American Stage Manager: Arthur Gaffin

Deputy Stage Manager: Mary O'Hanlon

Assistant Stage Manager: Rhiannon Harper

Costume Supervisor: Stephanie Arditti

Fight Director: Terry King

Rehearsal Photography: Marc Brenner

Production Photography: Johan Persson

Text Consultant: Russell Jackson

Wardrobe Mistress: Morag Pirrie

Set Constructed by: Bowerwood Productions
Set Painted by: Richard Nutbourne

Make Up Provided by: M^.A^.C

Costumes Made by:    Lynn Clark, Sue Coates, Judith Darracott, Sasha Keir, Hilary Marshner, Liz Poole

Millinery by: Jane Smith

Design Assistant: David Woodheard

Featuring: Michael Hadley (Earl of Kent), Paul Jesson (Earl of Gloucester), Alec Newman (Edmund), Derek Jacobi (King Lear), Gina McKee (Goneril), Justine Mitchell (Regan), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Cordelia), Tom Beard (Duke of Albany), Gideon Turner (Duke of Cornwall), Stefano Braschi (Duke of Burgundy), Ashley Zhangazha (King of France), Gwilym Lee (Edgar), Amit Shah (Oswald), Ron Cook (The Fool), Harry Attwell (Gentlemen), Derek Hutchinson (Old Servant)

Brooklyn Academy of Music

BAM Harvey Theater

651 Fulton Street

Running Time: 3 hours, five minutes

Closed: June 5, 2011