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| Theater Preview, 2005-2006 |
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| Tickets/Registration: 212.415.5500 |
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| Media Contact: Beverly Greenfield, 212.415.5452, email |
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| THEATER PERFORMANCES AND TALKS |
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| 2005-2006 Season Highlights |
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| New York, NY, August, 1, 2005—The 92nd Street Y offers a variety of events for theater lovers in 2005-2006: performances of literary classics in its Poets' Theater series; a celebration of the American songbook in Lyrics and Lyricists; readings and talks by top playwrights; panels about what happens behind the curtain of major productions; and more. |
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| PERFORMANCES - 92ND STREET Y POETS' THEATRE |
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Since Dylan Thomas' legendary reading of his play for voices "Under Milk Wood" at the 92nd Street Y in 1953, the Y has presented verse dramas, plays, and theatrical adaptations of literary texts. Over the years, these performances have evolved into the 92nd Street Y Poets' Theatre, a series of dramas that emphasize language and the aural experience of theater. Both actors and writers perform in the Poets' Theatre: Zoe Caldwell, Kathryn Walker, David Strathairn, Blair Brown, Jim Dale, Claire Bloom, Rosemary Harris, and Philip Bosco are just a few of the luminaries who have performed at the Y in recent years. Past productions include Anne Carson's translation of Euripides' Hekabe (2004); Brian Friel's Faith Healer (2003); Glyn Maxwell's Wolfpit (2002); Anne Carson's translation of Sophocles' Electra (2002); Paul Schmidt's translation of Euripides' Medea (2001); C.K. Williams' The Bacchae of Euripides (2000); Robert Lowell's Prometheus Bound (2000); Derek Walcott's The Odyssey (1993); and Robert Pinsky's The Inferno of Dante (1998). The shows range from dramatic readings to fully staged productions. The series provides the public with access to great theater by great writers at $17 a ticket. The Poets' Theatre is a series of the 92nd Street Y Unterberg Poetry Center.
Mon, Nov 28, 8 pm, $17
The Actor's Shakespeare:
F. Murray Abraham on A Midsummer Night's Dream
Acclaimed actor F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus and other films; Triumph of Love, A Month in the Country, Angels in America and other plays) discusses and performs, with Kathleen Widdoes, selections from one of Shakespeare's most beloved works.
Mon, Mar 6, 8 pm, $17
Leo Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata
Featuring Larry Pine ♦ Directed by Margaret Pine
♦ NY Premiere ♦
"I remember how they looked at each other, and cast a glance at the audience. They said a few words to each other, and the music began. They played Beethoven's 'Kreutzer Sonata.' Do you know it? That first movement, the presto, is terrifying. Do you know it? Ah!..."
The Kreutzer Sonata is the New York premiere of a stage adaptation (with music) of Tolstoy's novella of the same name. The production was developed by actor Larry Pine and his wife, director/playwright/composer Margaret Pine. Larry Pine has appeared on stage in The Seagull and Angels in America, as well as André Gregory's Uncle Vanya and Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio. His film roles have included Louis Malle's Vanya on 42nd Street, Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking, and more recently, Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda.
Mon, Mar 13, 8 pm, $17
The Poets Theater:
Robert Fagles' Translation of Homer's "The Odyssey"
Adapted and Directed by Kathryn Walker
♦ World Premiere ♦
Kathryn Walker and a top-tier cast (to be announced) bring Robert Fagles' acclaimed version of Homer's Odyssey to life. Previous productions directed by Ms. Walker for the 92nd Street Y Unterberg Poetry Center Poets Theatre include Anne Carson's Hekabe and Fagles' translation of The Rage of Achilles; her productions have featured Kate Burton, Zoe Caldwell, Keith David, Mary Beth Hurt and David Strathairn, among others. This is the world premiere of Walker's adaptation of Fagles' text.
Mon, Apr 3, 8 pm, $17
"Samuel Beckett at 100": Three Short Beckett Plays
Directed by Robert Scanlan
Born on April 13, 1906, Samuel Beckett (author of Endgame, Waiting for Godot and many other plays as well as several volumes of poetry and fiction) became one of the most confounding yet compelling of modern literary figures. This evening features three of his shorter dramatic works: Cascando, Words and Music and But the Clouds.
Mon, May 15, 8 pm, $17
The Poets' Theatre :
Glyn Maxwell's The Sugar Mile
♦ World Premiere ♦
Based on his poetry collection of the same name, Glyn Maxwell's The Sugar Mile movingly depicts one particular tragedy during the larger calamity of the bombing of London during the Second World War. As A London family and an American merchant marine recall the events years later in a bar on upper Broadway, the story emerges as a link to other tragedies both older and more recent. This is the world premiere of Maxwell's stage adaptation, directed by Elysa Marden.
Wed, May 24, 8 pm, $17
André Gregory's Bone Songs
Performed by André Gregory and others
The Los Angeles Times describes André Gregory's Bone Songs as "elegiac, furious and rhapsodic by turns—true theatrical poetry." One of the most influential directors of the modern theater, Mr. Gregory is also known for his work in films such as My Dinner with André and Vanya on 42nd Street.
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READINGS BY PLAYWRIGHTS
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Mon, Dec 5, 8 pm, $17
David Hare
Hailed by The Times of London as "Britain's leading contemporary playwright," David Hare is the author of How Brophy Made Good, Plenty, Racing Demon, Via Dolorosa, Amy's View,
The Permanent Way and, most recently, Stuff Happens, an account of the war in Iraq.
Mon, Feb 20, 8 pm, $17
Terrence McNally and Paula Vogel
Terrence McNally, called "one of our most original and audacious dramatists" by The New Yorker, is the author of A Perfect Ganesh, Love! Valour! Compassion! and The Stendhal Syndrome. About Paula Vogel's plays, Michael Feingold says, "Nothing more spiritually nourishing could take place on the contemporary stage." Vogel's plays include the Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive, as well as The Baltimore Waltz and The Mineola Twins.
Mon, Apr 17, 8 pm, $17
Wole Soyinka:
Nobel Prize-Winning Nigerian Playwright & Poet
Nigerian playwright and poet Wole Soyinka comes to the Unterberg Poetry Center for a rare U.S. appearance. With his political activism—and in works such as Poems from Prison, The Invention, A Dance of the Forests, Death and the King's Horseman and The Beatification of Area Boy—this Nobel Prize-winner has, in the words of Stanley Meisler, "challenged the West to broaden its aesthetic and accept African standards of art and literature...[and] challenged Africa to... reject the tyranny of power practiced on the continent by its colonizers and by many of its modern rulers."
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| THEATER TALKS |
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Mon, Sep 12, 8 pm, $25
The Public Talks: Performers and The Public Theater
Kevin Kline, Jimmy Smits and Liev Schreiber
Patricia Bosworth, moderator
Co-presented with The Public Theater in honor of its 50th anniversary.
Kevin Kline, Jimmy Smits and Liev Schreiber get together on the Y's stage for a candid discussion of the role The Public Theater played in shaping their artistic visions, their craft and their careers. The Public's productions, including Hair; The Normal Heart; Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk; Take Me Out; and Top Dog/Underdog; have made this New York theater one of the country's most visible platforms for exploring explosive issues. The discussion is moderated by Vanity Fair writer and theater biographer Patricia Bosworth.
Tue, Sep 27, 7pm, $25
The Rise and Fall of Yiddish Theater
Caraid O'Brien
In its heyday during the 1920s, the Yiddish theater encompassed about a dozen Broadway-style houses in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx; the oldest artists' union in America; and a roster of unforgettable stars such as Molly Picon, Ludwig Satz and scat-singing pioneer Aaron Lebedev. Through images and music, Caraid O'Brien discusses the myriad ways in which Yiddish theater influenced mainstream culture and considers why this is nearly forgotten. Caraid O'Brien, a performer, playwright and lecturer, received three commissions from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture for translations of great Yiddish plays. Her translation of Sholem Asch's Motke Thief premieres on the Lower East Side in October 2005.
Wednesday, October 27, 1pm, $35
Afternoon Night Table
Terrence McNally in Conversation with Wendy Wasserstein
This is the season's first event in the Unterberg Poetry Center's continuing daytime series, hosted by playwright Wendy Wasserstein. She speaks with Terrence McNally about what’s on his "night table" now, the books that influenced his craft and his works in progress. Playwright Terrence McNally is the author of Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class.
Sun, Oct 30, 7:30 pm, $50/$25
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and Joe Mantello
Discuss The Odd Couple
Patrick Pacheco, moderator
Join the Tony Award-winning duo of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick as they discuss playing Oscar and Felix in this eagerly awaited production, which reunites the stars of The Producers. Lane and Broderick are joined by Tony-winning director Joe Mantello of Wicked and Take Me Out. Patrick Pacheco is editor-at-large for Show People magazine.
Sun, Nov 20, 11 am, $35
Biographers & Brunch
Peter Ackroyd on Shakespeare
English novelist Peter Ackroyd is also the author of several nonfiction books — on Charles Dickens, William Blake, T.S. Eliot and Geoffrey Chaucer. His forthcoming work, Shakespeare: The Biography (Nan A. Talese; October 25, 2005), explores the Bard's life and work.
Sun, Mar 26, 11 am, $35
Critics & Brunch
Tom Bishop on Samuel Beckett
Tom Bishop's books include From the Left Bank: Reflections on the Modern French Theater and Novel and Pirandello and the French Theatre.
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| PERFORMANCES - MUSICAL THEATER: "LYRICS & LYRICISTS" |
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The 92nd Street Y presents the 36th season of its legendary Lyrics & Lyricists series, which celebrates the words and music of the American Songbook. The granddaddy of American songbook programs, Lyrics & Lyricists was launched on December 13, 1970 when longtime Broadway conductor Maurice Levine and lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg took to the stage of the 92nd Street Y to talk about the then unusual topic of song-making. The series has featured some of Broadway and Hollywood's greatest songwriters, including Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Johnny Mercer and Stephen Sondheim. This season, the series continues the redesigned format established in 2003, which features five different shows designed specifically for L&L by five different artistic directors. Each artistic director works with Kristin Lancino, artistic advisor to the 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts, and the Center's director, Hanna Arie-Gaifman, to create an original program in the L&L tradition: a seamless mix of information and entertainment with a particular focus on lyrics.
November 12-14, 2005
Lyrics & Lyricists: Kurt Weill in America
Andrea Marcovicci, Artistic Director & Vocals
Andrea Marcovicci hosts an evening of songs by German immigrant composer Kurt Weill and his American lyricist-collaborators, including Alan Jay Lerner, Ira Gershwin, Ogden Nash, Langston Hughes and Maxwell Anderson. Shelly Markham serves as pianist and music director; featured vocalists are Anna Bergman, Klea Blackhurst, Barbara Brussell, Mark Coffin, Jeff Harnar, Maude Maggart and Michael McElroy.
January 29-31, 2006
Lyrics & Lyricists: Heart and Soul — Frank Loesser's Hollywood
Ted Sperling, Artistic Director
Frank Loesser, known for Broadway hits like Guys & Dolls and The Most Happy Fella, also wrote lyrics for some of the best-loved songs from the golden age of movies, including the Academy-Award winning song "Baby, It’s Cold Outside." Tony-Award winner Ted Sperling celebrates Loesser's Hollywood songs, written with composers Hoagy Carmichael, Burton Lane and Jule Styne, among others. Jeffrey Klitz serves as pianist and music director; vocalists to be announced.
February 25-27, 2006
Lyrics & Lyricists: With Mabel Mercer, the Words Came First
Donald Smith, Artistic Director
English-born cabaret singer Mabel Mercer enthralled audiences in Europe and the United States and influenced singers from Frank Sinatra to Lena Horne. Donald Smith, executive director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation, presents some of the songs that made her a legend. Her legacy is particularly well-suited to L&L since her performances offered unique insights into the interplay of words and music. James Followell is pianist and musical director; featured vocalists are Jeff Harnar, Valerie Lemon, Craig Rubano, KT Sullivan & Lumiri Tubo.
April 8-10, 2006
Lyrics & Lyricists: Sheldon Harnick: Collector's Items
(Other People's Lyrics)
Rob Fisher, Artistic Director & Piano
Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello) hosts a stroll through some of the lyrics he didn't write &8212 but maybe wishes he had. His partner at L&L — for the third year running — is artistic director and pianist Rob Fisher. Vocalists to be announced.
May 6-8, 2006
Lyrics & Lyricists: Hooray for Hollywood: Johnny Mercer at the Movies
Robert Kimball, Artistic Director
Charles Osgood hosts an evening of movie songs by Johnny Mercer, including Academy Award-winner "On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe" and "Moon River." The program is directed by musical theater historian Robert Kimball. Vocalists to be announced.
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| ABOUT THE 92nd STREET Y |
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Founded in 1874 by a group of visionary Jewish leaders, the 92nd Street Y has grown into a wide-ranging cultural and community center serving people of all races, faiths and backgrounds. The 92nd Street Y's mission is to enrich the lives of the over 300,000 people who visit each year — both in person and through Live from NY's 92nd Street Y!, the Y's satellite broadcast program. The organization's East Side headquarters and West Side outpost, Makor, offer comprehensive performing arts, film and spoken word events; courses in the humanities, arts and Jewish education; activities and workshops for children, teenagers and parents; and health and fitness programs for people of every age. Committed to making its programs available to everyone, the 92nd Street Y awards over $1 million in scholarships annually and reaches out to 6,000 public school children each year through subsidized arts education programs. For more information, visit www.92Y.org/PRESS.
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© 2008 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association
All Rights Reserved. |
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