Something new for Douglas Morrison Theatre: a world premiere. Who has the audacity to adapt Oscar Wilde? On February 7, 2014, they open “AN IDEAL HUSBAND” by Oscar Wilde in a brand new adaptation by San Jose playwright Scott Munson who sets the play in 1959 Washington, D.C., amongst the Rockefeller Republicans. Although the story and most of the characters remain true to Wilde, and most of the jokes are intact, the text is Americanized, restyled and retrofitted.February 6 – March 2, 2014: Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 N. Third St., Hayward, CA TICKETS: $10 Preview $29 Thurs. eve, Fri. eve, Sat. BOX OFFICE: (510) 881-6777; www.dmtonline.org
#############################
NEWS OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S “ROAD SHOW” AT The Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St. (btwn. Front & Battery Sts., in SF 94111 Opening on January 2nd
Theatre Rhino does Sondheim. We have not just chosen any Sondheim musical usually done by regional theatres, but the obscure ROAD SHOW. This musical has had many incarnations (previously titled Bounce, and before that Wise Guys and Gold!), but the few people who have seen it may not have seen this version being presented by Theatre Rhino. ROAD SHOW, Sondheim's first new musical since his Tony Award-winning Passion in 1994, reunited the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning composer with book writer Weidman (Assassins, Pacific Overtures) and Tony Award-winning director John Doyle (Sweeney Todd, Company). The production played an extended run Off-Broadway at the Public Theater in 2008, but beyond a 2011 London remounting at the Menier Chocolate Factory, the musical has remained unseen by audiences until now.
PRE-SHOW NIGHTLY PRESENTATION by Director John Fisher"Stephen Sondheim: The Composer and his Context"7:30 pm nightly - One half hour before each performance the director will give a brief presentation about Stephen Sondheim, his career and the evolution of Sondheim and John Weidman's Road Show. This presentation is included in the price of admission. Tickets are $15 - $30 - (Previews are pay what you wish.) available at http://www.therhino.org/buy.htm or 1-800- 838-3006
################################
CUTTING BALL THEATER CONTINUES 15TH SEASON WITH “UBU ROI” January 24-February 23, 2014 In a new translation by Rob Melrose
– Cutting Ball Theater continues its 15th season with Alfred Jarry’s UBU ROI in a new translation by Rob Melrose. Russian director Yury Urnov (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company) helms this irreverent take on world leaders. Featuring David Sinaiko, Ponder Goddard, Marilet Martinez, Bill Boynton, Nathaniel Justiniano, and Andrew Quick, UBU ROI plays January 24 through February 23 (Press opening: January 30) at the Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor (277 Taylor Street) in San Francisco. For tickets ($10-50) and more information, the public may visit cuttingball.com or call 415-525-1205.
When Alfred Jarry’s UBU ROI premiered in Paris on December 10, 1896, the audience broke into a riot at the utterance of its first word. Jarry’s parody of Shakespeare’s Macbeth defies theatrical tradition through its disregard for audience expectations, replacing Shakespeare’s tragic hero with a greedy, sadistic ogre who becomes the King of Poland by force and through the debasement of his people. Set in a modern luxury kitchen, this re-visioned UBU ROI features a wealthy American couple who play out their fantasies of wealth and power to excess as they take on the roles of Mother and Father Ubu. Cutting Ball’s version of UBU ROI may bring to mind the fall from grace of many a contemporary political leader corrupted by power, from Elliot Spitzer to Dominique Strauss-Kahn. UBU ROI was developed as part of the 2013 edition of RISK IS THIS… The Cutting Ball New Experimental Plays Festival.
“For me, UBU ROI is the reflection of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Übermensch, an ‘Over-man’ or ‘Super-man,’ in Alfred Jarry’s false mirror,” said director Yury Urnov. “If it’s true that Nietzsche was one of the founding-fathers of the fascist aesthetic, then Jarry’s play can be perceived as the first anti-fascist work of art in which the author reveals the conflict between superhuman ambitions and the part of himself which is ‘human, all too human.’ I think of Alfred Jarry as the first realist, not just the first absurdist; I look forward to exploring his work in this context, and sharing this insightful and exciting new translation of his seminal play with the Cutting Ball’s audience.”
“In many ways UBU ROI is the beginning of avant garde theater,” said Cutting Ball Artistic Director Rob Melrose. “It had its premiere at the Théâtre de l’Oeuvre in Paris in 1896 and the utterance of the first word ‘Merdre’ caused riots rivaled only by premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. For many years, productions tried to capture the shock of the first production – a very tall order that many would argue is impossible in today’s world of South Park, performance art, and YouTube videos. UBU ROI has become a favorite of innovative auteur directors; the impossible epic, cartoon-like nature of the play makes it a delightful challenge for visionary directors. We are fortunate to have Yury Urnov, who grew up and trained in Russia, at the helm of Cutting Ball’s production; his directing career includes many breathtakingly bold adaptations of classic works.”
############################
|