| Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival | |
| Posted by: | Official_Press_Release 01:46 pm EST 01/21/14 |
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| PAUL GREEN’S THE HOUSE OF CONNELLY, THE GROUP THEATRE’S FIRST PLAY, TO RECEIVE A RARE NY REVIVAL Preview January 23, 2014, Opening January 24th, Runs Through February 9th At The Barrow Group Theatre On the heels of their acclaimed productions of 1931- and Success Story, The ReGroup Theatre Company turns its attention to the Group Theatre’s very first play, Paul Green’s The House of Connelly. With special permission and support from the Paul Green Foundation, this poetic tale gets a much overdue NY revival. The play shows us an iconic struggle: the last dying gasps of the Old South as it tries to prevent the progression of new ideas. Wayward son Will Connelly, heir to the famous Connelly estate, finds himself unable to live up to the prestige of the legendary Connellys of the past. When Patsy, daughter of the new tenant farmer arrives on the estate, Will doesn’t know what to believe. Is it love at first sight, or does she have her calculating eyes on becoming the new Mrs. Connelly? The struggles between tradition and change, between black and white, between truth and deceit come to a shocking conclusion. In the original production, the Group commissioned Mr. Green to rewrite a more hopeful ending, but the ReGroup will be presenting Mr. Green’s original ending, performed as the author intended. After 80 years, we present this jaw-dropping conclusion. Originally produced in 1931, The House of Connelly immediately propelled the Group Theatre to prominence. Directed by Lee Strasberg, the original cast featured such future legends as Stella Adler, Morris Carnovsky, and Clifford Odets. In his New York Times review, Brooks Atkinson wrote that Mr. Green “has such abundant understanding, such integrity of character and such magnetism of passion that you are likely to remember the pure truth of his prose poem long after you have forgotten a thousand craftsmanlike plays about love, family and possessions.” The ReGroup’s production of The House of Connelly features a 16-person cast featuring Logan James Hall, Claire Buckingham, Tami McCarthy, Selena C. Dukes, Sheila Simmons, Robert Laciura, Charlotte Hampden, Maja Wampuszyc, Ted Morgan, Tim Gilliss, Jamie Jung, Clark Beasley Jr, Eli Bridges, Rebecca Beberaggi, Kimberley Shoniker, and Anthony Rinaldi. The play will be staged by Allie Mulholland. The House of Connelly will run Jan 24th – Feb 9th at The Barrow Group Theatre, 312 W 36th St, 3rd floor. Shows run Mon, Thurs-Sat at 8 PM and at 3 PM on Sundays. Tickets are $18 and will be available starting in December via www.smarttix.com. In addition to The House of Connelly, The ReGroup will be presenting staged readings of two of Mr. Green’s other plays. His 1927 Pulitzer Prize winner In Abraham’s Bosom will be presented at 7 PM Jan 26, and his adaptation of Richard Wright’s novel Native Son will be performed 7 PM Feb 2nd. Tickets are currently on sale via www.smarttix.com or by calling 212.868.4444. Preorder tickets are now on sale at a discounted rate. ### About The ReGroup Theatre Company The ReGroup Theatre is a 501(c)(3) company, aiming to explore the roots of the American theatre in order to cultivate and shape the direction the theatre’s future. Like the original Group Theatre, who were in the midst of a terrible economy, while competing with trivial dramatic fare, wrestling with an audience that was losing interest in the power of the theatre, the ReGroup has chosen to ‘act,’ and attempt to capture that same spirit. We are using the Group’s amazing collection of “lost” plays in an attempt to reeducate audiences as to the potential of great theatre, as well as to re-stimulate the creative interests and aspirations of actors and playwrights, helping to remind them of the potential impact of theatre. Paul Green (1894-1981) was a prolific author and civil rights activist. Besides writing the Group’s first play, The House of Connelly, he also wrote their only musical, Johnny Johnson, with the first American score by Kurt Weill. (Recently published in The Lost Group Theatre Plays: Vol 3.) In 1927, his play In Abraham’s Bosom won the Pulitzer Prize for its groundbreaking portrayal of realistic African American life in the South. Other plays of note are the stage adaptation of Richard Wright’s classic novel Native Son and the longest running symphonic drama The Lost Colony (2013 TONY Award Winner for Excellence in Theatre). Besides plays, he wrote numerous short stories, novels, screenplays and essays. A lifelong civil rights activist, after his death, his friends and family established the Paul Green Foundation to continue his humanitarian work. www.regrouptheatre.org | |
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| re: Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival | |
| Posted by: | Jackson 02:58 pm EST 01/21/14 |
| In reply to: | Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival - Official_Press_Release 01:46 pm EST 01/21/14 |
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| Has anyone seen any productions of The ReGroup Theatre? How were the productions? J | |
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| re: Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival | |
| Posted by: | allineedisthegirl 03:09 pm EST 01/21/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival - Jackson 02:58 pm EST 01/21/14 |
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| A while back (one or two years ago?) this group revived Paul Green's (and Kurt Weill's) Johnny Johnson with a cast that included a few luminaries (i.e., George Bartenlief). It was worse than anything I had seen before or have seen since. (And I've seen lots of bad.) Came across like a first reading done by people who weren't even good at reading. I'll never to back to see the ReGroup's work again. sorry. db | |
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| re: Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival | |
| Posted by: | larry13 03:29 pm EST 01/21/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival - allineedisthegirl 03:09 pm EST 01/21/14 |
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| Basically ditto.(Although, to be honest, I escaped when the one intermission finally came.) | |
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| re: Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival | |
| Posted by: | Jackson 08:41 pm EST 01/21/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Paul Green's "The House of Connelly" to Receive a Rare NY Revival - larry13 03:29 pm EST 01/21/14 |
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| Thanks for your valuable advice! J | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
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