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| NY Classical Theatre reunites the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest for free virtual reading on Thursday, July 16 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 10:34 am EDT 07/07/20 | |
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| NY Classical Theatre reunites the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest for free virtual reading on Thursday, July 16 Directed by Stephen Burdman NY Classical Theatre (Stephen Burdman, Artistic Director), New York City's all-free Off-Broadway equity theatre company, will bring back the entire original cast of its critically acclaimed production (voted Best Off-Broadway production 2019 Season by Darryl Reilly, TheatreScene.net) of Oscar Wilde's comic masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, for an encore reading on July 16, 2020 at 8 pm, directed by Burdman. Regarded as one of the great comedies in the English language, Wilde's 1895 classic is a satire of social manners and obligations in Victorian England. NY Classical's original production toured large, public places throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. The cast features Ademide Akintilo (Shakespeare's Globe's A Midsummer Night's Dream) as Algernon, Kristen Calgaro (NY Classical's Much Ado About Nothing) as Gwendolen, Connie Castanzo (NY Classical's Romeo & Juliet) as Cecily, Jed Peterson (CHEERS: Live On Stage) as Jack, Kate Goehring (The Inheritance on Broadway, Angels in America National Tour) as Lady Bracknell, John Michalski (Martin Luther on Trial) as Merriman, Tina Stafford (Once National Tour) as Miss Prism, and Clay Storseth (Moscow) as Dr. Chasuble. Original casting is by Stephanie Klapper and the Stage Manager is Yetti Steinman. Free reservations are available at https://nyclassical.org/earnest-encore to join the live premiere or to receive the recording link to enjoy July 16-20. The production was staged last season in a critically acclaimed limited engagement at A.R.T./New York Theatres. Theatre journalist and critic Jose Solís said the original performances were "absolutely enchanting, hilarious, and illuminate Wilde's text in refreshing ways." TheatreScene.net raved, "All of the enduring pleasures of Oscar Wilde's classic comedy are to be joyously experienced anew or for the first time in director Stephen Burdman's wondrous dual productions of The Importance of Being Earnest. A frothy delight faithfully affirming Wilde's insightful wit and supreme dramatic construction through theatrical magnificence." StageBuddy cheered the production's "outrageous hilarity. The comedy rolls along at a sleek pace, with one clever witticism following hard on the heels of another. Of course, it helps to have a good cast, and the NY Classical cast plays Wilde's masterful comedy with smooth decorum." For 20 years, NY Classical has provided free and immersive performances to the public in open, non-traditional spaces in iconic New York City settings, ranging from Governors Island and Brookfield Place, to Brooklyn Bridge Park and Central Park. Since 2000, NY Classical has presented over 42 free productions and more than 700 free performances of classic plays by Shakespeare, Moliere, Shaw, Chekhov, Schiller and Sheridan, for 250,000 people. Attendees at NY Classical's performances range from theatre aficionados, to audiences who have never seen a play before, with nearly 30% of the company's audience living at our below NYC's poverty line. NY Classical's commitment to accessibility has helped to develop new and future audiences for the theatre. Writing about the company's 2018 production of Romeo & Juliet, the Washington Post said, "It was a wonderful way to see how a company can claim Shakespeare for new audiences and rekindle it for the more familiar, one beguiled city dweller at a time." The company has been hailed as "a firmly rooted cultural institution of the city," by TheaterMania.com, as well as "a movable feast" and "a rollicking exercise in participatory theatre" by The New York Times. For more information, visit nyclassical.org. BIOGRAPHIES Ademide Akintilo (Algernon). NY Classical Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest. Hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, Ademide has recently performed on screen in "Law and Order: SVU" and "Madam Secretary," as well as onstage in Our Country's Good (Connecticut Repertory Theater), The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), Beyond the Oak Trees (National Black Theatre Festival), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare's Globe). He is a graduate from the Interlochen Arts Academy and a BFA graduate from the Rutgers University: Mason Gross School of the Arts. Kristen Calgaro (Gwendolen). NY Classical Theatre (Associate Artist): The Importance of Being Earnest, The Rivals, Malvolio's Revenge, Playing Moliere, Much Ado About Nothing. New York: Mourning Becomes Electra (Target Margin Theater); Brigadoon (Broadway workshop). National Tour: Dr. Dolittle (with Tommy Tune). Selected Regional: Dancing at Lughnasa (Barnstormers); Boeing-Boeing (Totem Pole Playhouse); The Understudy (Cape May Stage); And the Curtain Rises (Signature Theatre); Broadway: 3 Generations (The Kennedy Center); The Glass Menagerie (Bay Theatre).? Film/TV: "Kumare" (SXSW Audience Award), "Exeunt"(HBO's NYFF), "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." ?BA Religious Studies/Spanish, University of Virginia. kristencalgaro.com Connie Castanzo (Cecily): NY Classical Theatre (Associate Artist): The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo & Juliet, The Rivals, As You Like It. New York: Gigi (Storm Theatre); Diaspora (The Gym at Judson); Time Stands Still (Theatre for the New City); City Girls & Desperadoes, Much Ado About Nothing (The Secret Theatre); My Report To The World (The Karski Project); Some Are More Human (NYC Fringe). Regional: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Capital REP); Boeing Boeing (Millbrook Playhouse); Lost Boy Found in Whole Food's, Confluence of Dreaming (Pittsburgh REP); Ramona Quimby (Two Beans). TV/Film: "Hack My Life," "Creep," "Cauliflower," "The Raft." BFA in Acting from Point Park Conservatory of Performing Arts. Kate Goehring (Lady Bracknell). NY Classical Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest. Theater: King John (Folger); Angels in America (National Tour: Carbonell/LA Pride Awards); Orpheus Descending (Arena); Heartbreak House (Intiman); The Cherry Orchard (McCarter); Slavs! (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls (Alliance); Wit (NC Theatre, Broadway World Award); Underneath the Lintel, The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead (Triad Stage); The Rover (Goodman); How I Learned to Drive (AZ Theatre); Collected Stories (A Contemporary Theater, Footlights Award); Mrs. Warren's Profession, The Glass Menagerie (Huntington); Saint Joan, The Syringa Tree (KC Repertory); Measure for Measure (Court Theatre); Laughing Wild (Bailiwick, After Dark Award/Jeff Citation). Screens: BBC, Comedy Central, "ER," "Gossip Girl," "Law and Order" (all three), "Grand Theft Auto V." John Michalski (Merriman). NY Classical Theatre (Associate Artist): The Importance of Being Earnest, The Rivals, The Winter's Tale, Measure for Measure, A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, The Tempest, The Seagull, Twelfth Night, Playing Moliere, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, Hamlet, King Lear. Broadway: Herzl (opp. Paul Hecht); Gorey Stories (dir. Tony Tanner). Off-Broadway: Under My Skin, Homer's Odyssey (Handcart Ensemble); Gross Indecency: The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde (Minetta Lane); Martin Luther on Trial. Regional: One Man, Two Guvnors (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Freud's Last Session, The Crucible (Pioneer Theatre, Salt Lake City); Dracula (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park & Repertory Theatre of St. Louis). John is a Group II graduate of the Juilliard School Drama Division. Jed Peterson (Jack). NY Classical Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest. National Tour of CHEERS: Live On Stage. New York: Maverick (Cliplight Theater); Deconstruction (Storm Theatre); Hard Times: An American Musical (The Cell); The Man of the Hour (Metropolitan Playhouse). Regional: Rudolf Nureyev in World Premier of Nureyev's Eyes (American Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Blue Barn); The 39 Steps (American Stage); Zorro! (East Lynne); King Lear, Fiddler on the Roof, The Taming of the Shrew (Utah Shakespeare Festival); A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre). TV: "Madam Secretary," "Elementary." Training: Moscow Art Theatre School, Princeton University, LaGuardia H.S. of Performing Arts, NYC. Resident Artist, The Cell Theatre; Acting Company Member, Playwrights Gallery. jedqpeterson.com Tina Stafford (Miss Prism). NY Classical Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest, Richard III. Tina is thrilled to collaborate on this classic gem with this daring company, bringing relevance, and challenging audiences to think outside the box. She spent two years on the road with the first national tour of the Broadway musical Once. Leading roles around the country: York Theatre, 59E59, Soho Rep, Prospect Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Bucks County Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Musicals, Cleveland Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Kansas City Rep, and the Utah, Texas and Maine Shakespeare Festivals, among many others. Proud AEA member. Clay Storseth (Dr. Chasuble). NY Classical Theatre (Associate Artist): The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Measure for Measure, As You Like It, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Henry V, Richard III, Hamlet, King Lear, Cymbeline, Love's Labour's Lost. New York: Moscow (Chekhov Now/NY Original Cast CD). Regional: Corpus Christi (I Am Love Tour); Measure for Measure, O! Pioneers (A Noise Within); Joined at the Head (Laguna Playhouse); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Musical Theatre West); Song of Singapore (ICT). LA: Richard III, Cymbeline (Will & Co.); Sea Change (LA Weekly Award Nom.); King Lear (dir. Patsy Rodenburg); Into The Woods (Actor's CoOp); All Souls Day (Playwright's Arena); Chess (Blank). Edinburgh: Dierdre (Queen's Hall); Moscow (Assembly, Fringe First & Audience Favorite Award); Macbeth (Greyfriar's Kirkyard); Riffs & Credos, Whale Watchers, Weho (French Institute). TV: "Star Trek: Voyager." MFA Cal Arts. Stephen Burdman (Director/Artistic Director). Stephen has directed and produced over half of Shakespeare's canon for NY Classical Theatre. Favorite productions include: The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo & Juliet , The Rivals, Measure for Measure, A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, The Seagull, Playing Moliere, Henry V(New York Times Critic's Pick), Hamlet, King Lear, Misalliance, and Mary Stuart. MFA University of California, Irvine; National Theater Institute. Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994. Stephen is the former Chair of the Artistic Committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. He has also been a panelist with the National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, ART/New York, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. About NY Classical Theatre: NY Classical's mission is to reinvigorate and create audiences for the theatre by presenting all-free productions of popular classics and forgotten masterpieces in public spaces throughout the five boroughs. We firmly believe that the themes of the classics remain relevant to the lives of all New Yorkers today. Through the lens of classical theatre, we come to better understand human nature and our role in contemporary life. Our all-free performances build new and future audiences for live theatre by attracting many underserved and non-traditional spectators. Now celebrating our 21st Season, NY Classical has served over 250,000 people with 42 all-free productions: The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth (2017, 2008, 2001), The Rivals, The Winter's Tale(2016, 2004), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016, 2000), Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew(2015, 2002), As You Like It (2014, 2005), The Tempest , The Seagull, A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol (2017, 2013, 2012), Twelfth Night (2012, 2002), Playing Moliere, Henry V, The School for Husbands, The Rover , Much Ado About Nothing (2010, 2003), Richard III, Hamlet, King Lear, Misalliance, Cymbeline, The Recruiting Officer, Love's Labour's Lost , The Comedy of Errors, Mary Stuart, All's Well That Ends Well, Scapin, The Feigned Courtesans, The Triumph of Love, and King Ubu. nyclassical.org |
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| Link | https://nyclassical.org/earnest-encore |
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