The Arvada Center is kicking off its Black Box season by tapping into two long-held theatrical traditions.
The first is hiring an ensemble company of actors, directors and designers who will put on all four of the season's Black Box productions. And the second is beginning the season with Moli re's classic comedy, "Tartuffe."
"'Tartuffe' is a great play to start the season, because every character in it has a moment to shine," said director Lynne Collins. "It's a fabulous play that is both very timely and timeless."
The show runs at the center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Sept. 30 through Nov. 6. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 1 p.m. Wednesday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Audience engagement events, including insiders' talkbacks and chats with the cast, are held through the run of the production.
"Tartuffe," translated from French by Richard Wilbur, is a satire about frauds and the power they can manage to wield. It focuses on the wealthy family of Orgon (Sam Gregory), and what happens when fraudulent holy man Tartuffe (Michael Morgan) comes into their lives. Tartuffe professes he's there to show the pathway to salvation, but really he's out to wed Orgon's daughter Mariane (Emily Van Fleet), seduce his wife Elmire (Kate Gleason) and abscond with the family fortune. To counter this, Orgon's family launches a plan of their own.
"High jinks and hilarity ensues," Van Fleet said. "It's very farcical, and there are a lot of big, silly characters to laugh with."
The laughs will be coming at the audience fast and frequently, and many of the tropes and stereotypes will be familiar to modern audiences.
"It's been a very joyful room putting this together," Gregory said. "There are moments when we have to stop because we're laughing so hard."
The play is written in entirely in rhyming couplets, which makes for a lot of terrific wordplay and fun with the pacing. Collins said some language and references were slightly updated to better correlate with modern times, but the meaning behind the story cuts as deep now as it did in the 17th century.
"It feels shockingly modern," Gleason added. "It really speaks to what we can still see in the world today."
The play is also exciting, because it's the start of a relationship with the company and audience that will develop over the next productions.
"Working together on this show is going to carry on through the next shows," said Sean Scrutchins, who plays Damis. "We know how to communicate with each other, and that will help with all the other shows we do."
All the actors have taken to the stage at the Arvada Center before in a variety of roles, and that focus on showcasing local talent is one of the things that makes the center unique, said Josh Robinson, who plays Cl ante in the show
"The Arvada Center's commitment to hire locally is a great thing to see," he added. We've all worked together before, so we're starting at a higher level than a lot of production seasons."
The audience will also benefit from this arrangement, because they'll become familiar with the actors throughout the season. They will get to see them switch up characters and styles, develop a relationship with them.
"They'll have different experiences with us in each show and get to see different sides of us," Morgan said. "The audience really becomes part of our family."
For more information, call 720-898-7200 or visit www.arvadacenter.org.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Arvada-Center-begins-Black-Box-season,236453?branding=15
No comments:
Post a Comment