Richard McElvain to Star in The Life of Galileo

Richard McElvain will star in the title role of Bertolt Brecht’s The Life of Galileo, to be co-presented by Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT and Underground Railway Theater at Central Square Theater, April 10-May 17. David Wheeler will direct.

This production will use a translation by David Hare, with the play exploring the life of the founder of modern science and the conflict between reason and faith. The cast will also include Steven Barkhimer, Jason Bowen, Andrew Cekala, Amanda Collins, Kevin Kaine, Robert Najarian, Jamie Nelson, Stephen Russell, Vincent Ernest Siders, Lewis D. Wheeler, and Debra Wise.

McElvain won the Elliot Norton Award for Best Actor for his performance in Saint Nicholas, and additional credits include Angels in America, To Kill a Mockingbird, Unexpected Tenderness, and Twelfth Night.

During the run of The Life of Galileo, there will be talk-backs after selected performances led by world-class scientists such as Eric Lander, co-director, Broad Institute and President Obama’s newly appointed science advisor. In addition, a Galileo Symposia Series will take place before every Saturday night performance with audience members having the opportunity to participate in debates with renowned scientists and professors, providing insight into Galileo’s life and times, and also into how the questions raised by the play impact us today. Symposium leaders include Nobel Laureate Jerome Friedman, Owen Gingerich, Alan Guth, Ian Hutchinson and Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek.

For more information, visit www.centralsquaretheater.org.