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Widowers' Houses
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SHOW INFORMATION

This show has not yet been rated.

CURRENTLY CLOSED
Opened Mar 14, 2007
Closed Apr 8, 2007

Visit the Widowers' Houses website:
http://www.epictheatrectr.org

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WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

In the tradition of their heralded revivals of J.B. Priestley's Time and the Conways and Ibsen's Little Eyolf, this new adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's first play, Widowers' Houses, re-sets the story one hundred years later in 1992 Harlem, transforming the "houses on Robbins Row" to the "Rosa Parks Houses," and features a predominantly African-American cast.

In the original play, Shaw twists and mangles the hearts of two idealistic lovers amidst a world of "slumlordery." The play exposed the class-obsessed nature of Edwardian England and its callousness towards the poor who struggle to build better lives for their families but are given limited housing options that cost "more per square foot than mansions off Hyde Park Corner." Epic's adaptation shifts the play to a similar period in New York's recent history which saw extensive urban renewal in response to a massive housing crisis and the rise of wealth in the African-American business class, but a lack of philanthropic interest in those left behind.

The cast features Peter Jay Fernandez, James Wallert, Rachael Holmes, Jessica Richardson, Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. and Jacob Ming-Trent.

Scenic Design is by Cameron Anderson, Lighting Design is by Tyler Micoleau, Sound Design is by Ron Russell and Costume Design is by Meg Weedon.

THEATER/VENUE INFORMATION:



Kirk Theatre
410 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036


WHAT ARE CRITICS SAYING?

It's not enough to have your heart in the right place when you create a work of theater. The current adaptation and updating of George Bernard Shaw's first play, Widowers' Houses by the well-meaning duo of Ron Russell and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. is nothing if not earnest. But as directed by Russell with a sledgehammer, this production by the impressive Epic Theatre Center is unsatisfying.

In their infinite wisdom, Russell and Simmons, Jr. have not only updated the play's time period by a century, setting it in 1992, but they've moved it from the "houses on Robbins Row" to the projects in Harlem. While they have kept the plot, the character names, and the essential themes of how the rich fee[...]


Reviewed by Barbara and Scott Siegel on Mar 15, 2007

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