Theater News

F. Murray Abraham, Michael Cerveris, Marsha Mason, et al. Set for Red Bull Theater’s Revelation Readings

Michael Cerveris
(© Tristan Fuge)
Michael Cerveris
(© Tristan Fuge)

Red Bull Theater has announced preliminary casting for its 2011-2012 Revelation Readings series, which offers one-night-only performances of both neglected classics and new plays of heightened language and classical themes

Among the readings will be a benefit staging of Ben Jonson’s Volpone (October 10), to be directed by Jesse Berger and starring F. Murray Abraham, Helen Carey, and Jay O. Sanders, to be held at 7:30pm at the Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater. The company will present a mainstage production of Volpone in 2012.

All other readings take place at 7:30pm on Mondays at the Theatre at St. Clement’s.
The series will begin with Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit (September 19), directed by Wendy McClellan and featuring Adam Green, Kathryn Meisle and Carrie Preston.


Also on tap will be Lauren Gunderson’s Exit, Pursued by a Bear (October 31), directed by Jackson Gay and featuring Patrick Jones; Olivier Kemeid’s The Aenid, with Michael Cerveris, Kathleen Chalfant, Mia Barron and Tracie Thoms and directed by Kay Matschullat; Thomas Dekker’s The Shoemaker’s Holiday (November 28), to be directed by Everett Quinton and featuring Roberta Maxwell, André De Shields, Sam Tsoutsouvas, Alex Morf and Christina Pumariega; Travesties of Shakespeare, a talk by John Wolfson, featuring scenes with Randy Harrison and John Douglas Thompson; and Nikolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector (December 26), directed by Marc Vietor and starring Marsha Mason and Derek Smith.


The first Revelation Reading of 2012 will be Tom Stoppard’s new version of Pirandello’s Henry IV (January 9), directed by Jack O’Brien and starring Richard Easton and Patrick Page. It will be followed by Beaumont & Fletcher’s A King and No King (January 23), directed by Ethan McSweeny and featuring Matthew Rauch; Alfred de Musset’s Lorenzaccio (February 6), adapted and translated by John Strand, directed by Joseph Hardy, and featuring Daniel Davis, Jennifer Ikeda and Santino Fontana.

Red Bull will also present two works by Jean Genet as part of the series: The Balcony (March 19), translated by Jean-Claude van Itallie, directed by David Herskovits and starring Amy Irving and Keith David; and The Screens (March 26), translated by Paul Schmidt, directed by Tracy Cameron Francis, and featuring Arian Moayed, Heather Raffo and Najla Said.


The series continues with Philip Massinger’s Renegado (April 30), directed by Craig Baldwin and featuring Monica Raymund; and George Farquhar’s The Beaux’ Strategem (May 14), adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig, directed by Michael Kahn and starring Christian Conn, Veanne Cox and Christopher Innvar.

In addition, Red Bull will present a New Play Festival as part of the series on June 18, which will feature eight short plays that explore classic themes. Among the writers to be featured in the festival will be John Guare.

The company’s mainstage season will also include a production of Jean Genet’s The Maids. Details will be announced shortly.


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