Signature Theatre to Host Human Rights Panel in Conjunction With Incident at Vichy

Signature Theatre's World of the Play series will continue with a panel of experts discussing Human Rights and the Rescuer, presented in conjunction with Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy, on Saturday, December 5 at 4pm. The discussion will be held on the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center where the production is now in performances.

The conversation will delve into the identity and motivation of rescuers — individuals who show selfless courage in situations of atrocity or repression, one of the themes of Miller's play. The panel will discuss the importance and long-lasting effects of these rescuers, and attempt to answer the following questions: "What compels them enough to place themselves or their families and communities in potential danger? Are they always the people we might expect, or are we often surprised by who takes this role upon themselves? And how has the role and responsibility of the rescuer changed in the last century?"

The World of the Play will be moderated by Journal of Human Rights Practice editor Brian Phillips, and the panel of experts for this discussion will include professor in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Columbia University Elizabeth Midlarsky, documentarian and executive director of PROOF: Media for Social Justice Leora Kahn, and Immigration Equality asylum program supervisor Pamela Denzer.

Celebrating the centennial of Miller's birth, Incident at Vichy returns the work of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright to Signature for the first time since his 1997-98 residency. In Vichy, France, at the height of World War II, nine men and a boy are rounded up under suspicious circumstances. As ominous reports of far-off camps and cattle cars packed with prisoners begin to circulate, the men battle over politics, philosophy, and means of escape.

Directed by Michael Wilson, the company features David Abeles (Once), Curtis Billings (The Trip to Bountiful), James Carpinello (Rock of Ages), A.J. Cedeño (Strawberry & Chocolate), Quinlan Corbett (Rosario and the Gypsies), Brian Cross (Desire), Demosthenes Chrysan (Golden Boy), Jonathan Gordon (Orphans), Tony Award nominee Jonathan Hadary (Gypsy), Alex Morf (Of Mice and Men), Jonny Orsini (The Nance), Darren Pettie (Butley), John Procaccino (The Qualms), Alec Shaw, Derek Smith (Desire), Emmy Award winner Richard Thomas (The Waltons), and Evan Zes (The Freedom of the City).

For tickets and more information, click here.