Mud

The Hypocrites present the second production in its 10th Anniversary season, María Irene Fornés’ Mud, directed by Sean Graney.

María Irene Fornés’ work has been called “always intelligent, often funny, never vulgar or cynical; both delicate and visceral… [and] getting wiser.” Best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s, Cubanborn Fornés began as a painter and found her way into the New York “avant-garde” circle of La MaMa, Café Cino, and Judson Poets Theatre, alongside the likes of Lanford Wilson, Adrienne Kennedy, and Sam Shepard. Fornés has received a number of awards for her writing as well as her directing, including nine Obies, including one for Sustained Achieved in the Theatre; grants from the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, and NEA; American Academy of Arts and Letters Award; and in 2005, a Theatre Communications Group Award for a theatre practitioner for extraordinary contributions to the field.

With Mud in 1983, Fornés established herself as a leading voice in a “new language of dramatic realism” [Bonnie Marranca, Theaterwritings], or rather, a meld of this world and the world of metaphor and longing. Fornés simultaneously evokes nuanced social structures and magical inner reality. Critics have called the play “a stark drama set amid the groping lives of the rural poor” that “spoke in the steely voice of a writer who knew exactly what she intended with every word, every gesture. Mud’s spare, direct poetry was crystal-clear.” [Scott Rosenberg, San Francisco Examiner] Mud depicts poverty, and a love
triangle, and the desire for knowledge and learning — and the structures that impede human betterment.

Opening Night is Sunday, February 18 at 7:30 pm.
Please be aware that this production of Mud is meant to be actively
experienced by the audience. We encourage you to move around during the performance, changing your angle and perspective on the action as it unfolds. The run time of the show is just over one hour. If you are physically unable to stand for the duration of the performance, please let management know.