This Week on Broadway for September 8, 2019: Public Works’ Hercules

Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Betrayal, Public Works’ Hercules @ The Delacorte Theater, Red Bull Theater’s American Moor, Make Believe @ Second Stage, L.O.V.E.R. @ Signature Center, Laughing Liberally “Make America Laugh Again” @ The Theater at St. Clement’s, Judy (film), and Tech Support @ 59e59

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Panel:

Peter Filichia | peter@broadwayradio.com | Facebook
PETER FILICHIA is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. His columns appear at MTI, Masterworks Broadway, Broadway Select and many other places.

James Marino | james@broadwayradio.com | Twitter | Facebook
BroadwayStars

Michael Portantiere | michael@broadwayradio.com | Facebook
MICHAEL PORTANTIERE is a theater reviewer and essayist. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in The New York Times and other major publications. You can see his photography work at FollowSpotPhoto.com.

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Unconfirmed, but reliable source, in June 2020, the American Airlines theater will close for a $17 million renovation

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MP: Betrayal by Harold Pinter @ Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 West 45th Street, through December 8, 2019

Directed by Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal stars Golden Globe, Olivier, and Evening Standard Award winner Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, and Charlie Cox, all making their Broadway debuts as Robert, Jerry, and Emmy, respectively. They are joined by Eddie Arnold as the Waiter.

This production formed the culmination of Pinter at the Pinter, an unprecedented London season of Harold Pinter’s work taking place over the 2018/19 season. This mammoth project consisted of over thirty pieces including all one-act plays by the most important playwright of the 20th century. Marking the tenth anniversary of Pinter’s death, Betrayal played in the West End theater that bears his name, breaking all box office records.

With poetic precision, rich humor, and an extraordinary emotional force, Betrayal charts a compelling seven-year romance, thrillingly captured in reverse chronological order. The complexities of the human heart are explored in this, “the greatest, and the most moving, of all Pinter’s plays” (The Telegraph).

The creative team for Betrayal includes scenic and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Jon Clark, and sound design and music by Ben and Max Ringham. Casting is by Jim Carnahan, CSA.

The Jamie Lloyd Company production of Betrayal is produced on Broadway by Ambassador Theatre Group, Benjamin Lowy Productions, Glass Half Full Productions, and Gavin Kalin Productions.

MP: Public Works’ Hercules @ The Delacorte Theater,  August 31 – September 8, 2019‎

Public Works’ Musical Adaptation of HERCULES

Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by David Zippel
Book by Kristoffer Diaz
Choreography by Chase Brock
Directed by Lear deBessonet

Based on the Disney film written by Ron Clements, John Musker, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Mecchi, and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.

The Public Theater’s initiative that invites communities across New York to create ambitious works of participatory theater is closing out the summer in truly epic fashion. Public Works will present the glorious story of HERCULES, brought to vibrant life by professional actors and community groups from across the city. Directed by Public Works Founder and Resident Director Lear deBessonet, this summer’s production, based on the Disney animated film, will feature the film’s beloved score, plus additional original songs by the film’s composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel, with a new book by Kristoffer Diaz and choreography by Chase Brock. Journey with Hercules in this new stage adaptation that invites New Yorkers from all five boroughs to participate in a joyous musical that celebrates the heroes found in all of us.

FEATURING
200+ New Yorkers including
Jelani Alladin (Hercules), Roger Bart (Hades), Jeff Hiller (Panic), James Monroe Iglehart (Philoctetes), Ramona Keller (Thalia), Tamika Lawrence (Calliope), Krysta Rodriguez (Megara), Rema Webb (Terpsichore), cameo groups 10 Hairy Legs, Passaic High School Marching Band, and a special featured performance by Broadway Inspirational Voices.

PUBLIC WORKS is a national and international initiative of The Public Theater that seeks to engage the people of New York by making them creators and not just spectators. Led by Founder Lear deBessonet and Director of Public Works Laurie Woolery, Public Works deliberately blurs the line between professional artists and community members, creating theater that is not only for the people, but by and of the people as well.

PF: Red Bull Theater presents American Moor @ Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street, through October 5, 2019
Written and Performed by Keith Hamilton Cobb
Directed by Kim Weild
Featuring Josh Tyson

MP: Make Believe @ Second Stage, Tony Kiser Theater, 305 West 43rd Street, through September 22, 2019
Written by Bess Wohl and directed by Michael Greif. MAKE BELIEVE features Kim Fischer, Susannah Flood, Ryan Foust, Harrison Fox, Maren Heary, Brad Heberlee, Casey Hilton and Samantha Mathis.
When does real life collide with make believe? For the four Conlee kids, ages 5 to 10, playing house is no longer a game when their parents inexplicably disappear. Thirty-two years later, their search for answers continues. Bess Wohl returns to Second Stage after her funny and poignant play, American Hero, with a look inside the minds of children, their parents and the mysteries of childhood that haunt us forever.

PF: Kaleidoscope Creative Partners production of L.O.V.E.R. @ The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, through November 2, 2019
Written By Lois Robbins
Directed By Karen Carpenter
Everyone remembers their first kiss…and second…and maybe their fifth? This bold new comedy reveals the truths about life, love, and…sex. Written and performed by Lois Robbins, L.O.V.E.R. portrays one woman’s confessions of what goes on behind closed doors and between the sheets. Directed by Karen Carpenter (Love, Loss, and What I Wore), L.O.V.E.R. is the new play for anyone who’s found love or is still searching.

MP: Laughing Liberally, in Association With Eric Krebs, presents “Make America Laugh Again” @ The Theater at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street, through September 21, 2019
Performers who will share the stage with John Fugelsang include the legendary Elayne Boosler, Judah Friedlander (“30 Rock”), Janeane Garafolo, Judy Gold, Marina Franklin (“Train Wreck,” HBO’s “Crashing”), Hari Kondabolu (“The Trouble With Apu”) and comedian/SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah – recently awarded $4.1 million in his lawsuit against white supremacists.

PF: Judy (film)
WIKIPEDIA: Judy is a 2019 biographical drama film about the life of American singer and actress Judy Garland in 1969, as she arrives in London for a run of sell-out concerts at the Talk of the Town. Directed by Rupert Goold, it is an adaptation of the Olivier and Tony-nominated West End and Broadway play End of the Rainbow by Peter Quilter. The film stars Renée Zellweger as Garland, with Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell and Michael Gambon in supporting roles.[1][2]

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2019. It is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on 27 September 2019 and in the United Kingdom on 4 October 2019. The film received overall positive reviews, with Zellweger’s performance receiving high praise.

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