FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Cindy Moran, Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761 August 28, 2006 Shakespeare’s dramatic and thrilling masterpiece opens Rep season Directed by Joseph Hanreddy Quadracci Powerhouse Theater A powerful kingdom is ripped apart by greed and confusion in Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy that explores the thin line between political order and chaos. Powerful emotions and searing wit make this one of the greatest plays ever written. Tickets can be purchased in person at The Rep Ticket Office at 108 East Wells Street, or by telephone at 414-224-9490. Tickets can also be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com. The Rep . . . See it LIVE! King Lear, in old age, decides to retire and divide up his kingdom between his three daughters. The King meets his doom when he fails to distinguish between hollow words and those of substance. Mistaking the silence of his beloved daughter, Cordelia, for pride instead of inexplicable devotion, Lear believes the flattering falsities of his other two daughters, Goneril and Regan. Giving them the kingdom – and with it his power – he soon finds himself disgraced and manipulated. Only until Lear has been whipped by the winds of his mistake does he discover that unconditional loyalty and love, though not always apparent, always outlasts the storm. Shakespeare’s great play draws it power from its insights into the complexities, ambiguities and mysteries of the human condition. Writer R.A. Fokes in his introduction to the Arden version of KING LEAR, presents the following excellent summation on the play: We can agree on something: the play is a ruthless analysis of humanity and society. It shows that our actions have consequences which outrun our best, and our worst, intentions. Lear’s determination to punish Cordelia results in the death of many. The play is also concerned with the shift from appearance to reality. The appearance at the beginning is that the Kingdom is secure, Lear is loved by his children he can retain his kingly authority into retirement. The reality is the chaos that ensues. It is concerned with breakdowns in family relationships, with the effect on the mind of both physical and mental suffering, with what distinguishes man from the animals, with the need to believe in the face of all evidence to the contrary, in the existence of unseen benevolent powers. William Shakespeare, playwright, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. William was the third of eight children for John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. He later married Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare moved to London and there he was able to enhance and display his multifaceted talents as actor, playwright and entrepreneur. He joined one of London ’s well-renowned acting troupes, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, renamed the King’s Men when James I ascended the throne in 1603. Shakespeare stamped into the theatrical scene and quickly gained popularity, although his early work encountered criticism. The University Wits were angered by how Shakespeare’s plays rejected the decorum deemed proper by higher education. Their lack of respect most likely was fueled by envy and worry of Shakespeare’s blooming talent. Robert Greene, a rivaling playwright, declared Shakespeare “an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you.” Apparently, though, the majority did not agree – he was adored by both crown and crowd. Londoners flocked to see the Shakespearean spectacles, and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men quickly became a favorite of Elizabeth I. He responded to her patronage by legitimizing the Tudor dynasty in his plays. Eventually he assumed a management position within the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and became partial owner of The Globe Theatre. In the 1613 production of HENRY VIII, a mid-performance cannon ignited the thatched roof of the theater. At first, the audience, too deeply enthralled in the play, took no notice. Soon the entire structure burned to the ground, but fortunately without incurring any injuries. The Globe was rebuilt in 1614. Shakespeare’s popularity exceeded that of his competition, and his work became published in “penny copies,” during his lifetime – an unprecedented accomplishment. For the first time, the plays not only could be seen on stage but could be accessed as leisure reading. When Shakespeare died, allegedly on his birthday in 1616, two actors from The Lord Chamberlain’s Men compiled sonnets and plays, published in what is known as the First Folio. Eighteen of the plays had not previously been printed elsewhere. Either on stage or in printed word, Shakespeare’s wit and passion continues to captivate a wide variety of audiences. The sculpted characters and timeless themes are steeped with his poetic elegance. The Rep’s Artistic Director, Joseph Hanreddy, is the director for KING LEAR. In writing about the play for The Rep’s publication Prologue, Joe speaks to the contemporary relevancy of Shakespeare’s masterpiece. “A current reading of KING LEAR can’t help but to create comparisons between the visionary poetic images of Shakespeare’s Renaissance imagination and heart-breaking video clips of chaos and suffering via CNN’s “The Situation Room.” The extremes of personal and political miscalculation, self-serving ambition, cruelty and emotional detachment portrayed in this 400-year-old play seem almost shockingly contemporary in the context of imperious leadership, barbaric torture and self-annihilating acts of terrorism that greet the dawning of the 21st century. Shakespeare’s investigation of the dilemma of the dispossessed and the aged finds immediate resonance in our everyday world and social concerns. His more metaphysical questioning – on the elusiveness and mysteriousness of both man-made and cosmic justice and the existence or absence of any heavenly plan for us on earth – parallels contemporary discord on matters philosophical and religious. As theater, the play is uncannily modern in the way that Shakespeare allows language, thought, imagination and gut-wrenching emotional intensity to trump realism in the brilliantly simple and imaginative theatrical devices he has constructed for his epic tale.” Joseph Hanreddy has been the Artistic Director at The Rep since 1993. Under his direction, The Rep has premiered several new works and adaptations of literature by leading American dramatists. He has also established one of the country’s finest acting ensembles and initiated innovative collaborations with leading international theater companies. Joseph has directed many plays at The Rep including SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTURE, SUEÑO, THE CRUCIBLE, YES. NO. (MAYBE SO . . . ), TWELFTH NIGHT, LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST, MARY STUART, THE SEAGULL, THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, AN IDEAL HUSBAND, ENGAGED, ARCADIA, FORCE OF NATURE and ESCAPE FROM HAPPINESS. He has also appeared as an actor in The Rep’s productions OF MICE AND MEN, A SKULL IN CONNEMARA and Edward Albee’s THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? Included in the cast of KING LEAR are Resident Acting Company Membersare: Jim Baker (King Lear); Mark Corkins (Earl of Kent/King Lear understudy); Lee E. Ernst (Fool); Lanise Antoine Shelley (Cordelia); Peter Silbert (Earl of Gloucester); and Deborah Staples (Regan). Also included in the cast are: Michael Duncan (Duke of Albany/Understudy Earl of Kent); Mary Beth Fisher (Goneril); Chiké Johnson (Duke of Cornwall); Reese Madigan (Edmund); Gerard Neugent (Edgar); and John Philips (Oswald). Members of The Rep’s 2006/07 Acting Intern Company who also appear in this production are: (To learn more about our Resident Acting Company, Guest Actors or our Artistic Intern Company, please visit milwaukeerep.com.) The production/design team for KING LEAR includes Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Designer), Martha Hally (Costume Designer), Noele Stollmack (Lighting Designer), Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen, (Original Music & Sound Design), Susan Sweeney (Text Coach), Lee E. Ernst (Fight Choreographer), Joseph Buberger, Jr. (Stage Manager), Briana J. Fahey (Assistant Stage Manager) and Paula Bennett (Assistant Director). Tickets to KING LEAR range in price from $7.50 to $52.50. Students and senior citizens may purchase half-price RUSH TICKETS with proper identification 60 minutes before curtain time for all Quadracci Powerhouse performances at The Rep Ticket Office. For more info rmation or to charge tickets, call 414-224-9490. Tickets can be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com. For group sales of 20 or more, call The Rep Ticket Office at 414-224-9490. Special Events for KING LEAR
For more information about The Rep’s Access Services, please contact The Rep’s Ticket Office at 414-224-9490. Shakespeare’s dramatic and thrilling masterpiece opens Rep season FACT SHEET THEATER: Quadracci Powerhouse Theater DATES: September 6, 2006 – October 8, 2006 DESCRIPTION: A powerful kingdom is ripped apart by greed and confusion in Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy that explores the thin line between political order and chaos. When an aging father tests his daughters’ affections he unleashes a storm of corruption and madness. Powerful emotions and searing wit make this one of the greatest plays ever written. PERFORMANCES: Tuesday 9/12/06 - 7:30 p.m. Pay-What-You-Can Tuesday 9/19/06 - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday 9/26/06 - 6:30 p.m. Early Bird Tuesday 10/3/06 - 7:00 p.m. Audio Description TICKET OFFICE LOCATION: TICKET PRICES: TICKETS/INFORMATION: 414-224-9490 or buy tickets online at milwaukeerep.com NEW TICKET OFFICE HOURS: ### Open to the public before and after all evening performances, Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s newly-remodeled Stackner Cabaret, located on the second floor of the Milwaukee Center, is our own full-service bar and restaurant. Featuring delicious dinners, as well as late night cocktails, coffee, and desserts, the Cabaret is the ideal meeting place for patrons attending Rep performances. For dinner reservations, call 414-224-9490. The Stackner Cabaret is now smoke-free. Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally recognized theater company that presents a critically-acclaimed selection of compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary works and lively Cabaret shows on three stages from September through May. The Rep also produces an annual production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The Rep’s home, the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex, accommodates the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the Stiemke Theater and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep is also “home” to a Resident Acting Company of 11 actors who perform with The Rep throughout the season. The Rep is proud to be a member of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual financial support. The Rep is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a management association of some of the nation’s largest non-profit professional theaters that collectively bargains with the unions that represent the actors, directors and designers that work at The Rep; a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater; and a member of Theatre Wisconsin, the statewide association of non-profit professional theaters. This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The set, costume and lighting designers are members of United Scenic Artists, a national labor union. This theater is an equal opportunity employer. Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting is decided based on ability, not race. Milwaukee Repertory Theater |
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