From the Artistic Director/CEA Todd Haimes: TRAVESTIES

When I saw the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Travesties on the West End last spring, I was stunned. Director Patrick Marber had captured Tom Stoppard's sprawling, absurdist epic with a captivating electricity that I had never before seen. Embracing the full power of Stoppard's explosively theatrical dive into the past, Patrick harnessed every bit of the play's sharp hilarity, keen topicality, and, most of all, boundless thrill. I knew that I needed to make Marber's triumphant and endlessly entertaining production part of our 2018-2019 season and give Travesties its first-ever Broadway revival since its 1975 debut, which won the Tony Award® for Best Play. A vortex of caricatural historical figures, clashing political philosophies, and radical artistic movements, Stoppard's early masterwork dismantles just about every convention of the Western stage and reassembles their parts into an entirely original theatrical machine. There's no simple narrative thread in this play, no strict adherence to the laws of our physical world, no clear divide between fact and fiction -- and no end to the tenets of artistic tradition that this whirlwind of a comedy deconstructs.

In upending pillars of the theatrical form that date as far back as Aristotle, Travesties gets at one of the most fundamental -- and perhaps most frightening -- questions of those who make a living staging plays: Is art useful? Are the artists of any given historical moment necessary to the progress of their society, or are they, as their detractors might say, just "fluff" amidst true revolutionaries? Stoppard stages this war of ideas within an actual war, crafting an outlandish fictional meeting of three historical icons residing in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I: legendary author James Joyce, Dadaist artist Tristan Tzara, and communist leader Vladmir Lenin. Through the hiccupping and ever-unreliable memory of fictionalized British consular official Henry Carr -- based on a real-life Henry Carr whose story of service in World War I might have been lost to history if not for this play -- these three figures wield their ideologies as weapons on the battleground of a highly precarious Europe. What results is a circus of historical proportions, a riotous collision of intellects and egos that is as uproarious as it is mind-blowing. It's an audacious play of ideas, and dangerous ones at that - ones that can undermine careers, begin movements, and even destabilize nations. As in all great comedies, the stakes are relentlessly, outrageously high, and the duels that ensue are all the more thrilling for it.

In grappling with questions that are aimed so directly at the theatre itself, Travesties might seem to be a dangerous choice for a Broadway season. But if this is a risky play to tackle, then I say tackle it. If this play pokes at what we -- and Stoppard himself -- do as theatre practitioners, then it's a conversation I'm excited to have. As artists and producers, our work satirizes so many other public figures: politicians, businesspeople, academics. It's only natural that we should put ourselves under the microscope from time to time. The hardest of questions, after all, often lead to the richest of answers. For as ambitious and sophisticated as Travesties can be, though, there's no need to fear its scope. Whether you approach the show with a deep understanding of its source material or let its dramaturgy and argumentation wash over you, between Tom Stoppard's transcendent writing and Patrick Marber's magnificent direction, you are in the best of artistic hands.

I am so excited for you to experience Tom Stoppard's masterpiece with such an exceptional cast and creative team. As always, I am eager to hear your thoughts on our season, so please continue to email me at ArtisticOffice@roundabouttheatre.org with your reactions. I can't tell you how greatly I value your feedback.

I look forward to seeing you at the theatre!

Sincerely,

Todd Haimes
Artistic Director/CEO

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