New Worlds Theatre Project will begin previews of Peretz Hirshbein's The Amulet, April 13th at the 78th St. Theatre Lab, 236 West 78th St. The play will run through May 6th.
"Adapted for the first time from the original Yiddish, this 100-year old play takes place in a world of seers and miracle-workers, where people are expected to suffer in silence. They wear amulets to protect them, waiting passively for the promise of future happiness.
The Amulet is the story of a girl who refuses to wait. The play's unusual style combines elements of Greek Tragedy, Russian Avant Garde, and the Old Testament, state press notes for the show, which will be directed by Isaac Butler.
Peretz Hirshbein (1880 -1948), the son of a Russian miller, was the founder of the Art movement in Yiddish Theatre, which lifted the genre beyond the realm of mere entertainment. His work was immortalized by Edgar Ulmer, director of
The Black Cat and
Detour, in the film he made of Hirshbein's play
Green Fields. The film was named Best Foreign Film of 1938 (France).
The cast includes Hanna Cheek (Off Broadway:
Pumpkin Pie Show, The Zipper; TV: "West Wing," "Titus," MTV's "Undressed"), Anita Keal (Broadway:
M. Butterfly, Tribute), Daryl Lathon, (Off-Broadway:
Volume of Smoke, Horsetrade;
Dead Reckoning. Soho Rep) and David Little (Broadway: S
ix Degrees of Separation, Film:
First Born, The Bet).
Set design is by David Birn, with lighting is by Sabrina Braswell and costumes by Sydney Marseca.
Butler's directing credits include the US Premiere of Line Knutzon's
First You're Born at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, and the world premieres of Clay McLeod Chapman's
redbird at 45 Below and
volume of smoke at the Firehouse Theater in Richmond, Virginia.
The show's performance schedule is Wed. – Sat. at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased through SmartTix:
www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444. For more information, call (917) 513-7620.
