Point Break Live!, with 'Volunteer Keanu's,' Runs Off-Bway

Point Break Live!, billed as the "absurdist stage adaptation of the 1992 Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze extreme-sports blockbuster," will surf into Manhattan's Lower East Side for a five week engagement at the La Tea Theater (CSV Cultural Center) where it will run from January 25th through February 25th. 

Produced by Eve Hars, "Point Break Live! is the stage adaptation of the Hollywood film, Point Break. The story revolves around Johnny Utah, former college football star turned FBI Agent who must go undercover to infiltrate a gang of bank-robbing surfers. In Point Break LIVE! Special Agent Utah is played by a 'volunteer Keanu' from the audience who reads the script off of cue cards. The volunteer is guided by a PA who instructs him, guides his actions, bullies him a bit, gives him his lines, and serves as his stunt double for the fight scenes. However the overall action is ultimately controlled by the director, Kathryn Bigelow. It is Kathryn who introduces the play, selects the volunteers, and is in charge of filming the production with her cameraman. While the play is going on, all the action is being filmed and playing through a live feed on a TV screen set to the side of the stage. At the end of the night the 'volunteer Keanu' is handed a VHS tape of his performance," according to press notes.

The starring role of Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) will be selected at random from the audience each night, and will read their entire script off of cue-cards. "Keanu Reeves roles demand a special kind of acting: Essentially, in every scene, you have to look like you've just been dropped into a room and you have no idea what's going on," explains director James Hook.  

The rest of the cast includes Topher Mikels, Thomas Blake, George Spielvogel, Ben Robertson,  Izzy Abeyta, Scout Durwood,  Amber Hubert, Mike Kash, Jonathan Evan Stern, Adam Morris, and Conor Tansy.
 
Point Break Live! runs January 25th through February 25th at the La Tea Theater (CSV Cultural Center) 107 Suffolf Street (and Rivington) Wednesdays- Saturdays at 8:00pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.TheaterMania.com. For more information call 612-227-8013