In Thunder Rock, successful author and former Daily News reporter David Charleston becomes disturbed by the state of the world; he takes a job as a lighthouse keeper and the sole resident of Thunder Rock Island. When he notices a memorial plaque dedicated to a sailing ship of immigrants which fatally crashed on the island 90 years prior, he starts to imagine how ideal life was in their time. Soon, they begin appearing to him. At first he controls them, until they decide to teach him about the eternal struggles of life.
Though never a hit in America, after
The Group Theatre's original 1939 production, the play became a smash hit in Europe. During the WWII London bombings, it was the one play that continued to play in London's West End. It moved from Theatre to Theatre, and audiences sat enraptured with their gas masks in their laps. After the end of WWII, the American government mounted it in the newly freed Germany, and it was cast solely with concentration camp survivors.
Featuring
Allie Mulholland, Linda Glick, Emily Ciotti, Maurya Scanlon, Pete McElligott, Shelley Valfer, Timothy Weinert,
Mateo Prendergast, Andrew Criss, Daniel Hainsworth, and
Jon McCormick. Stage Managed by Carly Bauer. Directed by
Nic Davies.
Opening night tickets feature a wine reception and a talk-back with the cast and Wendy Smith, author of the definitive book on
The Group Theatre,
Real Life Drama.
Thunder Rock will be performed at TBG Theatre, 312 W 36
th St, May 3
rd-13
th, Thurs-Monday at 8 PM, with the exception of a 3 PM Sunday performance. For ticket info, please visit
www.smarttix.com or call
(212) 868-4444.
Founded in 2010, the ReGroup Theatre Co presented an 80
th Anniversary Tribute to
The Group Theatre last fall in which they performed scenes from all 23 of the Group's plays. They have also presented fully staged readings of the
John Howard Lawson's
Success Story and
Gentlewoman,
Sidney Kingsley's
Men in White,
Paradise Lost by
Clifford Odets,
Paul Green's
The House of Connelly, and
Mr. Green &
Kurt Weill's musical,
Johnny Johnson, which was directed by
Estelle Parsons. They have also published
The "Lost" Group Theatre Plays: Volume I. Their Honorary Board of Advisers consists of
Angelica Page, Ms. Parsons,
Austin Pendleton,
Molly Regan, Susan Rowland, José Angel Santana,
Lois Smith, Wendy Smith and
Frances Sternhagen.