The young radicals in The Altruists by Nicky Silver won't say NO to a protest! They'll march for gay rights and children's rights and women Against Drunk Drivers. They chant, "Keep your rosaries off my ovaries!" and protest arts funding and arms funding, school cutbacks and AIDS cutbacks and welfare cutbacks. The Boston Actor's Theater will end its run of THE ALTRUISTS on April 4th.
But they're morality is put to the test when Sydney, a shallow, anorexic soap-opera actress, shoots a gun into the hulking body of her sleeping boyfriend. Terrified, she looks to her brother, Ronald, the center of this merry band of radicals, for help. Though he wants to help her, Ronald is all consumed with love for a young, runaway prostitute named Lance. But the other radicals convince him that they need Sydney-without her money they can do no good in this world. After all, "firebombs don't grow on trees." And when Sydney pressures him, undressing her vulnerability and her real affection for the first time, Ronald crumbles and makes the ultimate sacrifice, that of his own happiness for the greater good.
The Altruists by
Nicky Silver is an outrageous satire and dark comedy of the trials and troubles of the average American protester. Featuring a gallery of hypocrites, the characters provide an entertaining outlet, while making a statement about the betrayal of one's ideals and rebelling without a cause.
"Exhilarating! Exceedingly funny! The playwright wields his wit like a scalpel...written with the florid theatricality and seething emotional adrenaline that are the hallmarks of Silver's unique voice..." -Variety
Referred to as the Bad-Boy playwright of Off-Broadway,
Nicky Silver first took the
Theatre World by storm with Pterodactyls and Raised in Captivity which earned back-to-back Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Play in 1994 and 1995, respectively. He studied at the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in New York and graduated from New York University.
The Altruists will be directed by the self-titled Bad-Boy actor of Boston, Joey C. Pelletier. Pelletier has acted in over a dozen plays in Boston, most of which were original, edgy and controversial works. His first full length play, Where Moments Hung Before was produced last year by Boston Actors Theater (BAT) to critical acclaim. His cast includes Jenny Reagan (Where Moments Hung Before, BAT; The Fantastic Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor, imaginary beasts), James Aitchison (Where Moments Hung Before, BAT), Marc Harpin (Bash, Theater on Fire; Christmas Belles, Company One/Phoenix), Hannah Cranton (Psycho Beach Party, Counter-Productions Theatre Company), and newcomer Preston Graveline as Lance.
For more information go to
www.BostonActorsTheater.com
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