Photo Flash: Tom Stoppard's ROCK 'N' ROLL Comes To The Goodman Theatre 5/2-6/7

Two countries, three generations, 22 turbulent years—and a dynamic soundtrack ranging from Syd Barrett to The Plastic People of the Universe to U2—are at the heart of Rock ’n’ Roll, a sweeping and passionate drama about love, music and revolution from Academy Award and four-time Tony Award-winner Tom Stoppard. For the play’s Chicago premiere at Goodman Theatre, Artistic Director Robert Falls taps director Charles Newell, whose reputation for directing acclaimEd Stoppard productions precedes him. Newell’s cast of 12 is led by Stephen Yoakam and Chicago favorites Timothy Edward Kane and Mary Beth Fisher, who explore the unique intersection of politics and art against the background of John Culbert’s rock concert-inspired set design—complete with a floor resembling the cover art of Barrett’s solo album, Madcap Laughs. Rock ’n’ Roll will be performed in the Albert Theatre May 2 – June 7, 2009. Tickets are $25 – $75. A complete performance schedule including dates, times and ticket prices appears at the end of this release. The Edith-Marie Appleton Foundation and Goodman Theatre Women’s Board are the Major Production Sponsors for Rock ‘n‘ Roll and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. Additional support is provided by the Director’s Society Sponsors. WXRT is the Official Radio Sponsor of Rock ’n’ Roll.  

“Of all the productions on Broadway last season, none captured the imagination quite like Rock ’n’ Roll,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls. “I’m thrilled to produce this inventive, joyous celebration of freedom and the power of music at the Goodman—and to welcome Chicago’s foremost Stoppard interpreter, Charlie Newell, to the Goodman to direct.”

Charles Newell has been the “restlessly intelligent artistic director” (Chicago Tribune) of Court Theatre for 15 years, where he has directed more than 30 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Directorial credits at Court include Caroline, or Change; The Wild Duck; Titus Andronicus; Uncle Vanya; Man of La Mancha; Hamlet; and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, Travesties (twice) and The Invention of Love. Newell has also directed at the Guthrie Theater (The History Cycle, Cymbeline); Arena Stage; John Houseman's The Acting Company; the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals; The Juilliard School; and New York University. 

“Rock ’n’ Roll is a fascinating, complex journey that is at once highly emotional and intellectual,” said Newell, who jokes that his affection for and extensive collection of Frank Zappa recordings were the real reasons he was chosen to direct Rock ’n’ Roll. “Tom Stoppard masterfully weaves together Czech politics, Sappho poetry and early rock ’n’ roll—and its transformative power in politics. It’s an exhilarating night in the theater that makes its audience think and feel very deeply—leaving the theater basking in the high notes of Mick Jagger!” 

Direct from a critically-acclaimed run on Broadway and in London's West End, Rock ’n’ Roll was hailed among critics as “triumphant... arguably Stoppard’s finest play” (The New York Times); and “exhilarating, touching and remarkable! Stoppard’s most heartening statement in years, a play in which we happily groove to the guitar licks of history.” (The Washington Post) It's August 1968, just after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, as Russian tanks roll into Prague under Alexander Dub?ek. The play begins at Max Morrow’s (Stephen Yoakam) home in Cambridge, England, and in various locations in Prague. Eleanor (Mary Beth Fisher), Max’s wife, has lost a breast to cancer, and their 16-year-old daughter Esme (Mattie Hawkinson) is beginning to embrace hippie culture.  Despite increasing Soviet aggression, Max defends his idealistic faith; his Czech protégé Jan (Timothy Edward Kane), who lives for rock music, defends Dub?ek as a reform Communist. Jan returns to Czechoslovakia, where rock music is censored, and he defends a local band called The Plastic People of the Universe; his dissident actions eventually land him in prison. Meanwhile, Esme joins a commune, marries a journalist named Nigel (Thom Cox) and has a daughter. Still suffering from cancer, Eleanor gives a private tutorial to Jan’s old flame, Lenka (Amy J. Carle), while Max looks on—and Eleanor orders Lenka to keep her hands off Max until after she has died. Twenty years later, Jan, now working in a bakery in Prague, despairs for the future of Czech culture, which has been so long suppressed by censorship. By the Velvet Revolution of 1989 under Václav Havel, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in and idealism has hit the wall. The family and friends unite in the Morrows’ garden, where old arguments re-emerge and transgressions are forgiven. At the end, love remains—and so does rock ’n’ roll. 

Tom Stoppard's work was last seen at the Goodman with a production of Arcadia directed by Michael Maggio (1995/1996). His plays include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Jumpers, The Real Inspector Hound, Travesties, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Dirty Linen, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Artist Descending a Staircase, Hapgood, Arcadia, The Invention of Love and, most recently, his trilogy The Coast of Utopia at Lincoln Center, which earned seven Tony Awards. His other plays include Indian Ink and After Magritte. Translations and adaptations include Undiscovered Country (Schnitzler), On the Razzle (Nestroy), Rough Crossing (Molnar), Henry IV (Pirandello) and Heroes (Sibleyras). Screenplays as writer and co-writer include Brazil, Empire of the Sun, Enigma and Shakespeare in Love, which earned him an Oscar and a BAFTA award. He directed his own screenplay of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which won the Golden Lion and the Venice Film Festival.

Tickets are $25 – 75, and may be purchased online at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the Goodman Theatre Box Office, 170 North Dearborn Street, or by phone at 312.443.3800. Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office and at 10am online on the day of performance; not available by telephone. When purchasing online, use promo code MEZZTIX. For students, 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office and at 10am online on the day of performance; not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented at will call; limit four tickets per student. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted group tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.

Currently playing and still ahead in Goodman Theatre’s 2008/2009 season is Magnolia by ReGina Taylor, directed by Anna D. Shapiro (through April 19 in the Albert); Ghostwritten by Naomi Iizuka, directed by Lisa Portes (through May 3 in the Owen); Rock ’n’ Roll by Tom Stoppard, directed by Charles Newell (May 2 – June 7 in the Albert); The Crowd You’re In With by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Wendy C. Goldberg (May 23 – June 21 in the Owen); and Boleros for the Disenchanted by José Rivera, directed by Henry Godinez (June 20 – July 26 in the Albert).
 
Named the country’s “Best Regional Theatre” by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards—including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992)—and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman’s Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Karen Pigott is President of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Kraft Foods is the Principal Sponsor of the Goodman’s free Student Subscription Series. Northern Trust is a longstanding supporter of the Goodman’s Education and Community Programs

Photo by Michael Brosilow

Timothy Edward Kane

Timothy Edward Kane and Thomas J. Cox

Timothy Edward Kane

Mattie Hawkinson and Mary Beth Fisher

Timothy Edward Kane and Mary Beth Fisher

Stephen Yoakam and Timothy Edward Kane

Amy J. Carle and Stephen Yoakam

Gregory Matthew Anderson, Mattie Hawkinson, Thomas J. Cox, Susie McMonagle, Johanna Mckenzie Miller and Stephen Yoakam

Stephen Yoakam

Kareem Bandealy and Timothy Edward Kane

Stephen Yoakam and Mary Beth Fisher

Greg Matthew Anderson and Mattie Hawkinson