A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed repertory theatre company, reprises for the third consecutive year its critically applauded production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot, offering 10 performances from Saturday, January 16 through Sunday, January 24, 2010. The play, described by the Los Angeles Times as a "top-notch production," is directed by Andrew Traister and features Mark Bramhall (Lucky), Robertson Dean (Vladimir), Mitch Edmonds (Pozzo), Owen Sholar (Boy) and Joel Swetow (Estragon). Beckett's wickedly witty treatise on the nature of human existence is considered one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.
Traister describes the production as "a funny, passionate, heartfelt, straightforward reading of the play. It is simply about two men waiting, but there was a definite desire to make these real men, with real problems, in a real relationship." He also notes that the special challenge of directing an absurdist play is "making it make sense, understanding what the absurdity is and clearly defining it for the audience so they know what they are laughing at. There are no added extraneous bits that confuse the meaning of the play." About the restaging he says, "We were amazed at its popularity last year and are very excited that it has been brought back."
Waiting for Godot was an instant success when it debuted at the Théatre de Babylone in Paris in January 1953. It ran for 400 performances and received critical praise from such writers as
Tennessee Williams,
Jean Anouilh,
Thornton Wilder and
William Saroyan. Waiting for Godot is among the most famous examples of Theatre of the Absurd, a form of drama in which traditional plot, characters and action are discarded, creating a surreal theatrical experience. Beckett won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969.
A Noise Within (ANW) is the only classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature year-round and working in the repertory tradition of rotating productions using a resident company of professional artists. ANW is led by Founders/Artistic Directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott.
A Noise Within (ANW) was founded in 1992 and quickly established itself as one of the nation's leading theatre companies. It continues to maintain its celebrated status as the only classical repertory company in Southern California, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and high praise from the media for its productions of great works of world drama and also as a leading regional force in arts education. Since its inception, the company has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing a minimum of six plays from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière, to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw, to Miller and Williams. The theatre's consistent dedication to quality has been rewarded with 26 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards as well as numerous LA Weekly and Back Stage Garland awards. Among its highlights over the years was a collaboration in 2004 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen in a performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hollywood Bowl. ANW's next chapter provides the long-awaited opportunity to sink deep and lasting roots when it moves in Fall 2010 from its long-time leased base in Glendale to a spectacular, permanent 35,000 square-foot home in Pasadena. The mixed-use development is located t in the historic Stuart Pharmaceutical building, at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. The facility is designed to expand A Noise Within's artistic possibilities, offer a greater scope of educational opportunities, meet ticket demand and allow the company to expand its role as a leader in the presentation and preservation of classical theatre.
Single Tickets are $44 (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees); and $40 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Saturday matinees). Groups (10 or more) are $25, or $30 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees; School Groups (10 or more) are $16, or $20 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees.
A NOISE WITHIN is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91204. To purchase tickets or for a full season brochure, call 818-240-0910 x1 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org.
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