A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, presents a free reading of Ferenc Molnár's Liliom, the play upon which the popular 1950's musical Carousel was based. Apollo Dukakis, a resident artist with the company, directs the piece, using the Benjamin F. Glazer translation, with a cast of sixteen portraying multiple roles. Admission for the reading is free. RSVP via phone to 626-356-3100 x1 to reserve your seat. This reading takes place during the run of The Guardsman, another well-known work by Ferenc Molnár, at A Noise Within, now playing through November 30.
Liliom, Hungarian for lily and slang for "a tough", was written in 1909, and originally produced on Broadway in 1921, starring
Eva LeGallienne and
Joseph Schildkraut. It has had several revivals and two film versions, one starring
Charles Boyer, since then. It is primarily known for being the basis for Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical Carousel. Its translator
Benjamin F. Glazer said in 1921: "I know of no play written in our time which matches the amazing virtuosity of Liliom, its imaginative daring, its uncanny blending of naturalism and fantasy, humor and pathos, tenderness and tragedy into a solid dramatic structure. Perhaps Molnár was at the old, old task of revaluing our ideals of good and evil. Perhaps he has only shown how the difference between a bully, a wife-beater and a criminal, on the one hand, and a saint, on the other, can be very slight. If one must tag Liliom with a moral, I prefer to read mine in Liliom's speech to Julie wherein he says: "Nobody's right...but they all think they are right...A lot they know."
Director and ANW Resident Artist Apollo Dukakis said about the work, "Molnár was a mystery to me until we scheduled The Guardsman in our season. A door was opened and I just wanted to explore more deeply this man's elegant, revolutionary, tempestuous psyche."
The cast (in order of appearance) features Angela Gulner* (Marie),
Willow Geer* (Julie),
Deborah Strang* (Mrs. Muskat),
Elijah Alexander* (Liliom), Jessie Losch (Servant Girl),
Jennifer Losi (Servant Girl), Joel Swetow* (1st Policeman/Carpenter/Richly Dressed Man),
Time Winters* (2nd Policeman/The Second/The Guard),
Jacque Lynn Colton* (Mother Hollunder), Michael Matthys* (Ficsur), Kenneth Merckx* (Wolf), Brendan Haley (Young Hollunder),
Alan Blumenfeld* (Linzman/Poorly Dressed Man),
William Dennis Hunt* (The Doctor/The First),
Mitchell Edmonds* (The Magistrate), and Georgia Miller (Louise).*denotes member of Actor's Equity ANW Resident Artist Apollo Dukakis With ANW: Sir Toby Belch, Twelfth Night, Or What You Will, Michael James Flaherty in Playboy of the Western World, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing, King Edward IV and Mayor of London in Richard III, Selsdon Mowbray in Noises Off, Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew, Ensemble in Oliver Twist, Mr. Dimanche/A Poor Person in Don Juan, Brabantio/Gratiano in Othello, Horace Vandergelder in The Matchmaker, Cominius in Coriolanus, Elbow/Barnardine in Measure for Measure, Pantalone in The King Stag, Argan in The Imaginary Invalid, Abbess/2nd Merchant in The Comedy of Errors, The Stage Manager in The Skin of Our Teeth, Dubois in The Misanthrope, The Shepherd in Oedipus the King, Father Dewis in Buried Child, Doctor Baugh in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Ragueneau in Cyrano de Bergerac (1998 and 1995), among others. Other Theaters: Co-founder, Associate Artistic Director, and Resident Actor-The Whole Theatre, New Jersey (1973-1990): The Kite Runner at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, The Madness of Hercules at The Getty Villa with Not Man Apart Physical Ensemble, Homebody/Kabul at
Trinity Repertory Company, Hecuba at American Conservatory Theatre, Nine Armenians at
Mark Taper Forum, Anna in the Tropics at
Pasadena Playhouse and TheaterWorks (Palo Alto), Pera Palas at Theatre @ Boston Court/Antaeus (LA Critics Award-Best Ensemble), Glengarry Glen Ross at
Dallas Theatre Center, Lear in King Lear at Shakespeare Santa Monica, John in Rhinoceros at Antaeus, Shylock in Merchant of Venice at Pacific Repertory Theatre (Carmel), Old Actor in The Fantasticks at
Arizona Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company,
Williamstown Theatre Festival,
American Place Theatre, La Mama, George St. Playhouse,
Provincetown Playhouse, among others. Film/TV: American Heart, Last Action Hero, Shadow of the Blair Witch, Arrest and Trial, 7th Heaven, Seinfeld, L.A. Law, Life Goes On, Hunter, Dream On and Beauty and the Beast.
A Noise Within performs and promotes classical theatre as an essential means for our community to confront the universal human experience, expand personal awareness and challenge individual perspectives. A Noise Within's mission is to produce world-class performances of the great works of drama in rotating repertory with a resident company; to educate and inspire the public through programs that foster an understanding and appreciation of history's great plays and playwrights; and to train the next generation of classical theatre artists.
A Noise Within was founded in 1991. Operating out of a former Masonic Temple in Glendale, they staged a production ofHamlet that was accessible and relevant at a time when classic theatre was not widely performed in Los Angeles. The twenty-year evolution from a small neighborhood theatre to the current acclaimed repertory company has been marked by constantly raising the bar on what great classical theatre can be. The move to a new, permanent home provides A Noise Within with expanded artistic possibilities, a greater scope of educational opportunities, and the capacity to meet demand and reach its full potential.
A Noise Within Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott both hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Florida and a Master of Fine Arts from San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre. In 1991, with a mere $3,000 from their personal savings account, they set an ambitious vision for ANW: to establish a home for the classics that would present a challenging repertory, take artistic risks, and ensure accessibility to diverse audiences. Through their passion and persistence, the theatre now ranks as the leading presenter of great world drama in Southern California.
This FREE reading of
Ferenc Molnár's Liliom, directed by Apollo Dukakis, is set for A Noise Within, 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, Calif., tonight, November 6 at 7PM. Reservations and information: call 626-356-3100 ex 1 or visit
www.anoisewithin.org.
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