Miller's 'The Creation Of The World And Other Business'
By: Beau Higgins Jan. 05, 2007
THE PLAYGROUND THEATRE'S PRODUCTION OF Arthur Miller's THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OTHER BUSINESS, SCHEDULED FOR SOUTH FLORIDA DEBUT RUN JANUARY 25-28 AT SHORES PERFORMING ARTS THEATER, MARKING MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN MISSION TO INTRODUCE YOUNG ADULTS TO THE WORLD OF PROVOCATIVE THEATER
In a courageous move forward that will distinguish the company further as a forum for young people on the verge of becoming sophisticated adults, The PlayGround Theatre, headed by Co-Artistic Directors Stephanie Ansin and Oleg Kheyfets, has chosen the 35th anniversary of legendary playwright Arthur Miller's controversial comedy, THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OTHER BUSINESS, to capture the attention of teenagers as well as adults, with a four-performance run, Thursday and Friday, January 25 and 26, at 10 A.M; Saturday, January 27, at 8 P.M.; and Sunday, January 28, at 3 P.M. at the Shores Performing Arts Theater, 9806 N.E. 2nd Avenue.
Post-performance "talk-backs" with the director, actors and local spiritual leaders will feature Miami Shores Community Church's Reverend James Kvetko on Thursday, January 25 and Friday, January 26; Plymouth Congregational Church's Reverend Abel Cotelo on Saturday, January 27; and Temple Judea's Rabbi Erwin C. Goldberg on Sunday, January 28.
Directing will be Kheyfets, who earned the blessings and participation of the late playwright who re-wrote several scenes when Kheyfets guided the play's first New York revival in September 2001 at Off-Broadway's Theatre of The Riverside Church. Joining Kheyfets as he did in New York will be Simon Pastukh who will design the sets and costumes. The ensemble cast, culled from the PlayGround's repertory company, includes Melissa Almaguer, Meshaun LaBrone Arnold, Jeff Keogh, John Page, Jesús Quintero, Valerie Stanford, and Ricky Waugh.
As the acclaimed playwright's first comedy, CREATION channels the Bible as it deals with good, evil and all things human, dilemmas that confront us all in today's modern living. Filled with down-to-earth conversation and broad comedy with such imagined characters as God and Lucifer, the play follows Adam and Eve from their early temptations, through the births of their two sons, Cain and Abel, and ultimately to their final acceptance of life as it is destined to be lived.
For those young people who are 16 and older, CREATION will offer the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the work of playwright Miller, who through his celebrated career, created such wonders of the theater world as "All My Sons," "Death of a Salesman," "The Crucible," "A View from the Bridge," "The Price," and "After the Fall." Along the way, Miller garnered such prestigious awards as The Pulitzer Prize, four Tony Awards including a special 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award, two Drama Critics Circle Awards, and an Obie Award.
For the past three years, Kheyfets has devoted himself to directing such PlayGround Theatre favorites as "Pluft, The Little Ghost," "Brooklyn Bridge," and "The Beast." A graduate of Moscow's prestigious Vakhtangov Theatrical Academy, Kheyfets' Russian production of "The Tempest" was broadcast on Russian national television while his work on "The Beast" received the Best Director Award at the Boundaries International Festival in Vladimir. His well-received New York productions of "The Forest" and "Marriage" were to travel internationally furthering his reputation as an astute craftsman of brilliant theatrical acumen.
Set and costume designer Simon Pastukh designed sets and/or costumes for over 120 ballet, opera, and theatre productions in Russia, Europe, Australia, Asia, and the U.S. Awards include a Golden Mask (Russia's Tony Award) for Prokofiev's Semyon Kotko (Kirov Opera) and the State Prize of Russia for Slonimsky's Maria Stuart (Maly Theater). Additional projects include Shostakovitch's The Bolt and Rossini's The Barber of Seville (Bolshoi Opera) and Swan Lake (Kirov Ballet). In 2001, Pastukh and director Oleg Kheyfets collaborated on the off-Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Creation of the World and Other Business. Last season, Pastukh designed the set for "Brooklyn Bridge."
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OTHER BUISINESS now joins The PlayGround Theatre's repertoire which currently includes "Pluft, The Little Ghost," "The Love of Three Oranges," "Brooklyn Bridge," "The Beast" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier." On April 14 and 15, Nilo Cruz' adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," directed by Stephanie Ansin, will make its South Florida debut at the Shores.
In addition to school performances, Thursday and Friday, January 25 and 26 at 10 A.M. and public performances Saturday, January 27, at 8 P.M. and Sunday, January 28, at 3 P.M., THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OTHER BUSINESS will return to the Shores Theater on Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3 at 8 P.M. CREATION will tour to the Dave and Mary Alper JCC at The Jay Morton-Levinthal Campus, Robert Russell Theater on Sunday, May 20 at 7 P.M. and Monday, May 21 at 10 A.M.
Tickets for all performances and shows are now available. Admission is $15 per person with $10 each for groups of 20 or more. To purchase tickets and for further information concerning all shows, performance times and venues, please call (305) 751-9550; toll free 800-813-6527; via e-mail: info@theplaygroundtheatre.com; via website: www.theplaygroundtheatre.com.
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