The Wooster Group to Bring SYMPHONY OF RATS to OZ Arts Nashville

Heralded as a preeminent force in contemporary theater, The Wooster Group will make its Southeastern debut December 6-8 with a dizzying, high-tech fantasy in which the President of the United States thinks he is receiving confusing messages from outer space.

Contemporary arts center OZ Arts Nashville today announced that critically acclaimed New York theatre legends The Wooster Group will make their Southeastern debut with the timely political satire Symphony of Rats from December 6-8. Widely hailed as one of the world's most influential and boundary-breaking performance companies, The Wooster Group unleashes a riveting multimedia arsenal in OZ's expansive warehouse, complete with songs, stunts and stupefying multi-screen visuals that examine a sitting president's descent into madness.

The "deliriously trippy" production is co-directed by iconic Wooster Group founders Elizabeth LeCompte and Kate Valk, who use an astonishing array of video imagery to transform OZ Arts into a sort of mad scientist's laboratory where anything can happen. Centered around a U.S. president who receives messages from outer space and a menagerie of aides who scurry in search of a purpose (and occasionally break into song), Symphony of Rats tells an absurd tale of delusional behavior while taking a jab at the absurdity of presidential powers and the hilarity of masculine fantasies about control.

Written by avant-garde theatre guru Richard Foreman during the Reagan administration and packed with hilarious political commentary that still resonates today, the show feels more like sci-fi sarcasm than anything seriously political. Although Foreman has not presented new work in over a decade, this revival and reinterpretation of his original text has been hailed by The New York Times as "a delightful love letter, from one giant of experimental theater to another" and by the Los Angeles Times as a combination of both Foreman and Wooster Group that will "delight and derange the theatrical senses." In a present political landscape marred by a sense of cynicism and division, Symphony of Rats offers a cheeky sci-fi spin on the current state of affairs and provides a sense of reprieve for audiences burnt out by 21st century American politics.

"It's hard to imagine a theater collective that has had more impact on contemporary culture than The Wooster Group," said Mark Murphy, OZ Arts Executive and Artistic Director. "Having the opportunity to introduce Nashville audiences - and art-lovers throughout the Southeast - to these true pioneers of stagecraft is a true honor. Not only will this lively, engaging, and hilarious production be the theatrical event of the season, it will have powerful ripples throughout the region, inspiring artists and audiences alike to reimagine what is possible in the theater."

With a production history that spans almost 50 years, The Wooster Group is known for assembling breathtaking performers who have gone onto iconic careers. The famed actor Willem Dafoe was a member of the company for 26 years, and Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand has appeared in several productions, calling the company her "artistic home." Other prominent talents from the group have included Maura Tierney, Steve Buscemi, Spalding Gray, and Jim Clayburgh, all of whom have solidified a singular place in cultural history. Legendary choreographer and performer Mikhail Baryshnikov selected The Wooster Group as the resident company for the new theater he built at his Baryshnikov Arts Center, which opened in 2010.

This revival of Symphony of Rats, restaging Foreman's cult classic, offers an exciting opportunity for theater mavens to witness a mix of established New York performers alongside the next generation of talented actors beginning their ascent. The cast includes Jim Fletcher, who is starring this month in Elevator Repair Service's final remount of Gatz at The Public Theater and a frequent collaborator with downtown theater legend Richard Maxwell; Ari Fliakos, Obie Award-winner and Audible's "Narrator of the Year" for his prolific career voicing audiobooks; and Niall Cunningham, who audiences will recognize as Miranda's son in the wildly popular HBO series And Just Like That.

Tickets to the Southeastern premiere of The Wooster Group at OZ Arts Nashville start at just $30 and are on sale now at the following link.

This performance is made possible with generous support from donors and grants. To learn more about upcoming performances, please visit www.ozartsnashville.org.

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