Interview : John Jiler of THE ROSENBERG/STRANGE FRUIT PROJECT at NJ Rep

New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) will present The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project written by John Jiler and directed by Margarett Perry. The play stars John Jiler and clarinetist, Lee Odom. Performances run March 9 through April 2.

Award-winning actor and playwright John Jiler tells the remarkable story of the youngest child of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Orphaned at six following his parents' execution for espionage, the boy was adopted by the man who wrote the song "Strange Fruit" - seared into our consciousness by Billie Holiday. Playing a gallery of rogues, heroes and saints, Jiler takes us on a journey from then 'til now...

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing John Jiler about his career and the upcoming show at NJ Rep.

Jiler is a writer of both drama and prose. He was the recipient of both the Richard Rodgers Award and the Kleban Librettists' Award for his musical Avenue X, which played in New York at Playwrights' Horizons and in some fifty cities around the world. He was a runner-up for the Weissberger Prize for his first full-length play Sour Springs. His work has been seen coast to coast, from the Eugene O'Neill National Playwright's Conference to the Kennedy Center to Seattle Rep and many places in between. His most recent book, "Sleeping With The Mayor" was named a New York Times' "Most Notable Book." His first, "Dark Wind" was called by the Village Voice "a classic." As a journalist he has also written for the NY Times, The Nation, and the Village Voice, where the stories that led to Avenue X and "Sleeping With The Mayor" first appeared. Among his current theatrical projects are Big Red Sun a World War Two era story with composer Georgia Stitt, recently seen at the NAMT Festival and shortly to appear at the York Theatre; Channel, a new play at the Labyrinth Theatre's Barn Series; and Sirocco, ink still wet. His first one-man show, Explicit Vows, was seen at both Playwrights Horizons and the Flea Theatre; his new one, Ripe, also work-shopped at Playwrights Horizons, was performed at Theatre For The New City and hailed by the New York Times as "classic." In his former life as an actor he appeared at the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Hartford Stage Company, and Chicago's Body Politic, where he won the Chicago Drama Critic's Best Actor Award. He has just completed his first novel, "North Of Here."

We'd love to know about your earliest interest in the theatrical arts and writing?

My best friend growing up was the son of a Broadway Musical Director. He would sometimes take us to work. and there we would sit---at the age of 9---and watch Ethel Merman rehearse 'Call Me Madam.' We were in the first row, and all I remember is the plush velvet seats and the size of her larynx. For some reason, it made me think "I want to be up there.."

Who were some of the first people to recognize your talents?

My very first play, African Star, was chosen by the O'Neill Playwrights Conference. It was terrifying and empowering all at once. I tried to mask it all with youthful arrogance, but it was thrilling to be among my theatre heros.

You wear many hats. How do you balance the many elements of your artistic career?

I've always had aspirations to both crafts, writing and acting, and I think one feeds the other. And at a certain point, the one-man show becomes an irresistible temptation. I've done three. The first two were highly personal (my romantic life and the death of my father) but this one allows me to widen my net, and talk about the world around me..

How do you like working with NJ Rep?

New Jersey Rep is a creative beacon in this country. Most if not all important regional theatres feel obliged to pepper their seasons with the occasional light comedy or holiday show to avoid subscriber rebellion. NJ Rep feels no such obligation. They ONLY do new plays, and as such, they are like a mountain stream feeding fresh water into the somewhat stagnant pool of American culture.

What have been some of the challenges of both writing and acting in Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project?

The sheer exhaustion of it! And the moments in rehearsal when the director says "this line is a little odd. Can I have a conference with the writer?"

This is an important play for our times. What would you like audiences to know about the show?

The polarization that we're all feeling in this country at the moment is nothing new. It was roiling us apart during the Vietnam War, twenty years before that in the McCarthy era when the Rosenbergs were executed, and frankly all the way back to the Civil War. Sometimes the warriors in these battles-with guns or words---have children. And it is those children who often pay the price, in neglect or martyrdom.

Can you tell us a little bit about the team that is bringing Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project to the Long Branch stage?

The RosenbergStrange Fruit team is one of the most exciting I've ever been a part of. Clarinetist Lee Odom, with whom I share the stage, is a consummate musician, equally at home in a gospel setting, a jazz club, or a concert hall. The clarinet is the unifying sound between the Jewish (klezmer) and Black (jazz) cultures.....a major theme of this piece.

Director Margarett Perry needs no introduction to theatre audiences. Her work has been seen everywhere; from New York, to regional theatres around the country, to the Edinburgh Festival, where she has won several Fringe First Awards....and where The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project will be heading in August!

What are some of your future plans?

After New Jersey Rep, the show will at some point return to Playwrights Horizons Downtown, where it was spawned as a workshop last spring. In July it will be seen at 59E59, and in August at the Edinburgh Festival.

My 'day job' during all this will be finishing a screenplay, "Smoke Ring Day," an adaptation of a coming-of-age novel by Andrew Fisher, a wildly talented west coast writer.

Is there anything else you'd like our readers to know?

Support live theatre!

New Jersey Repertory Company is located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, NJ. Patrons use the rear entrance where there is plenty of free parking available. Performances of The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project run March 9 through April 2, Thursdays & Fridays 8pm; Saturdays 3pm & 8pm; and Sundays at 2pm. Patrons can purchase tickets by visiting www.njrep.org or calling 732.229.3166. Tickets are $35-$60.

Photo Credit: Andrea Phox Photography

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