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After a widespread computer glitch in the U.S. State Department caused delays to countless international visas across the globe, U.K. actress Isobel Pravda finally arrived in New York to reprise her acclaimed performance in the American premiere of the award-winning Czech stage drama The Good and the True at Off-Broadway's DR2 Theatre (103 E. 15th St.).
Ms. Pravda, who originated the role of her grandmother -- Holocaust survivor Hana Pravda -- in the play's U.K. and Belgium touring productions last year, arrived yesterday in-time for the 7 p.m. Opening Night performance.
Owing to the seemingly indefinite delay in visa processing, earlier this week British actress Hannah D. Scott assumed the role of Hana Pravda for all preview performances.
"We're delighted that Isobel Pravda's work visa was finally processed and received, and that she was able to fly to New York yesterday morning, just in time for Opening Night," said lead producer Brian Daniels. "We're also endlessly thankful and grateful to the remarkable Hannah Scott for stepping up to take on the role while Isobel's visa situation was being rectified."
Isobel Pravda and her co-star Saul Reichlin are now slated to perform for the remainder of the play's limited American premiere engagement through Sunday, September 14.
Visit www.GoodAndTruePlay.com for more information.
Direct from celebrated tours in the United Kingdom and Belgium, The Good and the True was conceived and originally produced under the auspices of Prague's acclaimed leading repertory theatre Svandovo Divadlo.
THE GOOD AND THE TRUE is written by Daniel Hrbek, Tomas Hrbek and Lucie Kolouchova, and adapted as an English language version by Brian Daniels. It is helmed by award-winning Czech director Daniel Hrbek.
The play intertwines the true testimonies of two extraordinary people -- Czech athlete Milos Dobry and actress Hana Pravda. They both spent their working lives building suspense, knocking crowds into submission and drawing gasps and acclaim from spectators -- but this pales in significance compared to their earlier lives enduring the indignities of incarceration and survival at the hands of occupied Czechoslovakia in the 1930s.
THE GOOD AND THE TRUE chronicles the experiences of these two remarkable people -- both of whom were true survivors in every sense of the word. Did they possess exceptional qualities, or was their survival just good luck?
The play's English title -- The Good and the True -- was created from the English translations of its subjects' last names: Dobry, the Czech word for "good," and Pravda, the Czech word for "true."
Actress Isobel Pravda is the real granddaughter of survivor Hana Pravda; she played her grandmother for the first time on stage last year in the U.K. and Belgium touring productions. Actor Saul Reichlin is an award-winning actor whose one man play Sholom Aleichem: Now You're Talking! has been performed in the West End, in New York and in several countries throughout Europe.
THE GOOD AND THE TRUE is produced with the support of the City of Prague, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Czech Centre in New York, Czech Mission to the United Nations in New York, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rakovsky & Partners, the World Jewish Congress and New End Theatre Beyond in London. The production will conclude its American premiere engagement on Sunday, September 14. For more information, visit www.GoodAndTruePlay.com.
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