Peter Brook, Robert Woodruff, And Arin Arbus Set To Direct for Theatre for a New Audience's 30th Season

Shakespeare's sonnet #147 begins, "My love is as a fever." And, for its 30th anniversary season, Theatre for a New Audience presents three productions in which love, lust and longing distract and consume. A rock star is obsessed with an accident victim he barely knew, a puritanical head of state is unhinged by a beautiful petitioner, and two lovers trace a magnificent, life-embracing arc of jealousy, guilt, adoration and anguish in Shakespeare's sonnets. Theatre for a New Audience's Artistic Director Jeffrey Horowitz has lined up directors Robert Woodruff, Arin Arbus and Peter Brook. Last year, all three staged productions for Theatre for a New Audience's critically-acclaimed season.

Each production will be staged at The Duke on 42nd StreetSM, a New 42nd Street® project, 229 West 42nd Street.

The season will open with Mr. Woodruff directing the New York premiere of Orpheus X, (2007 Pulitzer Finalist), a music-theatre piece with original music and text by Rinde Eckert, composer, author, actor and musician and video by Denise Marika. It draws from several sources, including the Sixth Century Greek poet Ibyous and the Roman poets Virgil and Ovid. Mr. Eckert and Mr. Woodruff take this ancient myth and reinvent it for our time: Orpheus is a rock star who plays electric guitar, not the lyre. In Mr. Eckert's version Orpheus is mourning the death of a poet named Eurydice who was killed by a cab in which Orpheus was riding. The cast consists of Mr. Eckert, Suzan Hanson and John Kelly and a live band of piano, guitar, viola, percussion and bass

Mr. Woodruff directed Theatre for a New Audience's production of Edward Bond's Chair last season. Orpheus X runs December 2 through 20. Originally commissioned by American Repertory Theater where it opened March, 2006, this will be a Theatre for a New Audience production.

Again offering winter/spring productions of Shakespeare, Arin Arbus, who made her Off-Broadway directing debut last year with her acclaimed Othello, will stage William Shakespeare's dark comedy, Measure for Measure. When the Duke of Vienna departs on a mysterious trip, he delegates power to Angelo, a man of seemingly spotless reputation. Angelo clamps down on the city's vice by enforcing an antiquated law punishing fornication with death. He makes an example of young Claudio for impregnating his beloved fiance. But when Claudio's beautiful sister Isabella who is about to take holy vows, pleads with Angelo for Claudio's life, Angelo demands that in return for mercy, Isabella sleep with him. It's a sly, bawdy, provocative and extraordinarily modern play. Measure for Measure runs February 6 through March14.

The next Shakespeare work will be the New York premiere of C.I.C.T. / Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord production of Love Is My Sin, the sonnets of William Shakespeare adapted by Peter Brook and performed by two of Mr. Brook's greatest collaborators, his wife, Natasha Parry and Bruce Myers. Franck Krawczyk on keyboard and accordion plays the music of Louis Couperin (1626-1661). Lighting design by Philippe Vialatte. Artistic collaboration, Marie Hél ne Estienne.

Last season, Theatre for a New Audience co-presented The Grand Inquisitor directed by Peter Brook and performed by Bruce Myers in the title role.

Love Is My Sin premiered in Paris at Bouffes du Nord April, 2009. It features twenty nine sonnets chosen by Mr. Brook. To quote from Peter Brook: "Apart from his masterpieces, Shakespeare also
wrote uncommonly beautiful sonnets. To choose between 154 sonnets, I needed to find a dramatic continuity and was guided by the hidden tensions that arise in a relationship between two people. Love Is My Sin allows us to penetrate into Shakespeare's own, most secret life. It is his private diary, in which we find his intimate questions, his jealousy, his passions, his guilt, his despair. Above all, he searches to discover for himself the deep meaning of being attracted by a man or by a woman, even by the act of writing itself. This is neither a play nor a poetry recital. It catches the actors in true human relationships. Then, at the very end, they become speakers for Shakespeare himself who wrote prophetically that his verse is stronger than time and will last forever."

Love Is My Sin run March 27 through April 17.

A three-play subscription is $142. and may be ordered from Theatre for a New Audience via phone at 212-229-2819, ext 10, or online at www.tfana.org.

Single tickets will be available in September for $75 and may be purchased via phone at 646-223-3010 or via the web at www.dukeon42.org.

For ages 25 and under, $10.00 New Deal tickets may be purchased in September for all three productions in person during box office hours at The Duke on 42nd StreetSM or via the phone at (646)223-3010. New Deal tickets are available for any performance, any time, one ticket per valid I.D. I.D. is required to pick up tickets at the box office.

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