THE RETURN OF PETER GRIM Ends Revival at At The Metropolitan Playhouse, 4/11

Metropolitan Playhouse, "theatrical archaeologist extraordinaire" (Backstage), will end the a revival of The Return of Peter Grimm, by David Belasco on April 11th.

The Return of Peter Grimm tells the tale of a big-hearted, short-sighted man whose plans for his loved ones don't take account of their wishes or his likely demise. But when his heart fails, the family and business he has built are set to fall apart, and he must return from beyond to set things right. With no one else able to see or hear him, it is up to an 8-year-old boy to bring his message home.

A novel play in its age, leading to its author/manager's developing a new technology to bring the afterlife onstage, The Return of Peter Grimm is at times a harrowing ghost story. It is also an astute examination of the stultifying power of tradition and the courage needed to rebel against stifling rule. Touching on women's rights, the promise of scientific inquiry, and the dangers of conventional thinking, this piece of popular theater from 1911 is also a record of an uneasy age. Finally, the foundation of the play is its testament to the power of love.

The extraordinary David Belasco (1854 -1931) defined the impresario of the turn of the century. A producer of renown, a director of exacting standards, a playwright and collaborator on myriad scripts, he brought over 100 plays to Broadway in his storied career. His own plays include The Heart of Maryland, DuBarry, and The Girl of the Golden West. (As is Belasco's collaboration with
John Luther Long, Madame Butterfly, Girl is better known today for Puccini's adaptation.) His colleagues included such luminaries as Edwin Booth, Dion Boucicault, James O'Neill, Mme. Modjeska, James A. Herne, Henry de Mille, and both de Mille sons: William and Cecil. His reputation was founded on the thorough care he took in crafting his productions and his pursuit of a new naturalistic style of both acting and presentation-eschewing footlights, for example, and pioneering the use of gels and silks to change color for effect. Nonetheless, his scripts themselves are rooted in sentiment or melodrama rather than realism, and it is the combination of truthful presentation of
the fantastical that give The Return of Peter Grimm its particular character.

Metropolitan's revival is directed by Alex Roe, director of many of Metropolitan's signal works, including The Contrast, Year One of the Empire, The Octoroon, Denial, Margaret Fleming, and Nowadays. The production stars Frank Anderson, Linda Blackstock, Brad Fraizer, Ken Ferrigni, Sidney Fortner, Helen Highfield, George Hosmer, Richard Vernon, and introduces 12-year-old Matthew Hughes. Set Design is by Alex Roe, Costume Design is by Sidney Fortner (Under the Gaslight), and Lighting Design is by Christopher Weston (The Contrast; Under the Gaslight.)

Metropolitan Playhouse explores America's theatrical heritage through forgotten plays of the past and new plays of American historical and cultural moment. Called an "indispensible East Village institution" by nytheatre.com, Metropolitan has earned accolades from The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Backstage for its ongoing productions that illuminate who we are by revealing where we have come from. Recent productions include the Under the Gaslight, The Contrast, Federal Theater Project's Power, It Pays to Advertise, Year One of the Empire, The Pioneer: 5 plays by Eugene O'Neill, Denial and The Melting Pot, as well as the Alphabet City and East Village Chronicles series.

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