The Audience Acts As The Jury In POUND At TADA! Theater, Runs 5/4-7/26

Accused of treason against the United States in 1945, the controversial poet Ezra Pound was kept confined to a mental hospital in Washington, DC for 12 years. Now, more than 35 years after his death, he will finally face a jury of his peers - the audience - in William Roetzheim's one-man show Pound, starring Jeff Berg. Directed by Roetzheim, Pound will be performed at Tada Theater, the Studio Theatre on Theater Row and the Midtown International Theatre Festival, between May 4th and July 26th. The show is being produced by American International Theater, Inc.

Opinionated American-born poet Ezra Pound is widely regarded as being instrumental in aiding the careers of such literary figures as W.B. Yeats, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway, among others. But his influence, and his own poetry and prose, has often been overshadowed by his frequent anti-Semitic remarks and radio broadcasts made from Italy decrying America's entry into the war, stating U.S. troops should not go to die on foreign soil, claiming that the U.S. entered the war for strictly financial reasons, and arguing that the presence of U.S. troops was destroying the unique cultural fabric that was Europe.

Despite the fact that these radio addresses were never broadcast in America, or that Pound never attacked the courage of American troops, or gave away military secrets (though he was an unabashed hater of President Franklin D. Roosevelt), Pound was arrested in 1945 and bought to the U.S. to stand trial for treason. Due to a legal technicality the U.S. was unable to charge him for that crime and instead confined Pound to a mental asylum after he was declared unfit to stand trial. After repeated requests from the literary community, Pound was released in 1958.

Now, angered by the fact that he was never given a chance to argue his innocence, Pound requests that such a trial take place, with the audiences delivering the verdict each night. Among those speaking at the trial, all performed by Berg, will be Pound, Hemingway, an official from the Italian Ministry of Propaganda, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Allen Ginsberg, the San Francisco beat poet, who was one of the last people to see Mr. Pound before his death in 1972.

"I was really intrigued by the fact that Pound escaped being hung as a traitor due to a technicality," Roetzheim noted, "and that the U.S. kept him in a mental hospital for 12 years and basically tried to forget about him; only his friends in the literary world wouldn't let that happen. How far should the U.S. government go to protect itself at the expense of individual liberty, and when do unpopular statements and views rise to a level justifying punishment by the government? Given the current political climate, these questions are as timely now as they were over sixty years ago. Now the audience can weigh in with their opinions."

William Roetzheim is the author of twenty two books, over 100 articles, and twenty spoken word audio CDs. He is currently working on "Five Poet Plays," a series of loosely integrated full-length plays about five poets (Ezra Pound, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost and Amy Lowell) at the turn of the 20th century who did the most to set the direction of modern poetry through the remainder of that century. Dickinson will be seen early this summer at the Planet Connections Theater Festivity in New York beginning June 13th. For information on the various plays in this series go to www.roetzheim.com.

A member of Actors' Equity, Jeff Berg's previous theatre credits include I Was Tom Cruise, The Lost Boys, A Midsummer Night's Dream and NY: An Ode to Allen Ginsberg. Television and film credits include Slings and Arrows, Crash Palace, System Crash, Absolute Trust, The Book of Caleb, The Phantom of the Megaplex and the Stalking of Lori Show.

American International Theater, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the idea that theater can be both entertaining and educational. They produce plays, musicals, and dance events that leave people thinking about what they've just seen well after the performance is over. Their goal with each performance is to stimulate discussion and encourage further exploration of a topic. More information on the company can be found at www.aitheater.org.

Pound will begin performances at the TADA! Theater, located at 15 West 28th Street, 2nd Floor, on Monday, May 4th at 7pm, with a one-night "work in process" developmental production as part of the Emerging Artists Theatre's Illuminating Artists Festival: One Man Talking. Admission is free with a $10 suggested donation. Reservations: 212-247-2429. Information: www.eattheatre.org.

From there, the show will begin a run at the Studio Theatre at Theatre Row Studios at 410 West 42nd Street from May 17th to June 19th, on the following dates:
Wednesday, May 27th at 8pm, Thursday, May 28th at 8pm, Friday May 29th at 8pm, Saturday, May 30th at 8pm, Sunday May 31st at 3pm, Thursday, June 11th at 8pm, Friday, June 12th at 8pm, Saturday, June 13th at 8pm, Tuesday, June 16th at 7pm, Wednesday, June 17th at 8pm, Thursday, June 18th at 8pm, Friday June 18th at 8pm. Tickets are $18.00. Reservations: 212-714-2442 or www.ticketcentral.com

Pound will finish up its initial New York run at the 10th Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival with six performances between July 20th and July 25th. Show times are Monday, July 20th at 8:30pm, Tuesday, July 21st at 6:30pm, Wednesday, July 22nd at 5pm, Friday, July 24th at 9pm, Saturday, July 25th at 7pm and Sunday, July 26th at 4pm. The show will be performed at the Jewel Box Theatre in the WorkShop Theatre space, located at 312 West 36th Street on the 4th Floor. Tickets are $18.00. www.ovationtix.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.