FROM RAGS TO RICHES to Play the Metropolitan Playhouse, Closes 10/16
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 16, 2011
The "invaluable" Metropolitan Playhouse--Obie Award winner in 2011--presents a revival of From Rags to Riches, by "The Master of Melodrama" Charles A. Taylor. Debuting in New York in1903, the play now receives the first professional production in the city since then at Metropolitan's home: 220 E 4th Street. The production will close on October 16th.
Opening at midnight on the Bowery coffee stand of Mother Murphy and her two adopted children, newsboy Ned Nimble and his siter lovely Flossie, From Rags to Riches begins as a sentimental portrait of a hardworking, poor family at the turn of the century. The tone soon darkens with the arrival of the wealthy and insouciant "Prince" Charlie Montgomery, who takes a fancy to Flossie and sets his sights on having her for his own. He works this design into his plot with his ex-paramour Flora to murder his wealthy uncle. But in both plots they are pursued by private detective Brown, who hopes to set right the wrongs they committed against frail Gertrude Clark and her lost husband, Albert Cooper, who just happen to be....Ned and Flossie's natural parents! Filled with thwarted hopes, close calls, and a cast of broad, colorful types, the play follows a tortuous trail that leads from Bowery to Broadway, from West Side mansion to Chinatown opium den.
That the play is a fast paced melodrama is part of its appeal: it is both a slapstick comedy and a roller coaster ride. Underlying the melodrama, too, is a chaotic vision of social inbalance in a culture that rewards deceit, hamstrings the law, and allows both triumph and tragedy to be matters of fortune. For its no-holds-barred embrace of the wild hope of American capitalism as well as the uneasy footing of a mobile society, Metropolitan presents the play to kick off our 20th season, exploring Class in America.
Charles Alonzo Taylor (1863 - 1942) was a playwright and screenwriter with 5 plays on stage simultaneously in New York in 1892. Though he was born in Massachusetts, the family moved to Oakland, CA, for his mother' health. Taylor's writing career was launched when he was a conductor for the Southern Pacific railroad. Saving a train from a wreck after one of its coaches became disengaged, he earned lasting gratitude from one passenger: Senator George Hearst, who recommended him to a position on his son's paper, The San Francisco Examiner. Urged to try his hand at playwriting by an editor, he began with The Brother's Crime in 1889 and then a breakout hit Yosemite (originally entitled The Devil's Punchbowl) in 1890. Soon moving to New York, he satisfied a popular appetite for thrillers, and took in as much as $1250 per week (approx. $235,000, today) at the height of his popularity. In 1900, he married actress Laurette Taylor (nee Loretta Cooney), and From Rags to Riches was written for her. The play launched her career and proved a hit for Taylor, though as her reputation grew, his declined. They divorced in 1910. Taylor began writing and directing in Hollywood in 1915, and is credited with over a dozen films. He passed away in 1942.
From Rags to Riches is directed by Artistic Director Alex Roe, whose many Metropolitan productions include One-Third of a Nation, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Denial, The Octoroon, and Year One of the Empire. From Rags to Riches stars Paul Bomba (The East Village Chronicles, Vol. 7, One-Third of a Nation) as Ned Nimble, Richard Cottrell (Under the Gaslight), V. Orion Delwaterman, Erwin P. Falcon, Peter H. Judd (Margaret Fleming), Carol Lambert, Andrew MacLarty, Tod Mason (Haunted, Fashion, The City), Andre MacLarty, Ralph Petrarca (Under the Gaslight), Lisa Riegel (Nowadays, Dodsworth, Uncle Tom's Cabin), Erin Leigh Schmoyer, and Claire Warden. Lighting Design by Christopher Weston (recently, One-Third of a Nation, The Great Divide, The Drunkard, Uncle Tom's Cabin) and Costumes by Sidney Fortner (recently, The Great Divide, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Drunkard.) The Stage Manager is Heather Olmstead (Uncle Tom's Cabin, Haunted).
Metropolitan Playhouse begins its 20th season, devoted to the theme of Class in American theater and culture. The 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 and "invaluable" by Back Stage, Metropolitan has earned accolades from The New York Times, and received a 2011 OBIE Grant from The Village Voice for its ongoing productions that illuminate who we are by revealing where we have come from. Recent productions include One-Third of a Nation, The Great Divide, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Drunkard, Dodsworth, NYIT award winning The Return of Peter Grimm, as well as the Alphabet City and East Village Chronicles series.
PerformancesSaturday, September 17th through Sunday, October 16th.
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 3pm.
Pay-What-You-Will performance on Monday, September 19th at 7:30 pm.
Additional matinée October 15th, at 3:00 pm.
Ticket Prices
At the door: $25 general admission, $18 students/seniors, and $10 children under 18.
Advance purchase $20 general , $15 students, seniors and Previews, and $10 Children under 18.
To purchase tickets online visit www.metropolitanplayhouse.org, or call 212 995 5302.Previews:
Saturday, September 17th at 8:00pm
Sunday, September 18th at 3:00 pm
Monday, September 19th at 7:30 pm - Press night
Wednesday, September 21st at 8:00 pm - Press night
Thursday, September 22nd at 8:00 pm - Press night
Opening Night: Friday, September 23rd, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Closing Night: Sunday, October 16th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Performance Schedule: Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8:00 pm
Sundays at 3:00 pm
Pay What You Will: Monday, September 19th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Additional Performance: Saturday, October 15th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
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