Pakistani Cabbie and Banker's Lives Collide in New Play at TNC

The Textile Co. is presenting The Fare, a new play about how a dispute between a Pakistani cabbie and a banker sets off events that change both of their lives.

The show, which runs at Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., in Manhattan, March 16 to 26 Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m., is an Actors Equity approved showcase. Tickets are available for $18 at Tix or by going to Theater For the New City's website.

Written by Claude Solnik, The Fare tells a powerful story about how a dispute over a cab fare leads to events that affect the lives of both the passenger and the cabbie.

What follows is a theatrical ride through the lives of the main characters with echoes that involve everything from immigration to identity, class to color, privilege to prejudice and what it means to be an American.

The play was inspired by news stories about a clash between a cabbie and a banker that was widely reported in newspapers.

The Fare fictionalizes events and tells a story about what happens when the two are forced to reach out to each other to resolve their problems as the banker's world collapses when he's accused of racism and assault.

"The two men find themselves caught up in events that are much bigger than they are," said Scott David Reeves*, who directs and appears in the play. "They become a microcosm for many of the conflicts around them."

Reeves directs and appears in this Actors Equity approved showcase with Sarah Grace Sanders, Hemang Sharma, Michael Catlage, Scott Zimmerman* and Brett Solimine.

Reeves plays Rich, a banker married to Claire, an architect played by Sarah Grace Sanders. The couple live a quiet, peaceful life, seemingly nestled in the security of wealth and friendships.

But we meet the couple after their routine has been shredded when Rich returns, shaken after a cabbie locks the doors and refuses to let him out following a dispute over the fare.

"He doesn't tell her everything that happened that night," Solnik said. "He presents himself as the victim of a crazy cabbie. But we find out things were a lot more complicated than that."

We gradually hear varying accounts of what happened that night in a kind of Rashamon-like combination of perspectives where it's hard to tell exactly what occurred.

When we learn that Rich pulled a knife on the cabbie, he goes from victim to villain in some people's eyes. The fact that the cabbie is Middle Eastern makes us, as well as Rich's employer and friend, wonder whether he may have lashed out due to prejudice."

The only people who know exactly what happened in that cab that night are the two drive rand the passenger," Solnik said. "And even then, for a long time, it's not clear whether they can agree. But in the end, we get a clearer understanding of what occurred and why."

Hemang Sharma plays Omar, the cabbie who argues that he's being treated as if he's a terrorist, because of the actions of people he never met, doesn't know and doesn't resemble.

He and Rich get to know each other when they try to resolve the problems that result from the collision of their lives.

Scott Zimmerman plays Larry, an attorney with a penchant for cowboy hats who tries to step in and help Rich, when Rich's company turns on him and fair weather friends vanish.

Michael Catlage plays Craig, Rich's co-worker who finds that he benefits from his friend's misfortune. And Brett Solimine plays a police officer and board member of a foundation.

"The Fare is about reality and illusion," Solnik said. "It's about what happens when we strip away the trappings of class and convention. We're left with who we are and then we find ourselves, even if it's in the wreckage of what we thought was our world."

The Fare, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., NY, NY. Performances March 16-18 at 8 p.m. March 19 3 p.m., March 23-25 at 8 p.m. and March 26 3 p.m. The Textile Co. presents this Actors Equity Showcase of a new play by Claude Solnik, directed by Scott David Reeves, about a clash between a Pakistani cabbie and a wealthy banker that changes both of their lives. With Scott David Reeves, Sarah Grace Sanders, Hemang Sharma , Scott Zimmerman, Michael Catlage and Brett Solimine. $18. (212) 254-1109, www.theaterforthenewcity.net. *Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity

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