One year after their sold-out site-specific run of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, one of Brooklyn's most acclaimed theater companies, Brave New World Repertory Theatre is back with Miller's dramatic vaudeville, The American Clock, at The Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope March 3-13, where it has been awarded a subsidized run.*
Set primarily in Brooklyn, but moving throughout the United States, The American Clock is a panoramic patchwork about the Great Depression told in a medley of dramatic scenes and songs of the era, including Mood Indigo, Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries and On The Sunny Side of the Street. Alternately upbeat and bittersweet, Miller's ode to the optimism and naiveté of the American spirit warns that the clock is ticking on the American Dream. The 53 characters-ranging from a middle-class Brooklyn family to train-riding hobos and high-riding Wall Street brokers brought low, will be played by 20 actors and musicians who tell the poignant story of an economic crisis Americans believed could never again happen.
The American Clock
a production of Brave New World Repertory Theatre
at The Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn
Trains: R to Union Street
March 3-13 - Thursdays-Fridays at 8p; Saturdays at 3 and 8p; Sundays at 7p
Tickets: $18 can be purchased on the website: http://www.bravenewworldrep.org
BNW originally presented a stage reading of The American Clock, directed by Ms. Babak as a fundraiser during the height of "The Great Recession" last January at The Old Stone House of Brooklyn. Set during The Great Depression and based in part on
Studs Terkel's oral history of the period Hard Times, the play was an immediate hit, and the company decided to give it a full production.
Directed by Brave New World Associate Artistic Director
Cynthia Babak, the enormous cast is led by BNW Producing Artistic Director
Claire Beckman* and fellow founding member
Stuart Zagnit* as Rose and Moe Baum, based on Miller's own parents. Company member Joe Salgo* plays Miller's autobiographical role of Lee Baum. The cast also includes company regulars Alice Barrett-Mitchell*, Doug Barron*, Tara Bast*, Nixon Cesar*, Gary Cowling*, Isidore Elias, Jeff Golde*, Alvin Hippolyte,
Kevin Hogan*, Cathy Mancuso,
John Morgan*, Caroline Ryburn*, Sandra Mills Scott*, Franny Silverman*,
Evan Thompson* and Scott Voloshin*. Musicians: Amanda Gookin, Andy Arena, Mark August and Chris Cornwell. (* Member Actors Equity Association).
Brave New World Repertory Theatre is a company of Brooklyn-based theatre professionals dedicated to promoting a love of theatre by bringing classic and new works by Brooklyn writers to underserved Brooklyn audiences. Following the critically acclaimed world premiere The Halloween Plays, which included Salsa by Brooklyn's Tony-winning
Greg Kotis, Too Much Candy by
Cynthia Babak, and Austin McCormick's Company XIV, the time is right for BNW to bring this timely Miller classic back to Brooklyn and to present it at the historic Brooklyn Lyceum. http://www.bravenewworldrep.org
The Brooklyn Lyceum is a producing arts venue and cultural center on the edge of Gowanus. Originally opened in 1910 as an indoor bathing facility, it now plays host to a range of theatre, music, dance, markets and community activities. With a new Artistic Director leading the way, the Lyceum is programming an ambitious season throughout the year. This co-production of The American Clock is part of a full theatrical line-up including a new interpretation of Woyzeck, two world premiere plays, and a visual dreamscape of The Little Prince. The Lyceum café serves exquisite coffee and fresh-baked goods and is open to the public daily. More info at www.brooklynlyceum.com.
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