Villanova Theatre Ends 2012-13 Season with SALOME, Beg. Tonight

Villanova Theatre's 2012-2013 culminates with an electrifying production of Salomé, written by Oscar Wilde, directed by Rev. David Cregan, OSA, and on stage tonight, April 9 - 21, 2013.

The linguistic genius behind The Importance of Being Earnest plunges us into the visceral, intoxicating world of King Herod and his enticing young stepdaughter, Salomé. After being rejected by John the Baptist, Salomé's unbridled desire for the pious prophet quickly turns into an uncontrollable lust for revenge. Wilde's sensational adaptation of this biblical tale dramatizes the eternal struggle between body and soul. Cregan's inspired production will feature stunning aerial dance, live drumming and chant, and a striking, elemental set design.

Once banned in England, Wilde's Salomé recounts a biblical tale found in the Gospel of Mark (Chapter VI, Verses 14-29). According to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, King Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist for condemning his marriage to Herodias, but Herod was afraid to have the popular prophet killed. Nevertheless, when Salomé danced before Herod, he promised to give her whatever she asked as a reward. Prompted by her mother, the girl demanded the head of John the Baptist on a platter. True to his word, Herod ordered the beheading of John the Baptist, and Salomé took the platter with the prophet's head on it and presented it to her mother. This hair-raising tale has been immortalized in the world of visual art, and the erotic mythology surrounding Salomé's "Dance of the Seven Veils" has taken on a life of its own (no such dance is actually mentioned in the biblical accounts).

Villanova called upon Philadelphia's own Give & Take Circus to help realize Cregan's vision for the "Dance of the Seven Veils." Lizzy Pecora, who plays Salomé, has trained for months learning how to execute this iconic dance with the use of aerial silks (made famous by Cirque du Soleil). According to Pecora, "It's an exciting challenge as an actor! During our first training session, I couldn't believe how difficult it was. But it's been an incredible learning experience, and I am thrilled to be able to incorporate such a stunningly beautiful art into my theatrical work."

Harold Messinger, a Hazzan from Beth Am Israel Synagogue in Penn Valley, serves as Music Director, instructing the cast in the art of Hebrew chant. Each performance will also feature live drumming by Josh Totora. Cregan's ritualistic and highly theatrical staging will present a visual and poetic allegory for the central theme of Wilde's play: the never-ending struggle between order and chaos, desire and destruction, eroticism and death.

According to Cregan, "The play is a exploration of desire, in both the physical and spiritual sense of the word. What Salomé is longing for is much, much larger than some kind of sexual fulfillment. She is searching for freedom, transcendence, and self-realization. I hope that the art we create on our stage can illuminate that essentially human striving for 'something more.'"

Salomé translator Joseph Donohue will join the director, cast, and crew for Speaker's Night immediately following the April 18th performance (see below for biographical information). Villanova brings this new translation to life with the help of an award-winning team of designers:Parris Bradley (Scenic Design), Janus Stefanowicz (Costume Design), Jerold Forsyth (Lighting Design), and Rebekah Weagraff (Dramaturg).

Cregan directs a cast of dynamic and multi-faceted performers including Villanova Theatre acting scholars Peter A. Danzig (Iokanaan), Jen Jaynes (Herodias), Christine Petrini (Ensemble) and Ahren Potratz (Soldier Two); graduate students Victoria Rose Bonito (Ensemble), Lauren Fanslau (Ensemble), John Hala (Ensemble), Brie Knight (Ensemble), Lizzy Pecora (Salomé), Emily Poworoznek (Herodias' Page), Seth Schmitt-Hall (Herod Antipas), and Steve Underwood (Soldier One), and undergraduate students Brendan Farrell (Young Syrian) and Jake Steinberg (Ensemble).

Salomé takes the stage at Villanova Theatre from tonight, April 9- 21, 2013. Villanova Theatre is located on the Villanova University campus in Vasey Hall (at Lancaster & Ithan Ave.). Performances will be held Tuesdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets run $21-$25, with discounts available for seniors, students, M.A. in Theatre alumni, and groups. Tickets may be purchased at the Villanova Theatre Box Office (M-S, 12 -5 p.m.) in person, by phone: (610) 519-7474, or online at www.villanovatheatre.org.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Oscar Wilde proved to be a brilliant scholar at Oxford, winning the Newdigate Prize for his poem "Ravenna." His first collection, Poems, was published in 1881. After 1890, he had enormous success on stage with his comedies Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1885), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).The Marquess of Queensberry, incensed by Wilde's intimate relationship with his son, Lord AlFred Douglas (who first translated Wilde's Salomé from the French), accused Wilde of being a homosexual, leading to a series of highly-publicized trials and Wilde's eventual imprisonment.. Wilde was sentenced to two years' hard labor and was released in 1897. He moved to France under the name Sebastian Melmoth. While there, he wrote his famous poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." He died in exile in 1900.

REV. DAVID CREGAN, O.S.A. (Director) is Chair of the Theatre Department and an associate professor at Villanova where he also teaches in the English Department. Fr. David received his Ph.D. in Drama Studies at the Samuel Beckett School of Drama at Trinity College Dublin. Before joining the Augustinians he spent four years in New York City working as a professional actor, where he performed in three tours (one in Europe), an off-Broadway production with the Light Opera of Manhattan, and various regional work around the country. Since returning to Villanova in 2004, he has appeared twice on stage: in Cabaret (2009) and Parade (2004). In 2009, Fr. David appeared in London in A Tale of Two Cities, which aired on PBS in the fall of that year. During his time on campus, Fr. David has directed Woman and Scarecrow, Three Days of Rain, Uncommon Women and Others, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Dead Man Walking, Godspell, and Murder in the Cathedral.

SPEAKER'S NIGHT
Salomé Translator Joseph Donohue, Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will speak immediately following the April 18th performance. Joseph Donohue is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he has taught dramatic literature since 1971. A theatre historian with special interests in the British and Irish theatre from the late eighteenth century to the present and in the nineteenth-century British music hall, he is the author of Dramatic Character in the English Romantic Age (Princeton, 1970) and Theatre in the Age of Kean (1975), and editor (with Ruth Berggren) of Oscar Wilde'sThe Importance of Being Earnest: A Reconstructive Critical Edition of the Text of the First Production, St. James's Theatre, London, 1895 (Colin Smythe, 1995), which won the 1997 MLA prize for an outstanding scholarly edition and the 1997 Hewitt prize for an outstanding work of theatre history. A past president of the American Society for Theatre Research, he is currently preparing Volume 2 of the three-volume Cambridge History of British Theatre (in progress) and is editing several plays of Oscar Wilde for the Oxford English Texts edition of the complete works of Wilde. He is the general editor of The London Stage 1800-1900: A Documentary Record and Calendar of Performances, a long-term computer-based research program aimed at providing basic information about the nineteenth-century London theatre.

Villanova Theatre is a community of artist-scholars committed to transforming hearts and minds through the visionary production of classical, modern, and contemporary dramatic literature. Our work is fueled by the imaginative striving common to Villanova' s accomplished faculty, versatile staff, and energetic graduate students. Together, we are devoted to creating a vibrant theatre enriched by and overflowing with the ideas explored in our classrooms. In all of our endeavors, we aim to share the dynamic experience of collaborative learning with our audiences in order to engage the intellect and stir the soul. As a facet of Villanova University, Villanova Theatre serves the campus community as well as thousands of theatre-goers from the Main Line and the Greater Philadelphia area.

The Villanova University Theatre Department came into being in 1958 under the leadership of Dr. Dick Duprey. Today, Villanova's Department of Theatre offers both a Master of Arts degree and a Graduate Certificate in Practical Theatre. Students enrolled in the theatre program undergo a course of study that combines both scholarly and practical approaches to theatre. Guided by award-winning faculty and staff who are actively involved in the region's professional theatre industry, students gain knowledge and experience through hands-on production work and in-depth academic study in the areas of dramaturgy, script analysis, dramatic literature, playwriting, acting, and directing.

Since 1842, Villanova University's Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's five colleges - the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing and the Villanova University School of Law. As students grow intellectually, Villanova prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them.

SPECIAL EVENTS:
Speaker's Night, 4/18:Please join us for a lively post-show discussion with Salome translator and Professor Emeritus of English at University of Massachusetts Amherst, Joseph.

CAST
SALOMÉ- Lizzy Pecora
IOKANAAN-Peter A. Danzig*
HEROD ANTIPAS- Seth Schmitt-Hall
HERODIAS-Jen Jaynes
THE YOUNG SYRIAN-Brendan Farrell
HERODIAS'S PAGE-Emily Poworoznek
SOLDIER ONE-Steve Underwood
SOLDIER TWO- Ahren Potratz*
ENSEMBLE/VARIOUS ROLES
Victoria Rose Bonito
Lauren Fanslau
John Hala
Brie Knight
Christine Petrini
Jake Steinberg

CREATIVE TEAM
Directed By: David Cregan, OSA
Scenic Design: Parris Bradley
Costume Design: Janus Stefanowicz
Lighting Design: Jerry Forsyth
Dramaturg: Rebekah Weagraff
Music Director: Harold Messinger
Musician: Josh Totora

*denotes m­­­ember, Actor's Equity Association

Pictured: Lizzy Pecora as Salomé and Peter Andrew Danzig as Iokanaan (John the Baptist). Photo by Kimberly Reilly.

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