Yasmina Reza's THE UNEXPECTED MAN Plays At The EXIT Theater 7/10-25

Yasmina Reza's ironic comedy -The Unexpected Man - to have SF premiere starring veteran Bay Area actors Ken Ruta and Abigail Van Alyn Stephen Drewes directs the Spare Stage production at EXIT Theater July 10-25

"It's one thing to write dialogue that works; Reza has managed to write thoughts that work..." Nancy Franklin, The New Yorker San Francisco - Ken Ruta brings his distinguished halfcentury of acting to a role he believes he was meant to play. Twice before he's been up for it, only to see the productions melt away. One theatre went belly up and the leading lady at the other got a coveted touring role, and it was adios. Third time's a charm: leading lady Abigail
Van Alyn has no travel plans. Ruta, perhaps best known for his many roles at ACT, is a
huge fan of playwright Yasmina Reza. "I saw Art three times. Her writing is amazing. This (The Unexpected Man) is a play you have to listen to. And it's about a man who is getting old. Perfect for me!" Both plays were translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, whose deft touch serves the playwright well. Hampton himself a playwright, penned the current Broadway
hit, The Philanthropist. Abigail Van Alyn, a Bay Area theatre veteran whose many credits include leading roles at the Eureka Theatre during its Angels in America heyday, plays the avid reader to Ruta's self-absorbed author. Van Alyn describes her character as "the reader every writer dreams of having."

The pair find themselves in a compartment on a train heading from Paris to Frankfurt. She instantly recognizes him - isn't his very face on the back cover of the book she's carrying in her bag? He is oblivious of her. Their interior monologues, delivered to the audience, reveal contrasts in comedic obsession; she, urgent, focused entirely on the famous author; he, laconic, worried about
his digestion and his daughter's loathsome fiancé. The play is an oddly compelling study of the relationship between writers and their readers, between a man and a woman, and between (almost) strangers on a train. Yasmina Reza, French playwright, novelist and screenwriter, began her career as an actress, appearing in new plays as well as works by Moliere and Marivaux. In 1995 her play Art premiered in Paris to become a world-wide sensation, performed in 30 languages.

The playwright's current Broadway hit, God of Carnage, has received numerous awards and multiple Tony nominations, including best play. The British première of The Unexpected Man was on April 8, 1998 performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company with Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon. It enjoyed successful productions in England, Germany and New York.

The San Francisco premiere is directed by Spare Stage artistic director, Stephen Drewes. The Unexpected Man opens July 10 and runs through July 25, 2009 on the main stage at EXIT Theatre.
Spare Stage, a company devoted to exceptional scripts and simplicity of production, with Drewes as Artistic Director and AaRon Murphy as Executive Director, launched its first full season this year with the US premiere of Michael Frayn's 1993 comedy Here, eliciting positive reviews and sold-old shows at the Exit Theatre.

Reza's The Unexpected Man is the company's second production this season. Drewes and Murphy, both native San Franciscans, met as teacher and student in 1993, when Murphy enrolled in one of Drewes' acting classes. Drewes launched his career at Berkeley Rep in 1970, and went on to a 35-year career as a professor of theatre arts, actor, and stage director. Murphy has also acted at Berkeley Rep (more than 30 years later) and on other local stages. This production of The Unexpected Man is supported by a generous grant from The Columbia Foundation.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.