A PICASSO Makes Its Regional Premiere Running 1/24-2/22

San Jose Repertory Theatre roars into the new year with the Regional Premiere of A Picasso (Barrymore Award for Best New Play), a provocative play by one of America's most widely produced playwrights, Jeffrey Hatcher. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, directs this smart and sexy exploration of art, politics and censorship. A Picasso runs January 24 - February 22, 2009 at San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio in downtown San Jose. Preview performances are January 24, 25, 28, and 29. Press Opening is Friday, January 30 at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets are available at the San Jose Rep Box Office at 101 Paseo de San Antonio or can be purchased online at www.SJRep.com or by calling (408) 367-7255.

"San Jose Rep has had a long and wonderful relationship with playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, so we're very pleased to be presenting the Bay Area premiere of this very literate, smart and funny play," comments Artistic Director Rick Lombardo. "Picasso was a fascinating figure both as an artist and a citizen, and it's a delight to see him square off in Hatcher's play with a representative of the Third Reich - and an art critic to top it off."

It's Paris 1941 and the city renowned for its artistic freedom is under the oppressive rule of German occupation. The 61-year-old Pablo Picasso (James Carpenter) has been brought to a vault beneath the city to authenticate three paintings that have recently been "acquired" by the Germans. What ensues is an intense and passionate verbal tango between Picasso and the beautiful, mysterious and art-obsessed Miss Fischer (Carrie Paff), an adjunct of the Ministry of Culture in Berlin. Each step in this verbal spar is precise, with few unnecessary words - the dialog is clean, witty and biting.

Jeffrey Hatcher won the Barrymore Award for Best New Play of 2003 with A Picasso. He is the author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Ella and Tuesdays with Morrie - all of which have been seen on San Jose Repertory Theatre's stage. Mr. Hatcher authored the book for the Broadway musical, Never Gonna Dance. Off-Broadway, he has had several plays produced, including Scotland Road and The Turn of the Screw at Primary Stages, Tuesdays with Morrie (with Mitch Albom) at Minetta Lane Theatre, Neddy at The American Place Theatre and Fellow Travelers at Manhattan Punchline. His plays - among them Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Murderers, Mercy of a Storm, Smash, To Fool the Eye and Work Song (with Eric Simonson) have been seen in hundreds of theatre's across the nation and around the world. Mr. Hatcher wrote the screenplays for Stage Beauty, Casanova and The Duchess.

Jonathan Moscone directed Long Day's Journey into Night at San Jose Rep. He will soon begin his tenth season as Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater where his work has earned him Bay Area Critics Circle and Dean Goodman Choice Awards for Best Direction and Production, with his productions of Man and Superman, Nicholas Nickleby, Ghosts (Berkeley Rep), Twelfth Night, and The Seagull all named among the ten best productions by The San Francisco Chronicle and other area newspapers.

The cast of A Picasso includes James Carpenter as the charismatic Pablo Picasso and Carrie Paff as the enigmatic Miss Fischer. Mr. Carpenter last appeared at the Rep as Logan in Tranced. His other credits at San Jose Rep include: Wintertime; By The Bog of The Cats...; Cntrl+ Alt+ Delete; Sideman and The Matchmaker. Ms. Paff appeared as the transgender Mr. Hyde in the Rep's production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She recently returned from playing London's West End in Joan Rivers: A Work In Progress by a Life In Progress.

The creative team includes Erik Flatmo (Set Designer); Meg Neville (Costume Designer); Japhy Weideman (Lighting Designer) and Jeff Mockus (Sound Designer). The stage manager is Laxmi Kumaran.

A Picasso is sponsored by Applied Materials, co-sponsored by J. Lohr and supported, in part, by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose.

San Jose Rep is the premier non-profit, professional theatre company in the South Bay, presenting six main stage productions each year. As a major contributor to South Bay's cultural community for 28 years, the Rep's mission is to engage, entertain and inspire people. The Rep produces innovative theatrical performances that offer fresh perspectives into the human condition, educational programs that promote life-long learning, and outreach initiatives that benefit our diverse community. For more information, visit www.SJRep.com

 

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