Custom Made Theatre Premieres THE BRAGGART SOLDIER, Now thru 4/26

Custom Made Theatre Co. Presents the World Premiere of The Braggart Soldier, or Major Blowhard, by Plautus, adapted and directed by Evren Odcikin, tonight, March 27-April 26.

Evren Odcikin's fast, furious and physical adaptation of Plautus, from a translation by Deena Berg, proves that Roman comedies never get old, they just get funnier.

San Francisco. March 5, 2015. If you've seen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which was adapted from Plautus, you already know that he was a major influence for every possible style of comedy through the ages, as there's nothing more hysterical than the pompous and mighty taking it on chin. The Braggart Soldier features the hijinks you'd expect and, in true Custom Made fashion, without a safety net!

Custom Made presents the World Premiere of director Evren Odcikin's adaptation of Roman comic master Plautus (Miles Gloriosus, Bacchides, Menaechmi, Pseudolus), based on a translation by Deena Berg, at the Gough Street Playhouse, 1620 Gough Street, San Francisco. March 27 - April 26.

Adaptor/ Director Odcikin on Major Blowhard: "I have been working in the Bay Area new plays scene for the last decade, but my training and beginnings in the theater were deeply entrenched in the classics. I can't thank Brian Katz and Custom Made enough for giving me this opportunity to fall in love with them all over again," said Odcikin. "When this play was first performed, it was modern, irreverent, political, and full of low-brow humor. And our production will be all of those things and more for the 21st century. No self-important, precious classic plays here!"

Based on a modern and irreverent translation by Deana Berg, Odcikin's adaptation is colloquial and modern, mashing up well-known and well-loved tropes from all ages of comedy from Dell'Arte to sitcoms. Streamlined, fast-paced, and relentlessly physical, the new production takes a close look at the play's dated elements and toys with them for humorous effect. Odcikin said: "There is an inherent sexism in the original play that we're attacking head-on. The female parts are significantly expanded and we are even reimagining the ending. And this wasn't just a political decision; it also makes the play much funnier to a modern audience."

Cast:

The Braggart cast is comprised of both veteran, and new, Custom Made faces. What they all have in common is an amazing sense of comedic timing, and the willingness to do just about anything for a laugh.

Returning to the Custom Made stage are company members Eden Neudendorf (Why Torture is Wrong...,) and Cat Leudtke (Top Girls), Matt Gunnison (Candide of California) and we're thrilled to welcome long-time friend of the company Kai Morrsion as Major Topple D'Acropolis. Making their Custom Made debuts are Darek Burkowski, Alan Coyne, and Jef Valentine.

Directed, adapted and designed by Evren Odcikin. Costumes by Keiko Carreiro. Music by Liz Ryder. Lighting by William Campbell. Cat Howser stage manages, and Oren Stevens assistant directs.

Evren Odcikin (Director, adaptation, set design) Credits include the West Coast premiere of Yussef El Guindi's Language Rooms, which moved to the Los Angeles Theater Center after a San Francisco run (critic's pick for Los Angeles Times), and the West Coast premiere of Mona Mansour's Urge For Going (Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle nomination for best new play) for Golden Thread Productions, where he serves as the director of new plays and marketing.

Others include the world premiere of Christopher Chen's Mutt for Impact Theatre and Ferocious Lotus; the world premiere of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's 410[GONE] (featured in American Theatre Magazine's Production Notebook); The Oldest Profession (two BATCC nominations) and Machinal (three BATCC nominations, including best director and best production) for Brava; and RHINO for Boxcar Theatre ("Most Inventive Staging of 2010" from SF Weekly).

He has developed new plays at South Coast Repertory, the Lark Play Development Center, NNPN Showcase, American Conservatory Theater, and Magic Theatre. He serves as the Director of New Plays and Marketing at Golden Thread Productions. A graduate of Princeton University, Evren was awarded the 2013 TITAN Award for Directors by Theatre Bay Area and was selected as an Emerging Theatre Leader by Theatre Communications Group for their American Express Leadership Bootcamp. odcikin.com

Plautus (Playwright). Maccius Plautus (c. 254 - 184 BC), commonly known as "Plautus," was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. Plautus wrote around 130 plays, of which 20 have survived, making him the most prolific ancient dramatist in terms of surviving work. He was enormously popular in his day, so much so that the epitaph on his tombstone reads, Since Plautus is dead, Comedy mourns.

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