Brooke Bloom, Fred Arsenault, et al. to Star in A.R.T.'s MARIE ANTOINETTE

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) has just announced the Company for David Adjmi's new play, Marie Antoinette, directed by Rebecca Taichman, with choreography by Karole Armitage, in a co-production with Yale Repertory Theatre. The production begins previews on Saturday, September 1, and runs through Saturday, September 29, with press opening on Friday, September 7 at 7:00pm.

From the mind of rising star David Adjmi, playwright of last year's Off-Broadway phenomenon, Elective Affinities, comes this barbed and brassy comedy. Marie Antoinette provides a peek into the life of everyone's favorite representative of the 1% - the infamous Queen of France and cake enthusiast. Though she delights and inspires her subjects with her three-foot tall wigs and extravagant haute couture, times change and even the most fashionable queens go out of style.

The cast includes Brooke Bloom as Marie Antoinette, Fred Arsenault as Emperor Joseph of Austria, Hannah Cabell as Yolande de Polignac, Andrew Cekala as the Dauphin, David Greenspan as Sheep, Greg Keller as Louis XVI, Vin Knight as the Royalist, Polly Lee as Therese de Lamballe, Cameron Scoggins as Axel Fersen, Jo Lambert and Teale Sperling as Marie's coterie, and Brian Wiles as Guard.

Fred Arsenault was seen as Perry in The Royal Family and Born Yesterday on Broadway, and regionally in Henry V, Travesties, The Spy, and was a member of Blue Man Group. His television credits include The Good Wife, Person of Interest, and Law and Order SVU.

Brooke Bloom earned a Barrymore Award for the title role of Becky Shaw at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, played Ophelia in Hamlet at South Coast Repertory Theatre, and most recently was seen in Lungs at the Barrington Stage Theater. Her film and television credits include He's Just Not That Into You, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Good Wife, and she has a recurring role in CSI: Miami.

Hannah Cabell appeared on Broadway as Margaret Moore in A Man for All Seasons, Off-Broadway in Rinne Groff's Compulsion at The Public Theater (also at Yale Repertory Theatre and Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and in the title role of Pumpgirl at Manhattan Theater Club; in the world premiere of In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play at Berkeley Rep, and Three Sisters at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

David Greenspan's Broadway credits include Melancholy Play, The Patsy, and The Royal Family; off-Broadway Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Orlando (directed by Rebecca Taichman), Faust (Mephisto, Obie Award), Terrence McNally's Some Men, and the revival of The Boys in the Band (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination). His plays include Coraline (a stage adaptation based on Neil Gaiman's novel) and the Obie Award winners She Stoops to Comedy and The Argument.

Greg Keller was seen in 33 Variations and Uncle Vanya on Broadway, Wit at the Manhattan Theatre Club, The Seagull at Classic Stage Company, and Belleville at Yale Repertory Theatre. He was a 2009 Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellow at Juilliard, where his work won several prizes. He is a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company.

Vin Knight is a member of Elevator Repair Service, and was seen at the A.R.T., in New York, and in the international tour of Gatz, The Select (The Sun Also Rises), The Sound and the Fury, and No Great Society; The Temperamentals with the Barrow Group, and over a dozen productions with the adobe theater company, among others.

Polly Lee's New York credits include Nightlands (New Georges), How I Fell In Love (Abingdon Theatre), Close Ties (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Slag Heap (Cherry Lane Theatre), and Water (HERE Arts Center. Regionally she appeared at La Jolla Playhouse. Humana Festival, O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Gloucester Stage Co., McCarter Theatre, Wilma Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Studio Arena, among others.

 

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is one of the country's most celebrated theaters and the winner of numerous awards, including the Tony Award, the Pulitzer Prize and Elliot Norton and I.R.N.E. Awards. In May of 2003 it was named one of the top three regional theaters in the country by Time magazine. The A.R.T. was founded by Robert Brustein in 1980, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by RoBert Woodruff. In 2008, Diane Paulus became the A.R.T.'s Artistic Director. During its 32-year history, the A.R.T. has welcomed many major American and international theater artists, presenting a diverse repertoire that includes premieres of American plays, bold reinterpretations of classical texts and provocative new music Theater Productions. The A.R.T. has performed throughout the U.S. and worldwide in 21 cities in 16 countries on four continents. Since becoming Artistic Director, Diane Paulus has programmed innovative work that has enhanced the A.R.T.'s core mission to expand the boundaries of theater. Productions such as Sleep No More, The Donkey Show, Gatz, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (winner of this year's Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical), Prometheus Bound, and Death and the Powers: The Robots' Opera have immersed audiences in original theatrical experiences. The A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, which Paulus calls a "Second Stage for the 21st century," has become an incubator for local artists and has also attracted national attention for its groundbreaking model for programming. Through all of its work, the A.R.T. is committed to building a community of artists, technicians, educators, staff and audience, all of who are integral to the A.R.T.'s mission.

Yale Repertory Theatre is dedicated to the production of new plays and bold interpretations of classics and has produced well over 100 premieres - including two Pulitzer Prize winners and four other nominated finalists-by emerging and established playwrights. Eleven Yale Rep productions have advanced to Broadway, garnering more than 40 Tony Award nominations and eight Tony Awards. Yale Rep is also the recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Established in 2008, Yale's Binger Center for New Theatre is an artist-driven initiative that devotes major resources to the commissioning, development, and production of new plays and musicals at Yale Repertory Theatre and across the country - including this season's Marie Antoinette by David Adjmi, Dear Elizabeth by Sarah Ruhl, and Bill Camp and RoBert Woodruff's new adaptation of In a Year with 13 Moons by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Professional assignments at Yale Repertory Theatre are integral components of the program at Yale School of Drama, the nation's leading graduate theatre training conservatory. www.yalerep.org

The Loeb Drama Center, located at 64 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, is accessible to persons with special needs and to those requiring wheelchair seating or first-floor restrooms. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons can also reach the theater by calling the toll-free N.E. Telephone Relay Center at 1-800-439-2370.

For further information call 617-547-8300 or visit americanrepertorytheater.org