New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is thrilled to present the New England Premiere of Cherry Docs by Canadian playwright David Gow. Cherry Docs opens for the press on Monday, October 18, 2010 at 7:30pm and plays through Sunday, November 7, 2010 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Charles Mosesian Theater.
"Cherry Docs is an important piece of theatre because it not only addresses the lasting affects of a hate crime, it also dares us to examine our own capacity for compassion and forgiveness," says Kate Warner, New Rep's Artistic Director.
Ms. Warner continues, "I love this play because it also shows the power of live theatre to impact and inspire its audience."
"I am thrilled to be returning to New Rep," states David R. Gammons, the director of Cherry Docs and who previously directed the New England Premieres of The Lieutenant of Inishmore and My Name is
Rachel Corrie at New Rep. "Gow's writing is commanding and actively engages us to partake in the two main characters' intertwining journey of self-discovery."
Cherry Docs features New Rep favorite
Benjamin Evett, and is pleased to introduce Tim Eliot to New Rep's stage.
When a Jewish lawyer is assigned to defend a young skinhead accused of brutally killing an immigrant man, the lawyer must alter his preconceived notion of humanity in order to discover forgiveness. In this New England Premiere, David Gow dares audiences to examine their capacity for compassion and asks, is there atonement for all crimes?
New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time. Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audience. New Rep presents world premieres, contemporary and classic works in several intimate settings. We are committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture.
ARTISTS
Tim Eliot (Mike). Boston: Sexual Perversity in Chicago (
American Repertory Theater), Taming of the Shrew (Commonwealth Shakespeare), The Winter's Tale (ART/MXAT Institute), Skin of our Teeth (ART/MXAT Institute), Stairs to the Roof (ART/MXAT Institute). New York: Mad Forest (Columbia Stages), Red Beads (
Mabou Mines), Rockberry (Jollyship the Whiz-Bang), Akropolis/Prototype (Andrew Ondrejcak), Hamlet (Gallery Players), The Girl Detective (Ateh Theater), In Bocca Alla Lupa (Grotto Theater). Other: The Little Tragedies (Moscow Art Theater), Complete Works of
William Shakespeare Abridged. (Nat'l Tour). Upcoming: Men Go Down (Hotel Savant). BA from Yale, MFA from ART/MXAT Institute at Harvard.
Benjamin Evett (Danny) was seen last season at New Rep as Dorian in Opus and in Indulgences as the Salesman. He is the Founding Artistic Director of the Actors' Shakespeare Project where he has directed numerous productions and played Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, the title role in Coriolanus, Caliban in The Tempest, the title role in Hamlet, Edmund in King Lear, and Cassius in Julius Caesar. At New Rep, he has also appeared as
Paul Barrow in
Permanent Collection (for which he won the
Elliot Norton Award), Abbe de Coulmier in Quills, Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Stephen in A Girl's War, and Will in Jerusalem. He was a member of the Resident
Acting Company at A.R.T. in Cambridge from 1983 to 2003, acting in more than 50 productions including: Waiting for Godot, The Bacchae, Phaedra, Ivanov, The King Stag and Six Characters in Search of an Author. He has also performed at the
Huntington Theatre Company, Commonwealth Shakespeare, Hartford Stage,
Missouri Repertory Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, Great Lakes Theatre Festival,
Cleveland Play House, and others. He has performed at the Festivale Biennale in Venice, the
Festival d'Automne in Paris, the Taiwan
National Theatre, and The Moscow
Art Theatre. He is a graduate of Harvard College with a degree in Classics.
David Gow (playwright) Mr. Gow's plays have seen international production and recognition. David's plays have been produced in London, Berlin, New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Memphis, Tel-Aviv, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, and more than fifty other cities around the world. David trained as an actor in Montreal, and then moved to Toronto where he became a playwright. He studied with Urjo Kareda and
Andy McKim in the Chalmers
Playwrights Unit, at the prestigious Tarragon Theatre. More recently, David made his debut as a filmmaker, with Steel Toes, starring
David Strathairn and Canadian actor,
Andrew Walker. Based on Cherry Docs, Steel Toes, has won many awards (www.steeltoesthemovie.com). Other plays by David Gow include: Bea's Niece, The Flight of Peter Pumpkineater, Friedman Family Fortune, and most recently a soon to premiere play about the Irish coming to America, Wake Of The Bones. This off-beat Musical is about the re-discovery of a mass grave of Irish who had lost their lives to "Ship's Fever" or Typhoid. 6000 Irish, buried in Montreal were "found" again when the railway came through their gravesite ten years later in the late 1850's.
David R. Gammons (director) is thrilled to return to New Rep, having directed the New England premieres of The Lieutenant of Inishmore and My Name is
Rachel Corrie. David is a director, designer, visual artist, and theatre educator. He is the recipient of the 2007
Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for his production of Titus Andronicus with the Actors' Shakespeare Project. Recent directing projects include: the world premiere of
John Kuntz's award-winning The Salt Girl for Boston Playwrights' Theatre; The Winter's Tale as part of the Shakespeare Exploded Festival at
The American Repertory Theatre;
Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro for Brandeis Theatre Company; Blackbird at SpeakEasy Stage Company; The Duchess of Malfi for Actors Shakespeare Project, and Romeo and Juliet at The Boston Conservatory. His work as a director, designer, and creator of original performance material includes collaborations with Headlong Dance Theater, Spencer/Colton Dance, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Phantom Theater, and Theatre Offensive, to name a few. David is a graduate of both the Directing Program at the A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, and the Visual and Environmental Studies Department of Harvard University.
He has been the Director of the Theatre Program at Concord Academy since 2000, where he directs a company of student artists committed to creating original experimental work.
