Sheen, Robbins, Etc. Set for L.A. 'Catonsville Nine,' 8/18

Martin Sheen and Tim Robbins head an all-star cast that includes Beau Bridges, Mike Farrell, Camryn Manheim and Sandra Oh in a benefit reading of The Trial of the Catonsville Nine by Daniel Berrigan, directed by Gordon Davidson.  One performance only, followed by a reception with the cast, is set for Saturday, August 18 at 8 pm at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.  All proceeds from the event benefit the Office of the Americas and The Actors' Gang. 

"On May 18th, 1968, three Catholic priests (including Daniel Berrigan), a nurse, an artist and four others walked into a Catonsville, Maryland draft board office, grabbed hundreds of selective service records and burned them with homemade napalm in protest against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The publicity and news coverage from the ensuing trial of the 'Catonsville Nine' helped galvanize an American public that was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Vietnam War.  Berrigan's free-verse dramatization is based on the actual records of the trial in which he and the eight other defendants were convicted," as described in press notes.

Jesuit priest, teacher, poet and activist Daniel Berrigan is the author of many books of poetry and prose, including Time without Number, America is Hard to Find, and Night Flight to Hanoi. Influenced by Dorothy Day and the pacifist Catholic Worker Movement, as well as by his experience with the worker-priest movement in France, Berrigan became an early voice of opposition to the war in Vietnam. He was a sponsor of the National Catholic Peace Fellowship and co-founder of Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. In 1968 he traveled with Dr. Howard Zinn to North Vietnam to escort home three American prisoners of war. Seeing the effects of bombing and napalm on the Vietnamese people further motivated his antiwar activity, including his participation in the Catonsville Nine event. After Catonsville, Berrigan spent several months underground and after his capture, 18 months in prison. Berrigan has continued peace activism as a member of the Plowshares movement and has been arrested frequently for his protest actions. He lives today in Manhattan where he continues to teach, write and work for peace.

Gordon Davidson founded the Center Theater Group at the Music Center and was its Artistic Director from 1969 until he retired in 2005.  Davidson directed the world premiere production of The Trial of the Catonsville Nine at the Mark Taper Forum in 1971, for which he received the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle Award, as well as the Broadway production (Tony nomination) and subsequent feature film.

"The Office of the Americas is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the cause of international justice and peace through broad based educational programs. Founded in 1983 in Los Angeles, the Office of the Americas is a recognized source of documentation and analysis of current international events with a focus on the foreign policy of the United States," state press notes.

"The Actors' Gang, founded in 1982 by a group of renegade theater artists, has over 90 productions and more than 100 awards to its credit, and consistently wins acclaim for its daring interpretations of Shakespeare, Bruchner, Brecht, Moliere, Aeschylus, Ibsen and Chekhov, while also developing bold new plays that address the world today through a prism of satire, popular culture, and raucous stagecraft."

The Trial of the Catonsville Nine takes place on Saturday, August 18 at 8 pm.  The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Boulevard at Duquesne Avenue in Culver City. Free covered parking structures are available at Culver City Hall and there is also generous street parking. Individual tickets are $250 and sponsorships with preferred seating are available.  All tickets include a post-show reception with the cast.  To purchase tickets and for information, call (310) 838-GANG. To learn more about The Actors' Gang and Office of the Americas, log on to their websites, www.theactorsgang.com and www.officeoftheamericas.org respectively.

Photo of Tim Robbins by Retna Ltd.