Kean's Department of Theatre to Present Harold Pinter's THE LOVER, 4/4-12

Kean University's Department of Theatre will present The Lover, a little-known gem by British heavyweight Harold Pinter, in Kean's Zella Fry Theatre April 4 - 12. In this sly and masterful one-act, a husband and wife play games, making up the rules as they go along, and taking on lovers while exploiting each other's weaknesses. A deft exploration of the conventional roles of marriage and the hetero-normal relationship of "husband and wife," The Lover follows married couple Richard and Sarah as they struggle for balance and control, each bending the rules and risking instability as they come dangerously close to destruction.

The late Harold Pinter, widely considered one of the most influential dramatists of the twentieth century, is often credited with the elevation (if not invention) of the psychologically-charged dramatic pause. A Nobel Prize-winning playwright, screenwriter, director and actor, the London-born Pinter has enjoyed quite the American renaissance of late, with a number of his best known works receiving high-profile productions. Betrayal, his searing depiction of a marriage wracked by infidelity, recently enjoyed a successful New York run featuring movie stars Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, while No Man's Land - starring the venerable British stage actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen - closed on Broadway just last week.

First presented in a double bill with The Dwarfs at the Arts Theatre in 1963, The Lover was praised by The Financial Times on its debut as "dazzling," with The Times further remarking that "the little play works simply beautifully, like a perfectly adjusted piece of miniature machinery - except that machinery is dead and this play is scintillating alive." Although certainly less familiar to American audiences than The Birthday Party (1957), Homecoming (1964) or Betrayal (1978) - all of which Pinter subsequently adapted for the screen - The Lover displays the same complex and treacherous emotional terrain, negotiated by its characters with precise if inadequate speech, considered the hallmark of his greatest work. "In his earlier plays Mr. Pinter's deceptively simple exchanges distilled menace to a degree quite extraordinarily out of proportion to their face value," The Financial Times wrote in their 1963 review of The Lover. "In this play he uses his personal brand of dialogue to distil wit. The menace is there, too, perhaps under the surface of the wit; and the wit, in any case, is not vapid. It is peculiarly revealing and provocative."

Assistant Professor Anna Sycamore DeMers, who is directing Kean's production, was delighted by the opportunity to introduce her students to one of theatre's modern greats. "This piece was selected as an opportunity to expose our students to an iconic playwright of the 20th century, in [service of] our mission to provide a comprehensive perspective of theatre," stated Ms. DeMers. "It's not very often we have the chance to produce smaller cast shows. It was also selected as an opportunity to offer students a chance to work in depth on challenging roles."

To that end, the Department of Theatre has "double cast" the two-character play, enabling four students (rather than two) to explore the complex roles of Richard and Sarah. Actors Claudio Venancio and Cara Ganski will take the stage on April 4th, 6th, 10th, and 12th (8 p.m.), while Emily Conklin and Ray Zanders appear April 5th, 9th, 11th, and 12th (2 p.m.).

The "most obvious" benefit of having two casts "is to give more actors a chance," as Ms. DeMers pointed out, but she has found the experience rewarding in other ways, too. "As a director, it has offered me a chance to reinforce my artistic belief that there are many options when exploring theatrically as a director, actor, designer, etc.," said Ms. DeMers. "There is not one 'right way' of doing, [or] creating things."

"I have approached the two casts as separately as possible," Ms. DeMers continued. "They are not allowed to see each other rehearse, in attempts to allow each separate cast freedom to explore and discover their own versions."

The Lover opens Friday, April 4 at 8 p.m. in Kean University's Zella Fry Theatre, located in Vaughn Eames Hall. Additional performances include: Saturday, April 5 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, April 6 at 2 p.m.; Wednesday, April 9 at 8 p.m.; Thursday, April 10 at 5 p.m., followed by a post-show doscussion with the cast and creative team; Friday, April 11 at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, April 12 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 for seniors and Kean staff/alumni, and $10 for students.

To purchase tickets for The Lover, please call 908-737-SHOW (7469), visit www.keanstage.com, or stop by the Kean Stage box office, located at Kean University's Wilkins Theatre (1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ).