Photo Preview: The Public Theater's IDIOT SAVANT

By: Oct. 20, 2009
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The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will begin previews Tuesday, October 27 for the world premiere of IDIOT SAVANT, written, directed and designed by Richard Foreman. Presented in association with Ontological-Hysteric Theater, IDIOT SAVANT will continue through Sunday, December 13 with an official press opening on Wednesday, November 4 at 8 p.m. Single tickets are on-sale now.

The complete cast for IDIOT SAVANT features Willem Dafoe as the Idiot Savant; Alenka Kraigher as Marie; Elina Löwensohn as Olga; and Joel Israel, Eric Magnus, and Daniel Allen Nelson as Servants.

Marie asks the Idiot Savant, "But what makes chosen words - magic?" What follows is a wild theatrical odyssey that could only have sprung from the fantastical mind of Richard Foreman, New York's legendary avant-garde genius. This new work is a philosophical comedy, in the great tradition of Ionesco and Preston Sturges. From precise existential and metaphysical acrobatics, to a ridiculous game of inter-species golf with a Giant Duck, IDIOT SAVANT is a fresh, bracing and hilarious exploration of the boundaries of the legitimate.

IDIOT SAVANT features costume design by Gabriel Berry; lighting design by Heather Carson; sound design by Travis Just; and associate scenic design by Peter Ksander.

Richard Foreman (Playwright, Director, and Designer) returns to The Public, where he has directed The Threepenny Opera (1977), Penguin Touquet (1981), Three Acts of Recognition (1982), Don Juan (1982), Egyptology: My Head Was A Sledgehammer (1983), The Golem (1984), Large Desolato (1986), What Did He See? (1988), and Venus (1996).The Founder and Director of Ontological-Hysteric Theater since 1968, he has written, directed and designed more than 50 of his own plays in New York City and abroad. Among his honors are 11 OBIE Awards (five for Best Play, five for Best Director, and one for Sustained Achievement); a MacArthur "Genius" fellowship; a Guggenheim fellowship; the Literature award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Theater from the National Endowment for the Arts; the PEN Club Master American Dramatist Award; and election to the Order of Arts and Letters of France.

Willem Dafoe (Idiot Savant) is a two-time Academy Award nominee for his performances in Shadow of the Vampire (2001) and Platoon (1987). Among his numerous film credits are The Last Temptation of Christ, Mississippi Burning, Wild at Heart, The English Patient, American Psycho, Clear and Present Danger, the Spider-Man trilogy, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, and upcoming films Antichrist and Daybreakers. He is a founding member of the legendary experimental theater company The Wooster Group.

JOEL ISRAEL (Servant) has appeared in Richard Foreman's plays Deep Trance Behavior in Potatoland and Wake Up Mr. Sleepy! Your Unconscious Mind Is Dead! He recently performed in and created the audio performance art piece Reluctant at the HERE Arts Center.

ALENKA KRAIGHER (Marie). Her theater credits include Lust (HB Studio) and Leaves of Grass (The Cell Theatre). She has appeared in the films The Slovenian Girl, Kuriosity, and The Rooster's Breakfast.

ELINA LÖWENSOHN (Olga). Her film and television credits include Schindler's List, Nadja, I'm Not Rappaport, Basquiat, The Wisdom of Crocodiles, "Seinfeld," A Very Long Engagement, Dark Water, and the HAl Hartley films Flirt, Simple Men, Amateur, and Fay Grim.

ERIC MAGNUS (Servant) most recently appeared in Richard Foreman's play Astronome: A Night At The Opera at the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.

DANIEL ALLEN NELSON (Servant) co-created and performed in Spoleum (Ontological-Hysteric Theater), Sedimentary, Veils/Vestiges, Famous Actors, and two theatrical adaptations of Tom Breidendach's poetry, Pharmacose and Bleat.

THE PUBLIC THEATER (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 149 Obies, 40 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 52 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; and, most recently, the current Tony Award-winning revival of Hair. www.publictheater.org.

Photo credit: Nella Vera

 

Photo Preview: The Public Theater's IDIOT SAVANT
Willem Dafoe, Elina Lowensohn, and Alenka Kraigher



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