Russ Weatherford's "Blacker," a new play exploring Oscar Wilde's little-known brush with the Dreyfus Affair, begins an exclusive two-week engagement on Wednesday August 26 at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street. Directed by David Austin, and produced by Sandi Durell, the premiere of "Blacker" plays through Thursday September 3. The official opening is also tonight, August 26, at 8pm. For tickets call SmartTix.com at 212/868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com.
Exploring the troubling collusion of Wilde in the persecution of Jewish army officer Dreyfus after his own disgrace and imprisonment, "Blacker" introduces us to Carlos Blacker, a wealthy rare book dealer, who, dating back to the 1880s, was one of Wilde's closest friends and confidants. While he was able to juggle, for a time, his marriage to a strong-willed social-climbing wife, and his close friendship with the tempestuous genius Oscar Wilde, Blacker finds his loyalty to Wilde deeply tested. The friendship is pushed to the breaking point when the publicly persecuted Wilde, living under an assumed name in a ramshackle hotel, decides to traffic in innuendo about Dreyfus, to the horror of his friend. Austin, the director, wrote the score for the musical "Beaches," which is wrapping up its critically acclaimed pre-Broadway tryout at Chicago's esteemed Drury Lane Theatre. A Seattle-born composer-lyricist, actor and director, he originated the role of Jeff Bennet in the Off-Broadway premiere of "I Love You Because."Videos