In Delirium, Based on Goethe Classic, Runs Off-Bway March 31-April 23
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 10, 2006
Vortex Theater Company will present the premiere of a new adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's iconic novel entitled In Delirium: after the sorrows of young werther, adapted and created for the stage by Gisela Cardenas and Joshua Randall. Performances will begin at the Sanford Meisner Theater, 164 Eleventh Avenue (between 22nd and 23rd Streets) on Friday, March 31. The official opening night is set for Monday, April 3 at 8:00 p.m. Performances will run through Sunday, April 23.
"When it was first published in Germany, in 1774, Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther created a sensation and made its author one of the first literary celebrities. Banned and condemned, but embraced—especially by the young—it has continued to captivate," acccording to press notes. "The Vortex will add their own modern day twist to this classic text."In Delirium tells the story of Werther, a tormented young man "seeking the infinite" in an art he cannot master and a woman he cannot have; he is ultimately driven to a tragic end. "Goethe was only 24 when he wrote Werther and it seized the hearts of men around the world. Shortly after its publication, there were thousands of reports of young men using the same method as Werther to commit suicide—resulting in a ban of the book in several countries. The term 'Werther effect' has been used in scientific literature to designate copycat suicides. This tragic tale may be viewed as a celebration of unfettered emotion or as a mercilessly accurate portrait of a man whose dedication to pure feeling turns him into a monster "Videos