BETRAYAL Comes to Wellfellt Harbor Actors Theater

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT) and Harbor Stage Company present Betrayal, by Harold Pinter, directed by Robert Kropf. Performances run Tuesdays through Saturdays, September 22 through October 14 at 7 p.m. Preview performances at 7 p.m. on September 20 and 21 are discounted and open to the public. Recipient of the 1979 Olivier Award for Play of the Year, Betrayal is filled with poetic dialogue, rich humor, and powerful emotions.

Dealing with the “eternal triangle"—wife, husband and the wife’s lover—Pinter, with his  inventiveness and subtlety, brings new insights to this timeless theme. Told in reverse chronology, see the intricate unraveling of a marriage through time, and the small betrayals between husband wife, wife and lover, and friend and friend, that brought about its demise. 

Inspired by Pinter’s own seven-year extramarital affair with BBC presenter Joan Bakewell in the 1960s, Betrayal chronicles an affair between  Emma and Jerry—the best friend of Emma’s husband Robert and best man at their wedding. Over nine short scenes in 90 minutes, a myriad of betrayals among the three are revealed. 

WHAT’s Producing Artistic Director, had this to say about the co-production of Betrayal by WHAT and Harbor Stage Company:

“Living and working on the Outer Cape for the past 10 years, I am always energized by the breadth and diversity of our creative community.  The artists of Harbor Stage’s commitment to their craft and fearless approach to programming is praise-worthy, and has proven to be an inspiration to me and many others.  Bringing the two theater companies of Wellfleet together to collaborate on this deeply moving production has fulfilled a long-held dream of mine to collaborate with Harbor Stage.  I sit in thrall everyday at the innovation and creativity being poured into this production. Having such a rich shared history, this type of collaboration feels long overdue, and is truly a testament to this community. One which values the arts and culture, and demonstrates a deep commitment to the creative community, like few others.”

Robert Kropf, Harbor Stage Company Artistic Director and Co-founder, shares Ostrom’s belief  the collaboration is long overdue:

“This has been a loooooong time coming. Since Christopher and I first sat in the quiet theater, in the glow of the ghost light he himself put together - not to be too romantic about it, but it is the way it happened - there was a sense that the time was just right, that we were exactly where we were, and that anything was possible. That we were really listening to each other, unencumbered by the past and focussing on the task at hand. 

This feeling has remained throughout and permeated the process. And maybe mostly, a shared love of Harold Pinter and this play in particular. Its intelligence, sensitivity, economy and humor. WHAT has made The Harbor Stage Co. feel utterly at home- which makes sense, since the harbor's where it all began. Much thanks to the entire crew over there, across the board.”

Robert Kropf [Director] is the Artistic Director of Harbor Stage Company where he recently wrote and directed Liv At Sea. He has written & directed new versions of Hedda Gabler, A Doll's House, The Seagull, Three Sisters, Miss Julie and adapted Ingmar Bergman's film Persona.  Other Harbor credits include Glengarry Glen Ross & The Weir. After working at WHAT for over a decade, Robert last directed Annie Baker's Body Awareness on the Julie Harris Stage. He has also worked with The American Repertory Theatre (under Robert Brustein), Yale Summer Cabaret, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, among others and produced Waiting For Godot, Uncle Vanya and John Kolvenbach's On An Average Day at the Boston Center for the Arts.  Robert is a graduate of The American Repertory Theatre Institute at Harvard University. 

Jonathan Fielding [Jerry] is an actor, writer, and co-founder of the Harbor Stage Company on Cape Cod. With WHAT he has appeared in The Bald Soprano, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and Laughing Wild.  On Broadway he has appeared in The Play That Goes Wrong, Noises Off, The Seagull, and Pygmalion; other recent credits include projects at The Park Avenue Armory (The Doctor), The Old Globe (Time and the Conways), The Pool (The Ding Dongs), and Amphibian Stage (Northside Hollow, Artist Descending a Staircase). Film and Television credits include “The Boston Strangler” (HULU), “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC), and “Gotham” (FOX). He is delighted to be working with this incredible company at WHAT. MFA, Rutgers University.

Ari Lew [Waiter] is thrilled to be returning to WHAT!  Other credits include I am a Camera, Utility Monster, and The 39 Steps.  He was most recently seen in A Man of No Importance (Cape Rep) and Bread and Butter (Harbor Stage Company).  NY credits:  Aida, La Bohéme (Metropolitan Opera), 39 Steps (White Plains Performing Arts Center), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Players Theatre). Regional: The Weir, 3 Sisters (Harbor Stage Company), Much Ado about Nothing, Noises Off, Mamma Mia, Tumacho, From the Heart of the Wreck (Cape Rep), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Fort Peck Summer Theatre), Time of Your Life (Fort Point Theatre Channel), Lombardi (Kentucky Rep).  National Tours:  Diary of Anne Frank, The Outsiders, Treasure Island, A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Ari's voice can be heard at the Field Museum in Chicago in the Abbott Hall of Conservation: Restoring Earth exhibit.  He has performed many years in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and was featured as the "Man in Red" at Macy's on 34th St. Herald Square.  

Brenda Withers [Emma] is a writer, actor, and founding member of the Harbor Stage Company. Her plays (Off Peak, The Ding Dongs, The Kritik) have been produced at places like Northern Stage, 59E59, Portland Stage (Clauder Prize, Edgerton New Play Award), Two River, and Gloucester Stage. Recent onstage credits include the Guthrie, A.R.T., McCarter Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Hartford Stage. Brenda studied drama and religion at Dartmouth College, is a member of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, and has enjoyed playwriting residencies with New Georges, the Camargo Foundation, and the Huntington. In keeping with her affection for producing new plays in beach towns, her latest piece, WESTMINSTER, will premiere this winter at Urbanite Stage in Sarasota, FL.

William Zielinski [Robert] is delighted to be making his WHAT debut. Recent theatre includes:  Good People (Franklin Stage Company), Buried Child, Three Sisters and Glengarry Glen Ross (Harbor Stage Company), Everything Is Wonderful (Philadelphia Theatre Company), Sweat (People’s Light), Hapgood and Don’t Dress for Dinner (Lantern Theatre), Ideation and An Oak Tree (Theatre Exile), West Side Story (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), and They Don't Pay, We Won't Pay (Portland Stage Company). Film and TV:  Kerstmans, New Amsterdam, Dispatches From Elsewhere, Dead Man Down, Do No Harm, Flikken Maastricht (Dutch TV), The Wire, The Lovely Bones, and Shot in the Heart. Bill is an eight-time Barrymore nominee, and was a member of four Barrymore-winning ensembles.

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