Exigent Theatre's 'HENRI GABLER' Begins Performances 3/20

Exigent Theatre presents HENRI GABLER, a new play by Alexander Burns adapted from Henrik Ibsen's masterpiece HEDDA GABLER, to be directed by Alexander Burns. The production will start previews on Friday, March 20th at 8pm and open on Sunday March 22nd at 7pm. Performances are Friday, March 20th through Sunday, April 5th.

All performances will be held at Theatre 54 at Shetler Studios, 244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10019. To purchase tickets, visit www.ExigentTheatre.com.

HENRI GABLER is the son of great American President Charles Gabler and the CEO of the Daily Gabler, a popular political science blog. Having spent the majority of his life in his father's shadow, Henri ignites a media firestorm when he announces his marriage to George Truman, a celebrated Harvard anthropologist. Returning from his honeymoon, Henri realizes that despite his marriage he is still paralyzed by depression and a feeling of inequality and impotence. Henri's world is turned upside down when an old high school friend crashes back into his life.

HEDDA GABLER was written in 1890 by Henrik Ibsen. This modern adaptation by Alexander Burns reimagines Ibsen's 19th-century, heterosexual Hedda as a 21st-century, homosexual Henri. HENRI GABLER echoes Ibsen's groundbreaking social critique and explores such contemporary issues as homophobia, modern technology blurring the line between private and public life, the complexities of marriage and the prevalence of suicide among the homosexual community.

HENRI GABLER will feature sets by Eliza Brown, costumes by Colleen Kesterson, lighting by Michael Billings and sound by Phillip Scott Peglow.

HENRI GABLER will feature Billy Wheelan*, Vince Nappo*, John Keabler*, Elizabeth Ingram Maurer*, William Otterson, James Jackson Jr.* and Chris Yonan*.

Exigent Theatre is dedicated to the presentation of powerful works of new and classical theatre that are immediate and crucial. Exigent challenges its audiences and artists to take part in a larger American cultural and philosophical dialogue through the medium of theatre.

HENRI GABLER plays March 20th - April 5th, Wednesday - Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm and Sunday at 3pm. The performance on Sunday March 22nd is at 7pm and there is an additional performance on Monday March 30th at 8pm. Tickets are $18. To purchase tickets visit SmartTix at www.SmartTix.com or www.ExigentTheatre.com.

ALEXANDER BURNS New York: 10 Speed Revolution (Young Mirror Rep); Regional: Hamlet (Shakespeare Theatre Company, DC @ Carter Barron), Diabolique, The Maids and Lady in the Dark (Exigent Theatre), Angels in America, Millennium Approaches (Northwestern University), Copenhagen (University of Chicago). Alexander was Directing Fellow at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC and has assisted directors Frank Galati, Michael Kahn, Gale Edwards, Robert Moss and Ethan McSweeny. Training: Northwestern University, LCT Directors Lab and the Jack O'Brien Directors Lab.

BILLY WHEELAN* (Henri Gabler) New York: Our Leading Lady (Manhattan Theatre Club); The Road to Ruin (New York Musical Theatre Festival); It's a Hit! (Fringe Festival); The Butcherhouse Chronicles (Summer Play Festival); Thick (Cherry Lane Theatre). Regional: Third (Denver Center); The 60s Project (Trinity Rep); Film: "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (upcoming);" "Anamorph;" "Coda;" "Her Royal Escape To Love;" TV: "Law & Order: SVU," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Training: Northwestern University.

Vince Nappo* (George Truman) New York: Other Bodies (Flux Theatre Ensemble); Phallacy (Cherry Lane Theatre); The Jew of Malta with F. Murray Abraham, The Merchant of Venice which transferred to The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, England and played in its Complete Works Season (Theatre For A New Audience); All's Well That Ends Well (New York Classical Theatre). Regional: Denver Center Theatre Company, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Chautauqua Theatre Company. International: Royal Shakespeare Company, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Stephen Joseph in the Round, and the Sherman Theatre. Training: National Theatre Conservatory, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

JOHN KEABLER* (Elliot Lowell) Regional: In This Corner, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Windsor (The Old Globe); Pericles, Marat/Sade, The Laramie Project, Much Ado About Nothing (The Old Globe/USD Professional Actor Training Program) Crazy for You, Light up the Sky (Creed Repertory); The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Les Liasions Dangereuses, The Glass Menagerie (Kentucky Repertory); Twelfth Night, Arsenic, Old Lace, Star Spangled Girl (Public Theatre of Kentucky).

Elizabeth Ingram MAURER* (Thea Renquist Enfield) New York: Off Broadway: Watbanaland, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Reverend Tribble & The Angels, Lysistrata; Regional: Little Shop of Horrors, Mickey Rooney's Christmas Memories (Atlantic City Tropicana); Damn Yankees (Dartmouth Amphitheatre); Sylvia (Red Barn Theatre); TV: QVC, BroadwayWorld.com; Training: Carnegie Mellon School of Drama (BFA, Musical Theater).

WILLIAM OTTERSON (Judge Robert Brack) New York: The Importance of Being Earnest (Roundabout), CockaDoodle Dandy (Yale); TV: "Kings," "Play or Be Played," "College Humor Show," "Magritte Magritte;" Training: Darmouth College, Yale (MFA)

JAMES JACKSON JR.* (Mademoiselle Diana) New York: The Wild Party (Columbia Stages), Hair (The Gallery Players), Classic M: The Songs of Motown (Blue Eyed Theatricals). National Tour: Whistle Down The Wind. Regional: Showboat (North Shore Music Theater), The Wild Party (SpeakEasy Stage Company), Jesus Christ Superstar, Songs for a New World, Hair (Company Theater), Dreamgirls (Massasoit Theater - Theater III DASH Award), Ragtime, Smokey Joe's Café, Starmites (Bucks County Playhouse), Pippin (New World Theater Company)

CHRIS YONAN* (Ensemble) New York: Fairy Tale and Maccabeat (NYMF); The Five Borough Plays (Milk Can Theatre). Regional: Cherry Orchard and Homebody/Kabul (Steppenwolf Theatre); Sunday in the Park... (Ravinia Festival); Fiddler on the Roof (Drury Lane); other favorites include West Side Story, Assassins and the world premiere of Stephen Flaherty's musical Loving Repeating.

*Actors appear courtesy of Actor's Equity Association. HENRI GABLER is an Equity approved Showcase.

HENRI GABLER
Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios
244 West 54th St., 12th Floor, New York, NY 10019

Performance Schedule:

Friday, March 20th, 8pm
Saturday, March 21st, 8pm
Sunday, March 22nd, 7pm (opening)
Wednesday, March 25th, 8pm
Thursday, March 26th, 8pm
Friday, March 27th, 8pm
Saturday, March 28th, 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, March 39th, 3pm
Monday, March 30th, 8pm
Wednesday, April 1st, 8pm
Thursday, April 2nd, 8pm
Friday, April 3rd, 8pm
Saturday, April 4th, 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, April 5th, 3pm

For tickets visit www.ExigentTheatre.com.

 

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