Westport Community Theatre's ETC Staged Reading of TRUMBO Red, White & Blacklisted by Christopher Trumbo
Directed by Tom Holehan
Square One Theatre's Artistic Director
Held Friday, October 22 at 8:00 PM
FREE to subscribers and members
No reservations necessary; all others $5 at the door
Mark your calendars and join us for a timely, very special evening of theatre on Friday, October 22 at 8:00 PM.
Award-winning local actor Alexander Kulcsar portrays screenwriter
Dalton Trumbo, in Trumbo - Red, White & Blacklisted, bringing the dark days of the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood blacklisting to life in the first staged-reading production of the 2010 / 2011 ETC season at Westport Community Theatre.
This is a special guest presentation of Square One Theatre Company's staged reading in association with the Stratford Library, directed by Square One Theatre's artistic director, Tom Holehan.
Peter Wood, who will be starring in WCT's next production of Angel Street, plays
Christopher Trumbo, the narrator of the piece.
When famed screenwriter
Dalton Trumbo defiantly stood up against the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, refusing to answer questions about his political affiliations, he was thrown in prison and blacklisted as one of the "Hollywood Ten." Written by Trumbo's son, Christopher, the play is derived from a collection of
Dalton Trumbo's brilliant and razor-sharp letters to friends, former friends, and family throughout his lifetime. Trumbo reveals how the author of such legendary films as Spartacus, Roman Holiday, Exodus,
Papillon and Johnny Got his Gun (as well as The Brave One, which forced him to write under the pseudonym Robert Rich) took on Congress, Hollywood, and the "Red Scare"- and won.
Trumbo enjoyed a very successful Off-Broadway run with many well-known actors in the title role -
Nathan Lane,
F. Murray Abraham,
Brian Dennehy,
Gore Vidal,
Richard Dreyfuss,
Roger Rees,
Robert Loggia,
Christopher Lloyd, Michael Richards and
Chris Cooper. It was produced by
The Westport Country Playhouse in 2004 starring
Paul Newman in one of his final roles.
Alexander Kulcsar is well known to Westport audiences for his mainstage performances of
Orson Welles in Orson's Shadow, physicist Niels Bohr in Copenhagen, and The Man in The Turn of the Screw. He has performed in or directed ETC readings including On an Average Day; The Reeducation of Horse Johnson; Rabbit Hole; The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia; A Picasso (playing the infamous Pablo Picasso); and others. He will be directing WCT's next mainstage production, the classic thriller Angel Street, having previously directed critically acclaimed productions of The Best Man, Sherlock's Last Case, and The Turn of the Screw. Alexander is the recipient of five Square One Theatre Subscribers Awards, including Outstanding Actor (Moonlight & Magnolias, The Shop at Sly Corner, Camping with Henry and Tom, and The Business of Murder) as well as Outstanding Featured Actor (Later Life). He will be appearing next May in Square One Theatre's production of Art.
Peter Wood is also well known to Westport audiences; ETC roles include David in one of the most talked-about of our readings, last season's Orange Flower Water. He was also seen in Apartment 3A and in mainstage productions of The Best Man and Death and the Maiden. Peter has been nominated for a number of Square One Theatre Subscribers Awards, including The Rainmaker and The Best Man. He has produced and acted in several productions at Putney Gardens in Stratford, including the Prince in Romeo and Juliet; other lead roles with Putney include Orlando in As You Like It, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Orsino in Twelfth Night, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, and Alonso in The Tempest. He played Elyot in Eastbound Theatre's (Milford, CT) production of Noel Coward's Private Lives last fall, and Tom in Pound Ridge Theatre Company's Dinner with Friends this past spring. This past summer, Peter drew on his musical talents in a production of Guys and Dolls with Musicals at Richter.
We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be an entertaining evening of theatre! Go to www.westportcommunitytheatre.com for directions to the theatre.
Westport Community Theatre
Westport Town Hall - 110 Myrtle Avenue
Westport, CT 06880
