HEIRESS, GHOST SONATA, GALILEO and 'LONG DAY'S JOURNEY' Set for ANW's Reading Series, 6/5-8/14

By: BWW News Desk May. 13, 2013

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, continues this season's "Words Within" Wednesday night play reading series with four free, one-night-only readings this summer at its Pasadena theatre: THE HEIRESS by RUTH AND Augustus Goetz, based on the 1880 Henry James novel Washington Square, on June 5, 2013, 7 pm; THE GHOST SONATA by August Strindberg, considered one of the world's greatest modern playwrights, on June 19, 7pm; GALILEO, a timeless classic by BERTOLD BRECHT on July 24, 7 pm; and LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT by EUGENE O'NEILL on August 14, 7 pm. The readings feature A Noise Within resident artists as well as artists from the theatre company's current repertory productions.

The Heiress, directed by Robertson Dean, is the timeless story of New York society, wealth and a daughter's heartfelt struggle for her father's love as she navigates her own first love. "The play gives us a heartbreaking glimpse of a young, thwarted soul, even as her beautiful nature blossoms before us," says Dean. The cast features Kelly Ehlert (Catherine Sloper), Apollo Dukakis (Dr. Austin Sloper), Jason Dechert (Morris Townsend), Jill Hill (Aunt Lavinia Penniman), Ann Marie Lee (Mrs. Montgomery), Anna C. Miller (Mrs. Almond), Alison Elliott (Marion), Kevin Angulo (Arthur Townsend) and Abigail Marks (Maria).

The Ghost Sonata, an expressionist masterpiece directed by Stephen Rockwell, is considered a key work in the development of modernist drama. Critics have hailed this otherworldly play about a haunted house filled with dreamy illusions and odd inhabitants as "breathtaking," "incisive," a "provocative chamber-mystery" and "a strange masterpiece." Strindberg, one of the most important playwrights of the 20th century, influenced such writers as Franz Kafka, Eugene Ionesco, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill and Samuel Beckett. The cast includes William Dennis Hunt (The Old Man), Raphael Goldstein (The Student), Jaimi Paige (The Young Lady), as well as ANW resident artists Jill Hill, Mitchell Edmonds, Freddy Douglas, Alison Elliott and Joel Swetow with Claire Mannle, Jessie Losch, Abby Marks, Garry Ballard, Dorrie Braun and Jennifer Losi.

Galileo, a tour de force directed by Alan Blumenfeld, is among Bertold Brecht's most notable works. It dramatizes the struggle during the Inquisition of the brilliant physicist Galileo to choose his life or his life's work, examining the moral and ethical responsibilities of scientists when confronted by authority. Newsweek proclaimed the play, "Thoughtful and profoundly sensitive."

Long Day's Journey Into Night, a semi-autobiographical work for which O'Neill won his third Pulitzer Prize posthumously in 1957, has been called "America's greatest play." Directed by William Dennis Hunt, the emotionally probing play is the story of one fateful day in the life of the dysfunctional Tyrone family and their downward spiral into addiction, disease and their own haunted pasts filled with an endless cycle of blame, regret and conflict. The New York Times describes O'Neill as "an American Shakespeare, the father of American drama, who all by himself, in the early years of the 20th century, turned it into a serious art form." The cast features Mitchell Edmonds (James Tyrone) and Deborah Strang (Mary Tyrone).

A Noise Within, led by Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, is the only year-round classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature in the repertory tradition of rotating productions with a resident company of professional artists. It has been lauded by critics as a "premiere classical theatre company," and an "outstanding ensemble" whose "vibrantly theatrical" "brilliant productions" are "freshly imagined," "exceptional," "invigorating," "riveting," "brilliantly atmospheric," "inspired," and "masterfully crafted." Founded 21 years ago, ANW quickly established itself as one of the region's key theatre companies, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and consistently high praise from the media for its productions and as a key force in arts education. The company has presented more than 140 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing works from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw to Miller and Williams.

A NOISE WITHIN is located in its permanent new home, a 33,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art venue on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107. The readings are free, but reservations are appreciated by calling (626) 356-3121 or visiting www.ANoiseWithin.org.

SCHEDULE:

Wednesday June 5, 2013, 7:00 pm
The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz
directed by Robertson Dean

Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 7:00 pm
The Ghost Sonata by August Strindberg
directed by Stephen Rockwell

Wednesday, July 24, 2013, 7:00 pm
Galileo by Bertold Brecht
directed by Alan Blumenfeld

Wednesday, August 14, 2013, 7:00 pm
Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill
directed by William Dennis Hunt

A Noise Within is located at 3352 East Foothill Blvd in Pasadena, Calif. For reservations and information, call (626) 356-3121 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org. (Reservations are FREE.)

Photo Credit: Michael Gutstadt

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