The Bridge Project's THE CHERRY ORCHARD Begins Performances 1/2

The Bridge Project's inaugural 2009 season, which pairs a new version of The Cherry Orchard by Tom Stoppard with The Winter's Tale begins January 2nd with the first performance of The Cherry Orchard.

Some of the finest talents of New York and London theater converge at BAM to kick off an extraordinary venture-The Bridge Project-an unprecedented three-year, transatlantic partnership uniting BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street Productions. Academy Award winner (American Beauty) Sam Mendes, last at BAM with Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night (2003 Spring Season), returns to direct a formidable group of actors in an ocean-spanning double bill of revered classics: The Cherry Orchard and The Winter's Tale.

Simon Russell Beale, Sinéad Cusack, and Rebecca Hall from the UK; and Richard Easton, Josh Hamilton, and Ethan Hawke from the US take the stage in Tony Award-winner Tom Stoppard's new version of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Charting the precipitous descent of a wealthy family into the throes of ineptitude, this revelatory new production brings fresh life to the Russian master's daring, droll meditation on bourgeois materialism and what remains in its wake.

The Bridge Project is presented by Bank of America and produced by Kevin Spacey for The Old Vic, Joseph V. Melillo and Karen Brooks Hopkins for BAM, and Sam Mendes and Caro Newling for Neal Street Productions. The project places the exchange of ideas, talent and creativity between London and New York at the heart of the process, and results from Sam Mendes, Joseph V. Melillo and Kevin Spacey's shared desire to produce large-scale, classical theater for international audiences.

The full company comprises leading British and American actors: Simon Russell Beale, Selina Cadell, Morven Christie, Sinéad Cusack, Rebecca Hall, Paul Jesson, Gary Powell, Jessica Pollert Smith, and Hannah Stokely are appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. Michael Braun, Richard Easton, Josh Hamilton, Ethan Hawke, Aaron Krohn, Dakin Matthews, Mark Nelson, Charlotte Parry, and Tobias Segal are appearing with the permission of UK Equity, incorporating Variety Artistes' Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance on this production.

Commenting on the inaugural 2009 double-bill, director Sam Mendes remarked, "The idea behind The Bridge Project was born out of a simple desire: a wish for artists, collaborators, and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic to experience one another's work, talent, and artistry in the theatre. Having had the pleasure of working in both New York and London, I became aware of how little exchange actually exists between these two cities of great theatrical traditions. In 2002, for my tenth and final year as Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse in London, I allowed myself the luxury of directing Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in repertory. Those productions later took up residence in the Harvey Theater at BAM. This London/New York double-billing sparked the conversations that would eventually lead us to The Bridge Project.

"I, along with my friend Kevin Spacey, Joe Melillo of BAM, and my long-time collaborator and producing partner Caro Newling, began to wonder what a production might be like if the barrier of an ocean and the separation of the theatrical communities could be erased. We started to see our transatlantic venture taking shape and having two homes: one in New York at BAM and one in London at the Old Vic where Kevin is the Artistic Director.

"So it is with the greatest delight that I find myself once again here in this beautiful theater working simultaneously on Chekhov and Shakespeare, this time collaborating with the incomparable Tom Stoppard on his new version of The Cherry Orchard while also working on The Winter's Tale, one of Shakespeare's final plays-and all with an exceptionally talented transatlantic cast specially brought together for this inaugural year of The Bridge Project."

 

The Old Vic celebrated its 190th anniversary this year and in its rich history has been home to many legendary productions, directors and actors of our time including Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, John Gielgud, Judi Dench, Tyrone Guthrie, Peter Hall, and Ian McKellen. The Old Vic is a not-for-profit producing theater without subsidy, led by Artistic Director Kevin Spacey and Chief Executive Sally Greene OBE, that strives to nurture young actors, writers, directors, and producers and works with schools and the local community to bring theater to a wider audience.

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is America's oldest performing arts institution in continuous operation and is recognized internationally for innovative dance, music, and theater programming-including its renowned Next Wave Festival. BAM also features an acclaimed repertory film program, literary and visual art events, and extensive educational programs. The institution is led by President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo.

Neal Street Productions, Producer Caro Newling. Formed in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Caro Newling, and Pippa Harris to produce film and theater. Films: Stuart a Life Backwards, Starter for Ten, Things We Lost in the Fire, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road. Broadway: Shrek The Musical co-produced with Dreamworks Animation, The Vertical Hour with Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy. British premieres: All About My Mother, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Anna in the Tropics, Days of Wine and Roses, Fuddy Meers. West End/Broadway transfers: Sunday in the Park with George (Menier Chocolate Factory) Mary Stuart (Donmar Warehouse). Forthcoming in West End, London: Three Days of Rain with James McAvoy. Mendes and Newling established and ran the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London from 1992 to 2002 originating some 70 productions including on Broadway: The Blue Room, Electra, True West, and Tony Award winners Cabaret, The Real Thing, Take Me Out.

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, nearly 18,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 25 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries and has relationships with 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83 percent of the Fortune Global 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Photo of Ethan Hawke by Walter McBride

 

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