Aquila Theatre Returns to New York for Two Performances March 30-31

AQUILA THEATRE (Peter Meineck, Artistic Director) announced their only NY appearances this season: two performances only at NYU's Skirball Center (566 Laguardia Place). On Tuesday, March 30th, Aquila will present Henrik Ibsen's timely An Enemy of the People; on the following evening, Wednesday March 31st, they will present one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, As You Like It. Featured in both productions are Leandra Ashton, Lucy Black, Howard Crossley, Damian Davis, Lauren Davis, James Lavender, and Owen Young.

In Aquila Theatre's thrilling new production of the Ibsen classic, An Enemy of the People, "the strongest man in the world is the man who stands most alone." This exciting drama explores the impact of severe eco-issues on a small town and the consequences to one man of uncovering the truth. Dr. Stockmann, a trusted physician, makes a shocking discovery: the celebrated town spa, which serves as the major source of local income, is toxic! Tensions flare, as Dr. Stockmann is desperate to convince his brother, the mayor, of this life-threatening health scare. In this gripping tale of one man taking on City Hall, the doctor and ‘self-proclaimed genius' must stand up for his passionate beliefs in an effort to save lives. This influential play, by one of the most important playwrights of all time, has generated many stage and film adaptations including Arthur Miller's 1950 adaptation, An Enemy of the People, and Steven Spielberg's legendary film, Jaws. Inspired by the contemporary relevance of Ibsen's play, Aquila is producing An Enemy of the People as an entirely green production with the smallest possible carbon footprint. Artistic Director Peter Meineck directs.

"All the world's a stage..." in As You Like It, one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies. Kenn Sabberton directs Aquila Theatre's romp in the Forest of Arden where love comes in all shapes, sizes, and disguises. Set in a period of revolution in France when love conquered all, As You Like It tells the story of power hungry men exiling their brothers, girls playing guys, and love in unexpected places. Frederick exiles his brother, Duke Senior so he can reign over a French Duchy. Simultaneously, Orlando, who has been forced from his own town by a bloodthirsty brother, finds himself in the Forest of Arden. Dressed as a man, Rosalind and her best friend and cousin, Celia, run from Frederick's regime and seek shelter in the forest where they are fated to find the exiled Orlando and Duke Senior. Shakespeare's comic brilliance is wrapped in gender-confused, unrequited love. Aquila infuses As You Like It with their unique blend of fun and entertaining theatricality. The production is both faithful to Shakespeare and relevant and accessible to a modern audience. As You Like It was rehearsed and premiered on the Greek Island of Syros at the Festival of the Aegean and had its US premiere at the Shakespeare Festival/LA in July 2009; since then it has toured over 40 cities in the US, as well as visiting the Bermuda Festival.

For tickets, visit www.aquilatheatre.com or www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu or call 212/352-3101 or toll-free 866/811-4111. You may also get tickets in person at the Skirball Center box office, located in the lobby at 566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South), Tuesday through Saturday from 12 Noon to 6:00pm and two hours before show time. For more information, visit www.aquilatheatre.com.

Peter Meineck founded Aquila in 1991 and has directed and/or produced over 40 productions in NY, London and internationally in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the ancient Stadium at Delphi, Lincoln Center and the White House, including Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, King Lear, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest, Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrranus and Ajax, Aeschylus' Agamemnon, and Aristophanes' Wasps, Clouds, Frogs and Birds. Recent directorial projects include Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet and Homer's The Iliad. He has also written several literary adaptations for the stage including The Man Who Would Be King, Canterbury Tales and The Invisible Man. Peter has published several volumes of translations of Greek plays including Aeschylus' Oresteia, which won the Lewis Galantiere Award for Literary Translation from the American Translators Association; Sophocles' Theban Plays (with Paul Woodruff), Philoctetes and Ajax; and Aristophanes' Clouds, Wasps & Birds. He is a regular contributor to Arion: A Journal of Humanities and The Classics, and is director of the National Endowment for the Humanities/Aquila Theatre Page and Stage program. Mr. Meineck is a faculty member at the Classics Department and the Center for Ancient Studies at New York University.

The Aquila Theatre Company's mission is to make classical works accessible to the greatest number. A play becomes ‘classical' because we recognize that after a time it transcends the original culture it was created for. It retains the power to provoke the central question of what it means to be human. As a company dedicated to the classics, we feel a responsibility to acknowledge and explore newfound classical works. Founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck, Aquila is now based in New York City. Aquila is a major part of New York's theatrical landscape, producing a regular season of plays. Last season, Aquila produced Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and Homer's The Iliad: Book One Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Aquila is the also foremost producer of touring classical theatre in the United States, visiting 60-70 American cities per year. Aquila's 2008/2009 Tour consisted of: Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors and Homer's The Iliad: Book One. Their 2009/'10 season of Shakespeare's As You Like It and Ibsen's An Enemy of the People began with The Festival of the Aegean on Syros, Greece and the Shakespeare Festival/LA. The 2010/'11 season will see Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author. Aquila is dedicated to theatre arts education and produces four major initiatives: Workshop America, a nationwide program that provides an opportunity for people to share in the art of Aquila; Theatre Breakthrough, which brings America's schools to the stage; and Shakespeare Leaders, an after-school program that enables inner-city students to perform the classics. Last season, at Frederick Douglas Academy in Harlem, NY Shakespeare Leaders students performed The Comedy of Errors and in 2010 the program is expanding to Hunts Point, Bronx, NY. Aquila has begun a new initiative, Page and Stage: Theater, Tradition, and Culture in America. The program aims to create an in-depth partnership between the library and the theater. Made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Page and Stage is linking public libraries to performing arts centers across America.

The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for NYU and lower Manhattan. The programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU's mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. Since 2003, the 860-seat Center has provided a unique venue for enhancing a sense of community while continuing the Greenwich Village traditions of creativity and artistic discovery with a broad range of compelling performance events at affordable ticket prices. Led by Executive Producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and Director Michael Harrington, a natural and vital aspect of the Center's mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance. www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu