DELIVERANCE Stage Adaptation Premieres at 59E59 Theaters, Now thru 11/9
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 10, 2014
59E59 Theaters will welcome Godlight Theatre Company with the world premiere of James Dickey's DELIVERANCE, based on his acclaimed novel, adapted by Sean Tyler, directed by Joe Tantalo. DELIVERANCE begins performances tonight, October 10 for a limited engagement through Sunday, November 9. Press opening is Tuesday, October 21 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. Please note, there is no performance on Sunday, October 19, and an added performance on Sunday, October 12 at 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.
Four friends embark on a three-day canoe trip down a wild section of river in the heartland of Georgia. On the morning of the second day, their adventure explodes into a horrific struggle for survival.
James Dickey (1923-1997) was recognized in his lifetime as one of the great American poets of his generation. He won the National Book Award, and he was appointed as Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress, a position that now bears the title "Poet Laureate." But Dickey, without question, was best known to the general public as the author of the best-selling novel Deliverance, published in 1970 and produced as a major Hollywood motion picture in 1972. Those who had read his poems found themselves on familiar territory when they began to turn the pages of the novel. The story is that of a thriller: the tale of four friends from Atlanta who take a weekend canoe trip only to become caught up in a horrifying fight for survival against degenerate killers in the rugged mountains of North Georgia. But the language is that of a poet whose fascination with the wild, in nature and in human nature, gave his writing a power and distinctiveness rarely achieved by more conventional authors of contemporary verse. Dickey the poet-protagonist might be transformed into a wolverine, a sheep-child, a stewardess falling from an airplane to ecstatic death. Despite the popularity of the film made from Deliverance, much of that poetry and originality was lost. This dramatic production brings us back into the wild, into the drama of survival, and tells the story in the language of the poet.
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