Free Reading Of Goethe's URFAUST Will Follow Czech Marionette FAUST At TNC

On Sunday, March 31, Theater for the New City will present a free reading of Goethe's classic "Urfaust," translated by Charles E. Passage, directed and with musical settings composed by Elizabeth Ruf Maldonado, to follow the 3:00 PM production of "Johannes Dokchtor Faust, a Petrifying Puppet Comedye" by Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre.

The reading will start at 4:30 PM and will run about 1:45. No RSVP is required.

This will be TNC's second reading of a landmark work of the worldwide Faust canon to accompany its current production of the Czech puppet classic. On Friday, March 22, the theater held an acoustic-punk reading of Christopher Marlowe's Elizabethan "Doctor Faustus" that was also directed by Elizabeth Ruf Maldonado with TNC's Artistic Director Crystal Field in the title role.

The "Urfaust" reading will again team up members of the company of Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater with a handful of Theater for the New City stalwarts. The actors will be: Deborah Beshaw-Farrell, Vit Horejs, Will Kroeze, Robert (Moe) Maloney, Kerry Milliron, Elizabeth Ruf Maldonado, Jonathan Slaff, Bonnie Stein and Jenne Vath. Refreshments will be served. Admission will be free but donations will be gratefully accepted.

"Urfaust" is the earliest and briefest form of Goethe's magnum opus. Developed between 1772 and 1775, it is comprised of 22 scenes and is written mostly in rhymed verse. It is regarded as a study for Goethe's 1808 play "Faust, A Tragedy," which became known as "Faust Part One" after the publication of the sequel, "Faust, the Tragedy's Second Part" in 1832. Goethe's "Faust" is rarely staged in its entirety but is widely considered the greatest work of German literature.

"Johannes Dokchtor Faust, a Petrifying Puppet Comedye" is translated and directed by Vit Horejs. In it, the story of the learned Johannes Faust, who sold his soul to the devil for ultimate knowledge, is staged with age-old technical tricks of Czech puppetry, including fire and thunder, hellish gargoyles and underwater creatures. Its playscript is adapted by Vit Horejs from a Czech text signed with the initials A.B. that was published in Prague in 1862.

Theater for the New City is located at 155 First Ave., at E. 10th Street. For more Info, call 212-254-1109 or go to www.theaterforthenewcity.net.

On March 26, Vit Horejs will be honored for his work in puppetry and as a producer by The Acker Awards, which are given to members of the avant-garde arts community who have made outstanding contributions in their discipline in defiance of convention, or else served their fellow writers and artists in outstanding ways. At the same ceremony, Theater for the New City and its Executive Artistic Director, Crystal Field, will be honored with a lifetime achievment award.

Photo credit: Bonnie Papernik