Todd Haimes News

Education Dramaturge Ted Sod sits down with actress Idina Menzel to discuss her character in 'Skintight' and what inspires her as an artist.

Until the 1980s, mainstream culture and advertising often cast women as sex objects, and framed their images to appeal to the male gaze. Historically, men in advertisements were represented as figures of authoritative masculinity (such as the Marlboro Man), but rarely sexualized.

On June 16, 2018, Joshua Harmon spoke about Skintight with education dramaturg Ted Sod as part of Roundabout Theatre Company's lecture series.

On June 16, 2018, Joshua Harmon spoke about Skintight with education dramaturg Ted Sod as part of Roundabout Theatre Company's lecture series.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) is thrilled to present the world premiere production ofSKINTIGHT, by Roundabout Underground alumnus Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other), with direction by three-time Obie Award winner Daniel Aukin (Bad Jews). The cast includes Will Brittain as "Trey," Stephen Carrasco as "Jeff," Eli Gelb as "Benjamin Cullen," Cynthia Mace as "Orsolya," Idina Menzel as "Jodi Isaac" and Jack Wetherall as "Elliot Isaac."

Unlike the other the major characters in Travesties, the real Henry Carr holds little claim to fame. Stoppard learned about Carr and became intrigued by a real-life incident mentioned in a biography of James Joyce. In Zurich during World War I, Joyce worked with an English theatre to produce Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Joyce cast a mix of professionals and amateurs, including Henry Carr, an Englishman living in exile, as the lead role of Algernon. Apparently, Carr gave an enthusiastic performance, but afterwards, a small financial dispute with Joyce escalated into dueling lawsuits. Carr sued Joyce for reimbursement on clothes he bought as his costume; Joyce counter-sued Carr for money owed on five tickets. Carr lost his case and was further punished by Joyce when he named an unlikeable character in Ulysses after Carr. Stoppard knew little more about the real Henry Carr while writing Travesties; however, after its 1974 London premiere, a surprise letter from Carr's widow provided more details of the real man's life.

Born in Romania under the name Samuel Rosenstock, Tristan Tzara was introduced to the Symbolist art movement by poet Adrian Maniu. Symbolism stood in opposition to realistic art, emphasizing emotions, feelings, and ideas, and often featuring mystic or religious imagery. Together with poet Ion Vinea and painter Marcel Janco, Tzara founded the magazine Simbolul shortly prior to the First World War, when he was just 16 years old. It was during the War that he moved to Zurich, co-founding the Cabaret Voltaire, which became known as the 'cradle of Dada.' Featuring experimental forms of performance, poetry, art, and more, the Cabaret Voltaire was where early Dadaist manifestos were read, many of which were written by Tzara, who could often be spotted sporting a monocle and suit, or even with 'DADA' written on his forehead.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) is thrilled to present the world premiere production of SKINTIGHT, by Roundabout Underground alumnus Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other), with direction by three-time Obie Award winner Daniel Aukin (Bad Jews). The cast includes Will Brittain as "Trey," Stephen Carrasco as "Jeff," Eli Gelb as "Benjamin Cullen," Cynthia Mace as "Orsolya," Idina Menzel as "Jodi Isaac" and Jack Wetherall as "Elliot Isaac."

At first glance, Travesties may seem to be a nearly impossible work to crack. Traversing literary styles and references, delving headfirst into the history of World War I and the Russian Revolution, and pitting dense intellectual arguments on the meaning and purpose of art against each other, Tom Stoppard's absurdist and avant-garde play can seem hopelessly out of reach for anyone who isn't an expert in these particular topics. But Stoppard has created a roadmap that allows his audiences to untangle the characters, plotlines, and references of Travesties as they watch, and his first clue for doing so is provided in the title of the play itself. What exactly, then, is a travesty?

Education Dramaturge Ted Sod sits down with actress Sara Topham to discuss her role in Travesties and her return to Roundabout Theatre Company.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) and Education at Roundabout (Jennifer DiBella, Director of Education) will present the eighth annual Student Theatre Arts Festival, hosted by Roundabout actor (Too Heavy For Your Pocket) and 2018 Lucille Lortel nominee Brandon Gill.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) has just announced a new collaboration with Roundabout's Company in Residence: Fiasco Theater. Roundabout will present Fiasco's new production of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG featuring a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Merrily We Roll Along is based on and with additional material from the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.

Tim Hatley/Costume and Set Design My starting point as a designer is always to read the play, and in the case of Travesties, which is a complex play, it required careful reading and thought to begin to understand the threads and layers of the writing, and talking closely with the director, Patrick Marber. It seemed to me that our production needed a strong yet simple approach to the design. The shifting of time and location is clear in the writing and did not need physical transitions to interrupt the flow. Our space is both present and memory, library and apartment, and allows for characters to appear and disappear within. The costumes are rooted strongly in the period, and their palette was developed in tandem with the development of the space. Cross references to Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest, were an enjoyable anchor to designing the play.

On April 21, 2018, Patrick Marber spoke about Travesties with Education Dramaturg Ted Sod as part of Roundabout Theatre Company's lecture series.

Ted Sod: Tell us about yourself: Where were you born and educated? When and why did you decide to be an actor? Did you have any teachers who had a profound influence on you?

We've caught Tony fever here at BroadwayWorld, and it's spreading! Follow us throughout the day, as we'll bring you Tony nominee reactions, exclusive reports, surprises, behind the scenes coverage and oh, so much more!

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) has just announced the complete cast of the world-premiere production of SKINTIGHT, by Roundabout Underground alumnus Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other), with direction by three-time Obie Award winner Daniel Aukin (Bad Jews). Joining the previously announced Tony Award winner Idina Menzel as 'Jodi Isaac' are Will Brittain as 'Trey,' Stephen Carrasco as 'Jeff,' Eli Gelb as 'Benjamin Cullen,' Cynthia Mace as 'Orsolya' and John Noble as 'Elliot Isaac.'

Travesties, a limited engagement through Sunday, June 17, 2018, opened just last night at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). We're taking you inside the festivities below!

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) - in association with Chocolate Factory Productions (David Babani, Artistic Director) and Sonia Friedman Productions -present the first Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning play Travesties.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) - in association with Chocolate Factory Productions (David Babani, Artistic Director) and Sonia Friedman Productions -present the first Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning play Travesties.