Jean Giraudoux's ONDINE Set for The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, 2/7-3/2

The rarely-performed classic Ondine, considered to be French playwright Jean Giraudoux's finest work, will preview at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5 Wednesday, February 5 and Thursday February 6, and will open Friday, February 7 running through March 2, 2014. Curtain for all shows is 7:30 pm for Tuesday through Saturday shows and 2:30pm for Sunday matinees.

Audrey Hepburn created a sensation on Broadway in the title role, winning a Tony Award in 1954 as the ethereal sea sprite who falls in love with a handsome knight-errant only to lose true love to the cruel realities of the outside world. The acting ensemble features faces familiar from IRC shows past: Susan Giddings, Robb Hutter, Jerry Puma, Ethan Lipkin, Ed Miller and Tina Brock, joined by newcomers Drew Carroll, Chris Davis, Sarah Knittel and introducing Ama Bollinger, playing the title role of Ondine.

Ondine will be directed by guest artist Aaron Cromie, and features the talents of set designer Lisi Stoessel, (Eugene Ionesco's The Chairs (2009), Tennessee Williams' The Gnadiges Fraulein (2010) and Witold Gombrowicz's Ivona: Princess of Burgundia (2011). Lighting design will be by Matt Sharp and costume design Jill Keys.

Jean Giraudoux (1882 - 1944) was a prolific and well-loved French dramatist who wrote over 15 plays. He found an artistic partner in actor-director Louis Jouvet who was responsible for staging most of his works in the Early Stages of Giraudoux's career. Giraudoux's plays explore themes of war and peace, life and death, man and woman, and the philosophy of human destiny. His style is not one featuring the character's psychological conflict, but a style highlighting philosophical investigation, discussion, and reflection through the characters' musings. Giraudoux's plays are lyrical, poetic, and rich with metaphor, paradox, and allusion. His sense of humor is evident in his plays, marked by brilliant wit and a wonderful sense of the absurd.

Giraudoux based Ondine on the 1811 novella Undine by the German Romantic Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Giraudoux explains Ondine as "the liaison of man with the natural elements, the flirtation of the natural world with the kingdom of man."

Ondine running time is 90 minutes. Ticket prices are $15 - $25. For tickets and/or additional information, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/504495, or call (215) 285-0472. Student, senior and group discounts apply.

2014 marks The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium's eighth season presenting challenging and rarely-produced absurdist gems from authors around the globe. In 2013, the IRC season included critically-acclaimed sold-out productions of Franz Kafka's The Castle and audience favorite Paradise Park by Charles Mee.

Photo Credit: www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org

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