City Theatre at Sacramento City College brings Ben Jonson's popular comedy The Alchemist to the stage in a new adaptation. Adrienne Sher adapts and directs the play highlighting the humor in Jonson's script. The production opens Friday, April 28, and plays through Saturday, May 13. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 28, 29, and May 4, 5, 6, 11, and 12; and at 2:00 p.m. on April 30 and May 7, 13. Performances will be held in the Art Court Theatre in the Performing Arts Center on the Sacramento City College campus at 3835 Freeport Blvd. in Sacramento. Ticket prices are $18 for General Admission; $15 for Seniors, SARTA Members, Veterans/Military Personnel, and Persons with Disabilities; and $10 for Students. Tickets may be purchased online or in-person one hour before the performance begins. All details and tickets are available online at CityTheatre.net.
The Alchemist is an adaptation of the original popular comedy by Ben Jonson. When Master Lovewit flees the city for the country to avoid the plague, he leaves his butler, Jeremy, in charge of his London house. Jeremy then masquerades as Captain Face, and joins forces with Subtle, a fellow conman, and Dol Common, a prostitute. Together they use the house as their headquarters to dupe the greedy and gullible residents of London with promises of wealth, immortality, and marital bliss. Ben Jonson's most famous comedy was first performed in 1610.
Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was a writer, theorist, and dramatist of the English Renaissance era, whose reputation is second only to William Shakespeare. Born in London, he was educated at Westminster School. Jonson was highly influenced by the classical Greek, Roman, and Latin theorists including Aristotle and Horace.
Jonson is best known in the theatre arts for writing satirical comedies. His most successful comedies include Volpone (1606), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fayre (1614). Jonson's comedies are praised for their comic exaggeration and satire of human vice, command of colloquial language, and precision of classical devices.
Jonson collaborated with esteemed poet, architect, and stage designer Inigo Jones on several court masques during James I's reign. Jonson received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Oxford in 1619. Two of his unfinished plays were found upon his death in 1637. Jonson was buried with honor in Westminster Abbey.
Adrienne Sher holds a BA in drama and literature from Stanford University, studied acting at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and graduated from The Neighborhood Playhouse Acting School in NYC. She apprenticed as a director under Ivan Sandoval at The Show Below. She has been teaching at SCC for over a decade and performing and directing in the Sacramento area for 30 years.
THE ALCHEMIST is directed by Adrienne Sher. The cast features Vincent Barnett, Lorenzo Campos, John Crabtree, Noah Galvan, Cynthia Hawes, Sinead Kennedy, Cisco Martinez, Mia Matista, Angus McNay, Kevin Menager, Kathleen Poe, Tim Sapunor, & Marcus Wilson. The artistic team includes Shawn Weinsheink (scenic design), Nicole Sivell (costume design), Isaiah Leeper (lighting design), and Vincent Barnett (visual design).
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