EINSTEIN - THE PRACTICAL BOHEMIAN Set for Harris Center, 3/6

By: Feb. 18, 2015
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his show is NOT a science lecture. There are NO blackboards on stage. The audience DOES NOT NEED a college degree in physics to attend. The Harris Center for the Arts audience just needs to prepare to see an extraordinary performance by actor Ed Metzger. From crazy white hair, thrift-style clothes and sneakers without socks, Mr. Metzger brings to life the unbridled curiosity of the world's most beloved genius and physicist in his compelling nationally acclaimed dramatic one-man show, Einstein: The Practical Bohemian.

However, many people know little about the eccentric Einstein behind the genius. Ed Metzger's portrayal is a masterful glimpse into the Greatest Man of the 20th Century, who harbored dreams of being a solo violinist, had to ask directions to his own home, and who was driven to solve the most daunting and important problems in the universe. The Chicago Tribune raves that "Metzger is authentic right down to the bone," and The Detroit News reports that "Metzger does for Einstein what Hall Holbrook did for Mark Twain."

ED METZGER: EINSTEIN ? THE PRACTICAL BOHEMIAN will be performed in the intimate Stage 2, City Studio Theater on Friday, March 6, 2015 @ 7:30 pm. Tickets are $21-$29; Students with ID $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from the Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

Metzger presents the original absent-minded professor and comedian, confused and troubled father, womanizer, and philosopher. The audience discovers Einstein as a man who was concerned about his family life, who was devastated by world situations, about being Jewish, sought by Hitler, and as an ardent pacifist who struggled with the fact that his scientific discoveries were used in the creation of the Atomic Bomb.

Ed Metzger has performed his signature one-person show, Einstein: The Practical Bohemian, since 1978 with rave reviews at theaters throughout the country, including Off-Broadway New York and The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC.

Metzger, an accomplished actor and writer, has the unique ability to portray real-life famous people. In major films, on television and the Broadway stage. His list of characters include Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, Teddy Roosevelt, George Washington as well as cops, mobsters and gangsters.

The most famous of Metzger's performances is Albert Einstein . . . complete with wild hair and all. He is extremely proud that he is the only actor who has ever received an Endorsement from the Einstein family who recognized Metzger's talents to personify their relative, the most famous man of the 20th Century. A quote from Einstein's first cousin said, "The family felt as though they were in the presence of their dear cousin Albert."

In addition to bringing the notable professor to life on stage, Metzger has portrayed Einstein in feature films, FDR: American Badass, Watchmen, A Conversation With Einstein and Joe's Rotten World. On television, his Einstein characterization was seen in the Chris Rock series," Everybody Hates Chris," as well as "The Super Mario Bros," "Newton's Apple," and "Movie Magic."

In director David Fincher's brilliant film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Metzger personified President Theodore Roosevelt and created the essence of the great historical visionary. Fincher's Oscar nominated film starred Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette.

For his depiction of the celebrated novelist, Ernest Hemingway, Metzger takes the audience on a guided tour of the robust, artistic, and explosive life story in theatrical on-stage performances of Hemingway: On The Edge. Metzger selected Hemingway as the subject of his second one-man play because of the many exciting elements in the writer's life. Bullfighting, big-game hunting, brawling, drinking and womanizing were as much a part of Hemingway's life as they were of his many novels and short stories.

Metzger wrote, created and stars in two distinctly different theatrical on-stage impersonations. Since Einstein and Hemingway were at opposite ends characteristically, Metzger recognized the common denominator between the two great men was the pure devotion each had to their work. Both men were Nobel Prize winners.

Metzger's distinctive Broadway stage career includes performances in The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, starring Al Pacino, Uncle Vanya, Brecht On Brecht, Nighthawks, The Bear, and many other productions.

As much as Metzger enjoys performing on stage or in front of the camera, he is also delighted when invited as a featured guest to be interviewed on TV and radio talk shows, including "The Today Show," "Studs Terkel," "Voice of America," "All Things Considered," "Talk of the Nation," "Late Night America," "The Tonight Show," "Good Morning America," and many major talk-shows throughout the country. He is regularly invited as a Keynote Speaker for Corporate Events.



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