Magic Theatre, Building D
Magic Theatre has something for everyone at its Hothouse 06 festival of three new plays. From the decadent excess of ancient Rome to the controversies of modern science and medicine, there's no risk of encountering dull drama in the Building D theaters. The first two plays start in February with the final production entering the mix in March. All three plays continue through April in a lively schedule with alternating plays on both Magic stages.
 The Fire That Is Rome
Billed as a "feast of language, imagery, and music," Another Golden Rome leads off the Hothouse season with a unique view of the ancient world. Noted playwright Steven Sater collaborates with Grammy-nominated musician Duncan Sheik to devise an experimental portait of Rome's youthful leader, Nero.
Nero wrests control of the empire from his brother Britannicus, who has been imprisoned by their mother, Agrippina — back in Rome after an exile imposed by her brother, Caligula. Taking advantage of the void left when his father Emperor Claudius conveniently succumbs to poison, Nero sweeps into the Roman Senate to announce that he is the new Caesar.
"Then, let the word go forth, that the fire that is Rome has passed on to a brave new generation," Nero tells the astonished senators in a memorable scene from Another Golden Rome. Alas, Nero was not a steady ruler and many assassinations, intrigues, and disasters plagued his reign. However the decadent behavior of Nero and his court achieved legendary status and is fine fodder for contemporary theater.
 Dangerous Obsessions
A surgeon grapples with life and death and a couple loses their baby in Morbidity and Mortality, the next Hothouse installment. Written by acclaimed playwright Courtney Baron, Morbidity and Mortality is presented in association with the esteemed Women's Project theater of New York. In Morbidity and Mortality, the mother develops an uncomfortable attachment to the doctor who operated on her infant while the father drifts into confusion and denial.
 Playwright David Rambo, a screenwriter for the Crime Scene Investigation TV series, wrote the final Hothouse production, The Ice-Breaker. In Ice-Breaker, a student tracks down a disgraced climatologist to challenge him with her radical new scientific theory. The play received support from Magic Theatre's new Sloan Initiative, a program funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to incubate new plays about science, technology, and humanity.
Travel a varied dramatic landscape during Magic Theatre's third
Hothouse Festival of new plays. Related events take place during
the festival, including an artistic directors panel, the Sloan
Symposium, post-performance discussions, and intensive weekends
for theater professionals and fans. For more information, refer
to February
11 and www.magictheatre.org.
— Claudia Willen
Playwrights: Steven Sater, Courtney Baron, and David Rambo
|
|
