FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THROUGH July 17, 2004
NEW OLD THEATER COMPANY
BLACK EYED SUSAN
OR
ALL IN THE DOWNS
A 19TH CENTURY NAUTICAL DRAMA PRESENTED IN AUTHENTIC PERIOD STYLE AT TO THE GATES OF WASHINGTON
ONE NIGHT ONLY! JULY 17, 2004
Tired of the glaring lights and daunting special effects of today’s theatre? Take a trip back in time to experience an authentic early nineteenth century play as it would have been performed by a traveling theatre troupe in young America.
The New Old Theater will present Douglas Jerrold's celebrated nautical drama of 1829, Black Eyed Susan. The play will be performed with accurate acting style for the period, and with authentic costuming. There will be live musical accompaniment, Audience participation will be encouraged, although good behavior will be rigidly enforced.
Attending the theatre in the early 1800's was quite a different experience from today. The New Old Theatre’s premier production, Black Eyed Susan, belonged to the popular genre now called Melodrama, literally, it is "a drama with music." When a wicked uncle threatens to foreclose on the heroine's lodging, her brave sailor husband comes home from the sea to her rescue in the nick of time. The play also features deceitful henchmen, a comic neighbor, devious smugglers, the hero’s shipmates, and an ill-behaved ship’s captain. An unfortunate incident precipitates the court martial of our hero, which is resolved by a timely reprieve and a celebratory finale. Drama and comedy, schemes and skullduggery, nautical songs and period dance all combine to make Black Eyed Susan a truly exciting and entertaining theatrical experience, and a tantalizing glimpse into the life and times of early 19th century America.
According to the production’s director, Steven Lampredi, "These plays were not performed in the realistic style we associate now with theatre and film…plays of the 18th and 19th century used exaggerated situations and sentiments, similar to our modern television sitcoms, but they were based on truthful human emotions and values…We are creating a theatre experience that is gripping and entertaining, and that will give the spectator an eerie sense of ‘time travel,’ while illuminating our cultural history." Lampredi brings a lifelong passion for historical and physical theatre to Black Eyed Susan, having directed and/or performed in drama, comedy, opera, experimental theatre, commedia dell'arte and mime for the past thirty years.
See BLACK-EYED SUSAN
ONE NIGHT ONLY
July 17, 2004 6-3/4 o'clock
Performance will start promptly.
Special price for reenactors: $10 Reenactors under 12 accompanied by parents- FREE
1/2 of Proceeds will go directly to preservation effort.
Tickets: General Public: $15, children $7.50 Family-$40, and may be purchased in advance or at the door.
Black Eyed Susan will be presented at the event
July 17, 2004 6-3/4 o'clock
For more information please go to the event website at www.wmhf.org
Thanks,
THROUGH July 17, 2004
NEW OLD THEATER COMPANY
BLACK EYED SUSAN
OR
ALL IN THE DOWNS
A 19TH CENTURY NAUTICAL DRAMA PRESENTED IN AUTHENTIC PERIOD STYLE AT TO THE GATES OF WASHINGTON
ONE NIGHT ONLY! JULY 17, 2004
Tired of the glaring lights and daunting special effects of today’s theatre? Take a trip back in time to experience an authentic early nineteenth century play as it would have been performed by a traveling theatre troupe in young America.
The New Old Theater will present Douglas Jerrold's celebrated nautical drama of 1829, Black Eyed Susan. The play will be performed with accurate acting style for the period, and with authentic costuming. There will be live musical accompaniment, Audience participation will be encouraged, although good behavior will be rigidly enforced.
Attending the theatre in the early 1800's was quite a different experience from today. The New Old Theatre’s premier production, Black Eyed Susan, belonged to the popular genre now called Melodrama, literally, it is "a drama with music." When a wicked uncle threatens to foreclose on the heroine's lodging, her brave sailor husband comes home from the sea to her rescue in the nick of time. The play also features deceitful henchmen, a comic neighbor, devious smugglers, the hero’s shipmates, and an ill-behaved ship’s captain. An unfortunate incident precipitates the court martial of our hero, which is resolved by a timely reprieve and a celebratory finale. Drama and comedy, schemes and skullduggery, nautical songs and period dance all combine to make Black Eyed Susan a truly exciting and entertaining theatrical experience, and a tantalizing glimpse into the life and times of early 19th century America.
According to the production’s director, Steven Lampredi, "These plays were not performed in the realistic style we associate now with theatre and film…plays of the 18th and 19th century used exaggerated situations and sentiments, similar to our modern television sitcoms, but they were based on truthful human emotions and values…We are creating a theatre experience that is gripping and entertaining, and that will give the spectator an eerie sense of ‘time travel,’ while illuminating our cultural history." Lampredi brings a lifelong passion for historical and physical theatre to Black Eyed Susan, having directed and/or performed in drama, comedy, opera, experimental theatre, commedia dell'arte and mime for the past thirty years.
See BLACK-EYED SUSAN
ONE NIGHT ONLY
July 17, 2004 6-3/4 o'clock
Performance will start promptly.
Special price for reenactors: $10 Reenactors under 12 accompanied by parents- FREE
1/2 of Proceeds will go directly to preservation effort.
Tickets: General Public: $15, children $7.50 Family-$40, and may be purchased in advance or at the door.
Black Eyed Susan will be presented at the event
July 17, 2004 6-3/4 o'clock
For more information please go to the event website at www.wmhf.org
Thanks,
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