PRESS RELEASE
| For Immediate Release |
July 11, 2010
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Press photos are available by clicking here.
Phil Elman
Stageworks/Hudson
518.828.7843 |
STAGEWORKS/HUDSON PRESENTS IMAGINING MADOFF
A NEW PLAY BY AWARD WINNING DRAMATIST, DEBORAH MARGOLIN
July 21 to August 7
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IMAGINING MADOFF
By Deborah Margolin
Directed by Laura Margolis
Previews: July 21 and 22
Opens: July 23
Closes: August 7
July 8, 2010 – Stageworks/Hudson will open the new play, IMAGINING MADOFF by Deborah Margolin on Friday, July 23. Preview performances are July 21 and July 22. IMAGINING MADOFF runs Wednesdays through Sundays through August 7 at Stageworks’ Max and Lillian Katzman Theater, 41 Cross Street, Hudson, New York. IMAGINING MADOFF is directed by Laura Margolis, artistic director of Stageworks.
Stageworks’ 16th season continues from July 21 through August 7 with Obie Award winning playwright Deborah Margolin’s exciting new play, IMAGINING MADOFF. The production features film, television and stage actor Mark Margolis (no relation to Laura Margolis) in the role of Bernard Madoff. Mark has appeared in more than fifty plays on and off-Broadway. His film career spans more than thirty years and seventy films including the critically acclaimed and popular movies “The Wrestler,” “Scarface,” “Hannibal” and the now iconic Mr. Shikadance, Jim Carrey’s landlord in “Ace Ventura - Pet Detective.” His most recent television appearances include the HBO, 2011 mini series, “Mildred Pierce” opposite Kate Winslet, “Kings,” “Breaking Bad” and “Oz.” Filling out the cast are veteran actors Howard Green and Robin Leslie Brown.
“We are honored to be the first theater to produce this profound new play, IMAGINING MADOFF,” commented Laura Margolis. “Deborah Margolin is one of the most gifted writers in the American theater. Through her imagination comes a mysterious and intriguing fictional unmasking of Bernard Madoff, a man very few people really know, but through the power of Deborah Margolin’s voice, we may come to understand.”
IMAGINING MADOFF finds Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff in prison determined to design and shape his own image for history as he attempts to dictate to a visiting biographer stories about his childhood, family, women, money and an all-night meeting he had with Holocaust survivor and poet, Solomon Galkin. In the presence of Galkin, Madoff, who has been numb for years, begins to desire to become human and visible again. A riveting and poignant mystery, IMAGINING MADOFF travels back and forth in time, interweaving the lives of these two men with that of Madoff’s secretary who, as she testifies before the Securities and Exchange Commission, wrestles with her own inadvertent complicity in Madoff’s scheme. Will Madoff confess his crime to Galkin? The answer hangs in the air as these two men, both on opposite ends of the moral spectrum, face some of the most compelling issues of our times.
Stageworks’ 2010 season is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Ernest O’Reaugh Fund and the Shubert Foundation.
General talk-backs with the cast, director and playwright will occur directly after the performances on July 29 and August 5.
About the Playwright, Cast and Director:
DEBORAH MARGOLIN (Playwright) is an author, performance artist and founding member of Split Britches Theater Company. She has written eight full-length solo performance pieces, which she has toured throughout the United States, and is the recipient of a 1999-2000 OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. In May of 2007 she traveled on a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant to University of Tel Aviv to present her play CRITICAL MASS, in a Hebrew translation. A book of Deb’s performance pieces and plays, entitled “Of All The Nerve: Deb Margolin SOLO,” was published in 1999 by Cassell/Continuum Press. Deb was awarded the 2005 Richard H. Brodhead Prize for Teaching Excellence at Yale University, the 2005 Kesselring Playwriting Prize for her play THREE SECONDS IN THE KEY, and had the honor in 2008 of accepting the Helen Merrill Distinguished Playwright award. She teaches in Yale University’s undergraduate Theater Studies Program.
MARK MARGOLIS (Bernard Madoff) has appeared in more than fifty plays in New York City including the Broadway productions of INFIDEL CAESAR and THE WORLD OF SHOLOM ALEICHEM. His off-Broadway credits include the Public Theatre's production of MY UNCLE SAM, THE GOLEM at the Delacourt Theatre in Central Park, MOE’S LUCKY SEVEN (Playwrights Horizons), BALM IN GILEAD (Minetta Lane Theatre), and THE MYSTERY PLAYS (Second Stage). He has appeared in regional theaters throughout the country, including: Yale Rep, Baltimore Centre Stage, Hartford Stage, Denver Theatre Centre, Wilma Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Williamstown, Cape Cod Theatre Project and the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Mark's film career spans more than thirty years and seventy films including many critically acclaimed and popular movies. He numbers among his credits the films of Darren Aronofsky: “Pi,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Fountain,” “The Wrestler” and most recently, “Black Swan.” He is known for the Lethel Alberto in “Scarface” and children do imitations of his performance in “Ace Ventura - Pet Detective” as Jim Carrey's landlord, Mr. Shikadance. Other films include “Defiance,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Dinner Rush,” “Stay,” “Hannibal,” “The Tailor of Panama,” “Flawless,” “Mickey Blue Eyes,” “1492-Conquest of Paradise,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Jacob the Liar,” “End of Days” and “Absolute Power.” His most recent television appearances include the HBO, 2011 mini series, “Mildred Pierce” opposite Kate Winslet, “Kings” and “Breaking Bad.” He has appeared in a great number of recurrent and guest star TV roles including “Californication,” “Oz,” “Hack,” “Crossing Jordan,” “New York Undercover,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Quantum Leap” and “The Equalizer.” Mark studied with Stella Adler. He is member of the Actors' Studio.
HOWARD GREEN (Solomon Galkin) New York and regional theatres: New York Shakespeare Festival (RICHARD III and the HENRY VI cycle), American Place Theatre (THE CEREMONY OF INNOCENCE), Actor’s Studio (THE SILENT PARTNER), Lincoln Center (CYRANO DE BERGERAC), Washington Shakespeare Festival (TROILUS AND CRESSIDA and THE WINTER’S TALE), Berkshire Theatre Festival (FAMILY BUSINESS), Philadelphia Playhouse in the Park (THE POISON TREE), Theatre at St, Clements (WAITING FOR GODOT) and Shakespeare on the Sound (THE COMEDY OF ERRORS). San Diego audiences can see Howard latter this summer at the Old Globe Theatre in BROADWAY BOUND. TV: “Paradise Lost” and “The Ceremony of Innocence” (PBS: Theatre in America).
ROBIN LESLIE BROWN (The Secretary) returns to Stageworks/Hudson having appeared in THE SWAN, THE LARAMIE PROJECT, OMNIUM GATHERUM and as Mae West in DIRTY BLONDE. She was assistant director to Laura Margolis on BRUTAL IMAGINATION and has directed for Gallery Players New Play Festival and several Pearl Theatre Company staged readings. Robin, a founding resident actor with The Pearl Theatre Company in NYC, will be performing in her 27th season this fall in Ibsen’s ROSMERSHOLM with Austin Pendleton, directed by Elie Renfield. Favorite Pearl roles include: Gertrude in HAMLET, Nora in A DOLL’S HOUSE, Aline Solness in MASTER BUILDER, Anna in TOYS IN THE ATTIC and the title roles in MAJOR BARBARA and DAISY MAYME. Other stages: Geva, Jewish Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, HB Playwrights, Westbeth, TACT and Saint Michael’s Playhouse where she performed Jennet in THE LADY’S NOT FOR BURNING and Kate in OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. Ms. Brown’s one woman show DOROTHY PARKER: RED ROOM BLUES has accompanied art exhibitions in NYC, Bucks County, and Stockbridge, MA. Recent Film/Television: “Law & Order,” “The Shooting of Johnson Roebling,” and the net comedy series, “Manic Attack.”
LAURA MARGOLIS (Director) is the founder and Artistic Director of Stageworks/Hudson. Her directing credits for Stageworks include: NOWHERE ON THE BORDER (World Premiere), CAR TALK (World Premiere), FALLING: A WAKE (American premiere), A WEDDING STORY (American premiere), DOG STORIES (World premiere) and many regional premieres such as OMNIUM GATHERUM, LEBENSRAUM, GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, BRUTAL IMAGINATION and WIT. Highlighting her career are the plays she has directed for Stageworks' annual PLAY BY PLAY FESTIVAL OF NEW ONE-ACTS. Regionally, she has directed at Capital Rep, Proctors, SUNY/Albany, among others. Laura has received the Certificate of Recognition from the Columbia County Board of Supervisors for providing original and creative opportunities to the community and the Columbia County Arts Award for Artist “for excellence in developing and fostering the arts in Columbia County.” She currently serves on the NYSCA Theater Panel. Laura attended Brooklyn College's MFA in Arts Administration program and has taught as an adjunct professor of theater at SUNY/Albany.
Design Team:
The design team includes: John Pollard (Set Design), Jeffrey Leppendorf (Sound Design), Andi Lyons, (Lighting Design), Adrienne Westmore (Costume Design) and Dan Fenaughty (Technical Director). The Stage Manager is Jennifer Schilansky, Assistant Stage Managers are Emma Lewis and Dan Fenaughty.
About Stageworks/Hudson
Stageworks has established a reputation for its ambitious programming and adventurous productions. The company is especially known for producing the bold, risk-taking work of new dramatic voices. Central to its vision is Futures, an integrative program designed to move Stageworks to the forefront of new play development. Stageworks is both the experiment and the resource to infuse the whole life of the theater with a creative process that produces new ways of expressing, interpreting and sharing the human experience.
Stageworks is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and Perform Columbia. It is the recipient of a Proctors Regional Arts Award inaugurated by Proctors Theatre in 2008 to honor the outstanding work of performing arts organizations. For four consecutive years, Stageworks was distinguished in Metroland Magazine as “Best Theater Company.” Stageworks is recipient of the Crystal Apple Award from the Chamber of Commerce for providing a positive effect both culturally and economically on the quality of life in our community.
Plays are for everyone, whether written by students, established authors or emerging dramatists. Theater illuminates, expresses and interprets the human experience and profoundly serves as a global stage for social exchange and enrichment. Stageworks complements its main season with a series of programs to encourage and engage young people, traditional theatergoers and new audiences. Stageworks continues to actively take a leadership role in establishing the Hudson Valley as a cultural destination by exploring and expanding its reputation for developing new theatrical works, forms and programs.
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FACT SHEET
Calendar of Events
Previews: July 21 and 22
Opening: July 23
Closing: August 7
Performance Calendar
Wednesday at 7:30 pm: July 21, July 28, August 4
Thursday at 7:30 pm: July 22, July 29, August 5
Friday at 8:00 pm: July 23, July 30, August 6
Saturday at 8:00 pm: July 24, July 31, August 7
Sunday Matinee at 2:00 pm: July 25, August 1
Saturday Matinee at 2:00 pm: August 7
Talk Backs with the cast, playwright and director post-performance: July 29 and August 5
Cast
Mark Margolis
Howard Green
Robin Leslie Brown
Production Team
Deborah Margolin, Playwright
Laura Margolis, Director
John Pollard, Set Design
Andi Lyons, Lighting Design
Jeffrey Lependorf, Sound Design
Adrienne Westmore, Costume Design
Dan Fenaughty, Technical Director
Jennifer Schilansky, Stage Manager
Emma Lewis, Assistant Stage Manager/Understudy
Daniel Fenaughty, Assistant Stage Manager/Understudy
Kristaps K. Butners, Light Board Operator/Production Assistant
Tickets
For tickets or information, contact Stageworks by mail at 41-A Cross Street, Hudson, NY 12534 or call the box office at (518) 822-9667. For further information, visit the website at www.stageworkshudson.org.
Single ticket prices are:
$18 for preview performances
$24 for Weekdays, Matinees and Sundays
$29 for Friday and Saturday evening performances.
Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and there are special rates for students and seniors.
Visit Stageworks’ home page for more details at www.stageworkshudson.org.
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