David Hare's Amy's View, the 1999 Broadway hit that starred Dame Judi Dench, ends its Bay Area premiere Nov. 26 at San Jose Repertory. Performances began Oct. 28 with an opening Nov. 3. The Rep's artistic director Timothy Near directs.
A discussion of the importance of theatre in today's world, Amy's View traces 16 years in the life of Amy and her theatrical legend mother, Esme. When Amy brings home her filmmaker boyfriend, she sparks a battle that drives her apart from her mother and forces her to choose between maternal love and the love of her life. Amy's View was nominated for two 1999 Tony Awards: Best Actress for Dench and Best Supporting Actress for her co-star Samantha Bond.
Playwright Hare has written 22 plays including Plenty, Racing Demon, Skylight, The Judas Kiss, The Blue Room and his solo piece Via Dolorosa, all of which have been produced on Broadway.
Carol Mayo Jenkins plays the Dench role, Esme Allen. Jenkins began her career with the opening of American Conservatory Theatre and in 1992 became Edward Albee's choice to play Martha in the U.S., U.S.S.R. and Lithuanian tour of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Christina Rouner is her daughter Amy Thomas with Matthew Greer (The Real Thing, The Judas Kiss on Broadway) as her boyfriend Dominic Tyghe. Also in the cast are Kenna Hunt (Evelyn Thomas), Ken Ruta (Frank Oddie) and Daniel Loeser (Toby Cole).
The design team for Amy's View features David Ledsinger (sets), Ann Bruice Aling (costumes), Derke Duarte (lighting) and Jeff Mockus (sound). Tickets are $37-$17. The San Jose Repertory Theatre performs in the Sobrato Auditorium at 101 Paseo de San Antonio. For reservations, call (408) 367-7255. The San Jose Repertory is on the web at http://www.sjrep.com.
-- By Christine Ehren
