Phil Bosakowski's fanciful, time-spanning drama Chopin in Space will have its West Coast premiere at Sacred Fools Theatre Jan. 25-Feb. 24, under the direction of Mike Rainey. The play debuted at Yale Rep in 1984 and had its New York premiere at Ark Theatre in 1985. It received a reading from L.A. Theatre Works in 1985 and was published by Dramatists Play Service.
Bosakowski has created a unique portrait of Frederic Chopin, the half-Polish, half-French composer and pianist, by imagining him as a traveler visiting the 19th and 20th centuries, encountering such disparate characters as the painter Eugene Delacroix, Hitler, FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt. Chopin also investigates Poland's attitude toward the Jews and ends up being mistaken for Lech Walesa in Solidarity's shipyard revolt against the Soviets.
Jeff Goldman plays Chopin. He was Shrdlu in the Sacred Fools' prize-winning revival of Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine. The cast also includes Carla Jo Bailey, Majken Larsson, Paul Punkett, Stan Freitag, Pogo Saito, Tom Chalmers and Ariadne Shaffer.
Bosakowski, who died in 1994 at age 48, was a prolific playwright whose many other works included Crossin' the Line, Nixon Apologizes to the Nation and Bierce Takes on the Railroad!. He received many honors, including an NEA Award and election to the Polish Institute of Arts and Letters.
Sacred Fools Theatre Company is located at 660 N. Heliotrope Drive. For tickets and information call (310) 281-8337 or visit www.sacredfools.org — By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent