Alvin Epstein, who originated the role of Clov in the American premiere of Endgame, returns to the Beckett work, this time in the role of Nagg. Turturro portrays his son, Hamm.
Andrei Belgrader will direct Endgame, considered by many to be Beckett's finest work. The play depicts Hamm (Turturro) and his parents, Nagg (Epstein) and Nell, and their static lives in an unnamed wasteland, while Clov rushes around getting things for them. When Nagg and Nell die, Hamm must face up to the prospect of moving – but where?
Additional casting and creative duties will be announced in the coming months.
Alvin Epstein previously served as artistic director of the Guthrie Theatre and as associate artistic director of Yale Rep. Epstein's stage credits include the American premiere of Waiting for Godot, as well as Howard Katz, Tuesdays With Morrie, Postmark Zero, A Kurt Weill Cabaret, The Passion of Josef D, The Doctor's Dilemma, Antigone, The Bacchae, Tartuffe, The Tempest, Beckett Trio, The Threepenny Opera, and his Obie-winning performance in Dynamite Tonight!
Turturro is well known for his screen work in "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Barton Fink," "Quiz Show," "The Bronx is Burning," and counts among his theatrical credits the Broadway staging of Yasmina Reza's Life x 3, Off-Broadway's Souls of Naples and his Obie Award-winning performance in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. Prior to the Spring staging of Endgame, Olivier Award winner Fiona Shaw will star in Beckett's Happy Days from Jan. 8-Feb. 2, under the direction of Deborah Warner. Tim Potter joins Shaw in Beckett's existential two-hander.
"Buried to above her waist and woken by a piercing bell, Winnie (Shaw) chatters away to her husband Willie (Potter), who all but ignores her. She rummages in a bag, brushes her teeth, pulls out and kisses a gun, surrounded by blazing light and a scorched-earth landscape, which, in the second act, becomes an even more futile post-apocalyptic scenario," press notes for Happy Days state.
The BAM Harvey Theater is located at 651 Fulton Street in Brooklyn. Tickets are available by calling (718) 636-4100 or by visiting www.BAM.org.
