Morfogen is a Mint veteran, having appeared in one of the company's biggest hits, The Voysey Inheritence. His Broadway credits include An Inspector Calls and Fortune's Fool. Off-Broadway, he originated the title role in Uncle Bob, which was also at the Mint.
Opening night is Feb. 13. The run is scheduled to end March 27, but if it follows the pattern of Far and Wide, an extension could occur.
The Mint Theatre Company scored a big critical and commercial hit with its production of Arthur Schnitzler’s little-seen masterpiece Far and Wide (Das weite Land). Now, the Off-Broadway company, which specializes in dusting off neglected dramatic works, turns to the Austrian playwright again.
Margaret Schaefer and Jonathan Bank have written the new translation of the work, which premiered in 1904, seven years before Far and Wide, and four years after Schnitzler's most famous play, La Ronde. Bank will direct a cast that includes Eric Alperin, Lisa Bostnar, Ronald Guttman, Jordan Lage, Bennett Leak, Sherry Skinner, Constance Tarbox, and John Leonard Thompson. The Lonely Way will have set design by Vicki R. Davis, lighting design by Ben Stanton and costume design by Henry Shaffer.
The story concerns artist Julian Fichtner, who, at middle age, finds himself with little to show for his life-long penchant for "pleasure, freedom and self expression." Wanting to lend his life meaning, he goes to his grown son, a soldier who does not know that the artist is his father. According to the Mint, the play has never been seen in New York and was only produced once in the U.S., a 1931 Theater Guild production which tried out in Baltimore and Washington, but stalled when the leading man broke his leg.
The Mint's commitment to Schnitzler goes further than the production. The company plans to publish "Arthur Schnitzler Reclaimed," a book containing both Far and Wide and The Lonely Way. The book is part of Mint’s effort to extend the reach of its mission, "beyond 43rd street and out into the rest of the nation," according to Bank. "Schnitzler is a playwright who deserves the attention of anyone serious about the modern theatre."
Tickets will be $45; $35 during previews. To order tickets, call (212) 315-0231, or visit the Mint on-line box office at www.minttheater.org.
