"Six actors and a fabulous trunk [designed by Jacques Roy] take on the 14 roles in one of William Shakespeare's wild and witty romances," according to producing partners Theatre for a New Audience (Jeffrey Horowitz, artistic director), Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian and Tom Wirtshafter.
Co-directed by Fiasco Theater's Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld, Cymbeline's roles are performed by the original company: Jessie Austrian (Broadway's The Importance of Being Earnest), Paul L. Coffey, Andy Grotelueschen, Emily Young (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) and Brody and Steinfeld (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson).
Here is the cast and guests on opening night:
Cymbeline "tells of a beautiful princess separated from her beloved, the cruel step-mother who tries to kill her, a credulous husband duped by an adversary, an exiled nobleman who kidnaps a king's sons and a Roman invasion of Britain," according to TFANA. "In this lightning-paced production, a plain white cloth becomes a sail, a bed sheet, and a toga and a 'fabulous' trunk becomes a bed, a throne and a cave. The transformations are magical and playful and true to the play, deepening its themes of illusion, deception and belief."
The music created by Fiasco for Cymbeline "contains some of Shakespeare's most haunting lyrics and sets Shakespeare's words to original compositions and traditional sources." Performed live by the company, "the music ranges from Renaissance madrigals to bluegrass and Appalachian folk tunes."
Tickets are $75 and may be purchased by phone at (212) 868-4444; online by clicking www.smarttix.com or in person at the Barrow Street Theatre box office, Barrow Street (on the corner of Seventh Avenue, one block south of Christopher Street). The box office opens at 1 PM daily.
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