Talk Show and The Old Block, two plays (on the same bill) about father/son relationships, begin previews at Off-Broadway's Synchronicity Space tonight, Sept. 10, for an opening Sept. 11.
The main play, Talk Show, features Ray Luetters, Aysha Quinn, Charles Chessler, Matthew Brown, Kristianne Kurner and Nikoye Banks. Colette Duvall directs the Fred L. Rosenberg drama.
Rosenberg says of his play (Sept.10), "It's a family consisting of a well known TV interviewer, a macho intellectual type and his ex-wife, a feminist author. For types, think Mike Wallace and, say, Gloria Steinem... They broke up years ago because of their career differences, but they still care about each other and have a prep school-aged son. She's written her new book and is advised by her agent to appear on her ex-husband's show. The show then acts as an engine for the reconciliation of the family."
Talk Show was written in early 1996 and workshopped at the T. Schreiber Studios in NY, under the auspices of dramaturg Nick Casale, who serves as overseer of the Synchronicity Space evening.
Asked about the genesis of Talk Show, Rosenberg told Playbill On Line, "I was addicted to watching shows where well-known interviewers bring on well-known authors. I wondered what would happen if the host had on someone totally opposite from his own personality and views. I also wanted to imagine the total nature of someone like that; how he'd be in personal relationships rather than the public world." Other works by Rosenberg include Belle Dame, The Pundit, and the musical Lovers And Liars, which played at the John Houseman Theatre three years ago (a concert version revival is planned).
Opening the Synchronicity Space evening is The Old Block, a brief one-act by Robert Wood and starring Mark Gorman and Ed Franklin. Stephanie Rosenblum directs. The Old Block is part of a one-act trilogy on family relationships.
For tickets ($12) and information on Talk Show and The Old School at Synchronicity Space on Mercer St., call (212) 388-8005.
--By David Lefkowitz
