By Adam Hetrick
04 Nov 2009

Idiot Savant star Willem Dafoe
photo by Joan Marcus

Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe leads the world premiere cast of Richard Foreman's Idiot Savant, which officially opens at the Public Theater Nov. 4.

Foreman directs and co-designs the 80-minute production that began previews Off-Broadway Oct. 27 and will continue through Dec. 13. The engagement is presented in association with Foreman's Ontological-Hysteric Theater.

Dafoe ("The English Patient," "Spider-Man," North Atlantic) stars in the title role, alongside cast members Alenka Kraigher as Marie, Elina Löwensohn as Olga, with Joel Israel, Eric Magnus and Daniel Allen Nelson as Slaves.

The work is described by the Public as "a wild theatrical odyssey that could only have sprung from the fantastical mind of Richard Foreman, New York's legendary avant-garde genius. This new work is a philosophical comedy, in the great tradition of Ionesco and Preston Sturges. From precise existential and metaphysical acrobatics, to a ridiculous game of inter-species golf with a Giant Duck, Idiot Savant is a fresh, bracing and hilarious exploration of the boundaries of the legitimate."

Foreman collaborates with Peter Ksander on scenic design. The creative team also includes Gabriel Berry (costume design), Heather Carson (lighting design) and Travis Just (sound design).

Obie winner Richard Foreman has directed numerous productions at the Public Theater including The Threepenny Opera, Penguin Touquet, Three Acts of Recognition, Don Juan, The Golem and Venus.

For tickets visit PublicTheater.

The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street in Manhattan.

Elina Lowensohn, Willem Dafoe, Alenka Kraigher and the company of Idiot Savant
photo by Joan Marcus