Foreman's Madcap Idiot Savant Extends Public Theater Run

By Adam Hetrick
09 Nov 2009

Idiot Savant star Willem Dafoe
Idiot Savant star Willem Dafoe
photo by Joan Marcus

The Public Theater has extended performances of Richard Foreman's Idiot Savant, starring Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe, one week.

Foreman's latest theatrical endeavor, a nonlinear theatrical fun house featuring a giant duck, opened to enthusiastic reviews Nov. 4 after beginning previews Oct. 27. Originally scheduled to run through Dec. 13, Idiot Savant will now play an additional week of performances through Dec. 20.

Foreman directs and co-designed the 80-minute production that features Dafoe ("The English Patient," "Spider-Man," North Atlantic) 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.

Idiot Savant 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.