Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, Starring F. Murray Abraham, Opens Off-Broadway

By Kenneth Jones
23 Feb 2012

F. Murray Abraham and Steven Skybell
F. Murray Abraham and Steven Skybell
Photo by Joan Marcus

Classic Stage Company's new production of Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, starring Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham as the persecuted scientist, opens Feb. 23 following previews from Feb. 1 on East 13th Street in Manhattan. The drama, translated by Charles Laughton and directed by CSC artistic director Brian Kulick, has been extended to March 18.

Abraham is joined by Jon DeVries, Robert Dorfman, Aaron Himelstein, Andy Phelan, Amanda Quaid, Steve Rattazzi, Steven Skybell and Nick Westrate.

The creative team includes scenic designer Adrianne Lobel, lighting designer Justin Townsend and costume designer Oana Botez-Ban  with original music and sound design by Christian Frederickson and Ryan Rumery.

Considered by many to be one of Brecht's masterpieces, according to CSC, "Galileo explores the question of a scientist's social and ethical responsibility, as the brilliant scientist Galileo must choose between his life and his life's work when confronted with the Inquisition." The 1600s-set play had its American premiere in 1947, satrring Charles Laughton as the scientist who proved the theory that the Earth circled the Sun.

Abraham won the Best Actor Oscar for the film "Amadeus." He made his Broadway debut in Man in the Glass Booth directed by Harold Pinter. His stage credits include the 20th anniversary production of Caretaker, Waiting for Godot directed by Mike Nichols, and plays by Sophocles, Aristophanes, Jonson, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Molière, Fadeaux, Giraudoux, Rostand, Chekhov, Joyce Carol Oates, Pirandello, Beckett, Pinter, Miller, McNally, Guare, Shepard and others.

CSC's home is at 136 E. 13th Street. Galileo's performance schedule is Tuesdays at 7 PM; Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM; Saturdays & Sundays at 3 PM. Tickets are $60-$65. For tickets and information, visit www.classicstage.org or call (866) 811-4111 or (212) 352-3101, or visit the CSC box office Monday-Friday noon to 6 PM.

Visit the theatre’s website at www.classicstage.org.