Theresa Rebeck Looks at The Scene in NYC in Humana Fest Play, March 11-April 2
By Kenneth Jones
11 Mar 2006
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Theresa Rebeck
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The 30th anniversary Humana Festival of New American Plays continues March 11 with the first performance of Theresa Rebeck's The Scene at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
The play is one of six new full-length works in the internationally recognized festival where The Gin Game, Crimes of the Heart and After Ashley had early productions.
The Scene plays to April 2 in the 318-seat arena-style Bingham Theatre. Opening night is March 14. Under the direction of Rebecca Bayla Taichman, the comedy takes on the entertainment "scene" in New York.
According to ATL, "The Scene is full of people in 'the scene,' on 'the scene' and desperate for 'the scene.' Charlie, an out-of-work actor who may be past his prime, is spiritually famished and morally adrift searching for something real in the world he sees morphing into something more surreal. He knows 'the scene' having been part of the entertainment industry for nearly two decades."
Enter fresh-faced, eager, ambitious Clea. She's new to the scene — and just off the bus from Ohio.
"Clea and Charlie have a heated affair that eventually dissipates leaving Charlie with empty pockets and more emotionally, spiritually and morally adrift than ever before," according to ATL. "What once seemed absurd and surreal suddenly becomes all too real for Charlie's lost soul."
Rebeck's satire "speaks to what she sees as a country becoming more and more narcissistic." She stated, "I think there is a cultural collapse into narcissism that has not been fully examined. It makes the world more and more surreal."
Rebeck's other plays include Omnium-Gatherum (2003 Humana Festival and Pulitzer Prize finalist), Spike Heels and Bad Dates.
The cast of The Scene includes Stephen Barker Turner as Charlie, David Wilson Barnes, Anna Camp as Clea and Carla Harting.
The creative team includes scenic designer Paul Owen, costume designer Catherine F. Norgren, lighting designer Tony Penna, sound designer Matt Callahan and properties designer Jennifer Dums.
Humana Festival plays are presented in rotating repertory over five weeks in Actors Theatre's 637-seat Pamela Brown Auditorium, the 318-seat Bingham Theatre and 159-seat Victor Jory Theatre.
For more information, visit www.ActorsTheatre.org.
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The Humana Festival is supported by The Humana Foundation.
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