The Perry Street Theatre Company, Inc. (David Elliott, Martin Platt co-directors) presents the new production of the play by Sallie Bingham, the novelist, playwright and memoirist whose family built a newspaper/media empire on Louisville.
Treason, directed by Platt, concerns the famous and infamous U.S. poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972).
According to production notes, "He wrote operas. He translated works from Greek, Chinese and Japanese. He was instrumental in launching the careers of T.S. Eliot and James Joyce and counted among his friends Hemingway, Robert Frost, and Allen Ginsberg. He was also a womanizer, a racist, an absent father, and a traitor to his country."
Bingham's new play spans over 20 years of Pound's life, exposing the man behind the genius through the eyes of the five women who loved him. "Treason asks, did Ezra Pound betray his wife, mistress, girlfriend, daughter and his country or, in the end, only betray himself?"
The cast includes Philip Pleasants (Ezra Pound), Jennifer Sternberg (Dorothy Shakespeare Pound), Mary Bacon (Marcella Spann), Kathleen Early (Sherri Martinelli), Peter van Wagner (Dr. Overholser), Angela Reed (Mary Rudge) and Damon Gupton (Whiteside/Micheaux). The creative team includes Bill Clarke (sets), Martha Hally (costumes), Jeff Nellis (lighting), Lindsay Jones (sound) and Brian Kim (projections).
Opening is June 15. The Perry Street Theatre is at 31 Perry Street.
Bingham has written novels and short stories and the memoir about her Southern upbringing, "Passion & Prejudice." Her plays have been produced throughout the country including at The Women's Project, and include Milk of Paradise, In the Presence and Hopscotch.
Platt recently directed the European premiere of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt at the Vienna English Theatre. He produced The Perry Street Theatre's production of Gareth Armstrong's award winning Shylock as well as co-produced Here Lies Jenny starring Bebe Neuwirth at the Zipper Theatre.
For information, call Smarttix (212) 868-4444 or visit smarttix.com or www.perrystreettheatre.com.
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Perry Street Theatre first opened in 1975 under the direction of Vasek Simek, and over the next two decades was one of Off-Broadway's most vibrant playhouses. Under the co-direction of Martin Platt and David Elliott, the theatre reopened its doors (after being closed since 1995) with Gareth Armstrong's Shylock in January 2005. The work was nominated for a 2004-2005 Outer Critics Circle Award.
