THE OSCHOLARS
___________

Vol. IV

No. 10

Issues no 42: October-November 2007

GOING WILDE

Current & Forthcoming Productions

With the specific appointment of Michelle Paull as Associate Editor for English Theatre and Tiffany Perala as Associate Editor for American Theatre, we will be improving our coverage from those countries. Information from Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden is provided by our other Associate Editors, but will not yet be as complete. This page will cover Wilde and Wilde-related productions; coverage of other productions of fin-de-siècle interest, previously on this page under the heading ‘Beyond the Wilderness’, are now to be found on our new Theatre page,

Again, we hope readers will help provide information.
Current productions are given as a rolling list, new ones being added each month, old ones being removed on expiry.

Click     for the main pages of the current issue of THE OSCHOLARS
For the Table of Contents, click |To hub page |To THE OSCHOLARS home page

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Canada		Switzerland
England		The United States of America
France

CANADA

We regret the accidental omission of this from our last issue.

Oscar Remembered by Maxim Mazumdar Directed by Greg Campbell Cast: Denis Couillard 4-14 July, 2007 Real Theatre Toronto, Ontario

http://www.deniscouillard.myeweb.net/

ENGLAND

(Our Associate Editor with responsibility for English Theatre is Michelle Paull. Do please alert her to any coming productions. @ )

The Importance of Being Earnest

Alton Operatic & Dramatic Society

Assembly Rooms

Alton

8th – 10th November

The Importance of being Earnest

The Theatre Royal, Bath Company, directed by Peter Gill.

Tour schedule (week beginning):

10th & 11th September Theatre Royal Bath

24th September Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

1st October Edinburgh King’s Theatre

8th October Malvern Theatres

15th October His Majesty’s Theatre

29th October Newcastle Theatre Royal

5th November Cambridge Arts Theatre

12th November Chichester Festival Theatre

19th November Richmond Theatre

London: Vaudeville Theatre for a West End run from Tuesday 22nd January to Saturday 26th April 2008

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Starring PENELOPE KEITH

The Picture of Dorian Gray

We have word, but no schedule, of a new version of Dorian Gray as a one-man show, performed by Keith Drinkel and directed by John Jones.

Salome

Bridewell Theatre, London

Directed by Mark Leipacher

Presented by Giudecca

A boozy evening on the palace terrace is the perfect opportunity for King Herod to flirt with his stepdaughter Salome – apart from the presence of his wife, a suicidal soldier and a prisoner prophesising his death!

Tuesday - Friday, 13th November – 16th November 2007
Tuesday - Friday, 20th November – 23rd Nov 2007

FRANCE

Danielle Guérin, our Associate Editor for French cultural affairs, is compiling a directory of all French productions for our sister publication Rue des beaux arts, which she edits. This will appeal serially and an amalgamated list will eventually be published in the folder in the webpages of THE OSCHOLARS at www.oscholars.com, where Rue des beaux arts is housed. Greater attention will be paid to French language productions (or English language productions in France) in Rue des beaux arts than here in future, but links will be put in place. Rue des beaux arts plans to cover all productions in France and DOM/TOM, French Canada, Wallonie and Suisse Romande and to review as many as possible. Contact melmoth.paris@gmail.com for alerts.

Les Clack is presenting a one-man-show « More Lives Than One » at The Sudden Theatre, 14bis rue Sainte Isaure, 75018 Paris.

SWITZERLAND

Salome

A production by Annie Bisang is announced for January 2008 at the Comédie de Génève, Geneva.

THE UNITED STATES

(Our Associate Editor with responsibility for United States Theatre is Tiffany Perala. Do please alert her to any coming productions. @ )

· Although we received news of the first item too late to cover it, we include it for the record. Fortunately, we can follow it by early news of a whole feast of Wilde in Pittsburgh next year.

The Round Top 10th Annual Theatre Forum was held 2nd-4th November, 2007: Wild about Wilde! The Work and Wit of Oscar Wilde

This collaboration with Unity Theatre is described as ‘an illuminating and entertaining weekend featuring outstanding lectures, performances, music and meals all exploring the rich theatrical world of the incomparable Oscar Wilde.’

A brilliant group of performers and scholars convened on the beautiful grounds of Festival Hill to celebrate the writer of the most perfect comedy in the English language and so much more!

Tom Foral Felicia Londre Chesley Krohn Kate Pogue Vern Sutton Ann Thompson

Presenter Biographies

Tom Foral: Tom returns from New York City for his ninth annual Theatre Forum appearance. Tom's undergraduate degree is from Northwestern and he holds an MFA in theatre from Penn State. His performing experience is widespread, including shows on Broadway, off-Broadway and in regional theatre, plus film and television. A highly skilled painter and designer, Tom is spending much of his time doing portraits and figurative works. Look for his collage of Round Top in the gift shop here at Festival Hill.

Chesley Krohn: An actress, choreographer, director and producer, Chesley trained as a dancer and was a member of Houston's Allegro Ballet Company. She studied in New York City with Luigi and appeared on Broadway in A Chorus Line. In Houston she has played leading roles with the Alley Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars and Theatre Incorporated among other companies. She was seen most recently in Fort Worth in Casa Manana's production of Showboat and at Unity Theatre, Brenham, in Enchanted April and in Harvey.

Felicia Londre: Felicia Londre is Curators' Professor of Theatre at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and Dramaturg for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival. She is the author of Love's Labor's Lost: Critical Essays and The History of World Theatre: From the English Restoration to the Present, and Words at Play, Creative Writing and Dramaturgy, Her most recent book is The Enchanted Years of the Stage, Kansas City at the Crossroads of Ameriana Theater, 1870-1930. She was inducted into the College of fellows of the American Theatre in 1999 and received the Outstanding Teacher of Theatre in Higher Education Award from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education in 2001.

Kate Pogue: Kate recently directed Romeo and Juliet for the University of Houston Downtown. A playwright, librettist and theatre director, she received an undergraduate degree in theatre from Northwestern and an M.A. from the University of Minnesota. For ten years she was the Artistic Director of both Opera to Go and The Shakespeare by the Book Festival, for which she directed numerous productions. Her book Shakespeare's Friends was published last January by Praeger and her most recent book, Shakespeare's Family, will appear this coming spring.

Vern Sutton: Gifted teacher, lecturer, singer and actor, Vern returns for his ninth appearance at the annual Theatre Forum weekend. Longtime resident of Minneapolis/St Paul, Vern recently retired as chair of the Music Department at the University of Minnesota. His performances in the Twin Cities include work with the Plymouth Music Series, Center Opera, Minnesota Opera, The Guthrie Theatre, the Minneapolis Children's Theatre, and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. He just closed a run of 1776 in Minneapolis.

Ann Thompson: Born in Indonesia, educated in Switzerland, Ann Thompson brings a broad cultural perspective to her knowledgeable and witty talks on Opera and So Much More. Her series called Let's Go to the Opera included booklets and tapes giving background to more than ninety operas, and tapes which the Library of Congress stocks for use by the visually handicapped. She gives pre-opera lectures for Houston Grand Opera, provides descriptive services for blind patrons, and lectures in various locales in the Houston area.

SCHEDULE

Friday, November 3

4:00 p.m. Registration Service Building

5:45 p.m. Dinner Menke House

7:00 p.m. Depart for Brenham

8:00 p.m. The Importance of Being Earnest Unity Theatre, Brenham The Most Perfect English Comedy

Saturday, November 4

8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast for overnight guests Menke House Dining Room

8:30 a.m. Bridges and Gardens Walk: Ann Thompson Menke House Porch

9:00 a.m. Late Registration Service Building

10:00 am Felicia Londre Chapel Wit and Wisdom Theatre in the Age of Oscar Wilde

12:00 noon Lunch Menke House Dining Room

1:30 p.m. Lecture: Ann Thompson Concert Hall Stage Wilde Tales of Wonder Wilde and the Evolution of the Literary Fairy Tale

3:30 a.m. Presentation: Tom Foral, Kate Pogue Concert Hall Stage Wilde’s Incomparable Repartee A Sampler of Wildean Wit

4:30 Tour of the Property Concert Hall - rear

6:30 p.m. Reception Menke House Parlor Formal Dress encouraged!

7:00 p.m. Dinner Menke House Dining Room

9:15 p.m. Performance: Vern Sutton and Keith Weber Concert Hall Stage Wilde and the Wild, Wild West The Culture Wilde encountered on his tour of The American West

Sunday November 5

8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast for overnight guests Menke House Dining Rooim

9:00 Woodland Walkabout with Ann Thompson Menke House Porch

10:30 Wilde set to Music: Concert Hall Stage Chesley Krohn, Vern Sutton, Greg and Jennnifer Wise Earnest in Love

The Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre announce

An Ideal Husband 8th – 31st May 2008

Sir Robert Chiltern – brilliant politician, perfect gentleman, and ideal husband – is on the verge of obtaining cabinet rank.  Then the scheming and seductive Mrs. Cheveley threatens to reveal a dark secret from his past, and the foundations of his prized career and marriage look set to crumble. A dazzling blend of farce and morality, An Ideal Husband is directed by PICT Artistic Director Andrew S. Paul in the intimate Heymann Theatre.  

Salome 12th-28th June 2008

Until now, the once-banned Salome has been obscured by the popularity of Wilde’s comedies. But this exhilarating new production, conceived by Steven Berkoff and directed by Alan Stanford of Dublin’s renowned Gate Theatre, recreates Salome for a modern audience. Composer and pianist Roger Doyle will join Stanford in Pittsburgh to perform his acclaimed original improvised musical score. 

PICT Special Events

Wilde Tales by Bruce Dow  May 22-31, 2008

PICT, in association with the Pittsburgh International Children’s Theatre, is proud to bring you the world premiere of this brilliant new musical based upon Oscar Wilde’s exceptional children’s stories The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant. 

In the Company of Oscar Wilde Arranged and performed by Alan Stanford  June 1, 2008, 2pm

Salome director Alan Stanford, star of Dublin’s internationally renowned Gate Theatre, delivers his acclaimed one-man Oscar Wilde performance/lecture as a benefit for PICT – one show only! Programming, artists, and dates subject to change. 

More details will be given as we receive them.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Annie Russell Theatre
Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida
16th to 24th February 2008

The Importance of Being Earnest

Clemson Players
The Brooks Center for the Performing Arts
Clemson University, South Carolina
15th to 19th April 2008

The Importance of Being Earnest

Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
9th May to 7th June 2008

Hannah Barth Robert Bonnatto Elizabeth Gotha Jessica Grant Ed Hoopman Bob Jolly Bobbie Steinbach Lewis D. Wheeler

Gwendolen Merriman Miss Prism Cecily Jack Lane/Chasuble Lady Bracknell Algernon

Director Scenic Design Costume Design Lighting Design Stage Manager

Spiro Veloudos Brynna Bloomfield Gail Astrid Buckley Robert Cordella Nerys Powell

Stephen & Mr. Wilde by Jim Bartley

Directed by Martin Hunter
Produced by Hart House Theatre
28th February to 8th March 2008

Stephen & Mr. Wilde premiered in 1993 at Persephone Theatre, Saskatoon, directed by Bill Glassco. It has been produced in cities across Canada, including the Toronto premiere in 1995 directed by Martin Hunter, and also in a 2000 Stratford Festival co-production with CBC Radio. The story of Stephen and Mr. Wilde spans twenty-four hours in the late spring of 1882, in Toronto, during Oscar Wilde’s North American lecture tour. The play explores the societal divide between Oscar Wilde, and his Black American valet, Stephen Davenport.

The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde By Thomas Kilroy Directed by Marcela Lorca Guthrie Theatre Minneapolis, Minnesota 31st May to 13th July 2008

The play is published by Gallery Press, Lough Crew, Co Meath, Ireland.

Click     for the main pages of the current issue of THE OSCHOLARS
For the Table of Contents, click |To hub page |To THE OSCHOLARS home page