Friday, February 8, 2008

NEWS FROM ROCK'N'ROLL

ROCK ’n’ ROLL PLAYWRIGHT
TOM STOPPARD
INTERVIEWED ON “THEATER TALK” TONIGHT

ROCK ’n’ ROLL playwright Tom Stoppard will appear on “Theater Talk” tonight Friday, February 8th at 1am. “Theater Talk” airs locally on Thirteen/WNET and CUNY-TV.
ROCK ’n’ ROLL opened to rave reviews on Sunday, November 4 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street). The production, which is directed by Trevor Nunn, will play a limited engagement through Sunday, March 9.

Ben Brantley, New York Times, called ROCK ’n’ ROLL “arguably Tom Stoppard’s finest play. A passionately acted, decades-spanning tale of love, revolution and music. Trevor Nunn’s swift-footed staging had me hooked.” Clive Barnes, New York Post, raved, “Four stars! Funny and enthralling.” Peter Marks, Washington Post, called the play, “Exhilarating, touching and remarkable. Stoppard’s imagination is buoyant. An impassioned contemplation of rock, revolution and the end of Communism.” Jeremy McCarter, New York Magazine, wrote, “Tom Stoppard’s astounding new work is funny, wise and in the end, triumphant.”

It's August 1968, and Russian tanks are rolling in to Prague. Jan, the Czech student, lives for rock music, Max, the English professor, lives for Communism and Esme, the flower child, is high. By 1990, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in and idealism has hit the wall. A deeply felt look at the connection between rock music and revolution, Stoppard's sweeping and witty play spans two countries, three generations and twenty-two turbulent years, at the end of which love remains - and so does rock 'n' roll.

The production stars Brian Cox (Max), Sinead Cusack (Eleanor/Esme (Older)), and Rufus Sewell (Jan), with Nicole Ansari (Lenka), Mary Bacon (Gillian/Magda), Alice Eve (Esme (Younger)/Alice), Seth Fisher (The Piper/Policeman), Stephen Kunken (Ferdinand), Quentin Maré (Interrogator/Nigel), Ken Marks (Milan/Waiter), Alexandra Neil (Candida) and Anna O’Donoghue (Pupil),

ROCK ’n’ ROLL won the Evening Standard and London Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Play. The Broadway production marks the 40th anniversary since Stoppard was first introduced to New York audiences with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Stoppard was most recently represented on Broadway with the acclaimed Lincoln Center Theater production of The Coast of Utopia, which last season won a record-breaking seven Tony Awards®, including Best Play.

Set design is by Robert Jones, costume design is by Emma Ryott, lighting design is by Howard Harrison and sound design by Ian Dickinson.

ROCK 'n' ROLL is produced on Broadway by Bob Boyett & Sonia Friedman Productions, Ostar Productions, Roger Berlind, Tulchin/Bartner, Douglas G. Smith, Dancap Productions, Jam Theatricals, and The Weinstein Company, in association with Lincoln Center Theater.

Nicole Ansari, Sinead Cusack and Rufus Sewell are appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance to this production.

Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM.

Tickets may be purchased by calling TeleCharge at 212-239-6200, online at www.telecharge.com or at the Jacobs Theatre box office (242 West 45th Street).

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www.RocknRollThePlay.com

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