A Streetcar Named Durang: Two Burlesques and a Nightmare
by Christopher Durang
L'Etage Cabaret
September 2 - 20, 2008
Directed by Tina Brock and Gerre Garrett
Directors
Tina Brock and Gerre Garrett
Costume Designer
Ana Vallejo
Producing Associate
Lee Pucklis
Assistant Director
Natalie Diener
Fight Choreographer
Michael Cosenza
Stage Manager/Lights and Sound Operator
Ryan McMenamin
Production Manager
Bob Schmidt
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Playing time is 70 minutes; there will be no intermission.
Feel free to visit the bar and accommodations, located in the lobby, throughout the show.
MUSIC
Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Montian
Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Montian
Coleman Hawkins: Essential Sides Remastered 1929-1939
Coleman Hawkins
Ghost Town
Bill Frisell
Good Dog, Happy Man
Bill Frisell
Nashville
Bill Frisell
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If this is your first Idiopathic Ridiculopathy experience, we formed in 2006 to present and preserve the classic and lesser-known works by authors from the loosely-defined “Theater of the Absurd” such as Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and Edward Albee; to provide artistic opportunities to actors, directors and designers interested in exploring their craft through this material, and to expose modern theater-going audiences to absurdism and to develop new audiences for this work. We have a particular fondness for works that incorporate physical comedy, clowning, vaudeville, and music hall elements.
We wondered if enough people would support a theater company devoted specifically to this genre. We’re very excited by your response to these works. Our non-profit (501C3) status was granted as of December 2007, making it possible for us to now apply for funding from government and private sources. That, combined with public enthusiasm and support, are making it possible for the IRC to make the leap to the next level in the company’s growth. So, thanks and continue to pass the word to those you think would enjoy knowing about the work we’re doing.
To keep in touch with our progress and what we’re planning, visit the IRC’s website at www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.com. We update the site frequently with images from the shows, thoughts on what we’re planning and our general goings on. It’s a great way to keep in touch with us throughout the year.
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The IRC in 2009…You’re Invited!
It’s My Party (and I’ll Cry if I Want To)
The IRC celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Eugène Ionesco’s birth with special events throughout 2009, including IRC productions of The Lesson and The Chairs and The New Tenant in Fringe 2009.
And, if you missed it in May, it’s back by popular demand in February 2009:
The Raw Onion Returns: America Speaks Out (Again)!
Reviews
A Streetcar Named Durang (2008)
"Attention, all theater-lovers: Don't miss this one!"
"Eye-moppingly funny, and clever to boot..."
Toby Zinman, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Exuberant acting (especially from Chris Fluck, Betsy Herbert, Laurie Norton — OK, everybody!) makes the daffy “Desire, Desire, Desire” and twisted “A Stye of the Eye” hilarious...Magic! That’s what Durang and IRC deliver..."
Mark Cofta, Philadelphia City Paper
Director's Notes
September 2008
Greetings Friends!
This is the IRC’s third Fringe show, and 8th production since the company formed in May 2006. While traversing the existential mountains and valleys of Beckett and Ionesco, Albee and Pinter in such a short time span, we’ve learned much about many things theatrically-related, but mostly how hilarious and absurd the search for the meaning of it all can be.
Christopher Durang’s plays are a blast to perform. Like Eugene Ionesco, his work depicts a supercharged, surreal situation -- a funhouse ride akin to an athletic endurance event, and I thank this group for their energy and commitment throughout. Two of the three plays you’ll see tonight are parodies of works by Tennessee Williams and Sam Shepard. We thought to provide a genealogical theatrical road map detailing the six degrees of separation between the many characters and plays, in the end it seemed much more fun to simply uncork the can and let these characters come to life.
This year the IRC will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Eugene Ionesco, a major figure in the movement coined “Theater of the Absurd.” Plans are underway to bring several of his well-known works and one lesser-produced gem to the stage in 2009 to shine the light on this influential playwright. I hope you’ll join us and follow what’s happening on our website.
Thanks for being here and helping the IRC to keep going!
Tina Brock
Producing Artistic Director
The Philadelphia Inquirer
August 2008
by Toby Zinman
A Streetcar Named Durang: Two Burlesques and a Nightmare
Attention, all theater-lovers: Don't miss this one!
Eye-moppingly funny, and clever to boot, Tina Brock's Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium has found exactly the right Fringe material (three entertaining scripts by Christopher Durang) and exactly the right cast (Chris Fluck, RJ White, Gerre Garrett, Betsy Herbert, Ethan Lipkin, Laurie Norton, Bob Schmidt, Mark Schroeder - and her own fine self).
In the first, "Desire, Desire, Desire," A Streetcar Named Desire (Desire Desire) seems to be going along hilariously, with Blanche all languid and neurasthenic, just filled with desire desire desire, having waited six years for her sister Stella to return with that lemon coke. Stanley bellows "Stella!" periodically. Then, suddenly, Maggie the Cat shows up, Stanley turns into Brick and - well, you get the idea. To give more away would deprive you of your fun, but be on the lookout for O'Neill.
The second play, "The Actor's Nightmare," begins when an innocent bystander has to fill in for Edwin Booth (who's been in a car crash). As it slides from Noel Coward's Private Lives to a mishmash of Beckett plays (Checkmate is the best title), Bystander is wearing a Hamlet costume. Once he finds himself playing Sir Thomas More, things can only end badly. The last, "A Stye of the Eye," skewers Sam Shepard's plays - just about all of them - with some Mamet thrown in. But wait! Is that Agnes of God I see? Or is it Equus? Or Amadeus? Nah, it's Mamet.
Philadelphia City Paper
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
by Mark Cofta
A Streetcar Named Durang: Two Burlesques and a Nightmare
Knowledge of Williams, Beckett, Coward, Mamet, Shepard and lots of plays aids appreciation of Christopher Durang’s gifts to theater geeks (i.e., anyone chortling through the brilliant one-minute summary of O’Neill’s four-hour The Iceman Cometh), but these comedies work on many levels. Exuberant acting (especially from Chris Fluck, Betsy Herbert, Laurie Norton — OK, everybody!) makes the daffy "Desire, Desire, Desire" and twisted "A Stye of the Eye" hilarious, and even saves the overrated, overstated, overdone "Actor’s Nightmare." "I don’t want realism," Tina Brock’s Blanche gasps, "I want magic!" That’s what Durang and IRC deliver.