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Rock 'n Roll • What the Butler Saw • Doubt • The History Boys • Crime and Punishment • Jane Eyre
Rock ’n’ Roll
by Tom Stoppard
May 7–30
Henry Heymann Theatre
Directed by PICT Artistic Director
Andrew S. Paul
“Rock’n’roll wasn’t just music to us, it was kind of life itself.”
It’s 1968 and Russian tanks are rolling into Prague; Jan, a Czech student, lives for rock ’n’ roll. Max, his Cambridge professor and mentor, lives for Communism. Syd, the Piper, disappears from public view at the height of his fame while Esme, the flower child, gets high…and a shaggy haired rock band, The Plastic People of the Universe, comes to symbolize resistance to the Communist regime. By1990, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in, an absurdist playwright is in Prague Castle, and utopian idealism has hit a wall.
Four-time Tony Award® winner Tom Stoppard’s sweeping and passionate play spans two countries, three generations, 22 turbulent years, and one heck of a lot of great rock ’n’ roll.
Directed by PICT Artistic Director Andrew S. Paul, and featuring Valentina Benrexi, Simon Bradbury, Anwen Darcy, Jarrod DiGiorgi, Tami Dixon, Martin Giles, Joshua D. Kiley, Gabriel King, Diana Ifft, Sam Redford, Helena Ruoti, and Sam Tsoutsouvas. Scenic Design - Narelle Sissons; Costume Design - Erin Collins Rittling; Lighting Design - Jim French; Sound Design - Elizabeth Atkinson; Dialects - Natalie Baker Shirer.
ALSO:
PICT presents two fantastic free panel discussions in conjunction with Rock 'n' Roll and the Storytellers Series -
"Politics and Art in the Former Czechoslovakia"
April 26th, following the 7 p.m. reading of Largo Desolato
Panelists include:
Gina Peirce, M.A.
Assistant Director, Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies
University of Pittsburgh
Martin Votruba, Ph.D.
Director, Slovak Studies Program
University of Pittsburgh
Lenka Pankova
Visiting Instructor, Slavic Department
University of Pittsburgh
PICT partners with the faculty and staff of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies (REES) to present this panel discussion. For more information on REES's mission and programs, please visit www.ucis.pitt.edu/crees.
"Communism, Capitalism, Socialism: Theory and Practice"
May 23rd at 5 p.m.
Panelists include:
James Burnham, Ph.D
Duquesne University, Donahue School of Business
Distinguished Service Professor of Finance
Nancy Condee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Slavic Department
University of Pittsburgh
Julia Gray, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Political Science
University of Pittsburgh
Supplemental Information:
Click here to open the production program (in PDF format)
Reviews and Previews:
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
PICT gets to the heart of Stoppard's complexities
PICT takes a rock 'n' roll journey - through politics
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Endings in Wilson's and Stoppard's plays detract from excellent acting
Music sets the scene for PICT's Rock 'n' Roll
WRCT's Gordon Spencer on "The Best of Broadway"
(pdf of text from radio broadcast)
The Music of Rock 'n' Roll:
Click on the links below to see fantastic videos by and of The Plastic People of the Universe!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucn5_CkPKnM&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTz2TUAONiI&NR=1
Click on the links below for music and videos by Syd Barrett!
Terrapin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZaZaWcdtbY
Four tracks from "Madcap Laughs": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc82zjZ0rPk&feature=related
Goldenhair: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfvh8nn_JkM&feature=related
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