[NEohioPAL] Oberlin College: Vieux Carre by Tennessee Williams, Directed by Matthew Wright

OBERLIN, OH—This February the Oberlin College Theater and Dance Program will present Vieux Carré, a play by Tennessee Williams. Author of A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie and arguably one of the greatest American playwrights of the 20th century, Williams wrote poetically of a deep love for the South and in particular of New Orleans. Now, following the

exposure of New Orleans at the hands of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Vieux Carré has assumed new meaning in revealing the hardships of those marginalized and forgotten among New Orleans society. One of Williams' last and most shamelessly autobiographical plays, the action follows his first days as a young writer living in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Vieux Carré brings to life the sounds and spirit of one of America's most eclectic and unique cities in an emotional tribute to the 'Big Easy' at a time when its identity has been dramatically marginalized. In a new production, with hurricane ravaged New Orleans as a backdrop, Vieux Carré explores the fundamental fight for survival, the longing for human connections, and the quest for personal discovery as we witness the birth of Williams' artistic and literary genius. Haunting, poetic, funny, and deeply moving, the play pays homage to the eccentric characters, who inspired Williams' distinctive voice in years to come.

Directed by Associate Professor of Theater, Matthew Wright,Vieux Carré will be performed at Oberlin College's Hall Auditorium, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, February 7th, 8th, and 9th at 8PM. High Schools can receive complimentary tickets for all shows by contacting Central Ticket Service at 440-775-8169 or 1-800-371-0178. Hall Auditorium is wheel chair accessible, parking is free, and hearing enhancement is available. All media inquiries can be directed to Hall Publicity at 440-775-8171.

Tickets are General Admission and are $4 for Oberlin Students, $6 for Seniors/Oberlin Staff, $6 for Educators, and $8 for the public. To obtain tickets please contact Central Ticket Service at (440) 775-8169 or 1-800-371-0178, open 12pm – 5pm Monday through Friday. Box Office opens one hour prior to performances.

The cast of Oberlin College students features junior Alex Birnie as The Writer, junior Elizabeth Koehn as Jane, and junior Jill Murdoch as Mrs. Wire. Included are seniors Matthew Castleman (Sky/Photographer) and Raphael Martinez (Nightingale), juniors Derrick Bean (Tye) and Elizabeth Woodbury (Mary Maude), sophomore Josh Christian (Miss Carrie) and freshman Mieko Gavia (Nursie). In addition the cast features Guest Artists Holly Handman-Lopez (Mysterious Woman) and David Bugher (Patrolman).

In addition to director Matthew Wright, the production team for Vieux Carré includes Michael Louis Grube (Set Design), Chris Flaharty (Costume Design), Sarah Gasser (Stage Manager), Carolyn Wong (Lighting Design), Andrew Kaletta (Sound Design & Master Electrician), Alexander Overington and Francis Wilson (Sound Design), Joseph Natt (Technical Director), David Bugher (Asst. Technical Director, Props), Jamie Caplan (Asst. Stage Manager), Chris Sherwood (Asst. Director), Barbara Kessler (Box Office), Hannah Epstein (Poster Design), Alex Birnie and Emily Tinawi (Publicity).

Matthew Wright (Director), is an actor, director, voice and dialect coach and theatre educator whose work has taken him across the United States. He has directed numerous plays for colleges and universities including significant productions of: A Bright Room Called Day, Dancing At Lughnasa, Three Sisters (at Oberlin College); Ivanov, Brand, Hedda Gabler, Holy Ghosts, Harvey, Misalliance, and 1940s Radio Hour (all at Florida Atlantic University). Professionally, Matthew has cocreated and directed three performance projects with The Core Ensemble, a new music chamber orchestra. One of these productions (Tres Vidas) continues to tour internationally since it's debut in 2001. Other professional directing projects include work at City Theatre (Summer Shorts, 1998 and 1999), FloridaStage (staged readings of Fish or Cut Bait and Beeluther- hatchee), the Caldwell Theatre Company (staged reading of Fanny and Walt) and The Miami International Book Fair (reduced version of The Cherry Orchard). Matthew has served on the faculties of The Ohio State University, Wright State University and Florida Atlantic University where he headed the graduate actor-training program for ten years. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Theater at Oberlin College where he teaches a variety of acting studios. Matthew has been a proud member of Actors' Equity Association since 1988.

The play follows the lives and interactions of the tenants at 722 Toulouse Street, a rooming house situated in the French Quarter of New Orleans and run by the eccentric landlady Mrs. Wire. The Writer, recently arrived from St. Louis, learns through both personal experience and through observing the lives of those around him how exciting and unforgiving life in the Quarter can be. An old housekeeper Nursie, an aspiring fashion designer from New York, Jane, her strip-show barker boyfriend Tye, a quick sketch artist, Nightingale, dying of Tuberculosis, and two starving old ladies, Miss Carie and Mary Maude, all struggle to relate to one another in their attempt to find meaning in their lives and to simply get by.

"I wanted to do a play about New Orleans," explains director Matthew Wright. "It is a city I have visited many times as a young person and that I have a special love for. When Katrina hit in 2005, I think we all felt a deep sense of horror and loss." The play, originally written and produced in 1977, six years before the playwright's death, takes place in late 1938 and spring 1939. "This was a time in which New Orleans was very rich in culture," continues Wright. "I wanted to look at New Orleans from the perspective of its life when it was really thriving." "All of Williams' work is very visual in that he creates incredibly atmospheric settings. There's a lot of mood in what he writes," describes Wright. "There is a kind of poetic language and depth of inner-life that embue all his characters that make them both challenging and incredibly exciting for actors to embody."

Similar to The Glass Menagerie, Vieux Carré is a memory play based around Williams' own life and he boldly acknowledges the narrator as himself "those many years ago" in strikingly candid recollections of the experiences that shaped him as a writer. "It's a very brave play because he's so forthright about his homosexuality and growth as a writer," ventures Wright. "There is also a lot of humor in the play exactly as you find in his greatest influence Chekhov. The examination of existential loneliness, which can be found in both of their works, sometimes makes us laugh quite hard."

The production features a set design by Michael Louis Grube and costume design by Chris Flaharty and brings together Williams' world of 1938 with the cultural complexities of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The play takes place on the foundation of a house that has been destroyed in the storm. "I've been through a couple of hurricane places," explains Grube. "I've seen the damage; it's incredible. Once you see big houses floating across the road, you don't ever forget that." Using found objects and damaged furniture as set pieces in what Williams describes as a "poetic evocation of all rooming houses of the world" the modern world is juxtaposed with 1930's period costumes in a true blend of both New Orleans past and present. "I think there will be a very strong dichotomy, especially within the given context of going to work on Katrina." says Flaharty. "I would like for people to be haunted by the images of the play," remarks Wright. "I'm hoping that it will allow people to remember their own humanity, remember New Orleans, and maybe inspire people to help New Orleans in its recovery efforts."