Illyria
Play Description
It is 1958, and New York City is in the midst of a major building boom; a four-lane highway is planned for the heart of Washington Square; Carnegie Hall is designated for demolition; entire neighborhoods on the West Side are leveled to make room for a new “palace of art.” And a young Joe Papp and his colleagues face betrayals, self-inflicted wounds, and anger from the city’s powerful elite as they continue their free Shakespeare productions in Central Park.
Production Info
Cast: 10 total (5 female, 5 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
- Productions
Press Quotes
“A majestic new play.” —Christopher Kelly, Star Ledger
“ILLYRIA … works its way between your ribs.” —Sara Holdren, New York Magazine
“ILLYRIA affords distinctive … pleasures that no one these days does better than Mr Nelson. I mean the sense of experiencing life, in all its trivia and eventfulness, happening in a very specific moment, among people who know one another well.” —Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“Uses the stage not as a pedestal but as a field of whispered dreams.” —Michael Shulman, The New Yorker
“Chekovian discussions unfold against a subtly evoked backdrop of lurking menace. At stake is not just free Shakespeare but the characters’ livelihoods amid ongoing McCarthyite witch-hunts…” —Max McGuinness, Financial Times
“Playgoers are well aware of Nelson’s excellence at probing the hopes and illusions of modern-day characters. Here, he takes the larger-than-life Papp & pals and places them into something of a backstage morality play with sheathes of undercurrents worthy of old Will.” —Steven Suskin, Huffington Post
“ILLYRIA’s artists catch us up in their rich, reeling talk. But the scale and scope here is vigorously human.” —Alan Scherstuhl, The Village Voice
Book Information
Publisher | BPPI |
---|---|
Publication Date | 1/18/2018 |
Pages | 112 |
ISBN | 9780881457520 |
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
Originally developed and produced by The Public Theater
Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com