Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

This is the second segment of a six-part interview with Yehuda Hyman, writer and performer of IN-Festival Spotlight Production The Mad 7. Read the first segment here. The play is based on “The Seven Beggars,” a story by Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, and follows a character named Elliott as he encounters seven storytellers from various regions of the world. Each one shares a mystical story through music and dance, propelling Elliott on a spiritual journey of self-discovery. In the following section, Yehuda discusses the play’s connection to Jewish culture around the world, along with his own relationship to Jewish culture and his history with “The Seven Beggars.“

Why did you choose the specific traditions of dance and culture that are incorporated into The Mad 7?

Well, as I was working on this tale, the “Seven Beggars” tale, I was also at the same time on a journey into my culture, which is Jewish culture. And as part of that investigation I was finding out about different subcultures within the Jewish culture. For instance, the Sephardic Jews, who are descended from the Jews of Spain, have their own language—Ladino—and a rich, rich culture of music and language and customs. And the Jews of Yemen, of Persia, of Ethiopia, of India—very different cultures, very different music.

And so, part of this process has been going in to these different cultures. And they are different, even though the commonality is that we’re all Jewish. But within that circle, it’s very, very diverse—different languages, different ways of worshipping, certainly different music. And it just fascinated me.

And I’m attempting to be very true and very specific, but in the end I hope for the audience that it is just a treat, it’s sort of a magic carpet ride of different cultures. Specifically the music and the dance—that they just can enjoy that. And that I can bring these characters to life, and bring the story that each character is telling to life.

What is your personal connection to Jewish culture, and Jewish mysticism? Is that something you have always been really connected to?

Um, no. I’ve been connected to theater all my life, and through theater I’ve been led on different experiences…I mean, I grew up in a Jewish household, in Los Angeles. I’m a first-generation American; my parents were from Eastern Europe. My father’s family was killed in the Holocaust. So I had a very strong cultural feeling as a Jew, and I did have some religious training. But it’s a pretty common experience for American Jews that you assimilate into the larger culture, which I did. And at a certain point shortly after my Bar Mitzvah I felt very distanced from my identity, and any religious beliefs, and I didn’t even really think about it.

(more…)

So the reviews are coming in for Me, Myself & I. I guess they liked it! Here are some excerpts (follow the links at the end of each excerpt to read their entire review):

Photo By T. Charles Erickson

“Has Theatre of the Absurd ever been such unadulterated fun? Edward Albee’s “Me, Myself & I,” receiving its world premiere at the Berlind Theatre in Princeton, offers laugh after laugh. They start with a Mother who gave birth to identical twins, and decided they should have identical names, too. On Thomas Lynch’s spare set, which could easily fit into any SUV, Emily Mann offers sprightly, sure-footed direction. Six years ago, she showed a keen ability to interpret a serious Albee play (”All Over.”) She’s just as expert with a capricious one.” - Peter Filichia, The Star-Ledger

Photo By T. Charles Erickson

“Edward Albee’s new play, Me, Myself & I, premiering at McCarter Theatre in Princeton under Emily Mann’s fine direction, is a jeu d’esprit, a frisky glance over the shoulder at the themes that have preoccupied him and the styles that have characterized his work. It is entertaining and thought-provoking, full of bizarre segues and the playful wordplay that is signature Albee.” - Toby Zinman, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Photo By T. Charles Erickson

“Making her debut in an Albee play, [Tyne Daly] roots every line in the visceral uncertainty that is the essence of this dramatist’s work. Even more than Mr. Murray she melds her character’s Pirandellian exasperation at finding herself in an abstract literary universe (summoned with the right mix of blankness and specificity by Thomas Lynch’s set) with the exasperation and doubt that are part and parcel of being alive.” - Ben Brantley, The New York Times

Photo By T. Charles Erickson

“Esper, who was recently seen in Crazy Mary at Playwrights Horizons, is terrific as the more aggressive, meaner and more troubled OTTO who has a solution, through denial, to sever the bond and the relationship he has with his twin. His means to an end is to become Chinese. Don’t ask. That Esper and Donnell are similar in body type and looks, especially their mirror image hair cuts, adds to the fun. Donnell, who is making his McCarter debut, is equally persuasive as the completely endearing but confounded otto who can’t understand why his brother has chosen to ignore his existence. This, however, doesn’t stop his sneaky OTTO from bedding otto’s girlfriend, Maureen (Charlotte Parry). Parry holds her own in a stand-off with the viper-tongued Mother.” - Simon Saltzman, Curtainup.com

Photo By T. Charles Erickson

“While the boys’ plight takes center stage in the second act, the show’s first 50 minutes belong firmly to Daly and Murray, who create a stunning rapport with each other, mostly ensconced in the giant bed that constitutes Thomas Lynch’s entire first-act set. Daly’s many moments of sheer daffiness and profound confusion are proof of what a first-rate comedienne she can be. But in her fiercest moments of protecting herself or her children (especially evident in the second act), she not only brings to mind her towering performance as Mama Rose in Gypsy, but makes one want to immediately stage a new production of Medea just for her.” - Brian Scott Lipton, TheaterMania.com

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre. Photos: Tyne Daly, Brian Murray, Colin Donnell, and Michael Esper.

Danai Gurira

Playwright Danai Gurira has been developing her newest play, “Eclipsed” at McCarter. She and Nikkole Salter read excerpts from the play in last year’s “IN-Festival,” and the play will receive its first reading at McCarter on March 6, 2007. In researching the play, which explores the effects of war on Liberian women, Danai traveled to Liberia through a TCG New Generations grant, which she applied for with McCarter Theatre. She came back with a journal of her experiences, which I will be sharing excerpts from on the blog. Part I is here. Below is Part II:

I had already resolved that my research was going to be open to all Liberian women’s stories during the war; the theme of survival is what kept becoming clearer and clearer to me. I met with more contacts, Americans this time: Jessica from CCF (Christian Children Foundation - soon to be Children’s Foundation International), Joana from United Nations Mission in Liberia and of course Meg from the US embassy. Each of them referred me to even more contacts; Joana referred me to Rita whose story was beyond words or description. I met with Marie through Jessica and she connected me with the videographer of the organization she worked for. I had a videographer!It was perfect timing - the day before my interviews out of town were to start. Through Meg I met Etweda - the head of the Liberian Women’s Initiative, and another phenomenal Liberian woman—her navigation through the war zone, the heroic work of herself and other women fighting for peace and genderizing the treaty agendas, made some instantaneous alterations to my dramatic narrative. I was moved by her, inspired by her and changed by her, and we found an almost immediate powerful connection. She was invested in what I was trying to do and we found much common ground on our thoughts about the continent we both called home. I asked her if I could interview her more extensively, and she asked if she could send some more aspiring artists to my workshop. We both agreed.

(more…)

Carrie Hughes is McCarter’s Literary Manager. In addition to being a playwrights’ advocate (particularly for emerging playwrights), she manages the influx of scripts that agents submit to the theater for production consideration, she co-coordinates the study guides, she serves as the dramaturg on a few shows a year, she coordinates actor research packets, lobby displays, study guides and program notes and she plays a major role in season planning. With an MFA in Dramaturgy from the Yale School of Drama, she is undaunted in the face of even the toughest research question. I asked her seven questions:

What’s your hometown?

“Hometown” is such a complicated word… I doubt you want my whole geographical history, so let’s just say I grew up in Winnetka, IL.

What do you like most about being a literary manager?

I love working with playwrights. Also the really random research.

What’s on your iPod (or CD player, etc.)?

Lots of This American Life. Some music too. I am particularly enjoying The Weakerthans these days. They have a great song called “Plea from a Cat Named Virtue” that is like a little narrative from a cat’s perspective. It also suggests a party involving “girly drinks and parlor games” which sounds pretty great to me.

What do you love about Princeton?

Bent Spoon, Small World, and the public library!

If you were trapped on a desert island, and could only take one book, what would it be and why?

Well, really? Some sort of outdoor survival manual. (If I knew I was going, I’d go to Amazon and Princeton’s Firestone Library and do a bunch of research and find the best one!) Frankly, I think I’d have a lot of work staying alive and probably wouldn’t have much time to read. If we’re talking about a tropical paradise kind of thing…my mom has been trying to get me to read Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain for 10 years, so maybe I’d try to do that. If I was going to be stuck for a long time, but no survival concerns, I’d probably bring a collected Shakespeare. Yes, that is what everyone says, but you know, the man wrote a lot of stuff and it’s good on a lot of levels.

What was the first play you ever saw?

I remember going to A Christmas Carol at the Goodman when I was little, and we had a subscription to some children’s theater at DePaul when I was a kid…I was little enough that I don’t really remember what the plays were, just the excitement of going there!

What is your favorite thing so far about working at McCarter?

My favorite thing about McCarter…I love that, at the end of the day, everyone is trying to serve the art.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

I’m sitting here in my very adorable McCarter apartment above Palmer Square. Tomorrow we begin rehearsals for The Mad 7. When I arrived on Tuesday evening I was in a nervous state—definitely Code Red. Yoga helps. Thursday became Code Orange. And today was—well, maybe even Code Salmon.

I am excited, nervous natch, and very, very grateful for this opportunity to explore the words and worlds of Rabbi Nachman. Today, I sat in the wonderful rehearsal studio in the Berlind, which will transform to our performing space. I worked on dialects and listened to music as Lauren and Marisol taped out the playing area and arranged everything for tomorrow. I feel like I’m at the bottom of a great mountain I need to climb. Or maybe standing on the edge of the diving board about to jump off (and I can’t dive by the way). Here we go…..

-Yehuda

Posted by Yehuda Hyman, Playwright, Performer, and Choreographer of McCarter Theatre’s production of The Mad 7.

Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Look closely at the picture. Is that a man standing in front of a mirror? No. It’s not. It is Michael Esper (on the left) and Colin Donnell, who play identical twins OTTO and otto in McCarter’s production of Edward Albee’s Me, Myself & I.

“But wait!” you exclaim, “their names aren’t the same! They can’t really be twins. Yet they look so similar!” Yes, they do. “How do they do that?” you ask. Well, here’s the 10-step formula (in case you need to make twins of your own):

1. Cast two actors who look extraordinarily similar, both in build, height, and facial structure. Make sure they are both also equally brilliant actors who are perfect fits for the roles in which they are cast.
2. Give them identical haircuts.
3. Have them coordinate their makeup, so they have the same lip color and amount of 5 o’clock shadow.
4. Give them sessions with a personal trainer, to get their bodies as similar as possible.
5. Dye their hair to match.
6. Go to the eye doctor, and get one of them a set of colored contact lenses the exact shade as the other one’s eyes.
7. Hire a prosthetic makeup designer, have him make veneers for their teeth (to match their teeth and the shape of their mouths) and sculpt a prosthetic nose bridge so that their noses have the same shape.
8. Pad their costumes to make their bodies as similar as possible.
9. Hire a vocal coach to help them sound the same.
10. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse so that their mannerisms and physicality are identical.

That’s it. You’re done. You should now have a set of identical twins of your own . That was easy, no?

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre. Photo: (l. to r.) Michael Esper as “OTTO” and Colin Donnell as “otto” in McCarter Theatre’s production of Edward Albee’s Me, Myself & I.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

I recently had the delightful opportunity to interview Yehuda Hyman, writer and performer of The Mad 7, which will be the Spotlight Production of McCarter Theatre’s upcoming IN-Festival. The play is based on “The Seven Beggars,” a story by Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, and follows a character named Elliott as he encounters seven storytellers from various regions of the world. Each one shares a mystical story through music and dance, propelling Elliott on a spiritual journey of self-discovery.

My interview with Yehuda was so chock-full of great material that I have broken it up into six separate parts, to be published once a week until the production opens. In part one, Yehuda discusses the story of the play and the questions it asks, as well as its place in the context of various traditions of storytelling and dance.

I’m going to start with a very broad question, which is, what is the story about for you?

[laughs]

You can answer whatever aspect of that…

Ahhhhhh… What is the story of the play about?

Mm-hm.

Mm-hmm. I’m trying to figure that out…

Well, let me start with me. For me, it’s a quest to understand why I’m drawn to these stories. And they seem to hold some answers to questions I have about my life—how to live my life in this realm. So, on a very ground level, I’m looking for guidance through these stories.

And so is the character of Elliott, although he doesn’t know it. He’s lost, but he doesn’t really know—he’s so lost that he doesn’t know how lost he is. And so, this is a story about guides or mentors who come and lead this person to an understanding of himself, and his place in the universe, and who he is in this world and the other world. So that’s the base, I think, for what it is. It’s somebody who’s lost, who gets found.

What are those questions, that the stories seem to hold answers to?

Are we alone in the universe? Do we matter? Does our life have any impact in time? Does it impact other people? Can we make a difference? What can we do to make the world a better place? I’m just going through, filtering through the story…

How do we deal with and accept the duality of our natures? We’re made up of two sides, and how do we integrate that and accept that into our lives—not just be one thing or the other thing but our full selves?

And then on an even, just, surface level, it’s the power of storytelling. How a story that you hear can transform you. So Elliott is hearing stories, and the audience is hearing stories, and they’re transforming at the same time. They’re going through a series of circles, like hoops, one to get to the next, and the audience is experiencing it at the same time. So we’re growing together and going through an experience together. It’s not the kind of theater where you want to just sit back; it’s the kind of theater that’s experiential. Because I think that’s what storytelling is, too.
(more…)

Michael Esper

Hi everyone! We here in the McCarter Marketing office heard some very exciting news yesterday, and I wanted to quickly share it with you all. Michael Esper (currently playing one of the Ottos in Me, Myself & I) was just nominated for an Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in last fall’s Dublin Theatre Festival production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Michael performed opposite James Cromwell in the production, which was directed by Garry Hynes. (Incidentally, you may remember that last year Garry Hynes directed Translations at McCarter, a production which later went on to Broadway. Small world.)

The Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Awards recognize the top actors, directors and designers in theater and opera productions across Ireland. Some Google research reveals that past Irish Theatre Award nominees and winners include such fabulous actors as Ian Holm and Christopher Meloni, so Michael is in some very good company.

The winners of the 2007 awards will be announced in Dublin on Sunday, February 24, so stay tuned and root for Michael!

Posted by Erin Breznitsky, Associate Publicist at McCarter Theatre.

Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Have you seen Me, Myself & I yet? Wanna share your thoughts? Have you always thought you would be a good theater reviewer? Do you have brilliant ideas about what Albee’s newest play is about? Do you harbor a secret desire to write? Well now is your chance!

Post your comments about the play below (by clicking on the “comment” link), and read the posts that others have left. If we get a few “citizen responses,” I’ll lift some of them and make them into a full-blown blog entry.

This is your forum, and we’re eager to hear from you, so let’s have a real discussion here. That’s it. I’m done. Your turn. Go!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre. Photo: Tyne Daly as “Mother” and Brian Murray as “Dr.” in McCarter Theatre’s production of Edward Albee’s Me, Myself & I.

Bill Kirby is McCarter’s Sound Engineer. Along with assistant sound engineer Chris Woolley, Bill coordinates sound needs for all produced and presented events. At a performance, you might find him at the sound engineer’s station at the back of the house. With expertise in acoustics, sound editing and wiring, and, of course, an excellent set of ears, Bill mixes microphones, sets up speakers, runs sound cues and supports the entire acoustic world of McCarter. I asked him seven questions:

What’s your hometown?
I’m a citizen of the world. I was born in London, moved to Philadelphia as a child, and went to college in Wales. I guess I would call Philadelphia my hometown if I had to pick.

What do you like most about being a sound engineer?
I like the unique challenges I face everyday. I get a chance to do a little bit of everything; one day I’ll be mixing a show with 24 cast members on wireless mics, the next I’ll be chasing down a vintage Fender amp for a jazz show. It never gets dull.

What’s on your iPod (or CD player, etc.)?
I’ve got a 60gb iPod, so quite a bit. I’ve been listening to a lot of Jack Johnson and Fountains of Wayne lately. London Calling by The Clash is my all time favorite. I’ve also got every episode of The Office for those long train rides.

What do you love about Princeton?
It’s a good mix of big city and small town. There’s a great mix of restaurants and bars and a nice live music scene without all the crowds and lack of parking.

If you were trapped on a desert island, and could only take one book, what would it be and why?
Could I take 7? It would be The Chronicles of Narnia. I loved them as a child, and still reread them every few years.

What was the first play you ever saw?
I think it was a version of Alice in Wonderland at a children’s theater. I only remember being petrified of the White Rabbit.

What is your favorite thing so far about working at McCarter?
It’s the ultimate mix of theater styles. We have the productions values, facilities and talent of a large performing arts center and the artistic integrity and willingness to experiment of a small theater company.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.