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contact:
Mr. Ken Starrett
North American Director
The Noel Coward Society
49 W 68th St, Apt 1-RNew York, NY 10023(212) 877-4259email Ken |
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 Continuing Coverage: Peace in Our Time
This issue of Coward on the Coast highlights the U. S. Premiere of a new adaptation by Barry Creyton of Coward's Peace in Our Time. Previews are in progress now through October 19. Performances begin Thursday, October 20 and run through December 11, 2011. Presented by Antaeus at the Deaf West Theatre, North Hollywood, CA.
Also in this issue:
The Noël Coward Foundation awards a third year of funding for The Young Idea Project at Antaeus, and
Two special NCS events in North Hollywood October 23rd and 30th for Coward Society members.
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Opening Night Events for Peace in Our Time
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Peace in Our Time by Noël Coward Deaf West Theatre 5114 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA October 20 - December 11, 2011 The Antaeus Company presents the U. S. Première of Barry Creyton's new adaptation Directed by Casey Stangl Casts, Opening Nights and Special Events The Antaeus Company of North Hollywood, CA has a long-standing practice of double casting each production. They have announced the two casts for Peace in Our Time, named "Epps Cocoas" and "Stubbs Specials", appearing in performances in rotation on Saturdays and Sundays. Using an Excel algorithm, Antaeus will mix and match the casts on Thursdays and Fridays, calling the combination "Gordon's Gins." Epps Cocoas Emily Chase * Kendra Chell * Chris Clowers * John Combs * JD Cullum * Paul Culos * Jason Dechert * Etta Devine * Drew Doyle * Joseph Fuhr Christopher Guilmet * Graham Hamilton * Jason Henning * Steve Hofvendahl Raleigh Holmes * Danielle Jones * Susan Boyd Joyce * Lily Knight * Peter Larney Richard Levinson * Zoe Perry * Joanna Strapp * Amelia White Stubbs Specials John Allee * Daniel Bess * Bill Brochtrup * Josh Clark * Chris Clowers Mark Doerr * Karianne Flaathen * Eve Gordon * Belen Greene * Anna Mathias Rosalyn Mitchell * Rebecca Mozo * Rob Nagle * Ann Noble John Francis O'Brien * Melinda Peterson * Philip Proctor * Jesse Sharp Brian Tichnell * Rebekah Tripp * Patrick Wenk-Wolff * Abby Wilde * Buck Zachary Click on the show time for any date in Antaeus' online Box Office calendar to see the cast list for that performance: Box office calendar
Two casts, two opening performances per cast.
The opening night shows on Thursday, October 20th (Epps) and Friday, October 21st (Stubbs) are primarily for "Family and Friends" and include a splendid party after the show with food and wine for the audience and cast.
Gala opening shows on Saturday, October 22nd (Epps) and Sunday, October 23rd (Stubbs) feature a lavish post-show reception. Critics and press will be in attendance all four nights.
_________________________________________________ Tickets Tickets are now on sale for the show, including the Previews, which started October 13th. Previews $15
Thursday/Friday at 8 PM $30 Saturday 8 PM/Sunday 2:30 PM $34 Antaeus kindly offers a $5 per ticket discount to NCS members for performances after October 26th. Mention the code "NCS" when you order your tickets. Antaeus Box Office 5112 Lankershim Blvd North Hollywood, CA 91601 818-506-1983 PIOT tix online ____________________________________________________ Follow the Production Online For more information about the production, see: Antaeus web site Blog & Tweets Antaeus Facebook page back to top
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Noël Coward Society
Special Events in Southern California
October 23 and 30, 2011
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Coward Society members are invited to attend two special events: October 23, 2011 4 PM A celebration of the opening performance of Peace in Our Time on Sunday, including the gala post-show reception with Antaeus' artistic team and performers. (Ticket price = $75.) October 30, 2011 11 AM - 1 PM Cowardly Lines, a pre-show symposium on Coward and his works, Sunday morning in the Deaf West Theatre. Featuring Barry Creyton (actor, director, author, and adapter of Peace in Our Time) with Kathy Williams, U.S. West Coast Liaison for the Noël Coward Society. Plus, a 2:30 PM matinee of Peace in Our Time. (Symposium is free; matinee ticket price = $29 for NCS members/ $34 for non-members.)
Please send me email if you are interested in attending the NCS special events: kathywilliams@noelcoward.net
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Past Informative:
News of Past Productions of Peace in Our Time in SoCal
| | | The October 5, 2011 Los Angeles Times "Culture Monster" blog notes that 62 years have passed since the earliest known productions of Peace in Our Time in California: two popular productions at the Geller Theatre, one in 1949 and another in 1951 (...Times critic Von Blon liked it again, citing it as one of the year's highlights on the L.A. theater scene...), plus a run at the Pasadena Playhouse in the summer of 1950. Those shows are also the most recent known productions in Los Angeles.
Coward does not mention these productions in his diaries, nor is there word of them in his autobiographies, biographies, or in Mander and Mitchenson's Theatrical Companion to Coward (updated by Barry Day and Sheridan Morley in 2000).
The Times writer, Mike Boehm, describes hearing about the Pasadena Playhouse production from actress Valerie Reynolds, who was cast at age 15 (in 1950) to play a young tart who fraternizes with the enemy; the article continues with a description of a highly-favorable review and a "western premiere" of another play by Coward.
A visit to Times archives turned up a review, dated July 15, 1950, and headlined "Coward Play Impresses." The playhouse mounted "Peace in Our Time" on its main stage as part of its 16th annual Midsummer Drama Festival, and critic Katherine Von Blon threw bouquets: "... a story filled with heartbreak, over which the indomitable courage of dust-doomed humanity rises exultantly through the sheer passion of spirit. ... Vajda's sympathetic grasp ... and her professional direction of the cast of 40 resulted in a genuine tour de force."
1950 was a big year for Coward in Pasadena: The Times in November noted that Vajda's playhouse staging of one of his more representative comedies, "Present Laughter," was that play's "western premiere."
For the complete story, here are web links to the two Los Angeles Times "Culture Monster" blogs that describe the upcoming Antaeus production of Peace ... and reveal earlier productions in California.
latimes blog sept26
latimes blog oct5
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The Young Idea Project (TYI)
Phase III: Autumn 2011 Young Antaeus actors featured in Peace in Our Time |
| | For a third year, the Noël Coward Foundation has once again generously provided grant funding to The Antaeus Company in support of training for selected young actors studying Coward and his work. The culmination of Phase III is the actors' performance in the fully-staged production of Coward's play, Peace in Our Time, adapted by NCS member Barry Creyton. Directed by the award-winning Casey Stangl, Peace in Our Time is the season finale for Antaeus, running from October 20 - December 11, 2011.
Training
Phase III training covers a wide range of skills and enrichment: fight training and choreography by Steve Rankin (famed for his extensive work, including many Broadway shows - Jersey Boys, Guys and Dolls, and Henry IV at the Lincoln Center Theatre to name just a few); accent and dialect coaching by Tracy Winters, honing the specifics of German accents plus a multiplicity of British dialects (from the Ritz to the Anchor and Crown); plus, individual and group coaching by members of the Antaeus Company and by adapter/project mentor Barry Creyton (direct transmission of lore from The Master himself).
Of special note is a personal presentation on what it was like to live in a country under Nazi occupation. Guest speaker Irene Robinson addressed the entire cast of Peace, telling about her childhood in Paris during World War II. Hiding in a stairwell with a cousin who rescued her, Irene watched as her mother was dragged away by the Gestapo; for the rest of the war, Irene lived "underground," passing as a non-Jew, constantly vulnerable to exposure and deportation to a death camp.
Young Actors and Their Roles in Peace in Our Time
Of the 46 actors in the cast, 22 are young actors participating in TYI this year. Four of the actors who have been with the project for all three years spoke with me recently on the phone. Several themes emerged: continuity, community, connection, and development of understanding of Coward and his characters.
Kendra Chell (Alma Boughton)
Kendra Chell was "Janet Braid" in the 2009 TYI reading of Peace. She commented on the aspects of TYI that have been most helpful and educational: this is the longest she has worked on a single play, and she values the opportunity to live with and become comfortable with a script and a story. The characters Alma and Janet are best friends, so it is a fun change for her to switch roles. Additional high points: dialect training by Tracy Winters, plus coaching by Barry Creyton, who pointed out to her the importance of the minutiae: a "typically English" propensity to "make a mountain out of a molehill and a molehill out of a mountain," finding humor in the bleakest of situations.
 Rebekah Tripp (Janet Braid)
Rebekah Tripp enjoyed the role of "Sarah Hurst" in the 2009 TYI reading of Easy Virtue. In 2010, she played "Janet Braid" in the workshop of Peace and was cast in that same role this fall. Rebekah spoke of the great grounding that Antaeus provides, starting with Classical Styles workshops, covering six playwrights, including Coward. Through Classical Styles and three years of TYI, she has studied Coward, his plays, and the time period; she feels extremely fortunate to be folded into the world of Coward and is delighted to be a part of this rich, moving, and darkly humorous production. She appreciates the ensemble family that developed from the cast of the 2010 workshop, eleven of whom are in the current production.
 John Francis O'Brien (Billy Grainger)
John Francis O'Brien is pleased to be playing "Billy Grainger" for the third time. As part of TYI, he read "Billy" in 2009 and played him in the 2010 workshop. John feels he has grown with the part, both as a human being and an actor, emphasizing a huge difference between two summers ago and now. This is his first opportunity to work on the same character for such a period of time, and it has amazed him to discover new things each year and find new choices within the character. In the reading, his focus was on Billy's feelings, especially in relation to his experience as a POW.
For the 2010 workshop, with coaching from Barry Creyton, John began to open up to Billy's humor, and in current rehearsals, he is finding a way to joke from the moment he first arrives on stage and collapses. Although Billy is injured and scarred, John treats him as a person with great eagerness to relate to the people in the pub, relishing the ability to tell his story without fear of being hit or tortured. Instead of portraying a dark, damaged character, John's focus is on revealing Billy's boyishness and playfulness and his joy at being with his parents even though he can't talk to them without destroying his "cover" (a new name and identity protect him from being arrested by the Nazis).
 Raleigh Holmes (Lyia Vivian)
Raleigh Holmes read the "frumpy sister" role of "Hilda" in TYI's Easy Virtue in 2009, her first time performing Coward's work. Cast as the glamorous cabaret singer "Lyia" for the 2010 workshop of Peace, Raleigh's style and vocal ability matched beautifully with the three Coward songs she learned for the role: London Pride, Most of Ev'ry Day, and Come the Wild Wild Weather. She commented that before TYI, although she had read and studied some of Coward's plays and knew a couple of the most popular songs (Mad Dogs, Mrs Worthington), she had no idea that Coward had composed such an impressive catalogue of great songs (from Don't Let's Be Beastly to the Germans to Most of Ev'ry Day). Raleigh especially appreciates coaching from Harry Groener on her musical numbers, finding new things in the songs each time they work on them.
Antaeus Company Mentors
A special word of thanks to Antaeus Company members who have been mentors to the young actors for both the 2010 workshop and this fall's production: Josh Clark [Fred Shattock], Lily Knight [Nora Shattock], Melinda Peterson [Mrs. Massiter], Philip Proctor [Mr. Grainger], and Anna Mathias [Mrs. Grainger].
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Near the Deaf West Theatre:
Metro, Parking, & Dining
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Metro/Parking
Easy Metro access: Red Line, North Hollywood stop
(a few blocks north of the theatre)
Parking is available across Lankershim in the Citibank lot.
Nearby Dining
Several restaurants are within walking distance of the theatre, including:
Eclectic Wine Bar and Grille
5156 Lankershim Blvd.
818-760-2233.
eclectic web site
Federal Bar
5303 Lankershim Blvd.
818-980-2555.
federal bar web site
Pitfire Pizza
5211 Lankershim Blvd.
818-960-2949
pitfire pizza web site
Well worth a drive.
For a nice dinner, try Firenze Osteria, featuring Top Chef Season 5 Fan Favorite, Fabio Viviani.
Firenze Osteria
4212 Lankershim Blvd
Toluca Lake, CA
818-760-7081
firenze osteria web site __________________________________________________________
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