[RP TownTalk] An Evening of Victorian Theater

[Leslie Plant]

If any of you happened to be there to enjoy the entertaining melodrama that
was done on the grounds of the Riversdale Mansion a couple of years ago you
might enjoy this production by the same company.  Unfortunately they are not
in our town this time but they will be in nearby Takoma Park.

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New Old Theater Presents 
AN EVENING OF VICTORIAN THEATER
Directed by Steven Lampredi

At 8:00 pm on September 7th and September 14th, New Old Theater brings to
Seekers Church theatrical curiosities seldom seen anywhere. Theatergoers
will thrill to CONQUEST, REVERSAL and REDEMPTION in THE HISTORY OF KING LEAR
Act V and laugh as Curtis Chunk "would a-wooing go" in the hilarious farce
of THE STAGE STRUCK YANKEE. All this, plus varieties, song and dance. This
stunning evening of authentic traditional theater will be performed two
nights at Seekers Church, one block from the Takoma Metro station (Red
Line).

A SPLENDID TIME IS GUARANTEED FOR ALL!
Enjoy The Stage-Struck Yankee (1849), a delightful farce, and by popular
demand, the final act (with surprise ending) to The History of King Lear
(1681) by William Shakespeare and Nahum Tate. This adaptation of
Shakespeare's play was the standard production in theaters across America
until Edwin Booth revived the original text here in 1875.

Background: So old it's new! New Old Theater (www.newoldtheater.org) is a
company devoted to the popular theater of early America! Most people think
of "Yankees" as an epithet directed at the Federal soldiers during the
American Civil War, or the name of a baseball team. However, New Old Theater
is going to take you much further back and introduce you to the original
"Yankee", a popular stage convention from early in the 1800's that is part
of our forgotten American folk drama. Many actors portrayed the stock
character of a humorously rustic and individualistic fellow, usually from
western New England. For over fifty years, this "stage Yankee" held the
attention of the American public and theatergoers throughout the
English-speaking world. The childlike but shrewd comic character with a
unique style of speech became closely associated with the American
character. When our country was still young, plays, stories, artwork, and
cartoons of 
"Brother Jonathan" influenced the world's view of Americans, and the stage
costume of the Yankee eventually evolved into the image of Uncle Sam! 

AN EVENING OF VICTORIAN THEATER will be performed at:

SEEKERS CHURCH
276 Carroll Avenue, Washington, DC [Takoma Metro station, Red Line]
September 7 and September 14 at 8:00 pm $15 adults $12 seniors $5 children

Tickets will be sold at the door, and on the web at www.newoldtheater.org

For more info, see www.newoldtheater.org, email Steven Lampredi at
lampredi-at-yahoo-dot-com