For Immediate Release Contact: Anne-Marie Mulgrew, Dance Affiliates
October 5, 2004
215-636-9000
ext.110
Annmarie@dancecelebration.org
Baryshnikov Dance Foundation
and Dance Affiliates Present
Exclusive Philadelphia
Premiere of "Forbidden Christmas or The Doctor and The Patient"
Featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov for
four performances only, November 4-6
at The Prince Music Theater
October 4,
2004, Philadelphia, Pa. - Dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov is back in
Philadelphia, performing in a play at the Prince Music Theater. This time, he's
a mental patient who thinks he's a car in an ensemble theatrical performance
conceived, directed and designed by Rezo Gabriadze.
Baryshnikov Dance Foundation in association with
Dance Affiliates presents the exclusive Philadelphia premiere of Forbidden
Christmas or The
Doctor and The Patient,
for four performances only at the Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street.
Touring to sold-out audiences at Lincoln Center, Spoleto Festival,
Kennedy Center, Los Angeles and cities throughout the US, the play features Mikhail
Baryshnikov (Chito, the patient who thinks he's a car), Jon
DeVries (The Doctor), Gregory Mitchell, Pilar Witherspoon and Yvonne Woods.
Performances are Thursday, November 4 @ 8pm;
Friday, November 5 @ 8 pm; and Saturday, November 6 @ 2 pm and @ 8 pm at The
Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street.
(MORE)
Baryshnikov Dance Foundation presents Forbidden Christmas/Page 2
Tickets are $57 and $50 and can be purchased
through Upstages Box Office, 1412 Chestnut Street (215-569-9700), or by
visiting www.baryshnikovdancefoundation.org. Discounts
for groups are available by calling 215-972-1005.
These performances are made possible by a grant
from the William Penn Foundation.
Forbidden Christmas is the newest work of Rezo
Gabriadze, whose Battle of Stalingrad
has won international acclaim. A theatrical and cinematic writer and director,
an established painter, sculptor, and master of book illustrations, Mr. Gabriadze tells the story of a doctor and a patient and the
emotional journey they undertake one stormy Christmas Eve in a Soviet
Georgian town during the early 1950s. Part absurdist-drama, part folktale, the
play addresses loss, madness, self-discovery, and love with poignancy and
humor. "Rezo Gabriadze is an
artist of astonishing range. I am honored to be able to commission a new play
by him, and to be apart of this extraordinary team of actors and
collaborators," says Baryshnikov.
Mr. Baryshnikov was born in Riga, Latvia where he began studying
ballet. He studied under the renowned teacher Alexander Pushkin and at 18
entered the Kirov Ballet as a soloist, remaining with the company from 1968 to
1974, when he left Russia. From 1974 to 1979, he danced with ballet and modern
companies around the world. He was a principal dancer with the New York City
Ballet from 1979 to 1980, and was
artistic director of American Ballet Theatre from 1980 until 1989. His most
recent awards include the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts,
the Commonwealth Award and Yale University's highest honor, the Chubb
Fellowship. He has starred in several films and has appeared in television,
most recently in the role of Aleksander Petrovsky in Sex and the City
and on Broadway. Presently, he is involved in creating the Baryshnikov Arts
Center, scheduled to open winter 2005 in New York City.
Baryshnikov Dance Foundation presents Forbidden Christmas/Page 3
The San Francisco Chronicle
exclaimed, "If Mikhail Baryshnikov
isn't the finest car on the road today, he's certainly the sweetest and most
fascinating on any stage... the audience is in for a delightful ride."
"...with a pitch-perfect bit of
casting, it [Forbidden Christmas] accommodates the boyishness and brilliant
body control of Mr. Baryshnikov..."
-- The New York Times, 7/12/04
"Set there in [the former Soviet Union] in 1952, it's
an episodic and elliptical narrative that is sort of a love story, sort of a
Christmas story, sort of a history lesson and sort of a memoir, presented with
Mr. Gabraidze's signature tone, a wry and gentle melancholy."
-- The New York Times, 7/12/04
Incorporating text and
movement with music, Forbidden Christmas
promises to be one of the most talked-about performances of the 2004
season. Text, direction, design, and sound collage are by Rezo Gabriadze. Lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The play is adapted
from an original story by Gabriadze
and translated from Russian to English by Ryan McKittrick and Julia Smeliansky.
Dance Affiliates, Philadelphia's premiere presenter of contemporary
dance, is nationally recognized for its annual Dance Celebration series.
For more information visit
http://ww.baryshnikovdancefoundation.org
# # # #
Who's Who in Forbidden Christmas or The
Doctor and The Patient
Rezo Gabriadze, an internationally acclaimed artist in the former
Soviet Union and Europe, made his American debut at the John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts in 2000 with his Tblisi, Georgia-based Marionette
theater. The piece, The Battle of Stalingrad, was hugely popular
with American critics and audiences. Gabriadze triumphantly returned to the
U.S. two years later, bringing The Battle of Stalingrad and Autumn of My Springtime to the 2002 Lincoln Center Festival. His exhibits
have been shown in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Lausanne, Rome, Paris, Berlin, among
others. He was a participant in Munich's From Eisenstein to
Tarkovsky exhibition. His paintings,
graphics, and sculptures are found in numerous state and private collections in
the United States, Russia, Germany, Israel, Japan and France. Among his many
distinguished awards, he is the recipient of the Commander of the French
Republic Award.
Jennifer Tipton
(Lighting Designer) is well known for her work in theater, dance and
opera. Her recent work in opera
includes Martin David Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra at the New
York City Opera, Janacek's Osud at
Bard's Fisher Performing Arts Center and Don Giovanni at La Monnaie in Brussels. Her recent work in dance
includes Paul Taylor's Le Grand Puppetier and Trisha Brown's Present Tense and Winterreise. In theater her recent work includes
Craig Lucas' Small Tragedy at
Playwrights Horizons, Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party at the American Repertory and Poor Theater for the Wooster Group. Ms. Tipton teaches lighting at the Yale School of
Drama. She received the Dorothy
and Lillian Gish Prize in 2001 and the Jerome Robbins Prize in 2003.
Mikhail Baryshnikov (Chito) was born in Riga, Latvia of Russian
parents, where he began studying ballet. He was accepted by the Vaganova School
in Leningrad and studied under the renowned teacher Alexander Pushkin. At 18,
he entered the Kirov Ballet as a soloist and remained with the company from
1968 to 1974, when he left Russia. From 1974 to 1979, he danced with ballet and
modern companies around the world. He was a principal dancer with the New York
City Ballet from 1979 to 1980, and from 1980 until 1989 he was artistic
director of American Ballet Theatre. From 1990 to 2002, Mr. Baryshnikov was
director and dancer with the White Oak Dance Project, which he co-founded with
choreographer Mark Morris. His most recent awards are the Kennedy Center
Honors, the National Medal of Arts, the Commonwealth Award and Yale
University's highest honor, the Chubb Fellowship. He has starred in several
films and has appeared in television and on Broadway. Presently, he is involved
in creating the Baryshnikov Arts Center, scheduled to open winter 2005 in New
York City.
Jon DeVries (The Doctor) was most recently seen in the National
Actors Theater's production of The Persian ("Dazzling",
NY Times). Prior to that, he performed
in Richard Nelson's The General From America at the Alley Theatre in Houston, and in New York
City. His Broadway credits include Devour the Snow, Major Barbara,
Execution of Justice, Agammenon, Loose Ends, The Cherry Orchard, and Inspector General. His Off-Broadway credits include Sight
Unseen, Goodnight Children Everywhere, Kit Marlowe, One Flea Spare, Oedipus,
The Scarlet Letter, Fragments of a Trilogy, and
The Good Woman of Setzuan, among
others. Movies and television include Lianna, City of Hope, Fatman
and Littleboy, Joy Luck Club, First Deadly Sin, Sarah: Plain and Tall, Skylark,
Pathway to Paradise, Law and Order, Lincoln, Now and Again, and more. Mr. DeVries is also an artistic
advisor to the American National Theater.
Gregory Mitchell (Ermonia and various roles) is Brooklyn born and a
Juilliard graduate. His Broadway credits include last year's Man of La
Mancha (Pedro), Chicago
(Casely, Flynn), Dangerous Games
(Orfeo), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Pedro), Steel Pier
(Dom), and the Queen's Companion (to Chita Rivera's Queen) in Merlin. Television credits include recurring roles on three
soap operas, Cosby Mysteries, and
Law & Order. Mr. Mitchell's
film credits include Carlito's Way,
Random Hearts, Cradle
Will Rock, Everyone Says I Love
You, and Catherine Zeta-Jones' 'late'
husband, Charlie, in the Oscar winning Chicago. He originated the role of Chita Rivera's love
interests in the Terrence McNally/Graciela Daniele workshop based on Chita's
life to open on Broadway next year and will soon be seen in the upcoming Marc
Forster film, Stay.
Pilar Witherspoon (Tsisana and various roles) Off-Broadway credits
include: Nia in Fighting Words for the Underwood Theatre, Elaine
in the American premiere of One Good Beating, Sandra in Beautiful Thing,
Azra/Glenna in DestiNation
(workshop production) for 2nd Stage, Adele Natter in Schnitzler's Far
& Wide, Solange in The Maids, Lili in Why We Have a Body. Regional credits include: Lady Macbeth in Macbeth for the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, Helena in
All's Well That Ends Well at
Playmakers Repertory Theatre. At the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C.: Macbeth starring Stacy Keach, and the Chorus in Michael
Kahn's production of Henry V. for
the St. Louis Repertory Theatre: Laura in The Glass Menagerie and Regina in Ghosts. Viola in Twelfth Night, Margaret Moore in A Man For All Seasons, and Maggie Cutler in The Man Who Came to
Dinner at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
At the Indiana Repertory Theatre, she played Madame George Sand in the world
premiere of Les Trois Dumas.
Television credits include: Third Watch, Law & Order and Law
& Order: Special Victims Unit. Ms.
Witherspoon received her training from The Juilliard School.
Yvonne Woods
(Mother, Nunu and various roles) Off-Broadway: Franny's Way,
Playwrights Horizons; Left, New York
Stage & Film; The General From America, Theater For A New Audience. Other theater credits include: Goodnight
Children Everywhere, American Conservatory
Theater, San Francisco; The General From America, The Alley Theater, Houston; The General
From America, The Alley Theater, Houston; Life's
A Dream, Court Theater, Chicago; Madame
Melville, The Promenade Theater; Slag
Heap, The Cherry Lane Alternative; Bad
Juju, Greenwich Street Theater; and a
summer at the Williamstown Theater Festival. TV: Law and Order:
Criminal Intent. Ms. Woods received
her training from The Juilliard School
Forbidden Christmas or The Doctor and The Patient
2004 Tour Schedule
May 14-23 The
Guthrie Lab, The Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN
May 27-June 12 The
Dock Street Theater, Spoleto Festival, Charleston, SC
June 16-20 Zellerbach
Playhouse, Cal Performances, Berkeley, CA
June 26-July 1 Teatre
Lliure, Festival d'Estiu de Barcelona Grec,
Barcelona,
Spain
July 9-17 John
Jay Theater, Lincoln Center Festival for the Performing Arts,
NYC,
NY
Sept. 17-19 Tryon
Festival Theatre, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts,
Champaign
Urbana, IL
Oct. 7-9 The
Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair State University,
Montclair,
NJ
Oct. 15-16 The
Belding Theater, Bushnell Memorial Hall, Hartford, CT
Oct. 20-24 Polsky
Theatre, The Carlsen Center at Johnson County
Community
College, Overland Park, KS
Oct. 27-31 The
Power Center for the Performing Arts, University Musical
Society,
Ann Arbor, MI
Nov. 4-6 The
Prince Music Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 10-14 The
Terrace Theater, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts,
Washington, DC
Nov. 19-20 The
Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe, NM
Nov. 26-28 Virginia
G. Piper Theater, Scottsdale Center for the Arts,
Scottsdale,
AZ
Dec. 8-12 Freud
Playhouse, UCLA Performing Arts, Los Angeles, CA
