Wednesday, January 16, 2002
|
Wednesday, January 16, 2002 |
|
Four actors juggle 20 roles in Dickens' 'Hard Times' Hard on the heels of numerous renditions of Charles Dickens' most often staged work, comes an adaptation of a hardly known story, "Hard Times." Theatrical Outfit presents a critically acclaimed adaptation of one of Dickens' later works at the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts, Jan. 15 - 20. As with many of Dickens' works, despite the Victorian setting, the story resonates with messages for the modern age the good and bad that comes with advancing technology, the value of the poetic over pure utilitarianism and the importance of art and the circus in our lives. Elizabeth A. Spicer directs an ensemble cast, featuring Tom Key, Shelly McCook, James Donadio and Shannon Eubanks, each playing multiple roles. Set in Coketown, England in the 1840s, "Hard Times" is a novel of social commentary in which Dickens argues economic reform, promotes education, and examines labor issues. He wrote the original work in 1854 as a weekly serial created to boost readership of his magazine, Household Words. The strategy was successful; his sales quadrupled. The novel was published as a whole that same year. The script adaptation was written by Stephen Jeffreys and first produced in 1982 in a room above a pub in London. Its first major American production was in September 1997 by the Pearl Theater Company in New York's East Village. Tickets are on sale now at the Rialto Center box office (404-651-4727). Single tickets range from $12 to $50, depending on day of the week and seating location. Wednesday opening night tickets ($50 and $42) include a post show reception with the cast. All tickets can be purchased by mail, fax (404-577-5259), phone (404-651-4727) or in person at the Rialto Box Office, 80 Forsyth St. (corner of Luckie and Forsyth streets).
|
