Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Stage Centre Productions and Chicken Coop Theatre are proud to remount – for 5 performances only − Stage Centre Productions’ recent successful production from the York Woods Library Theatre.
"...every moment of this production has such a profound sheen... It is engagingly performed by a dedicated cast under the carefully controlled direction of Michael James Burgess that builds in intensity as it speeds towards the climax... Tony Rein gives a dazzling performance of frightening intensity as he bullies Alan Washbrook who plays the aging conductor with passion and dignity." ~ Ontario Arts Review, March, 2013
TAKING SIDES by Ronald Harwood
AL GREEN THEATRE,
Wednesday, November 6 to Saturday, November 9, 2013
Directed by Michael James Burgess
Designed by Karen Edgley
Lighting by Cynthia Pereira
With Tony Rein, Holm Bradwell, Robert Glen, Isabel Hornstein*, Hanna Peltoniemi-Fam, and Alan Washbrook*
ABOUT THE PLAY
TAKING SIDES is the provocative story, based on true events, of Wilhelm Furtwängler, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1922, arguably the most distinguished conductor of his generation. After Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, many Jewish artists were forced to leave. Furtwängler, a non-Jew, chose to stay, serving as one of the Nazis' foremost cultural assets. Though he claimed he was never a member of the Party, Furtwängler was the recipient of government honours and appointments associated with party members. However, the conductor often used his position and contacts to save hundreds of Jewish musicians from the concentration camps. In 1946, as part of the de- Nazification process, when Major Steve Arnold is given the task of carrying out pre-trial investigations against Furtwängler, his aim is to prove that the conductor's artistic genius contributed to the Nazi propaganda machine and their destructive ideology. Conversely, Furtwängler insists he chose to stay so that the glorious musical tradition of which he felt he was a guardian should remain intact and that he might bring comfort to the German people with his music.
TAKING SIDES is that rare play that demands the audience to take a position on an issue: in this case, the complicity or innocence of Wilhelm Furtwängler.
"The play in spite of its flaws, or maybe because of them, offers a total experience that is satisfying because it fully engages its audience leaving them with food for thought and discussion that should extend well beyond the evening's proceedings." ~ Elyse Sommer, Curtain Up
*Isabel Hornstein and Alan Washbrook appear with the permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
DATES AND TIMES: November 6 to November 9 at 8:00 PM (Wednesday to Saturday); Matinee
on Saturday 9 at 2:00 PM.
TICKETS: Adults $27.50, Seniors/Students $22
To order tickets call 647.831.3980 or click http://www.stagecentreproductions.com/
SCP_SingleTickets.htm
LOCATION: AL GREEN THEATRE,
Miles Nadal JCC,
750 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON M5S 2J4
2013-11-02
Toronto: Stage Centre Productions presents "Taking Sides" November 6-9