Sarah Ruhl, Davis McCallum and Todd Almond
If you are interested in Sarah Ruhl, or theater in general, read her NY Times article about the final production of 13P in New York.
They are producing, on a NY-level shoestring budget, a re-envisioned Melancholy Play as the final production for the mission of 13P. It is only running for 11 performances and they are not inviting the press to review. Ms. Ruhl explains why in the article:
I believe passionately in a free press, and should reviewers ultimately choose to buy a ticket, I will welcome you to the theater, as I am enthusiastic about living in a democracy with a vibrant free press. I have no wish at all to be adversarial. But I did want to provide some context for why we did not actively invite press to this particular event from the outset, and for why it feels awkward to everyone involved to change course halfway through. I suspect that there is a paradox for artists with regard to their relationship with the press: the press desires more bravery from artists, and yet in their very calls for bravery, end up at times eliciting timidity because of artists’ fear of public opinion. It is this messy cycle that makes our artistic life and our democracy great.
Read the entire article. It’s interesting to learn about the process of taking this play, wipe off the dust and add music.
