THE NEW PHOENIX THEATRE
PROUDLY PRESENTS
A new stage version of the iconic film
ON THE WATERFRONT
by BUDD SCHULBERG
A co-production with Subversive Theatre
Directed by Kurt Schneiderman
STARRING Matthew Nerber, Richard Lambert,
Andrea Andolina, Victor Morales
and many others
April 26 – May 25
THREE AND A HALF STARS
"A cast of stalwarts makes this play work."
"Director Kurt Schneiderman, skilled at maneuvering these
mob scenes, literally, in and out of small quarters, does so
again here, reconfiguring the host New Phoenix acting
space into a series of steps and tiers."
Schneiderman makes great use of an old theatrical device,
the “tableau vivant,” live action captured and kept for an
instant, then resumed. It’s very effective here, inspired, portraitlike, with key lighting work by Chris Cavanagh."
“'On the Waterfront' can take its rightful place in the Worker’s series, alongside 'Waiting for Lefty,' 'Mother Jones' and the many labor-related plays of Manny Fried."
- TED HADLEY, THE BUFFALO NEWS"'
"It's a real feel-good story given a really strong production."
"What really makes it work is a series of tableaux of
violence, frozen in the flash of lights, flashes of the
violence on the docks."
“'On the Waterfront' is a stage classic and really worth
the trip to Johnson Park."
- AUGUSTINE WARNER, ONLINEBUFFALO.COM
The New Phoenix Theatre is proud to join Subversive Theatre on a co-production of one of the most powerful blue-collar epics of all time: ON THE WATERFRONT. Crafted to “cut closer to the bone,” this stage version of the iconic 1954 Hollywood film was developed by the film’s author Budd Schulberg in 2001 and has seen landmark renditions at the Cleveland Playhouse and on London's West End under the direction of Steven Berkoff.
Set amidst the bleak landscape of New York City’s harbor front in the early 1950s, this explosive tale of lust, murder, and betrayal shows us the overworked longshoremen who wearily unload the ships that supply the nation and the mob-controlled labor leaders who hoard the spoils of their labor. Caught between these two hostile camps, one restless ex-boxer (Terry Malloy) and one idealistic priest (Father Barry) find the courage to speak out and unleash an avalanche that will rock their hard-bitten world to its foundations.
Based on a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning 1949 investigative reports CRIME ON THE WATERFRONT by Malcolm Johnson in the New York Sun, the screenplay was originally to be written by Elia Kazan’s friend and colleague Arthur Miller. But after Kazan’s controversial testimony before HUAC (the House on Un-American Activities Committee) in 1952 where he enthusiastically “named names” and encouraged others to do the same, Miller refused to have any further dealings with Kazan or with the screenplay. The writing of ON THE WATERFRONT was then turned over to another HUAC-testifier, Budd Schulberg, who followed the film with both a novel and a version for the stage.
Directed by Subversive Theatre’s Founder & Artistic Director Kurt Schneiderman, ON THE WATERFRONT stars New Phoenix’s Founder & Executive Director Richard Lambert as Father Barry with Matthew Nerber as Terry Malloy, Andrea Andolina as Edie Doyle, and Victor Morales as mob boss Johnny Friendly. The rest of this play’s extensive ensemble features Jack Agugliaro, Carlton Franklin, Gary Darling, Hasheen DeBerry, Leon S. Copeland, Jr, Murry Galloway, Justin Fiordaliso, Jonathan Lee, Tom Scahill, John Kennedy, and
Stephen Harris.
Set Design is by Michael Lodick with Lighting Design by Chris Cavanagh, Costume Design by Loraine O’Donnell, and Sound Design by Kendall Kelly.
There will be one free preview performance on Thursday, April 25th at 8pm.
Both The New Phoenix Theatre and Subversive Theatre are proud to continue a partnership that has produced Artie Award winning co-productions of WAITING FOR LEFTY (2008) and INHERIT THE WIND (2011).
Reservations can be made by calling 853-1334
Or order online at: www.subversivetheatre.org
The production is co-sponsored by Talking Leaves Bookstore.M&T Bank generously sponsors New Phoenix Theatre Pay-What-You-Can Thursday performances.
THE SUBVERSIVE THEATRE COLLECTIVE
Inspired by Manny Fried, Buffalo actor, union organizer and playwright who stood up to McCarthyism and served as an outspoken champion of the working class, the Subversive Theatre is a theater of aesthetics that is dedicated to the needs, concerns, and aspirations of those who are disenfranchised by the existing social order. For ten years, Subversive has been the only theater in Western New York dedicated solely to producing politically- and socially-conscious works.
THE NEW PHOENIX THEATRE ON THE PARK
Winner of countless awards for bold, risk-taking artistic work, and dubbed "Buffalo's premiere alternative theatre" by ArtVoice, The New Phoenix Theatre has earned its reputation for ensemble-driven and inter-disciplinary theatre and our continued support of the area's finest and emerging artists. Our mission is to present new and classic theatre in ways that speak to our community, to recharge the theatrical experience through the spirit of collaboration, and to revitalize the neighborhood in which our theatre stands.
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8.00PM
Matinee performances are Sundays at 2:00PM
GENERAL ADMISSION $25.00; STUDENTS, SENIORS AND PROFESSIONAL COURTESY (artists and industry) $15.00
ALL THURSDAYS ARE PAY-WHAT YOU CAN,
Sponsored by M&T Bank.