Asolo Repertory Theatre will continue its 2011-2012 season with the triple Tony Award®-winning sensation GOD OF CARNAGE by award-winning playwright Yasmina Reza. What critics are calling “An expert piece of stagecraft and savagely funny”- (International Herald Tribune) and “Gleefully nasty fun” (New York Post), Asolo Rep’s production of GOD OF CARNAGE will showcase the best of what Florida theatre has to offer.
Directed by Associate Artistic Director Greg Leaming, this 75-minute production will run from January 13 to April 6. Winner of the 2009 Tony Awards® for Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Marcia Gay Harden) and Best Direction of a Play (Matthew Warchus) and the basis for Roman Polanski’s feature film Carnage, this sharpwitted comedy goes where few shows have ventured before: parenthood. After two boys get into a playground brawl, the parents must deal with the aftermath. But what happens when the adults start acting as bad as the spoiled children? GOD OF CARNAGE promises to bring moans and laughs from the audience as they watch the parenting war rage on.
Director Greg Leaming says, “There’s a nervous energy running under GOD OF CARNAGE that is an incredible challenge for an Acting Company. It’s a real high wire act – once the characters in this play start pushing each other’s buttons, once the mask of civility comes off, the characters don’t stop to think about the damage all around them. And that’s not only a great challenge for an Acting Company, but it’s also a great thrill for an audience – just like the characters in the play, we’re allowed to see human nature at its most primal in the most civilized of settings! What could be calmer than a meeting between two sets of parents trying to resolve their childrens’ differences – and what could be more explosive!”
Asolo Rep’s production will feature company members David Breitbarth (Twelve Angry Men, Men of Tortuga) and James Clarke (Deathtrap, Twelve Angry Men) guest artist Kate Hampton (Boeing, Boeing) and third year FSU/Asolo Conservatory student Katie Cunningham (Once In a Lifetime). Sets and costumes are designed by Judy Gailen (Boeing, Boeing and The Imaginary Invalid).
Corporate sponsors for GOD OF CARNAGE are Sun Hydraulics, Morton’s Gourmet Market & Catering and Scene Magazine. GOD OF CARNAGE begins previews on January 11. Tickets can be purchased online at www.asolorep.org or by calling the Asolo Rep Box Office at 941.351.8000.
