SAINT JOAN
by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by David Bogdonoff
Opens: Friday, April 17, 2009
Runs:
April 17 to May 10, 2009
8 pm, Friday & Saturday
2 pm Sunday
Matinees: Sunday at 2 pm, April 19, 26, and May 3, and 10
Tickets: $18, $11 age 16 & under
Reservations: 510-524-9132
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Audience members are invited to participate in a conversation with the cast, crew & director immediately following the performances on 4/19, 4/24 & 5/3.
We want a few mad people now. See where the sane ones have landed us!
-Saint Joan
Director's Notes
Even before Joan of Arc was admitted into the canon of saints in 1920, George Bernard Shaw was contemplating her story and complaining of the treatment she had received at the hands of writers like William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Anatole France. By 1923, he’d had enough, and Saint Joan premiered at New York’s Theatre Guild in December of that year. He researched the play intensely, visiting the historical locations, and drawing on documents contemporary to the time. Much of the dialogue from Scene 6 is taken directly from transcripts of the trial, which became more widely available with Joan’s canonization.
Accompanying the play, Shaw produced a prologue that is nearly as long as the play itself, in which he roams from themes as broad as Socrates (who also died failing to understand how annoying he could be to those in power) to a lengthy discourse on Joan’s relevance to the then-modern first part of the 20th century. It’s a fascinating and highly recommended read, and we invite you to visit the Shavian Reading Room in our lobby to peruse a copy at intermission or after the play while you’re waiting for the cast to appear.
Shaw says in his prologue, ‘There are no villains in the piece.’ We have taken this to heart. But there are also no heroes. The motivations of Shaw’s fanatics, on either side, are no different than the motivations of our own today. In fact, they are often disturbingly aligned. We have not belabored the relationships to today’s news by modernizing the play, nor have we tried to hide them.
Finally, there are certain pieces of theatre on which it is foolish to embark without some good idea of who will play a role. Saint Joan is such a play. It requires an actress with the wisdom of years, and the ability to expose the innocence of a teenager, and these actresses are rare. The French were fortunate to have found Joan to turn the tide in the Hundred Years War, and we are fortunate to have Kate Culbertson to play her at CCCT.
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Shaw’s Saint Joan Opens at CCCT April 17
El Cerrito, March 27, 2009--“We want a few mad people now. See where the sane ones have landed us!” This quote comes from Saint Joan, George Bernard Shaw's masterpiece, which opens Friday, April 17, at Contra Costa Civic Theatre. Shaw's version of the story of Joan of Arc mixes comedy, history, and his uniquely pointed commentary on religion, society, and politics. It’s no coincidence that Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature shortly after its publication "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty." The play is as apt an allegory today as it was when it was written over 80 years ago.
Directed by David Bogdonoff, CCCT’s production features Artistic Director Kate Culbertson in the title role. Other cast members include Joe Fitzgerald (Robert de Baudricourt/The Inquisitor), Misha Madison, (Charles, the Dauphin), Bruce Moody (The Archbishop), Greg Milholland (de Poulengey/Gilles de Rais), Ken Ray (la Tremouille/Executioner), Kyle Nash (Dunois), Tom Flynn (Peter Cauchon), Tom Reilly (Earl of Warwick), Phil Reed (John de Stogumber), Alex Shafer (La Hire/Gentleman), Chris Harper (Martin Ladvenu), Jacob Basri (The Steward/Canon de Courcelles), Wayne Johnson (d’Estivet/English Soldier), , Rebecca Lieber (Page), llana Goldberg (Page), and Aiden Ashburn-Higgs (Page).
Kyle Nash is the Assistant Director, Greg Milholland is production manager, and Maureen Ray and Sierra Liebman are producers. Set design is by Patrick Toebe, lighting design by Adam Fry, sound design by Travis Rexcoat, costume design by Tamara Arzumanova, and properties by Mary Peyton Peppo. Original musical composition is by Donald Tieck. Audience members are invited to participate in a conversation with the director, cast, and crew after matinees on April 19 and 24 and May 3.
Saint Joan plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through May 10. Tickets are $18, $11 for ages 16 and under, and are available online at www.ccct.org, or by phone at 510-5249132. Special half-price tickets are available for performances April 17, 18, and 24 only (must be purchased on the website). Student Rush tickets are available for $11, 10 minutes before a performance, based on availability and require valid student id. Student Rush tickets cannot be purchased in advance.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre is located at 951 Pomona Avenue (at Moeser) in El Cerrito, with free parking in an adjacent lot.