A Noise Within Presents The Chairs - Ionesco's Rarely Performed Drama
A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, concludes its 19th season - and its storied residence in Glendale - with celebrated absurdist playwright EUGENE IONESCO's rarely performed THE CHAIRS, opening Saturday, April 9 and closing Saturday, May 21, 2011 (previews begin Saturday, April 2). The production ends one chapter in the company's illustrious history, which continues in Fall 2011 when A Noise Within moves to its permanent new theatre in Pasadena. In a deeply symbolic nod to that history, The Chairs is directed by ANW Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and stars ANW-Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director Geoff Elliott and longtime resident actor Deborah Strang, who joined the company 18 years ago just one year after the company was founded. The 2010-11 Season finale also breaks new ground for ANW as its first presentation of a Eugene Ionesco play. A "Pay What You Can" date, which allows patrons to purchase tickets for what they can afford, is Thursday, April 7.
"The Chairs' fundamental theme, the nature of relationships, the nature of change itself and how perceptions are always changing, makes for a compelling theatre experience," says Rodriguez-Elliott. "Indirectly, it also makes a powerful statement about the transitions taking place at A Noise Within, both real - our move to the new theatre - and perceived - about our history and the enormity of meeting our goal for a permanent home for the company as a whole, from our resident actors to our patrons."
"In programming the final production in our Glendale location, where we started A Noise Within, this thought-provoking, multi-dimensional but very human play, a true masterpiece, provides the perfect platform," adds Elliott.
The Chairs is an inexplicably hilarious and tragic work by the "father" of absurdist drama who was one of the 20th century's leading theatrical innovators. Considered Ionesco's masterwork, The Chairs, first staged in 1952, synthesizes the distorted perceptions that surround the acts of living and dying through a vision unique and dazzling in its profundity.
To enhance the theatre-going experience, A Noise Within offers comprehensive study guides for every production, each with a synopsis, director's notes, general theatre lore, links to other resources and detailed information about the playwright, characters, setting, period, costumes, scenic design, music and more. The Chairs' Study Guide - along with those for previous A Noise Within productions - is available on-line at http://www.anoisewithin.org/education_studyguides.html.
A Noise Within (ANW) is the only year-round classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature in the repertory tradition of rotating productions with a resident company of professional artists. Led by Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, A Noise Within has been hailed by critics as "adventurous," "compelling and current," "ingenuity at work," "a bona fide class act," and "what great theatre is all about." Founded 19 seasons ago, ANW quickly established itself as one of the region's key theatre companies, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and consistently high praise from the media for its productions and as a leading force in arts education. The company has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing works from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw to Miller and Williams. ANW's consistent dedication to quality has been rewarded with more than two dozen Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards as well as numerous LA Weekly and Backstage Garland awards. A Noise Within's next chapter provides the long-awaited opportunity to sink deep and lasting roots when the company moves in 2011 from its long-time base in Glendale to a spectacular, permanent home in a Pasadena mixed-use development at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. The facility, hailed as an anchor in East Pasadena's arts growth, is designed to broaden A Noise Within's artistic possibilities, offers a greater scope of educational opportunities, meet ticket demand and allow the company to expand its role as a leader in the presentation and preservation of classical theatre.
Single Tickets are $46 (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees); $42 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Saturday matinees); and $32 (previews). Groups (10 or more) are $25, or $30 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees; School Groups (10 or more) are $16, or $20 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. "Pay What You Can" tickets are sold after 2 p.m. only on April 7 at the box office (no phone or online orders) with cash only, on a first-come, first-served basis based on availability. There is a limit of two per person; $10 minimum suggested, exact change appreciated.
A NOISE WITHIN is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91204. To purchase tickets or for a full season brochure, call 818-240-0910 x1 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org.