Checking in with Edward Albee

Just wanted to say hi and check in with you all. Between being so busy at work and, now, the lull that always follows the openings of Christmas shows, there's not much to blog about. It will be a light month here at Jersey Stages, but I'm looking forward to 2008, which promises to be full of top actors and, of course, the excitement of a new Edward Albee play at Princeton.

Speaking of Albee, I'm sadly going to have to skip the media meet with him on Friday, but I thought I would share the press release, which is kind of amusing. It follows at the end of this posting.

This weekend, I'll be working on my annual end-of-the-year awards, which won't be published untl Dec. 30. But some of the awards may leak out before that. Keep reading, because this is where the leak drips.

For those of you who don't plan to spend your Christmas break reading blogs, let me throw out an advance Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to you all.

And to all a good night.

Read on, Albee-philes:

McCarter Theatre will be hosting a MEDIA MORNING
with America's premier living playwright EDWARD ALBEE
on Friday, December 21 from 11:30 to Noon

Mr. Albee is in Princeton for rehearsals of his newest play Me, Myself & I, which will have its world premiere from January 11 through February 17. Directed by McCarter Artistic Director Emily Mann, the production features Tyne Daly, Brian Murray, Colin Donnell, Michael Esper, Charlotte Parry and Stephen Payne.

This new play, commissioned by McCarter Theatre Center and Princeton University, is part of "The Albee Season," celebrating Mr. Albee's 80th birthday, and includes Peter and Jerry at Second Stage; The Sandbox and The American Dream at Cherry Lane Theatre and Occupant at Signature Theatre.

If you are interested in speaking with Ms. Mann or any cast members prior to 11:30 please let me know and I will do my best to arrange.

For background, please read Emily Mann's interview with Mr. Albee, which can be found at the McCarter blog http://www.mccarter.org/ under
Me, Myself & I. It's in four parts.

About the play
When identical twin brothers are both named Otto, how’s a mother (Tyne Daly) supposed to keep them straight? Master playwright Edward Albee is in top form with this dark, funny and moving play that takes sibling rivalry to existential heights.

To arrange an interview with Ms. Mann or cast members, please contact me ASAP at (contacts deleted) Also, please let me know if you plan to join Mr. Albee at 11:30 so that I can plan accordingly.

Thanks, Dan
Please note, Mr. Albee will not talk about what the play is about. Below, is a letter that will appear in the playbill for Me, Myself & I:

A Letter To An Audience I tend to become uncooperative—and occasionally downright hostile—when people ask me what my plays “are about”, especially the new ones, about which I’ve usually not assembled a provocative yet vague enough short paragraph to avoid answering the question, yet seeming to. What is Me, Myself & I about? Oh, about 2 hours, including intermission. Will that do? No; I guess not, though I do like it as an answer, for any play that can be explained (or properly described) in the desired sentence or two should be no longer than its description. A play is, after all, about everything that happens to the characters from the beginning of the play to the end and (unless the author has killed them all off by curtain) the characters’ lives before the play begins and after it ends. This means, as I see it, that a play is fully described (or explained) by the experience of seeing it. My plays are infrequently opaque, only occasionally complicated (though now and again complex) and can be enjoyed to their full, unless you bring to the theatre with you the baggage of predetermination—“a play must go like this!” So....pretend you’re at the first play you’ve ever seen—have that experience—and I think “what the play is about” will reveal itself quite readily. And, if you care to, let me know what you’ve experienced. Best wishes, Edward Albee