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Politcal unrest, black market deals, a love triangle… the show must go on!

On the morning of August 19, 1991, playwright Suzanne Trauth woke up to news of the coup in Russia that would eventually topple the Soviet Union:

Our rehearsal period had ended, scenes had been performed publicly, and a cast party had capped the two week cultural exchange with the Theatre on Podol in Kiev, Ukraine. Our plans to fly home that day were cancelled.  That night, at the home of the artistic director of the theatre, we ate vodka-infused watermelon in front of his television, flipping back and forth between Shirley Temple tap dancing in a bootleg copy of the movie “That’s Entertainment,” and a press conference with the coup plotters—visibly drunk—on a Russian broadcast. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. 

On the evening of August 12, 2016, join Nora’s Playhouse for a reading of the semi-autobiographical play based on those incredible events of 25 years ago.

Rehearsing Desire draft image4

REHEARSING DESIRE

 

An American in . . . Kiev? It’s the summer of 1991, and Charlotte Cranford is the first American–and first woman–director at the Kiev Theatre Company. She’s been sent by her university on a cultural exchange to oversee a production of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The play’s passions boil over into a real-life love triangle as the streets outside the theatre erupt in violence, leading to Ukrainian Independence. Love, loyalty, commitment, courage, art and Soviet intrigue challenge the old cliche that the show must go on.

 

CAST

(in alphabetical order)

 

Elliot Crown*
Sanja Danilovic
Barbara Drum Sullivan*
Sara Morgulis
Peter Von Berg*
Ben Williamson*
Yury Yakor

*appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association

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