ARTS . Theater Review
A Good Death Curio's production
of Death and the Maiden is powerful, intimate. by Mark Cofta
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Published: Oct 10, 2007
TRIPLE THREAT: (from left) Paul Kuhn, Jerry Rudasill and Erika Hicks in
Curio's thought-provoking Death and the Maiden.
(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)
An intriguing irony emerges during Curio Theatre Co.'s suspenseful Death
and the Maiden: Three characters rarely mention God but seek absolution, and
the play is performed in Curio's West Philadelphia home, a church sanctuary.
Ariel Dorfman's 1991 drama (filmed in 1994 by Roman Polanski) confronted
contemporary issues in his native Chile, but here plays more as an allegory. In
an unnamed country recently relieved of 17 years' dictatorship, lawyer Gerard
will head a human rights commission to explore kidnappings, torture and murder
committed by the outlaw regime. His commission will not name names or issue
sentences, only seek the truth. Gerard's wife, Paulina, still suffers
nightmares and worse from her imprisonment years ago. Snatched on the streets,
she endured torture and rape for her role in peaceful student demonstrations
against the government. One night a stranger enters their secluded beach home
a good Samaritan helping Gerard with a flat tire and Paulina recognizes his
voice. She's certain that soft-spoken doctor Roberto Miranda was her
Schubert-playing tormentor. She violently takes him captive, holds off Gerard
with a gun, and faces the play's central questions: How do justice and
revenge differ? How do we punish those who've wronged us without becoming
them?
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Director Gay Carducci makes these issues our own with a powerful, intimate
production. Paul Kuhn's set design keeps the action close to us with elegantly
simple ramps and platforms, and he's ideally cast as Miranda, his innate
niceness stalling any easy conclusions about the doctor's past. As Paulina,
Erika Hicks' passionate conviction proves that he's a monster we want to
believe her, to ease her torment and take bloody vengeance but has her
still-seething trauma warped her objectivity? This tension makes Gerard's role
as mediator (though he's not neutral or innocent, we learn) challenging and
crucial, and Jerry Rudasill navigates it well.
As the past unfolds through layers of interrogation and confession in this
world, there's what one says, and then the truth, and finally "the real, real
truth" Death and the Maiden leads us to universal questions about whether,
and how, we move forward after atrocities. The answers don't come easy, and the
questions must be asked again and again.
([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Death and the Maiden, Through Oct. 27, Curio Theatre Co., Calvary Church, 815
S. 48th St., 215-525-1350, www.curiotheatre.org
Don't miss Curio's fall show, Death and the Maiden
at the Calvary Church! This poignant political drama
investigating the after effects of war crimes and torture is
particularly relevant in America in the current global political climate.
DINNER and THEATER just $40
Take advantage of our dinner-theater package deal with Abbraccio
Restaurant any Friday or Saturday through October 27th. For just $40
you can get any appetizer, entree, and dessert or coffee on the menu,
and see Death and the Maiden on the same night all for just $40!
Please call 215-525-1350 to take advantage of this offer - the deal is
not available online.
VOLUNTEER and SEE THE SHOW for FREE
We need Ushers to help prepare programs and direct audiences to their
seats and the bathroom before the show, and set up refreshments for
the intermission.. Usher duties start one hour before show time. Call
215-525-1350 to schedule an evening to volunteer and see the show for
free.
Set in an unnamed country that is, like the author's native Chile,
emerging from a totalitarian dictatorship, this political thriller
explores the after effects of repression on hearts and souls. Paulina
and Gerard were student activists at the height of the corrupt regime.
Some years later the couple are married, and Gerard has been named
head of an investigation into the past human rights abuses. A helpful
stranger, Dr. Miranda, stops at their home to congratulate Gerard on
his appointment. Paulina overhears them speaking and recognizes
Miranda's voice as that of the man who supervised her prison torture
sessions some years earlier. She ties him to a chair and conducts her
own interrogation, gun in hand. Gerard doesn't know whether to believe
his distraught wife or his persuasive new friend - and neither does
the audience. This white knuckle thriller is a riveting intellectual
and emotional tug of war.
WHERE
The show is playing at the Calvary Church, 4740 Baltimore Avenue,
Philadelphia from October 4 27, Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 8pm,
Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm. No Sunday performances.
TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Tickets for Thursday evenings are $15 for all adults. Tickets for
Friday and Saturday are $22 regular, $19 for students and seniors.
Adult/mature audiences only. This performance is not suitable for
children - please call if you have questions regarding this.
Visit our website at www.curiotheatre.org to order online
Or call 215-525-1350 for tickets for more information.
We now have NO SURCHARGE FOR ONLINE PURCHASES. We do encourage you to
purchase tickets online for your convenience.
Full Performance Times
October 4 27, 2007
Oct. 4, Thu. - 7pm show, preview
Oct. 5, Fri. - 8pm show, Free opening night party for whole audience
and cast at Abbraccio
Oct. 6, Sat. - 4pm and 8pm
Oct. 11, Thu. - 7pm show
Oct. 12, Fri.- 8pm show
Oct. 13, Sat. - 4pm
Oct. 18, Thu. - 7pm show
Oct. 19, Fri. - 8pm show
Oct. 20, Sat. - 4pm and 8pm
Oct. 25, Thu. - 7pm show
Oct. 26, Fri. - 8pm show
Oct. 27, Sat. - 4pm and 8pm
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