Artistic collaboration brings
an Arthur Miller drama to Columbia County in The Two Of Us Productions’
BROKEN GLASS
The Two
Of Us Productions and Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts (HVAPA) have been working together on a variety of small projects
and play readings. They have now turned their collective talents to a new production
of Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass. Broken Glass is a thought
provoking exploration of failed relationships brought into focus by the events of November 1938 and the “Night of Broken
Glass” in Nazi Germany. Directed by Stephen Sanborn, this production features
Cindy Gutter, Jeff Hughes, Harold LaDue, Mark Leinung, Constance Lopez, and Jody Satriani.
Cello music performed by Sharon Hametz flows through the transitions and punctuates the performance
Today’s
soldiers and their families have a direct connection between daily life and events thousands of miles away in the Middle East. Families and individuals with ties to this troubled region also scan the news daily,
anxiously looking for information about their loved ones in those far away lands. So
it was, especially for recent European immigrants, in the months leading up to World War II.
Sylvia Gellberg, one of the characters in Broken Glass, shares this anxiety.
She watches the increasingly violent events in Germany and Eastern Europe unfold through the Summer and Fall of 1938. The vivid pictures and lurid accounts in the newspapers of the day bring to
life for Sylvia the traumas and horrors being experienced by those targeted by the facist violence and fear mongering. Like today’s anxious citizens, Sylvia feels as if she is there. Her inability to influence events become manifest when she develops an inability to walk.
But, her
inability to walk is actually the tip of the iceberg. Sylvia’s husband
Phillip Gellberg discusses Sylvia’s condition with the family physician Harry Hyman.
Harry’s probing conversations with Phillip and with Sylvia’s sister Harriet reveal a 20-year trail of impotence
and an abusive relationship. We learn more as Harry discusses Sylvia and Phillip’s
tangled problems with his wife Margaret. The drama takes an unexpected turn when
Phillip is suddenly confronted with his own mortality and the shocking bigotry of his long-time employer, Mr. Case. We have a front row seat as Harry desperately probes for the key to helping Sylvia walk again.
Broken
Glass is being presented at the Valatie Community Theatre, 3031 Main Street in Valatie NY. The show opens May 1st 2009 for two weekends of performances, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and
one Sunday matinee on May 3rd at 3pm. The Two Of Us Productions, working
in collaboration with Roving Actors’ Repertory Ensemble, is pleased to acknowledge that this production is made possible
in part with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the
Twin Counties Cultural Fund in Columbia County by CCCA.
Tickets
can be purchased in advance through www. TheaterMania.com, by calling (866) 811-4111,
or at the door. Tickets are $14 and $10 for students, seniors, and groups of
8 or more. Lippera’s restaurant at The Chatham House in Chatham NY is pleased
to offer dinner and a show discounts for those attending performances of Broken Glass. Call Lippera’s at 518-392-6600 for details and reservations.
