Press
THE REVIEWS ARE IN AND 1001 IS A HIT! DON’T MISS OUT!
*Editor’s Pick - Five out of Six Stars!
“The Gotham premiere of Jason Grote’s “1001″ has the perfect website: A section called “Enter the Story” contains a fake newspaper filled with headlines about the near future, but links for individual articles lead to everything from Grote’s MySpace page to an email inbox for a fictional character. You think you’re getting one story, and then another one appears, but the fractured pieces create a single, massive tale. That’s exactly what happens in the production, which offers a wild and beautiful glimpse at the yarns that shape our lives…” Read the rave review by clicking here.
“Ethan McSweeny, recent director of the successful 100 Saints You Should Know, has now turned his attention to 1001 Arabian nights you should know, the New York premiere of 1001 by Jason Grote. This entertaining, politically relevant spin on the Arabian Nights uses a stories within stories approach that explores the possibility of the healing redemption of a good narrative. Confronting Kipling’s assertion that “east is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet,” Grote has west meet east to find that they share a common story. The question posed: What will the east and west do with this common story?…”
“A kaleidoscopic reinvention of the 1001 Nights tales. Kinetic direction! A sure sense of how to turn literary traditions into active, theatrical storytelling…”
“…In this postmodern production of Scheherazade’s tales of One Thousand and One Nights, the old world of Arabian markets and palaces is interwoven with the modern politics of romance and culture, electronic courtship, and emotional deception. Through the filter of the ideas of Edward Saïd, and the wordplay of Jorge Luis Borges (whose ghost makes a cameo), the cast of six takes on the roles of 27 characters that beg the question, “What are any of us, but a collection of stories?” Through these interchanging roles, the equally elaborate and understated costumes, and subtle video projections, the tales readily consume the audience….”
“Every W0rd Ever Written…”
“The nonprofit group Page 73 Productions produced “Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue,” by the not-yet-30-year-old playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes (“In the Heights”) last year, and it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama. So Page 73 seems to know how to pick projects. ‘The Book of One Thousand and One Nights’ meets Monty Python in Jason Grote’s play, which weaves together historical pastiche and pop culture in a tale populated by literary figures who shaped Western stereotypes of Middle Eastern culture. Ethan McSweeny (’100 Saints You Should Know’) directs. Oct. 22-Nov. 17. Nagelberg Theater at Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue, (646) 312-4085; p73.org.”
 |
|
| Mia Barron (© Joseph Marzullo/Retna) |
“… Mia Barron, Drew Cortese, Roxanna Hope, Jonathan Hova, Matthew Rauch, and John Livingstone Rolle will star in the New York City premiere of Jason Grote’s 1001, to play the Nagelberg Theatre at Baruch Performing Arts Center, October 22-November 17. The production, which will open on October 31, will be directed by Ethan McSweeny.
Mixing the labyrinthine wordplay of Jorge Louis Borges with the ideas of Edward Said and the slapstick comedy of Monty Python, 1001 hyperlinks Scheherazade’s tales to contemporary Manhattan. The play received its world premiere at the Denver Center Theatre, where it was also directed by McSweeny.
The show features scenic design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Murell Horton, lighting design by Tyler Micoleau, and sound design by Lindsay Jones. The entire play will be underscored by New York-based DJ Arisa’s fusion of pulsating lyrical electronica and Middle Eastern music. McSweeny is currently represented Off-Broadway by 100 Saints You Should Know at Playwrights Horizons. His other New York credits include The Best Man, Never the Sinner, and The Persians….”
“1001 heads to P73…”