[Capdist-announce] A Neglected Lanford Wilson Masterpiece Comes to Catskill

Fri Oct 20 16:52:00 EDT 2023

In early November, a virtually forgotten masterpiece of the American stage
comes to unforgettable life on the intimate stage of Catskill’s Bridge
Street Theatre. A rare revival of Lanford Wilson’s spellbinding ensemble
drama “Sympathetic Magic” hits the theatre’s intimate “Priscilla” Mainstage
at 44 West Bridge Street in Catskill, NY, for a limited two-weekend, eight
performance engagement November 9 – 19, 2023.

For those familiar with Wilson’s works, you’ll recognize him as perhaps one
of the finest playwrights for actors this country has ever produced. With a
rich, deep, complex cast of eight, “Sympathetic Magic” contains enough
event for an entire season of a daytime soap opera – with none of the suds.

“This is a script that has always fascinated and intrigued me,” says BST
Associate Artist Steven Patterson, who’ll also be playing the role of Carl
Conklin White in the production. “It seems as though theatre aficionados –
and even fans of Lanford Wilson’s other works – have no idea that this play
even exists. At my insistence, my partner John Sowle and I ventured into
Manhattan a couple years back to see it being presented Off-Broadway on
NYC’s Theatre Row. It wound up being what I considered a *horribly*
misconceived production, and John had NO idea what the hell it was we’d
seen. When we arrived home, I handed him a copy of the script and asked
him, please, to just read it. Two days later, weeping openly, he finished
it and said to me, ‘I had no idea. I think we may have to do this.’ Two
seasons later, here we are, with a HUGE (for us), perfectly cast ensemble,
about to launch into rehearsals.”

One of BST’s mission has always been to resurrect what they feel are
neglected plays and put them back onstage where they belong. “Sympathetic
Magic” ponders the cosmic implications of everyday actions in the story of
a young astrophysicist who makes a potentially world-changing discovery
just at the moment his long-time companion, a sculptor on the verge of a
brilliant career, finds she is pregnant with his child. And yet, that’s not
all that’s going on in the play. The sculptress is the daughter of a world
renowned anthropologist, famed for her work both with tribes in Africa and
gangs in U.S. inner cities, who is currently going blind. She also has a
son, half-brother of the sculptress, who is an Episcopal Rector in the
diocese of San Francisco, and has just broken off his relationship with the
church’s choir master in order to try to live a celibate life. The cast
also includes the astrophysicist’s narcissistic, by-the-book department
head, his perpetually lovelorn young co-worker and the anthropologist’s
assistant (the type of young woman every straight man seems to find himself
falling in love with), who, unexpectedly, find themselves falling head over
heels for one another. With its 1990s setting in San Francisco, AIDS also
rears its head in both expected and unexpected ways.The intricate web of
inter-relationships between these characters is limned in dialogue that
crackles like a 1930s screwball comedy, albeit to far more subtle and
serious ends.

Director John Sowle was a school valedictorian in Stillwater, OK way back
in the day, and continued his studies at the Massacussets Institute of
Technology, with the hopes of  becoming an astrophysicist himself one day
until, he says, “I met one.” A BA in Mathematics at MIT led to an eventual
PhD in Theatre at the University of California at Berkeley and to his
current life in the Arts. “There’s so much in this play that mirrors events
in my life, and given the utterly perfect cast we’ve assembled to embody
these characters, I’m finding it impossible to work on preparing for
rehearsals without the kind of thrill and excitement I’m rarely able to
experience any more. Just imagining this set of actors in these roles makes
me choke up.”

Featured in the cast are Brian Sheppard as Ian “Andy” Anderson, Molly
Parker Myers as Barbara DeBiers, Seth McNeil as Don Walker, Timothy Dunn as
Pauly Scott, Abby Burris as Sue Olmstead, Nico Ager as Mickey Picco, Terry
Sidell as Liz Barnard, and Steven Patterson as Carl Conklin White. BST
Artistic and Managing Director John Sowle directs and designs the sets,
with Carmen Borgia creating sound and lighting, and Michelle Rogers on
costumes. Hannrose Manning is the Production Stage Manager and artwork for
the production was created by Dina Bursztyn.

One additional item of interest. Terry Sidell (Liz Barnard) and Steven
Patterson (Carl Conklin White) will be appearing together onstage in this
production for the first time since playing Cecily Cardew and Algernon
Moncrieff in the El Modena High School production of Oscar Wilde’s “The
Importance of Being Earnest” in Orange County, CA, back in 1967!

“Sympathetic Magic” will play for eight performances only, November 9 – 19.
Thursday – Saturday performances begin at 7:30pm, with Sunday matinees at
2:00pm. Discounted advance tickets are available for $28 online at
bridgest.org/sympathetic-magic-tickets/. Seats at the door are $30. All
tickets for patrons ages 18 and under are $15. Additionally, any remaining
seats for the preview performance on Thursday evening November 9 and the
Sunday afternoon matinee on November 12 will be sold at the door on a “Pay
What You Will” basis. Just show up before curtain time and pay whatever you
feel you can afford for any seat that’s still available. Doors always open
one-half hour before curtain time.

Experience one of the most stimulating and little-known plays in the
American canon in a production that you’re unlikely to see anywhere else
any time soon. Want more details? Just visit the theatre’s website at
bridgest.org/sympathetic-magic/.

*Events at Bridge Street Theatre are supported in part by the New York
State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor of New York and
the New York State Legislature and by Public Funds from the Greene County
Legislature. Bridge Street Theatre’s entire 2023 Season is sponsored by
generous donations from Mary E. Barrett and Ted and Mary Neumann in memory
of Helmut and Emily Neumann.*

*Performance Calendar: *Bridge Street Theatre presents

*SYMPATHETIC MAGIC *by Lanford Wilson
with Nico Ager, Abby Burris, Timothy Dunn, Seth McNeill, Molly Parker
Myers, Steven Patterson, Brian Sheppard, Terry Sidell

Directed by John Sowle
Lighting and Sound Design by Carmen Borgia

Set Design by John Sowle
Costumes by Michelle Rogers
Artwork by Dina Bursztyn
Production Stage Manager: Hannarose Manning
November 9 – 19, 2023
Bridge Street Theatre’s “Priscilla” Mainstage
44 West Bridge Street, Catskill, NY

Thursday November 9 @ 7:30pm (“Pay What You Will” preview)
Friday November 10 @ 7:30pm (Opening Night)
Saturday November 11 @ 7:30pm
Sunday November 12 @ 2:00pm (“Pay What You Will” performance)
Thursday November 16 @ 7:30pm
Friday November 17 @ 7:30pm
Saturday November 18 @ 7:30pm
Sunday November 19 @ 2:00pm (Closing performance)

*Tickets: *Advance tickets available at
https://bridgest.org/sympathetic-magic-tickets/
$28 General Admission, 18 & under $15
Tickets can also be purchased at the door prior to each performance (on a
space available basis) for $30, 18 & under $15

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