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Stageworks brings history to life with ‘RIP’
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| Actors David Tass, left, and Fred Fishberg play all of the characters in StageworksÕ adaptation of Washington IrvingÕs ÒRip Van WinkleÓ this weekend. (Molly Salisbury/For Hudson-Catskill Newspapers) |
By Molly Salisbury
For Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
“[O]f all the scenery of the Hudson, the Kaatskill Mountains had the most witching effect on my boyish imagination,” wrote Washington Irving, one of America’s first best-selling authors and the author of “Rip Van Winkle.” Hudson’s own Stageworks — located in the shadow of the Catskills — is presenting an inventive adaptation of the ghostly tale as part of New York’s statewide Quadricentennial celebration of Henry Hudson’s voyage along his namesake river.
Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” contains the ghosts of Henry Hudson’s crew — they are those spirits who lure Rip to sleep with a game of nine-pins and too much to drink. The author of the adaptation, Lucile Lichtblau, has upped the Hudson factor and Henry himself will make an appearance on-stage this Friday for the premier of “RIP.”
Lichtblau is not about to meet conventional expectations — in her work or in person. In Lichtblau’s RIP, all the characters will be played by two actors, David Tass and Fred Fishberg, who will change hats as they change characters.
A play like this is a gift for an actor who likes to have fun. And when an actor is having fun, the audience is having fun.
Now in her 70s, Lichtblau “came back to writing” 20 years ago after a hiatus of four children and a career as a clinical psychologist. In 1956, the year she graduated from Yale, she won the first-ever MCA Playwriting Fellowship after being nominated by her teacher, Robert Penn Warren. Lichtblau began her relationship with Stageworks and Laura Margolis more than a decade ago when she was invited to submit a one-act for Stageworks’ much admired Play-by-play festival (Friends suggested she do so and advised Margolis to get in touch with Lichtblau.)
Like so many other “I-know-someone-you-should-meet” relationships in Columbia County, this one has been fruitful for both parties. Lichtblau’s first submission was for “The Purple Plays,” and she has submitted and been produced every year since then.
The Columbia County playwright is full of surprises; first, her age — she’s not your ordinary 30-something playwright writing plays set in dank, angst-ridden New York apartments. Even more surprising than her age is that Lichtblau is funny. The “RIP” actors crack jokes about current affairs as they act out a story as old as … the Catskills.
This year, in addition to “RIP,” Lichtblau’s piece “Car Talk” (not connected with NPR’s radio show of the same name) is a cornerstone of the Stageworks season. Commissioned by Margolis, she calls Lichtblau’s plays “sexy and progressive.” On Stageworks’ Web site, Margolis writes, ”Our world is being battered about in these fast spinning times, but there is one constant in our common humanity — our inherent need to connect to one another through stories.” And all the better to share them when they’re free.
Stageworks is offering a pay-what-you-will (or can) performance of “RIP” at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The following evening Stageworks is celebrating its 15th Anniversary with a Season Kickoff Party. A wine-tasting event by Hudson-Chatham Winery and an hors d’oeuvres reception begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by a special performance of “RIP” at 7:30 p.m.
For reservations for both production dates, call 518-822-9667 or visit www.stageworkshudson.org.
“[O]f all the scenery of the Hudson, the Kaatskill Mountains had the most witching effect on my boyish imagination,” wrote Washington Irving, one of America’s first best-selling authors and the author of “Rip Van Winkle.” Hudson’s own Stageworks — located in the shadow of the Catskills — is presenting an inventive adaptation of the ghostly tale as part of New York’s statewide Quadricentennial celebration of Henry Hudson’s voyage along his namesake river.
Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” contains the ghosts of Henry Hudson’s crew — they are those spirits who lure Rip to sleep with a game of nine-pins and too much to drink. The author of the adaptation, Lucile Lichtblau, has upped the Hudson factor and Henry himself will make an appearance on-stage this Friday for the premier of “RIP.”
Lichtblau is not about to meet conventional expectations — in her work or in person. In Lichtblau’s RIP, all the characters will be played by two actors, David Tass and Fred Fishberg, who will change hats as they change characters.
A play like this is a gift for an actor who likes to have fun. And when an actor is having fun, the audience is having fun.
Now in her 70s, Lichtblau “came back to writing” 20 years ago after a hiatus of four children and a career as a clinical psychologist. In 1956, the year she graduated from Yale, she won the first-ever MCA Playwriting Fellowship after being nominated by her teacher, Robert Penn Warren. Lichtblau began her relationship with Stageworks and Laura Margolis more than a decade ago when she was invited to submit a one-act for Stageworks’ much admired Play-by-play festival (Friends suggested she do so and advised Margolis to get in touch with Lichtblau.)
Like so many other “I-know-someone-you-should-meet” relationships in Columbia County, this one has been fruitful for both parties. Lichtblau’s first submission was for “The Purple Plays,” and she has submitted and been produced every year since then.
The Columbia County playwright is full of surprises; first, her age — she’s not your ordinary 30-something playwright writing plays set in dank, angst-ridden New York apartments. Even more surprising than her age is that Lichtblau is funny. The “RIP” actors crack jokes about current affairs as they act out a story as old as … the Catskills.
This year, in addition to “RIP,” Lichtblau’s piece “Car Talk” (not connected with NPR’s radio show of the same name) is a cornerstone of the Stageworks season. Commissioned by Margolis, she calls Lichtblau’s plays “sexy and progressive.” On Stageworks’ Web site, Margolis writes, ”Our world is being battered about in these fast spinning times, but there is one constant in our common humanity — our inherent need to connect to one another through stories.” And all the better to share them when they’re free.
Stageworks is offering a pay-what-you-will (or can) performance of “RIP” at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The following evening Stageworks is celebrating its 15th Anniversary with a Season Kickoff Party. A wine-tasting event by Hudson-Chatham Winery and an hors d’oeuvres reception begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by a special performance of “RIP” at 7:30 p.m.
For reservations for both production dates, call 518-822-9667 or visit www.stageworkshudson.org.
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