{"id":19231,"date":"2017-04-21T10:47:22","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T14:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=19231"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:35:54","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:35:54","slug":"mr-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=19231","title":{"rendered":"PlayMakers presents ‘Mr. Joy’ April 26-30"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PlayMakersPlayMakers Repertory Company <\/a>presents \u201cMr. Joy,\u201d a work by award-winning playwright Daniel Beaty, as the final production of its 2016\/17 PRC\u00b2 second-stage season. The production is directed by Vivienne Benesch, PlayMakers\u2019 Producing Artistic Director, and stars Tangela Large, who returns to PlayMakers after a successful turn in \u201cDetroit \u201867\u201d in fall 2016. The run runs April 26-30.<\/p>\n

The PRC2 series features a unique \u201csecond act\u201d conversation after each performance, to spur conversation between the audience and members of the creative team on the timely, topical subject matter of each PRC\u00b2 play.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Joy\u201d tells the story of a Harlem community after Mr. Joy, a Chinese immigrant of a neighborhood shoe repair shop, is the victim of an attack. The play is a tapestry of monologues by nine of Mr. Joy\u2019s customers and neighbors, as they reflect on the impact he has had on each of their lives, and on their community. The nine characters, all played by Large, include 11-year old Clarissa, the story\u2019s narrative guide, her \u201cgangsta granny\u201d Bessie, a 16-year old aspiring poet and others dealing with the very topical issues of race, gentrification, and social integration.<\/p>\n

“I am thrilled to close out our 2016\/17 season with this heartbreakingly beautiful work, which very much embodies the theme of transformation we have been exploring at PlayMakers all season. In choosing this play, I was inspired by something playwright Daniel Beaty said about it: that individual transformation, and individual contribution, is a core path to social transformation,\u201d says Vivienne Benesch. \u201cWith this play, our goal is to access the feelings and motivation behind each character, not just intellectualize them. The extraordinary Tangela Large, who breathes life into all of the play\u2019s characters, will take the audience on a journey that explores what \u2014 and who \u2014 binds a community together, and how faith in the possibility of change can heal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cMr. Joy\u201d Creative Team<\/u>:<\/h4>\n

Vivienne Benesch <\/strong>is completing her first season as PlayMakers\u2019 Producing Artistic Director. For 12 seasons, she served as Artistic Director of the renowned Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), presiding over the company\u2019s transformation into one of the best summer theatres and most competitive summer training programs in the country. She directed more than fifteen productions at CTC including an acclaimed re-imagining of “Romeo and Juliet” featuring the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, theatre, opera and dance companies. She brought CTC\u2019s production of “Amadeus,” performed with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic, to the Virginia Arts Festival featuring PlayMakers company member Ray Dooley. She has helmed productions of \u201cThe May Queen,\u201d \u201cThree Sisters,\u201d \u201cLove Alone,\u201d “Red,” and \u201cIn The Next Room\u201d for PlayMakers, directed for The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Trinity Repertory Company, and extensively for the Juilliard Drama Division, where she served on the faculty for several years. Vivienne is also an acclaimed actress who has appeared with Gene Wilder, Al Pacino, Blythe Danner, and Dame Maggie Smith, and received an OBIE Award for her performance in Lee Blessing\u2019s “Going to St. Ives”.<\/p>\n

She is a graduate of Brown University and NYU\u2019s Graduate Acting Program.<\/p>\n

Tangela Large <\/strong>made her PlayMakers debut in the critically-acclaimed \u201cDetroit \u201867\u201d in Fall 2016. She has previously appeared in \u201cMr. Joy\u201d at City Theatre in Pittsburgh and ArtsEmerson in Boston, for which she received the 2016 IRNE Award for Best Solo Performance, as well as an Elliot Norton Award nomination for Best Solo Performance. Other regional credits include: “The Taming” (Shakespeare and Company); “Intimate Apparel” (Chautauqua Theater Company); “Serial Black Face” (Long Wharf Theater); “Orpheus Descending,” “Henry IV” (Intiman Theatre Festival); “pen\/man\/ship” (Magic Theatre); “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (Trinity Repertory Company, nominated for a Motif Award for Best Supporting Actress). Tangela was in “Clybourne Park” and “Comedy of Errors” (Chautauqua Institution, 2013 Season). She earned her MFA in Acting from the Brown\/Trinity MFA Programs; BA, University of West Georgia. She is a proud alumni of Atlanta\u2019s finest Tri-Cities High Visual and Performing Arts Magnet Program.<\/p>\n

About PlayMakers<\/u>:<\/h4>\n

PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina\u2019s premier resident theater company for more than 40 years. PlayMakers has been named one of the \u201cbest regional theatres in America\u201d.<\/p>\n

About the PRC\u00b2 Second Stage Series<\/u>:<\/h4>\n

PRC\u00b2 features innovative, topical work that encourages both artist and audience to take risks in unknown territory. Sharing in the process of new work under construction or artists grappling with hot button issues, the audience engages in discussions with the creative artists and expert panelists following each performance. Each production is followed by a \u201csecond act\u201d of conversation with our audience.<\/p>\n

Performances<\/u>:<\/h4>\n

\u201cMr. Joy\u201d takes the stage at the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre in the Center for Dramatic Art at 120 Country Club Road, from April 26-30, 2017. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Opening Night: April 26. For information and to purchase tickets, call 919.962.7529 or visit playmakersrep.org<\/a>. Individual ticket prices for \u201cMr. Joy\u201d start at $10 for UNC students and $15 for non-students.<\/p>\n

Special Events<\/u>:<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • April 26, 7:30 m. <\/strong>\u2014 Opening Night<\/li>\n
  • April 26\u201330 <\/strong>\u2014 Free post-show discussions with members of the creative team<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    PlayMakers Repertory Company presents \u201cMr. Joy,\u201d a work by award-winning playwright Daniel Beaty, as the final production of its 2016\/17 PRC\u00b2 second-stage season. 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