{"id":4634,"date":"2012-12-18T10:52:24","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T15:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/college.web.unc.edu\/?p=4634"},"modified":"2024-07-02T13:35:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T13:35:46","slug":"playmakersgreatwhales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=4634","title":{"rendered":"PlayMakers presents Obie-winner \u2018And God Created Great Whales\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Rinde Eckert and Nora Cole in “And God Created Great Whales” (photo by Caleb Wertenbaker).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PlayMakers Repertory Company at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill presents actor-playwright-composer Rinde Eckert\u2019s award-winning \u201cAnd God Created Great Whales\u201d Jan. 9-13.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd God Created Great Whales\u201d is a haunting musical adventure into the psyche of a Acomposer trying to create an opera based on the classic novel, \u201cMoby Dick.\u201d Desperately fighting a degenerative disease eating away at his mind, the artist must rely on a tape recorder hung around his neck and a muse born of his imagination to instruct him on his work each day.<\/p>\n

The production is part of the theater\u2019s innovative PRC2 <\/sup>second-stage series and will be performed by original cast members Eckert and Nora Cole.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrammy Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Rinde Eckert displays his full creative force in this frenzied, funny and moving play,\u201d said Joseph Haj, PlayMakers\u2019 producing artistic director.<\/p>\n

Called \u201cdazzling\u201d by the Los Angeles Times, the play garnered an Obie Award for Best Performance and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Unique Theatrical Experience. The New Yorker review said, \u201cEvery element of Eckert\u2019s play is masterly \u2014 his performance \u2026 poignant, his music varied and lovely, his dancing divine, his musings profound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Tickets are available as part of the theater\u2019s 2012-2013 season subscription packages. Individual tickets are $25-$40. For more information, call the PlayMakers box office at (919) 962-PLAY (7529) or visit www.playmakersrep.org<\/a>. PRC\u00b2 shows are presented in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre in the Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road.<\/p>\n

Eckert\u2019s work has been produced off-Broadway and at major venues and festivals throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Off-Broadway shows include \u201cOrpheus X\u201d (2007 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama), <\/em>\u201cHorizon\u201d <\/em>(Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Award nominations), <\/em>\u201cAn Idiot Divine\u201d <\/em>and \u201cRomeo Sierra Tango.\u201d Regional theater credits include \u201cRavenshead\u201d and \u201cHighway Ulysses\u201d <\/em>(Eliot Norton Award).<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation named Eckert as one of 21 inaugural Doris Duke Artists.\u00a0His other honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Academy of Arts and Letters\u2019 Marc Blitzstein Award and the Alpert Award in the Arts for Theatre.<\/p>\n

Cole plays the Muse\/Olivia Walsh. She also originated the role of The Bride in Eckert\u2019s \u201cHighway Ulysses.\u201d Other credits include \u201cCaroline or Change\u201d <\/strong>(Royal National Theatre), \u201cJelly\u2019s Last Jam\u201d <\/em><\/strong>(Broadway <\/em><\/strong>opposite Gregory Hines\/national tour opposite Maurice Hines), \u201cOn the Town\u201d (Broadway), <\/em>\u201cYour Arms Too Short to Box With God\u201d (Broadway, national and European tours) and \u201cWhen Hell Freezes Over, I\u2019ll Skate\u201d (Kennedy Center).<\/p>\n

David Schweizer <\/strong>has directed \u201cGreat Whales\u201d in all its incarnations since its premiere. His collaboration with Eckert also includes \u201cHorizon\u201d (off-Broadway and on tour). He has directed new theater, performance and opera for 40 years, both nationally and internationally, including work for solo artists such as Ann Magnuson and world premieres for many playwrights.<\/p>\n

This is the sixth season for PlayMakers\u2019 PRC2 <\/sup>series, where each presentation combines an intriguing, topical production coupled with engaging post-show discussions with the creative artists and expert panelists. Theseries concludes with \u201cSpring Training,\u201d a world premiere specially commissioned by PlayMakers and Carolina Performing Arts, written and performed by acclaimed musical\/spoken word ensemble Universes (April 24-28).<\/p>\n

PlayMakers\u2019 main-stage season also continues with Lorraine Hansberry\u2019s \u201cA Raisin in the Sun,\u201d performed in rotating repertory with 2012 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner \u201cClybourne Park\u201d (Jan. 26-March 3), and the\u00a0 musical \u201cCabaret\u201d (April 3-21). Single tickets and season subscription packages are available.<\/p>\n

PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence in UNC\u2019s College of Arts and Sciences. The Drama League of New York has named PlayMakers one of the best regional theaters in America, and The Independent Weekly calls PlayMakers the best live theater company in the Triangle.<\/p>\n

Web site: www.playmakersrep.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PlayMakers Repertory Company at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill presents actor-playwright-composer Rinde Eckert\u2019s award-winning \u201cAnd God Created Great Whales\u201d Jan. 9-13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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