Ene Dir E BAM Spring
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June 2003 2003 Spring Season Cecily Brown , Figure in a Landscape, 2002 BAM Spring . ENe DiR E Season sponsor: Altna BAM 2003 SorioQ Brooklyn Academy of Music Alan H. Fishman William I. Campbell Chairman of the Board Vice Chairman of the Board Karen Brooks Hopkins Joseph V. Melillo President Executive Producer presents Ghosts A family drama by Henrik Ibsen Approximate BAM Harvey Lichtenstein Th eater running time: Ju ne 10-14, 2003 at 7:30pm 2 hours and 35 minutes with one Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden intermission Translation, adaptation, and di rection by Ingmar Bergman Scenic design by Giiran Wassberg Costume design by Anna Bergman Lighting design by Pierre Leveau Cast Mrs. Helene Alving Pernilla August Osvald Alving, her son Jonas Malmsjii Pastor Manders Jan Malmsjii Jacob Engstrand, the carpenter Orjan Ramberg Regine Engstrand, his daughter Angela Kovacs Performed in Swedish with simultaneous English translation BAM 2003 Spring Season is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc. Leadership support for Ghosts is provided by Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation with additional support from the Consulate General of Sweden, Swedish Institute, The American-Scandinavian Foundation, and The Heimbold Foundation. The official airline for Ghosts is Scandanavian Airlines and the official hotel is New York Brooklyn Marriott. Leadership support for BAM Theater is provided by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation with major support from The Shubert Foundation, Inc., The SHS Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust, Francena T Harrison Foundation Trust, and Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. Ghosts Angela Kovacs, Pernilla August, Jan Malrnsjo, Jonas Malrnsjo. Photo, Bengt Wanselius The Royal Dramatic Wigs and makeup Leif Qvistrom , Jan Kindahl Theater production Music Arvo Part (For AI/ina, piano Kabi Laretei) credits Sound designer Jan Eric Piper Stage manager Tomas Wennerberg Technical coordinator Kaj Forsgardh First carpenter Bjorn Almqvist Stage technician Benny Widjestam Prop master Anders Olausson Props Pia Gustafsson Lighting technicians Stefan Berglund , Jens Thiman , Per Johnson Dresser Anna Hedstrom Prompter Hanna Pauli Assistant director Ulph Bergman Dramaturg Ulla Aberg Press manager Ingela Roos Producer Sofi Lerstrom Deputy managing director Staffan Ryden Artistic and managing director of The Royal Dramatic Theatre Staffan Valdemar Holm English translation Charlotte Barslund Simultaneous Eva Engman English translation Klaus Hassel Bjorn Olsson Tana Ross Coached by Ulla Aberg Svnoosis The play is set in Helene Alving's house in the Captain's undeserved good name. She is Norway. Mrs. Alving's late husband, Captain shaken when she overhears Osvald flirting with Alving, was revered locally for his good works, Regine-he does not realize that the young and she is founding an orphanage in his woman is his own half-sister. memory. Their son, Osvald, has been working as an artist in Paris, and has recently returned Act Two Manders is shocked at what he has home. As the characters discuss past events, a learned about the Alvings' marriage and more complicated version emerges. Captain Regine's parentage. Mrs. Alving wishes she Alving was not the respectable husband he had not been persuaded to leave the pastor appeared; early in their marriage, Mrs. Alving (although they loved one another) and that she ran away to Pastor Manders, who exhorted her had told Osvald the truth about his father's to return home. Alving's affairs included a character. She claims that they are all haunted servant, Johanna, who became pregnant. by ghosts-by dead beliefs, dead conventions. Johanna pretended that the father was a Engstrand arrives, and Manders blames him for visiting Englishman, and the carpenter Jacob concealing the identity of Regine's father, but Engstrand was persuaded to marry her and realizes that even Engstrand doesn't know the claim the daughter, Regine , as his own. Regine full story. Engstrand mentions the proposed now works for Mrs. Alving. It also appears that sailors' guest house, and leaves to light the Osvald has returned because he has been candles for an evening service at the orphanage. suffering the symptoms of syphilis; he blames Alone with his mother, Osvald confesses that himself, but probably inherited the illness from he is seriously ill, in both body and mind. He his father. cannot understand how he has contracted syphilis. A doctor suggested the disease must Act One It is the day before the official opening be inherited from his father, but Osvald is sure of the orphanage. Jacob Engstrand asks his that cannot be true and blames himself. He daughter Regine to join him in setting up a thinks that Regine might represent a form of guest house for sailors. She refuses, and hustles salvation for him. Regine tells Mrs. Alving that Engstrand out. Pastor Manders arrives; Regine if Osvald asked her, she would marry him. As suggests to Manders that she might work for Manders returns, they realize that the orphanage him. Manders is distressed at Mrs. Alving's is on fire, and is burning to the ground. radical reading matter, but the two of them Engstrand suggests that Pastor Manders may finish off the paperwork connected with the be responsible, as it happened during the orphanage. Mrs. Alving mentions a recent fire service. Manders can't remember handling a in the workshop where Engstrand is employed candle, but is relieved when Engstrand offers to he is notoriously careless, especially when take responsibility, in return for support for his drinking. Osvald joins them, and Manders guest house. questions his bohemian lifestyle in Paris. Osvald angrily responds that those unconven Act Three Mrs. Alving tells Osvald and Regine tional relationships demonstrate more true love about the Captain-that his joy of living soured and affection than apparently respectable in this cold, dutiful atmosphere. She also tells households. He leaves, and Manders reminds Regine that the Captain was her father. Regine Mrs. Alving of the night she ran away from decides to leave immediately rather than nurse home, distressed at her husband's excesses. an invalid. Like Engstrand , she hopes to profit He says that just as she then failed as a wife, from the pastor. Osvald asks his mother to help so she failed as a mother by sending Osvald him if the disease's effects on his mind worsen. away as a child. She discloses that the He has been told that there is no hope of full Captain's behavior never reformed, but was recovery from any future attack, so he has merely kept behind closed doors. When their obtained a fatal dose of morphine. He wants servant Johanna became pregnant, Mrs. Alving Mrs. Alving to promise to assist his death. Very took control of the household, sending Osvald reluctantly, she agrees. It becomes apparent away for his own protection. All of the Captain's that Osvald's condition is indeed deteriorating. money has gone into the orphanage-she does Alone in the house, Mrs. Alving must decide not want Osvald to inherit anything from his what to do. father, and hopes the orphanage will preserve 2Jc Program note Ingmar Bergman on his translation of Ghosts After working with drama for more than 60 years I have dared to attempt to translate a play for the first time. It started like this: I had been reading one translation of Ghosts after another while following the original text line by line. I listened to and I noticed the volcanic anger erupting in the play and how this was related to another anger, which registered similarly on the dramatic Richter scale. Approximately 25 years after Ghosts August Strindberg wrote a chamber piece f~r five actors featuring a gigantic maternal monster, a dead father who haunted the living, a truth-teller, a terminally ill student, a tough girl, a pathetic lover, a damaged young woman, and a fire. He intended to call his 'family drama' The Sleepwalkers, but reconsidered and it became known as The Pelican and was premiered at the disastrous opening of the Intimate Theatre. It was not long before The Ghost Sonata suffered the same brutal fate. Ibsen was smarter in 188!. confused human being. Osvald has been He put the anger of his play into an iron corset granted more space. Regine likewise. Engstrand, and supplied it with a couple of crude carica the carpenter, whom the author had such fun tures whose function was probably to make the creating, has been left as he is and Mrs. audience laugh in the midst of all the turmoil. Helene Alving is a Nora who never slammed And besides, A Dol/'s House was an articulate, the door: victim as well as executioner global success, not least financially (which sophisticated liar, and merciless truth-teller at mattered a great deal to Ibsen: 'One must pitch the same time (she is thus closely related to the screaming according to one's audience' other dangerous women such as Hedda Gabler as he has Peer Gynt saying in a moment ' and Rebecca West). I have adhered to Ibsen's of cheerful self awareness) . After a long decision never to name the terminal illness. professional life where I have been passionately As a metaphor it is equally unsurpassable. And devoted to what the Germans ironically called the architecture, the construction itself, is the werktreue (being faithful to the original), I have master's work. taken out a pair of big metal scissors and cut Ibsen's iron corset into pieces without altering Ingmar Bergman the basic themes. F!!ro, May 2001 Ghosts is Ibsen's Ghost Sonata. I have, by the (This note was originally published in the Royal way, also taken the liberty of stealing some Dramatic Theatre's program which included lines from The Pelican and The Ghost Sonata the text of Ingmar Bergman's Swedish and planting them in Ghosts.