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Home , Alvin Epstein, Elaine Stritch, John Turturro, Max Casella, Waiting for Godot

BAM announces the complete cast of Beckett’s , featuring and directed by Andrei Belgrader running April 25–May 18

Max Casella, Elaine Stritch, and to join cast

BAM 2008 Spring Season is sponsored by Bloomberg

Endgame Written by Directed by Andrei Belgrader Produced by BAM

BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St.) April 25 & 26 at 7:30 Apr 29—May 3, May 6—10, May 13—17 at 7:30pm (note: Apr 30 is the press opening) May 3, 10 & 17 at 2pm April 27, May 4, 11 & 18 at 3pm Tickets: $25, 45, 65, 75 BAM.org or 718.636.4100

Brooklyn, NY/March 11, 2008—BAM announces the complete cast of its upcoming production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame. Joining John Turturro (Hamm) will be acclaimed TV, stage, and screen actor Max Casella (“,” ) as Clov. Veteran classical actor Alvin Epstein (, The Three Penny Opera, Tuesdays with Morrie) will Nagg and the legendary Broadway actress Elaine Stritch will play Nell. The one-act play, originally published in 1957, is considered to be one of Beckett’s most important works. Endgame will be directed by Andrei Belgrader (American Repertory Theatre’s Ubu Rock, ’s Scapin).

Twenty-four performances of Endgame will take place in the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St.) from April 25 through May 18 (press opening: April 30). Tickets, priced at $25, 45, 65, 75, can be purchased by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or by visiting BAM.org.

Endgame 2

“Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that,” says Nell, in Endgame, one of Samuel Beckett’s most poignant and comical works. The play explores the relationship between Hamm and his manservant Clov. Mutually dependent in a world that seems to be coming to an end, Hamm is confined to a chair on wheels, unable to see, or stand up and Clov—can’t sit down. Joining the duo are Hamm’s parents Nagg and Nell who live in trash cans, occasionally raising their lids to speak. In spite of the indignities and routine inanities of daily existence the impulse to go on remains powerful for each of the four characters. A funny yet tragic work, Endgame examines the cruelty and tenderness of companionship and the unmistakable human drive to live.

Samuel Beckett was born in Dublin in 1906 and graduated from Trinity College. He spent most of his life in Paris, where he died in 1989. Originally written in French, Endgame (Fin de partie) was translated into English by Beckett. One of the most celebrated authors of the 20th century, Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. His highly influential plays include Waiting for Godot, Krapp’s Last Tape, and . He is the author of novels including , , , and .

Max Casella was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts where he honed his skills as an actor in regional theater in productions such as ’s Night And Day and Cyrano de Bergerac at the prestigious Huntington Theater. Casella was a cast member of HBO’s original series “The Sopranos” starting with the show's third season; he played Benny Fazio, a loyal member of Tony Soprano’s crew who was featured in the final episode. He recently completed filming the new Sam Mendes feature, Revolutionary Road, with and Leonardo DiCaprio and can be seen in the upcoming film Leatherheads starring with Renee Zellweger and directed by George Clooney. Casella was in the critically acclaimed mini-series “The Bronx Is Burning” with John Turturro. He also starred opposite John and in Souls of both off- Broadway and in Naples, Italy. Casella’s work on Broadway includes The Music Man, playing Marcellus Washburn, the wily partner-in- of Harold Hill. His debut on Broadway came in 1997, as Timon in the original cast of the Tony award-winning musical The Lion King for which he received a Theater World award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, as well as a Drama Desk nomination. Casella first became widely known in his role as Vinnie on the hit television series “Doogie Howser M.D.”

Alvin Epstein’s Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include ’ , the American premiere of Waiting for Godot (in which he played Lucky), the American premiere of Endgame, the world premiere of Sam Shepard’s and Joe Chaikin’s When the World Was Green, and the Ragpicker in The Madwoman of Chaillot. Roles at American Repertory Theatre include The Herald in Marat/Sade, Dr. Giannoni in Pirandello’s Enrico IV and Camillo in The Winter’s Tale. Epstein has received Most Promising Actor Award by the Drama Circle in 1956, an OBIE for his role as the Sergeant in Dynamite Tonight!, and the Award for Dedication to the Theatre. Epstein is the former artistic director of the Guthrie Theatre and A.R.T/Moscow Art Theatre Institute.

Born in , Elaine Stritch studied at in under the direction of . Beginning her career in musical comedy on Broadway, she went from standing by for in to her Tony-nominated performance in the revival of ’s A Delicate Balance. Her Broadway credits include Angel in the Wings, , , Bus Stop, Goldilocks, (which she performed in both New York and London, and just recently in concert at to celebrate Noel Coward’s centennial), Who’s Afraid of ? (following in the role of Martha), , and . In London’s West End, she starred in ’s The Gingerbread Lady and ’ Small Craft Warnings. Other stage credits include the concert version of both and Company at and her appearance in A.R. Gurney’s with Jason Robards. Stritch made her film debut in the 1957 remake of A Farewell to Arms. She co-starred in the 1977 Alain Resnais film Providence and the award-winning BBC television series “Two’s Company.” Other film credits include Cocoon: The Return, ’s September, Out to Sea with and , Krippendorf’s Tribe with , and An Unexpected Life with Stockard Channing and Stephen Collins. Stritch won a Tony Award for the Broadway production of Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, as well as two Drama Desk Awards, and she toured the show throughout the country. Other recent film roles include Monster-in-Law, starring and Endgame 3 , and Romance and Cigarettes, directed by John Turturro. Most recently, Stritch performed highly successful cabaret engagements at the Café Carlyle in New York. She also won an Emmy for her work on the television show “.”

John Turturro graduated from the Yale School of Drama. Onstage he has created the title role of ’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, for which he won an and a Theater World Award. He has also performed in Waiting for Godot; in the title role of Bertold Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui; and most recently in Eduardo De Filippos’s Souls of Naples, for which he was nominated for a . Turturro has performed in more than 60 films, including Martin Scorscese’s ; Tony Bill’s Five Corners; ’s and ; ’s Quiz Show (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and a SAG Award); Peter Weir’s Fearless, Tom DiCillo’s Box of Moonlight; ’s La Tregua; and Joel and Ethan Coen’s Miller’s Crossing, , and O Brother, Where Art Thou?. For his lead role in the ’ , he won the Best Actor Award at the and the David di Donatello Award. For his work in television, Turturro was nominated for a SAG award for his portrayal of in “,” and recently won an Emmy Award for his guest appearance on “Monk.” For his directorial debut, Mac, Turturro won the Camera D’Or from the Cannes Film Festival. His second film as director, Illuminata, also premiered at Cannes. His most recent film, Romance and Cigarettes, garnered critical acclaim.

Andrei Belgrader is well known for his work with American Repertory Theatre productions Loot, We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!, Ubu Rock, The Servant of Two Masters, Rameau’s Nephew, The Bald Soprano, The Chairs, Waiting for Godot (for which he received the Boston Critics Circle Awards for Best Play and Best Director for 1982-3), Measure for Measure, and As You Like It. Since arriving from his native Romania in 1978, Belgrader has directed several Off-Broadway productions, including Scapin, Woyzeck, and Troilus and Cressida. At Yale Repertory Theatre he directed Molière's Scapin, which he adapted with Shelly Berc and Rusty Magee and which was subsequently performed at in New York and A.C.T. in San Francisco. His other credits with Yale Repertory Theatre include ’s Moon Over Miami, The Miser, As You Like It, ’s Ubu Rex, the American premiere of Dario Fo’s About Face, Joe Orton’s What the Butler Saw, and Gogol’s Marriage. At the Goodman Theatre in Chicago he directed Beckett’s Happy Days. Belgrader also worked at the West Bank Cafe, where he directed Qunicy Long’s Korea and Tom Eyen’s The White Whore and The Bit Player—which was subsequently performed at the Edinburgh Festival and then moved to two London theatres. For the Double Image Theatre, he directed Ondine and Brendan Cole’s Tenth Avenue Tales. With Shelley Berc, Belgrader also adapted Rameau’s Nephew and directed the original production for The Classic Stage Company in New York. For the Norwegian State Theatre, he directed Nikolai Erdman’s Suicide. Belgrader also directed several episodes of the television show “Coach” for MCA Universal.

Credits

BAM 2008 Spring Season is sponsored by Bloomberg. Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Support for Endgame is provided by Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater.

Leadership support for BAM Theater is provided by The Shubert Foundation, Inc., The SHS Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, with major support from Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust.

BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including: The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; New York City Council; Estate of Richard B. Fisher; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Ford Foundation; The New York State Music Fund; Bloomberg; The Starr Foundation; JPMorgan Chase Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; Bank of America; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Time Warner Inc.; The Kovner Foundation; Booth Ferris Foundation; The Norman & Rosita Winston Foundation, Inc.; American Express; Forest City Endgame 4

Ratner Companies; Visa Signature; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Skirball Foundation; Friends of BAM and BAM Cinema Club. Sovereign Bank is the BAM Marquee sponsor. R/GA is the BAM.org sponsor. Yamaha is the official piano for BAM. New York Marriott at the Bridge is the official hotel for BAM. Sharp Electronics Corporation is BAM’s Consumer Electronics Partner. BAM Lounge Furniture Provider is west elm.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Brownstone Books at BAM are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, is open for dining prior to Howard Gilman Opera House performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live nights on Friday and Saturday with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 8pm.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

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