Bank of An1erica presents THE BRJDGE PROJECT Produced by BAM, The Old Vic & Neal Street Productions THE CHERRY ORCHARD BY ANTON CIJEKIJOY A NEW VERSION OF TJ IE PLAY BY TOM STOPPJ\RD THE WINTER JS TALE BY WILLIAM SHAKE PEARE Directed by Sam Mendes Set design by Anthony Ward Costume design by Catherine Zuber Lighting design by Paul Pyant Sound design by Paul Arditti Hair & wig design by Tom Watson Music by Mark Bennett Music direction by Dan Lipton Casting by Nancy Piccione and Maggie Lunn Choreography by Josh Prince Co-commissioned b; and produced in association \\ith Athens & Epidaurus FestivaL 1 I IE EDGER Auckland (~Z) . Ruhrfestspicle Rccklinghausen. The Singapore Repertory Theatre. Teatro Espanol de Madrid The Cherry Orchard BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St.) Jan 2-3,6-10, 13 , 14t, 15- 17,20- 24,27- 31, Feb 24- 27, Mar 1 and 7 at 7:30ptn Jan 4, 11, 18, 25, and Feb 1 at 3prn Feb 28 and Mar 8 at 2pm ·j·prcss opening The Winter's Tale BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St.) Feb 10- 14, 18- 19, 20t, 2 1, 28, Mar 4 - 6 and 8 at 7:30pm Feb 15 and 22 at 3pm Feb 17* at 8pm Mar I and 7 at 2pm * J"he Bridge Project Benefit· f· or tickets. contact BAi-.1 Patron Sen ices at 718.636.4 182 ·j·pres~ opening I ic~cb : 30. $60. $90 718 636.4100 or Br\\1 org 1 I 6 Arti t Talk on The 1'Vinter 's Tale Lecture by Har ard Professor. Stephen Greenblatt Feb 15 at 1pm BAM cafe Tickets: $8, ($4 for Friends of BAM) Artist Talk with The Bridge Project Company on The Cherry Orchard Moderated by University of Michigan Professor Enoch Brater Feb 25, post-show (free for same-day ticket holders) Artist Talk with Sam Mendes on T!te Cherry Orchard Moderated by Francine Prose Feb 26 at 5:30pm Hillman Attic Studio $8, ($4 for Friends of BAM) Artist Talk with The Bridge Project Company on The 1Vinter's Tale Moderated by Columbia Professor James Shapiro Mar 6, post-show (free for same-day ticket holders) Updated Dec 19, 2008/Brooklyn, NY-Sam Mendes directs a transatlantic company of actors in a double-bill of classic works for The Bridge Project's inaugural 2009 season, which pairs a new version of The Cherry Orchard by Totn Stoppard with The Winter's Tale. A formidable transatlantic company and creative team will mount these two new productions for seven internationally renowned theaters. Simon Russell Beale leads the British/ American cast, playing Lopakhin in The Cheny Orchard and Leontes in The rVinter 's Tale. He is joined by Sinead Cusack as Madame Ranevskaya and Paulina, Richard Easton as Firs and Old Shepherd, Rebecca Hall as Varya and Hermione, Josh Hamilton as Yasha and Polixenes Ethan Hawke as Trofimov and Autolycus, and Paul Jesson as Gaev and Camilo. The Bridge Project is a unique, multi-year series of co-productions frotn Brooklyn Acaden1y of Music (BAM), The Old Vic, and Neal Street Productions. Each year-fron1 2009-201 1-a single British/American company will perform a double-bill of classic works at BAM and at The Old Vic, and make several international visits. In year one, the plays will run at BAM from January- March 2009 then embark on an international tour, taking residencies at Singapore Repertory Theatre, in Auckland at The EDGE® Performing Arts Centre, in Madrid at Teatro Espafiol, and in Germany at Ruhrfest~piele Recklinghausen before arriving for a season of both plays in rep at The Old Vic fi·om May- August 2009. The 2009 dates will conclude at Epidaurus, Greece as par1 of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival. The Bridge Project is presented by Bank of America and produced by Kevin Spacey for The Old Vic, Joseph V. Melillo and Karen Brooks Hopkins for BAM, and Sam Mendes and Caro New ling for Neal Street Productions. The project places the exchange of ideas, talent and creativity between London and New York at the heart of the process. and results from Sam Mendes, Joseph V. Melillo and Kevin Spacey's shared desire to produce large-scale, classical theater for inten1ational audiences. The full company comprises lead ing British and American actors: Simon Russell Beale, Selina Cadell, Morven Christie, Sinead Cusack, Rebecca Hall, Paul Jesson, Gary Powell, Jessica Pollert Smith, and Hannah Stokely are appearing with the permission of Actors Equity Association. Michael Braun, Richard Easton, Josh Hamilton Ethan Hawke, Aaron Krohn, Dakin Matthews, Mark Nelson, Charlotte Parry, and Tobias Segal are appearing with the permiss ion of UK Equity, incorporating Variety Artistes ' Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance on this production. Commenting on the inaugural 2009 double-bill, director am Mendes says: "The idea behind The Bridge Project was born out of a simple desire: a wish for artists, collaborators, and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic to experience one another's work, tal ent, and artistry in the theatre. Having had the pleasure of working in both New York and London, I became aware of how little exchange actually exists between these two cities of great theatrical traditions. In 2002. for my tenth and final year as Artistic Director of the Don mar Warehouse in London, I allowed n1yself the lu'airy of directing Chekhov's Uncle 1' anya and hakespeare's T•re/fth ight in repertory. Those productions later took up residence in the Harve) Theater at BAM. This London C\v York double-billing sparked the convcr ations that would eventuall; lead us to The Bridge Project. 2 I 6 ··t along with my friend Kevin Spacey, Joe Melillo of BAM, and my long-time collaborator and producing partner Caro ewling, began to wonder what a production might be like if the barrier of an ocean and the separation of the theatrical communities could be erased. We started to see our transatlantic venture taking shape and having two homes: one in New York at BAM and one in London at the Old Vic where Kevin is the Artistic Director. "So it is with the greatest delight that I find myself once again here in this beautiful theater working simultaneously on Chekhov and Shakespeare, this time collaborating with the incomparable Tom Stoppard on his new version of The Cherry Orchard while also working on The ~Vint er 's Tale, one of Shakespeare's final plays- and all with an exceptionally talented transatlantic cast specially brought together for this inaugural year of The Bridge Project." Kevin Spacey has been Artistic Director of The Old Vic since 2004, during which time he has produced a range of classic and contemporary plays and appeared on stage in five productions. He says: 'I couldn't be happier with such wonderful casting for the first year of this ambitious and thrilling venture with Sam and BAM. The Old Vic stage calls for great acting and great writing. With Tom Stoppard's new version of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Shakespeare's The If/inter's Tale played in rep by this magnificent cast, Old Vic audiences have a great deal to be excited about for 2009. ''The Bridge Project represents many of the things that are most exciting to n1e about theater, not least the bringing together of extraordinary talent to offer audiences new readings of classic work. It also celebrates theater as an international language and as a bridge between nations. I am delighted that Bank of America has shown its shared commitment to this vision by supporting us in bringing this work to audiences around the world." Joseph V. Melillo Executive Producer of BAM since 1999, is responsible for the organization's artistic direction and for maintaining its reputation for programming excellence and artistic innovation. He says: "I am thrilled that we are embarking on the first year of this partnership with such a stellar cast and artistic team. We welcome back to BAM dear Rebecca Hall, and also Simon Russell Beale, a BAM favorite for his rernarkable work in San1 Mendes' productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya. And, in addition to the exceedingly talented cast, I look forward with great anticipation to the long-overdue debut on our stages of Tom Stoppard's work, whose immense talent will be perfectly married with Chekhov's elegant, final play. "The Bridge Project represents a new model of producing, one that is trans-national at its very roots and a partnership only possible with The Old Vic, a theater so like BAM in spirit and initiative. It is gratifying that The Bridge Project has attracted the attention of the finest theaters around the globe along with the invaluable support of Bank of Arnerica - without whose forward-thinking vision this project would not be possible." Rena DeSisto, Global Arts & Culture executive of Bank of America, Presenting Sponsor of The Bridge Project, says: "As one of the largest supporters of arts and culture programming in the world, Bank of America is thrilled to be part of this unique opportunity that will surely attract new audiences to the theater on both sides of the Atlantic. Bank of America has been a proud and long-time sponsor of Brooklyn Academy of Music- including earlier Mendes­ directed works- and we look forward to building a similar partnership with Kevin Spacey and The Old Vic. We believe this new collaboration provides a unique way to reach our customers and communities in the United States and abroad.'' Tom Stoppard 's first stage play, Rosencrant: and Guildenstern Are Dead, was produced at The Old Vic in 1967 and it was that very same play which introduced him to New York audiences shortly thereafter, followed in London and New York by Jumpers, The Rea/Inspector Hound, Trm·e.s·ties, £ ,•ety Good Boy Deserves Favour, Dirty Linen, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Artist Descending a Staircase, Hapgood, Arcadia, The Jn,·ention of Lo,·e, his trilogy The Coast o.l Utopia (which won seven Tony Awards), and Rock 'n.