BILOXI BLUES

by Neil Simon, translated by Ștefan Zlatnic

Situated on the fragile limit between a comedy and a tragedy, “Biloxi Blues” is the second act of “Eugene’s Trilogy” (the others are “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Broadway Bound”), written by Neil Simon and starring the same central character: Eugene Morris Jerome and following different steps he takes in gaining experience and entering the real world.

United States of America, 1943, World War Two. Before fighting Germany or Japan, Eugene’s group of recruits is sent to Biloxi, Mississippi, for their confrontation with the first major adversary, Sergeant Toomey, the man in charge with their training. The cruelty, the malice and the vulgarity of the sergeant contradict any logic, in an attempt to annihilate the soldiers’ personalities.

CAST:

Roy Selridge: Pavel Sîrghi
Joseph Wykowsky: Şerban Borda
Don Carney: Florian Silaghi
Eugene Morris Jerome: Răzvan Vicoveanu
Arnold Epstein: Ciprian Ciuciu
Sargeant Toomey: Richard Balint
Daisy: Adela Lazăr
James Hennesey: Alexandru Rusu

Artistic director: Ovidiu Caiţa

Scenographer: Szabó Anna Boglárka

Date of the premiere: September 29, 2011

Festivals and Awards:

• Special Jury Award – FTS Oradea – Teatrul Regina Maria, September 2011
• Participation at the Multicultural International “Fără Bariere” Festival – Teatrul de Nord Satu Mare – Satu Mare, May 2012

“A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn’t easy. You may ask ‘Why do we stay up there if it’s so dangerous?’ Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!”

Adaptation from Shalom Alehem’s story “The Daughters of Tevye”, the musical FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is one of the most successful musicals throughout history. The first adaptation was made at the Imperial Theater in Broadway, in 1964, and has known over 3200 performances. The big screen adaptation in 1971 was also received very well by the audience and the critics.

We are presented with several happenings from the life of Tevye, the milkman: his efforts to maintain a united family by respecting the almighty tradition in the Jewish community of the Russian village of Anatevka. Although Yente, the village matchmaker, is set to find a husband for each of Tevye’s five daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel and Hava impose their own will and marry out of love, leaving aside the tradition. The rupture in Tevye’s family coincides with the Russian pogroms: by a decision of the authorities, the people of Anatevka are forced to leave their homes.

CAST:

Tevye: Richard Balint;
Golde: Ioana Dragoş Gajdo;
Tzeitel: Angela Tanko/Mihaela Gherdan;
Hodel: Adela Lazăr/Andreea Gabor
Hava: Alina Leonte;
Shprintze: Anca Sigmirean;
Bielke: Georgia Căprărin/Sânziana Vrabie;
Yente: Elvira Platon-Rîmbu;
Lazăr Wolf: Ion Abrudan;
Motel: Pavel Sîrghi;
Percik: Răzvan Vicoveanu;
Fyedka: Ciprian Ciuciu;
The Policeman: Daniel Vulcu;
Avram: George Voinese;
Mordcha: Alexandru Rusu;
Nahum: Andrei Fazecaş;
Mendel: Florian Silaghi;
Rabbi: Emil Sauciuc;
Fruma Sara: Lidia Leța;
Bunica Tzeitel: Corina Cernea;
Sasha: Andrian Locovei;
Shandel: Mirela Niţă-Lupu;
Yussel: Igor Lungu

VILLAGERS, RUSSIANS, JEWS: Ioana Dagău, Zentania Lacatoș, Georgia Căprărin, Dania Ținca, Roland Hortea, Dana Vereș, Mihaela Theodora Winter, Andrada Ciocan, Amalia Dan, Ecaterina Hannel, Lavinia Mocanu, Ioana Laza, Georgeta Fazecaș, Amalia Dan, Mariana Negrean, Măriuca Popa, Florin Adameț, Dumitru Cora, Vasile Mircea Dărăban, Ciprian Dinicu, Cosmin Cioara, Cristian Seghedi, Daniel Titi Sandro, Liviu Moldovan, Nicolae Segărceanu, Ciutak Miklos.

With the participation of the enlarged orchestra of „Hakeshet Klezmer Band”:

Conductor: ÁRI NAGY SÁNDOR

Nicolae Levi – violin; Ion Pîntea – clarinet; Marian Boboia – harmonica; Ilie Pop – trombone; Iosif Vasile Trendler– drums; Andrei Seidler – percussion; Florian Chelu – bass; Petru Boroș – contrabass.

Artistic director: Korcsmáros György

Translator: Antoaneta Ralian

Music: Jerry Bock

Scenographer: Vioara Bara

Costumes: Amalia Judea

Choreographer: Andras Lorand

Participations in Festivals:

• Festivalul Internaţional al Artelor Spectacolului Muzical “Viaţa e frumoasă” – Teatrul de Opereta Ion Dacian – Bucharest, November 2011
• Festivalul Multicultural Internaţional “Fără Bariere” – Teatrul de Nord Satu Mare – Satu Mare, Mai 2012
• Festivalul Internaţional de Teatru “Atelier” – Teatrul Municipal Baia Mare – Baia Mare, mai 2002

Awards and Nominations:

• Nomination at the UNITER Awards – Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Ioana Dragoş-Gajdo
• Nomination at the UNITER Awards – Best Scenography – Vioara Bara
• Jury’s Special Prize, Festivalul Internaţional de Teatru ATELIER 2012 – Richard Balint
• Award for Best Choreography, Festivalul Internaţional de Teatru ATELIER 2012 – András Loránd
• Nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Festivalul Internaţional de Teatru ATELIER 2012: Richard Balint
• Nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Festivalul Internaţional de Teatru ATELIER 2012: Ioana Dragoş-Gajdo
• Nomination for Best Scenography, Festivalul Internaţional de Teatru ATELIER 2012 – Vioara Bara

A peasant woman worries when her husband does not return from a livestock sale. With her young son, she consults a fortune teller and the local priest. Leaving her home, they set out to discover why her husband has mysteriously disappeared. She questions two men who were with her husband the last time anyone had seen him alive. They deny ever seeing her husband on that day, which she knows is not true. She finds the family dog who leads her to the remains of her husband and his equally unfortunate horse. Inviting the suspected murderers to the burial dinner, the determined woman is able to prove the killers’ and ultimately find justice. 

Cast:

Vitoria Lipan: Corina Cernea

Minodora: Mihaela Gherdan

Mrs. Vasiliu: Adela Lazăr

Wife 1: Anca Sigmirean

Wife 2: Mirela Niţă-Lupu

Gheorghiţă: Pavel Sîrghi

Bogza: Şerban Borda

Cuţui: Petre Ghimbăşan

Prefect: Sorin Ionescu

Priest: Eugen Ţugulea

Mr. Vasiliu: Alexandru Rusu

The German/Thief 1: Ciprian Ciuciu

Mitru/Thief 2: Ion Ruscuţ

Mr. Toma: George Voinese

Gendarme 1: Nicolae Segărceanu

Gendarme 2: Miklos Ciutac

Artistic director: Andrei Mihalache

Scenographer: Oana Cernea

Date of the premiere: February 10th 2012

Egy elveszett level Egy elveszett level Egy elveszett level Egy elveszett level

A major accomplishment of Caragiale, the comedy “A Lost Letter” proves that once again, the dispute is about personal interests, and not ideological principles, as one might think; as soon as the personal crisis are taking care of, the conflict disappears.

The intrigue surprises an apparently minor incident, but which is ready to stir everyone’s safety: Zoe Trahanache loses a love letter received from the county’s prefect, Ştefan Tipătescu. Arriving in the hands of Nae Caţavencu, who cheats on an anonymous voter, the letter becomes the object of blackmail. The letter is, thus, a presence in the play, an animated object but also a symbol of the power, of the hidden immorality and of the feverish conscious.

Cast:

Ştefan Tipătescu: Sebastian Marina

Agamemnon Dandanache: Daniel Vulcu

Zaharia Trahanache: Petre Panait

Tache Farfuridi: Alexandru Rusu

Iordache Brînzovenescu: Pavel Sîrghi

Nae Caţavencu: Radu Botar

Ionescu: Tiberiu Covaci

Popescu: Ion Ruscuţ

Ghiţă Pristanda: Sebastian Lupu

Un cetăţean turmentat: Petre Ghimbăşan

Zoe Trahanache: Corina Cernea

Popa Pripici: George Voinese

Petcuş: Ion Ruscuţ

Alegători, cetăţeni, public:

Tomuţa Luminiţa Baba, Voichiţa Mihoc, Viorica Bradea, Aurel Hexan, Adrian Miclăuş, Călin Covaciu, Daniel Sandro, Sorin Mudura, Roxana Mălan, Mădălina Naghiu, Diana Burcă, Virginia Oanţo, Teodora Avram.

Scenographer: Alexandru Radu

Costumes: Amalia Judea

Choreographer: Ecaterina Hannel