Opening September 24, Mud/Drowning continues through October 9 after beginning previews September 21. Mabou Mines and Weathervane Productions present the María Irene Fornés revival in association with Philip Glass' Days and Nights Festival.
Paul Lazar, Sifiso Mabena, Tony Torn, and Wendy Vanden Heuvel star in Mud, which features original music by Philip Glass, while Tomas Cruz, Gregory Purnhagen, and Peter Stewart star in Drowning, Glass' operatic transformation of Fornés' work. Mud/Drowning was first performed in 2019 in California as part of the Days and Nights Festival.
JoAnne Akalaitis directs the production, which features scenic and costume design by Kaye Voyce, lighting design by Thomas Dunn, and make-up design by Gabrielle Vincent and Anne Ford Coates. Kate Croasdale serves as production stage manager, and Kendra Bator and Tom Casserly are executive producers.
Based upon Anton Chekhov’s short story, Drowning follows a man who falls in love with a woman in a photograph and drowns in grief, and was written alongside Mud. The latter is a drama centered on the hopes and trials of the hard-working Mae, who lives in rural poverty with plans to improve her life, as she becomes caught up in a love-hate triangle and navigates the problems—and men—who stand between her and her goals.
Akalaitis said in a statement, “Fornés is also known as La Maestra—the teacher of a generation of playwrights. She creates worlds within worlds and then hurls audiences headlong into them: rural poverty, secret brutality in the center of banal households, angry eccentric women, violence and humiliation, sexual obsession—and often through the voices of those who dream of a more fulfilled life or love, articulating their longings in Fornés’ beautiful, terse, emotional language, which is both highly stylized and surprisingly natural.”
The run will also include a free screening of the 2018 documentary about Fornés, The Rest I Make Up, October 3 at 7:30 PM.
For tickets and more information, visit MabouMines.org.
