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: this is the press release for a new play here in new york about ts eliot and his estranged wife vivienne that i thought you'd be interested in. : : Before The Osbournes There Were... : THE ELIOTS : A Wild Imagistic Ride into the Mind of an Artist : : New York, NY (March 26th, 2003) - Stillpoint Productions is proud to present the world premiere of the tumultuous story of The Eliots conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet. Performances begin at Center Stage (48 West 21st St., bet. 5th and 6th) on Thursday, April 29th and ending May 9th, running Wednesdays - Sundays at 8 PM, with an added matinee, May 8th at 2 PM. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or by going to www.smarttix.com. : : The Eliots is a poetic performance piece based on T.S. Eliot and his estranged wife Vivienne's relationship. The play, provoked by the recent biography "Painted Shadow: The Life of Vivienne Eliot, First Wife of T. S. Eliot, and the Long-Suppressed Truth About Her Influence on His Genius" by Carole Seymour Jones, is staged with the same aplomb as the poetry and prose of T.S. Eliot, particularly "The Waste Land." The Eliots explores their disturbed relationship, and its emotional influence on his work through a collage of text and movement, responding to the scope and cadence of Eliot's language, his spiritual acuity, and baffling personal life. : : "The Eliots adopts a collage aesthetic modeled after "The Waste Land" - combining history and rhythm, high and low culture, the obscure, beautiful, and colloquial, with stylistic shifts," says director/ writer Lear deBessonet. "Once you know the story of his relationship with Vivienne, his works seem to be a séance calling it back to life. He reincarnates both Vivienne and himself over and over again in different fictionalized forms, and that is precisely how we are going to investigate their story." : : Lear deBessonet (Director) has worked with Anne Bogart (bobrauschenbergamerica) and Marianne Weems (Alladeen, 2003 BAM Next Wave Festival). Other directing credits include transfigures, The Female Terrorist Project, and L'Histoire du Canard. Internationally, she has directed a new tri-lingual musical for the National Opera Theatre of Kazakhstan (In the Dark Ages). The rest of her artistic team includes: Mark Huang (sound - Drama Desk Nomination 2002, Outstanding Sound Design, Cressida Among the Greeks), Beth Turomsha (lighting), Donyale Werle (set), Kirche Zeile (costumes), Gregory King (projections), and Caridad Svich (collaborating writer - New Dramatists). : : The cast includes Julie Kline, Chris Healy (Nicholas and Alexandra, dir. Anne Bogart, Yokastas, dir. Richard Schechner), Lethia Nall (As You Like It at The Public Theater, dir. Erica Schmidt; Come To Leave dir. Allison Eve Zell; Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink, a NYC Premiere, Alter Ego), Nate Schennkan (Katherine Profetta's 131 at PS122), and Ryan West (Off-Broadway: PANIC! (HOW TO BE HAPPY!)). : : : : : : : :

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