The week our signs went up outside New York City Center for THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD. Check out the pictures of our new signs and be sure to get a good look at them when you come up to 55th Street to see the show. They feature the wonderful illustrations by Scott McKowen.
And so the season begins! On Tuesday we held our first rehearsal for THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD. Armed with bagels and coffee, the cast gathered around the table to read through the script.
After the reading, we were joined by our design team who presented the work they’ve been preparing for the show.
The Playboy takes place on the west coast of Ireland, the last part of the country most Irish emigrants saw before they left for America. In a sense, this coast is the edge of the world. In creating the lonely “shebeen” (public house) in which the play takes place, Set Designer, Harry Feiner sought to capture both the rugged, earthy lives of these characters and the sense of the wide, somewhat mysterious world somewhere beyond the walls.
Scenic Design by Harry Feiner
One of the things we were interested in exploring was the idea of conformity—that the people of this world might talk about grand deeds, but are born into a way of doing things, a way of behaving, and a way of thinking that doesn’t change much from person to person–and where Christy Mahon’s sudden appearance strikes them like a bolt from the blue. Rachel Laritz’s costume design utilizes the women’s red skirts and men’s work jackets that were widely worn across Ireland well into the 20th century, and emphasize this sense of convention–these people are all cut from the same cloth.
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
Design by Rachel Laritz
