Heartwood Brings "Faustus" to Skidompha November 17
“Thursday Nights” – a series of monthly collaborations between Heartwood Theater and Skidompha Public Library – delivers a dynamic reading of David Mamet’s Faustus, rich with classical language and the eternally contemporary questions embedded in the Faust Legend. A capable cast of five – Steve Shema, reader & discussion facilitator, Millie Santiago, Peter Christine, Gabe Ferrero, and Griff Braley – will read this engaging, probing text.
Thursday, Nov 17th, the reading will begin at 7pm in the atrium of Skidompha Library. Immediately following, the audience is invited to join in a discussion of the text and the deep questions it asks about fate, danger, evil, ambition, and weakness. Free scripts are available through the generosity of Skidompha Library – stop in for yours and pre-read this thought provoking drama. Suggested donation for this event is $5/students, $8/adults. No reservations necessary. For further info, visit www.heartwoodtheater.org or phone 563-1373.
The Faust legend, dating from 15th century Germany, has seen many incarnations in many genres: in operas by Gounod, Berlioz, Boito and Busoni, in Franz Liszt's Faust Symphony; on Broadway as the musical comedy Damn Yankees and Randy Newman's musical Faust; in blues guitarist Robert Johnson's legendary “Deal with the Devil,” echoed in “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels. The most famous versions are likely found in plays by Christopher Marlowe and Goethe. Later playwrights, poets and novelists such as Thomas Mann and Gertrude Stein stamped their signatures on the legend as well.
Mamet's play reinvents the Faust legend, retaining a heightened, poetic style, while setting the play in a modern location. Theater buffs familiar with Mamet's early plays like American Buffalo and Glengarry Glen Ross will discover an erudite mid-career playwright, considering difficult philosophical and personal ideals. While this playwright's work is always challenging for viewers, with his penchant for striking sharply at sacred cows, Mamet's Faustus looks deeply at a writer (the thinly disguised playwright, no doubt) and the challenges of trading one ideal for another. On the day of his young son's birthday, he is distracted by his own work, his pride, and the challenges of managing his love for people and his own intellect. A magician hired for the birthday party, becomes the writer’s antagonist, as the mysterious and haunting story takes on gigantic proportions. Part con-game, part metaphysical discourse, Faustus winds its way to a startling conclusion.
This challenging text is certain to spark the flame for an evening of literary enjoyment and analysis, generously sponsored by Maine Coast Book Shop and Cafe.
