Asolo's "Philadelphia" is coming back to Sarasota

   Asolo Repertory Theatre's "Philadelphia, Here I Come!" has been the most talked-about area theater presentation in a long time. Even the Wall Street Journal wrote about it.
  The reason is that director Frank Galati had trimmed the play significantly, and playwright Brian Friel found out and wasn't happy. He made Asolo Rep halt "Philadelphia" after just a couple of shows. The cut scenes and characters were restored and Galati and the now-larger cast went back into rehearsals.

Christian Conn, Douglas Jones
"Philadelphia, Here I Come!

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2014/01/09/4925742/friel-tragicomedy-opens-at-sarasotas.html#storylink=cpy

   It's reopening Tuesday, Feb. 4. It had been a 90-minute show with no intermission; now it's significantly longer and has two intermissions, as Friel dictated in his script.
   The play, which is about a half-century old, was the first big success for Friel, who's now best known for "Dancing at Lughnasa." It tells the story of a young Irish man on the night before he moves to America. The "hook" is that the young man is portrayed by two actors simultaneously, one his "public" self and one his "private" self.
   The shorter version was lovely, with a gorgeous set and wonderful performances.
    The restored version runs through April 12 at the Mertz Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $33-$61. 941-351-8000, www.asolorep.org.

REVIEW: Asolo Rep’s ‘1776’ musical in Sarasota is a patriotic powerhouse

Thomas Jefferson (left), Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in "1776" at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota.

Despite what the show might suggest, Asolo Rep’s season opener about getting all those famous signatures on the Declaration of Independence amounts to more than a history lesson peppered with songs.

It’s a patriotic powerhouse.

Entertaining and enlightening, “1776" celebrates all that's right about our country's core values without ever smacking of jingoism or mushy nationalism. 

Of course, those familiar with Frank Galati should expect no less.

Most famous for his Tony Award-winning adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath,” he directed last season's splendid Asolo Rep opener "My Fair Lady," and the season before helmed the outstanding "Twelve Angry Men."

With “1776,” Galati has chosen the Sherman Edwards (music, lyrics) and Peter Stone (book) show that opened on Broadway in 1969 and won several Tonys including Best Musical but rarely gets performed — probably due to a cast of 26 and all those expensive costumes.

Galati’s Founding Fathers, looking fabulous in frock-coats and lace, are a superb bunch of actors.

Bernie Yvon, who appeared on Broadway in "Ragtime" as Harry Houdini, makes John Adams as endearing as he is annoying. He's the ultimate agitator with a heart of gold, and the star of the show.

But Adams would've never succeeded in leading the Second Continental Congress without the sage advice of Benjamin Franklin (played by Andrew Boyer, another Broadway veteran who was Doolittle in last season's "My Fair Lady").

The potent prose of Thomas Jefferson (Brandon Dahlquist, a rising Chicago star making his Asolo debut), is another key ingredient.

The most stirring song of the show goes to Jarrod Zimmerman who, as Edward Rutledge from South Carolina, sings the stinging “Molasses to Rum.” It shames all members of Congress with its zingers about the triangular trading system.

“Shall we dance to the sound of the profitable pound?” Rutledge snarls. “In molasses and rum and slaves?”

Abigail Adams (Abby Mueller) and Martha Jefferson (Andrea Prestinario) make welcome appearances but this show boils down to our Founding Fathers.

More specifically, their verbal sparring and ability to compromise.

And then there's the suspense, especially during the end of the second and final act, which is not easily accomplished with shows like this or, say, "Titanic."

It was a thrilling and emotive experience that made me forget all the partisan ugliness of the recent election season and take pride in being an American.

Granted, “1776” is basically a bunch of white dudes in wigs bickering, singing and sitting around an assembly hall.

But it’s brilliant all the same and altogether amusing.

Details: Nov. 16-Dec. 22, Mertz Theatre in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $26-$75. Information: 941-351-8000 or www.asolorep.org.

Asolo Repertory Theater opens season with patriotic musical '1776' in Sarasota

—Photos courtesy of Asolo Rep by Jaun Davila

Asolo Rep's '1776' in Sarasota directed by Tony winner Frank Galati: interview

From left, Bernie Yvon as John Adams, Andrew Boyer as Ben Franklin, Brandon Dalhquist as Thomas Jefferson and Andrea Prestinario as Martha Jefferson in the Asolo Repertory Theatre's production of "1776." Photos by SCOTT BRAUN/PUBLICITY PHOTO

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/11/11/4272613/asolo-repertory-theater-opens.html#storylink=cpy

Had the candidates been singing and dancing, election season would've been so much more entertaining.

Fortunately, our founding fathers can all carry a tune.

At least the ones who will be on stage in the Asolo Repertory Theatre's season opener "1776."

In light of all the partisan madness leading up to Election Day, there probably couldn't be a better time than now for a witty, patriotic comedy.

Aiming to please attendees of all political persuasions, the Sarasota company considered one of the best in the South presents a musical inspired by the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

While the founding fathers are often depicted as a unified group, at least beginning with our earliest elementary school lessons, "1776" shows the behind-the-scenes machinations were wrought with conflict and peril.

'1776' choreographer Peter Amster (left) and his partner Frank Galati at Asolo Rep media event. PHOTO BY WADE TATANGELO

Read more here: http://heraldbuzzworthy.blogspot.com/2012/10/asolo-rep-previews-1776-with.html#storylink=cpy

Frank Galati, most famous for his Tony Award-winning adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath (Best Play, Best Direction of a Play), directed last season's Asolo Rep opener "My Fair lady" and the season before helmed "Twelve

Angry Men" in Sarasota. Both productions were critically-acclaimed audience favorites.

He returns to Asolo Rep to direct "1776," which opens Friday and runs through Dec. 22.

"I think the musical presents a very vivid account of how dangerous the situation was in Philadelphia in 1776 and how the future of the nation and its birth was hanging by a thread," Galati said. "It's so fascinating how close they came to not doing it. If not for Abigail Adams, her husband might have lost heart."

Read more.

WATCH: Asolo Rep previews '1776' with performance in Sarasota 

WATCH (UPDATED 10/31): Asolo Rep previews '1776' with performance in Sarasota

UPDATED 10/31: Asolo Repertory Theatre previews season opener '1776' in Sarasota: video 

Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota presented the cast of '1776' on Wednesday.

The Asolo Repertory Theatre offered a rousing preview performance from its season opening musical "1776"  on Tuesday during a media event on the mezzanine of the Mertz Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts in Sarasota.

Peter Amster (left) and his partner Frank Galati listen to Michael Edwards introduce them.

Speeches were given by "1776" creatives including Tony Award-winner Frank Galati (director),  Peter Amster (choreographer) and Michael Rice (music director). Michael Edwards, producing artistic director at Asolo Rep, served as master of ceremonies and introduced the entire cast of the show.

Michael Edwards shows off the Asolo Rep's reproduction of the Declaration of Independence

But the real excitement came when Bernie Yvon, the actor playing John Adams, started singing the  musical's exuberant opening number "Sit Down, John," along with the Congress members and live keyboard accompaniment (see video below). 

Set model for '1776.'

Asolo Repertory Theatre kicks off their five-season American Character Project with "1776," a musical about the birth of our nation and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Previews start Nov. 13, opening night is Nov. 16 and closing night is Dec. 22. The show originally opened on Broadway in 1969 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.


—Top photo (from left): Bernie Yvon as John Adams, Andrew Boyer as Ben Franklin, Brandon Dahlquist as Thomas Jefferson and Andrea Prestinario as Martha Jefferson. Photo by Scott Braun/Asolo Rep. 

—All other photos and video by Wade Tatangelo/Bradenton Herald.

REVIEW: 'My Fair Lady' at Asolo Rep in Sarasota is fantastic

ANNAMAE BAFIA/PUBLICITY PHOTO of  Andrea Prestinario

It’s hard to imagine a much more brilliant stage production of “My Fair Lady” than the one being presented by the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota.

Leads Andrea Prestinario (Eliza Doolitte) and Jeff Parker (Henry Higgins) joust with just the right bit of bite and make you believe they’re falling in love without so much as even sharing a kiss.

It’s the 1956 Broadway smash (turned classic 1964 film) brought into the beautiful Mertz Theatre and given a most wonderful intimacy courtesy of music director Doug Peck and assistant music director Ian Weinberger playing all of Frederick Loewe’s glorious melodies on a mere pair of facing pianos.

Sans the orchestra, the characters are free to deliver those loverly lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner with gripping nuance and grace.

Lerner’s dialogue, largely derived from George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” teems with welcoming believability. Whether witty, comic, morose or whimsical it works extremely well when delivered by Prestinario, Parker and the rest of the superb, 19-person cast working under the masterful direction of Frank Galati.

The director allows Prestinario to play Eliza as the proto-feminist I believe Shaw and Lerner intended all along. Remember, she’s the lowly flower girl who goes to the misogynistic and elitist phonetics professor demanding he allow her to pay for speech lessons. By show’s end, Eliza has made a lady of herself and turned bachelor Higgins “accustomed to her face.”

Who knows?

Maybe she won’t even get him those slippers after the final curtain and continue teaching him how women should be treated.

"Asolo Rep opens season with special staging of 'My Fair Lady'"

Regardless, Eliza’s character arc has always been the most fascinating aspect of this practically perfect musical and Prestinario shines with ample help from Parker, whose Higgins also goes through a satisfying transformation.

In addition, what has always made “My Fair Lady” such a terrific show is that the scenes and musical numbers are equally strong. Galati and cast maintain the extraordinary level of sustained greatness throughout. It's what makes the nearly 2 1/2 hour performance (not including intermission) zip by.

Prestinario has a big, beautiful voice but also understands the subtly required to sell a bittersweet kiss off such as “Without You.” Parker smartly nods to Higgins originator Rex Harrison's speak-sing approach while allowing his sonorous pipes to take over when appropriate. (Yes, Parker is a better vocalist than Harrison was.)

BIO | Frank Galati

As for the rest of the cast, each person contributes strongly. Joel Hatch plays Colonel Pickering — the one who makes the wager about Eliza becoming a lady — with a winning amount of snobbery and empathy. Sean Effinger-Dean makes Freddy Eynsford-Hill a most believable boy in love, especially when he sings “On the Street Where You Live.” And that scene-stealing Bryan Torfeh is outright hilarious as the villain Zolton Karpathy.

For all the charm of the cast, I would be remiss without mentioning the look of the show. Set designer Russell Metheny, costume designer Mara Blumenfeld, lighting designer James D. Sale, sound designer Kevin Kennedy as well as resident hair/wig and makeup designer Michelle Hart do a tremendous job of transporting the audience to the London of 1912.

Voice and dialect coach Patricia Delorey, with help from English-schooled cast member Cliff Roles, also deserve applause for making sure no one sounded silly with the Cockney or upper-class British accents.

Sure, you can sit at home and watch the excellent film version of “My Fair Lady.” But what the Asolo Rep has done with this spectacular musical shouldn’t be missed. It will make you fall in love again even with the most familiar scenes and songs all over again.

If you go
What: “My Fair Lady”
When: Through Dec. 23
Where: Asolo Repertory’s Mertz Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Tickets: $27-$71
Information: 941-351-8000 or www.asolorep.org

Meet the cast of 'My Fair Lady' and its Tony Award-winning director at Asolo Rep in Sarasota

Andrea Prestinario sings the "My Fair Lady" classic "I Could Have Danced All Night" at the Asolo Rep media luncheon today in Sarasota.

The Asolo Repertory Theatre's production of "My Fair Lady" doesn't open the company's 53rd season until next month but its star already earned a nice round of applause today in Sarasota.

Producing Artistic Director Michael Edwards had all the cast and creatives on hand for a media luncheon held on the mezzanine of the Mertz Theatre.

The big cheers came after Andrea Prestinario, accompanied by a lone keyboardist, belted out a pitch perfection rendition of the classic musical's iconic number "I Could Have Danced All Night."

From left: Jeff Parker, Andrea Prestinario and Michael Edwards

"My Fair Lady," which opens Nov. 18 and runs through Dec. 23, features Prestinario as Eliza Doolittle, a role that earned her rave reviews in the Chicago Tribune and other publications during a recent "My Fair Lady" production at The Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Ill.

Jeff Parker, who like Prestinario is based in Chicago, plays Professor Henry Higgins. Making his Asolo Rep debut, Parker is a Jeff Award nominee whose extensive performance list includes Goodman Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Manhattan Theatre Club and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Based on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, "My Fair Lady" also marks the return of Tony Award-winning director (and now Sarasota resident) Frank Galati. His credits include last season’s hit production of Asolo Rep's "Twelve Angry Men."

Frank Galati

Galati won two Tony Awards, including Best Direction of a Play, in 1990 for "Grapes of Wrath." In 1998, he staged "Ragtime" and was nominated again for a Tony Award in the Best Direction of a Musical category. Galati also received an Academy Award-nomination as coauthor on the screenplay for the 1988 dramatic romance "The Accidental Tourist," which won Geena Davis an Oscar.

Edwards explained how he wanted to do "My Fair Lady" since he came to Asolo Rep five years ago but needed Galati to direct as to ensure the production would not be "musty."

Galati described "My Fair Lady" as a "biting satire ... about the power of language" and addressed the "serious material underneath this extraordinary musical comedy."

Edwards returned to the podium and, with a sly smile, reminded the journalists representing publications across Southwest Florida that "My Fair Lady" would also be "funny and sexy."

Laughter filled the mezzanine. 

During the brief Q&A section that followed, Doug Peck, the music director/keyboardist, explained the two piano score chosen by Asolo Rep would make the show more intimate because the actors wouldn't have to project over a 40-musician orchestra.

Andrea Prestinario as Eliza Doolittle during a recent "My Fair Lady" 

production at The Paramount Theatre

"My Fair Lady"
Presented in the Harold E. and Esther M. Mertz Theatre
November 18, 2011- December 23, 2011
Preview performances November 15-17
Click for ticket info


Creative Team:
Frank Galati Director
Joshua Rhodes Choreographer
Doug Peck Music Director/Keyboards
Ian Weinberger Assistant Music Director/Keyboards 2
Russell Metheny Set Design
Mara Blumenfeld Costume Design
James D. Sale Lighting Design
Kevin Kennedy Sound Design
Michelle Hart Wig & Hair Design
Patricia Delorey Voice & Dialect
Kelly Borgia* Stage Manager
Michael Morales* Assistant Stage Manager
Nia Sciarretta Stage Management Intern
Ryan Bible Student Lighting Assistant
Lauryn E. Sasso Resident Dramaturg

Cast (in alphabetical order):
Andrew Boyer* Alfred Dolittle
Colleen Cherry 2nd Maid/Ensemble
Sean Effinger-Dean Freddy Eynsford-Hill
Joel Hatch* Col. Pickering
Heather Kopp* 3rd Maid/Ensemble
Carol Kuykendall* 4th Maid/Ensemble
Rob Lindley* 1st Cockney/Ensemble
Robert David May 4th Cockney/Ensemble
Christine Mild* 1st Maid/Ensemble
Annie Morrison* Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
Thomas Mothershed Harry/Ensemble
Jeff Parker* Henry Higgins
Andrea Prestinario* Eliza Doolittle
Peggy Roeder* Mrs. Higgins
Cliff Roles Ensemble
Daniel Schwab 2nd Cockney/Ensemble
Penny Slusher* Mrs. Pearce
Barry Tarallo* Jamie/Ensemble
Bryan Torfeh* Zoltan Karpathy/3rd Cockney
*denotes member of Actor’s Equity

—All photos by Wade Tatangelo

Asolo Rep announces 2011-12 season

Asolo Rep Nov. 19, 2010/Photo by Wade Tatangelo

A classic musical, a bilingual take on a William Shakespeare masterpiece and a pair of world premieres are among the highlights of the Asolo Rep's 2011-12 season, announced today.

The Tony Award-winning favorite "My Fair Lady" opens the nationally acclaimed, professional Sarasota theater company's 53rd season on Nov. 18. The innovative "Hamlet, Prince of Cuba" will perform in Miami after its Sarasota run.  And Asolo Rep will produce the world premieres of "Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock?" as well as Tommy Tune presents: "State of the Art Song & Dance."

“Constructing a season for a repertory company of this caliber requires considering a vast array of issues," said Producing Artistic Director Michael Edwards in a statement. "It must all be shaped so carefully; the stars must truly align. Our company, the artists and organizations with which we’ve developed such strong relationships, combined with the strength of our production studios, collaborative resources, and amazing theatres–-are all factors that put us in a unique position to do what most theater companies can only dream of doing. 

"And with the enormous responsibility we have as a State Theatre of Florida, we strive for the season to be as exciting and appealing for as many different people as possible,” Edwards continued. “We’ve created a season filled with the thrill of new works, brilliant classics produced as though they were brand new, searing dramas, outrageous comedies, and soaring musicals. It is a season that will challenge, astonish, and delight – come and dream with us.”

Asolo Rep 2011–2012 season in chronological order

"My Fair Lady": Nov. 18-Dec. 23
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; Music by Frederick Loewe

Based on George Bernard Shaw’s "Pygmalion"

Directed by Tony Award-winner Frank Galati, who also directed Asolo Rep's riveting production of "Twelve Angry Men,"running through March 26. Click for my review.

"Once in a Lifetime": Jan. 6-April 1, 2012

By Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman

Directed by Mark Rucker

"God of Carnage": Jan. 13-Feb. 29, 2012

By Yasmina Reza

Translated by Christopher Hampton

Directed by Greg Leaming

"Yentl": Jan. 20-April 26, 2012

A play based on Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short story “Yentl The Yeshiva Boy”

Adapted for the stage by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer

Directed by Gordon Greenberg

"Fallen Angels": March 9-May 13, 2012

Directed by Peter Amster

"Hamlet, Prince of Cuba": March 23-May 6, 2012

By William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Michael Donald Edwards

Spanish Translation by Eduardo Machado

With performances in both Spanish and English. The play will first run in Sarasota, and then will travel to Miami to perform as part of the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center (SMDCAC) Grand Opening. The SMDCAC performance is part of an artistic exchange between Asolo Rep and the Miami Dade County Cultural Alliance, which began with "Las Meninas," which opens March 18.

"Who the *$&% Is Jackson Pollock?" March 30-April 22, 2012

Directed by Anne Kauffman

World premiere in the Historic Asolo Theater, in co-production with the Ringling Museum of Art

By Liz Brixius; based on the film by Harry Moses

Written by "Nurse Jackie" creator Liz Brixius, Asolo Rep will co-present this commissioned new work.

Tommy Tune presents: "State of the Art Song & Dance": May 25—June 17, 2012

Conceived, choreographed and starring Noah Racey

World premiere musical event celebrating the state of the art of Broadway song and dance. Directed by Jeff Calhoun, who also directed the Asolo Rep's Broadway-bound production of "Bonnie & Clyde." Click for my review. Click for "Bonnie & Clyde' to open on Broadway."

"Asolo Rep Unplugged 2012"

Greg Leaming, curator

Asolo Rep’s new play festival returns, with readings planned for the spring 2012.

Full details, titles and final dates will be confirmed in 2012.

 
Subscriptions are available now. Single tickets go on sale in September. Information: (941) 351-8000 or www.AsoloRep.org.

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training 2011-12 season

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training also announced its 2011-12 season today. The Conservatory features first-rate acting students performing in a series of four plays in two venues: the Cook Theatre in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts and the Historic Asolo Theater at the Ringling Museum. In addition to the second year class season, third year Conservatory students perform on the Asolo Rep mainstage with the professional company.

"The Brothers Karamazov": Nov. 1–20

By Anthony Clarvoe; based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Lobby Hero": Jan. 3-22, 2012

By Kenneth Lonergan

"The Robbers": Feb. 1-March 11, 2012

By Friedrich Schiller

"Cloud Nine": April 3-22, 2012

By Caryl Churchill.

FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training 2011-2012  ticket/subscription information: (941) 351-8000 or www.asolorep.org

REVIEW: 'Twelve Angry Men' at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota

Jud Williford, left, as Juror Eight in 'Twelve Angry Men." Photo by Frank Atura.

A poignant, deceptively simple gesture concludes the Asolo Repertory’s exhilarating production of “Twelve Angry Men,” playing at the Mertz Theatre in Sarasota through March 26.

A small act of kindness shared by two fellows. One helps another into his jacket. Nothing special.

Except that these two guys have just spent 90 minutes vehemently debating whether they will sentence a troubled teenager to death. The other 10 jurors joust as well, but not with the determination of this pair. At one point, the opponents appear ready to trade blows — or worse.

Antagonists driven by honest emotions and, in the case of the most excitable Juror Three (James Clarke), a past demon that hits close to the case, make peace without uttering a word. Tiny, terrific moments such as the moving final action pepper this superb staging of “Twelve Angry Men,” directed by Tony Award-winner Frank Galati.

Jud Williford (as Juror Eight) and Clarke, who have the richest roles, turn in tour de force performances — but singling them out almost seems like an injustice to the rest of this commendable cast. Every juror in the Asolo Rep's production of Reginald Rose's popular television (and film) drama from the 1950s, which finally debuted on Broadway in 2004, deserves the standing ovation they received during a recent staging.

Best known for the 1957 movie directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda as Juror Eight with Lee J. Cobb as Juror Three, “Twelve Angry Men” holds a special place in the pantheon of American dramas. No other film or play does such an excellent job of putting the audience in a sweltering jury room and allowing us to feel the tension that accompanies making a life or death decision. “Twelve Angry Men"'s ‘50s New York setting does little, if anything, to diminish its relevance.

At the Mertz Theatre, dozen white men of various ages, looking exactly as one would picture fellows of the era thanks to Mara Blumenfeld's costumes and Michelle Hart's wig/hair design, file onto a stage decorated as a wonderfully drab jury room by Russell Metheny. They must decide whether a 16-year-old black youth murdered his father. At the start, only Juror Eight has reasonable doubt.

The truth twists and reshapes like Silly Putty. Insults fly. By the end, though, something closer to concrete regarding the events in question emerges. Beliefs reluctantly change. The joy, though, comes more from watching the jurors personalities come to life than the meting out of justice, which, and this enhances rather than hinders the play, never manifests itself fully.   

It’s an edge-of-your-seat, one-room journey featuring fiery performances. Williford deftly plays the hero as an endearing everyman who, albeit being written as one-dimensional in its nobility, never allows his character to come across as cloyingly saintly. Clarke, meanwhile, crushes as the scoundrel with soul. He makes you long for the foreshadowed meltdown and then nails it. No easy task.

While Williford’s Juror Eight fights the good fight, Juror 10 qualifies as the play's lone villain. He owns garages, talks rough Brooklynese and wants a guilty verdict because he’s a bigot with kooky ideas about a minority takeover. Douglas Jones makes you loathe his character's words without creating a devilish cartoon. Instead, his convincing performance reminds the audience of not only the prejudice that pervaded the ’50s but the racism that, sadly, continues to taint courtroom decisions today.

Fresh face Dane Dandridge shines as Juror Six, whose character grows the most throughout the play. Elderly Juror Nine, played with virtuosity by Asolo Rep veteran David Howard, softly steals every scene in which he has more than a line. John Arnold excels as the immigrant Juror 11, who extols this country’s less-than-perfect legal system with laudable conviction — even if the more cynical members of the audience might wince at a mini monologue that smacks of quaint patriotism.

"Twelve Angry Men" offers a dozen outstanding, nuanced performances. The body language alone makes it worth seeing. The way the actors listen (lean forward, nod, shake their heads, etc.), chew a piece of gum, grab a cough drop, pace, or help another man put on his jacket says as much about where they're at mentally and emotionally as anything in the script. In doing so, Galati and cast greatly justify experiencing — or perhaps reexamining — an American classic.

Click for showtimes/tickets.

Frank Galati discusses "Twelve Angry Men" — with clips from Asolo Rep production