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Event
Franz Kafka's The Castle
The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, recognized for its hilarious, well-crafted, accessible productions of complicated works by absurdist-leaning authors, continues its 2013 season featuring the Philadelphia premiere of Czech novelist and playwright Franz Kafka's The Castle, as part of the 2013 FringeArts Festival at The Adrienne Theater, running September 3 through September 22, 2013.
The Castle is at once hilarious and horrifying. Penned in 1926 in German, The New York Times called The Castle Kafka's "most magical novel"; critics describe it as his "most beautiful and emotional work of fiction". The IRC's spin on it begins with a black comedy invoking the absurdity of Fawlty Towers, the plot intrigue of The Maltese Falcon, and the sinister menace of a "house of mirrors world" in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
"K" is a land surveyor summoned by unknown castle officials for an undisclosed purpose. K's beautiful, hilarious and desperate struggle for recognition and redemption unfolds as he valiantly responds to his mysterious call of duty. His journey is fraught with fun house surprises -- snow, snow, and more snow, traitorous acquaintances, and a host of Kafkaesque obstacles courtesy of a monstrous unnamed bureaucracy. Rather than crumble under the lunacy, he tenaciously travels the treacherous long and winding road to the top.
Audience favorite David Stanger (Witold Gombrowicz's Ivona, Princess of Burgundia and Marriage) will be featured as "K", leading the cast of IRC veterans John D'Alonzo, Greg Day, Tomas Dura, Michael Dura, Ethan Lipkin, Kirsten Quinn, Sonja Robson, Pat Lewis, Ingrid Robson and Tina Brock, joined by IRC newcomers Jerry Puma and Jerry Rudasill. This regional premiere will again highlight the extraordinary talents of set designer Anna Kiraly (Charles Mee's Paradise Park, Nikolai Gogol's Marriage) and costume designer Erica Hoelscher (Ivona, Marriage, Paradise Park), joined by lighting designer Robin Stamey (Little Bunny Voodoo, Rebecca Davis Dance Company, BRAT Productions, Pig Iron Theatre Company).
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a Czechoslovakian-born German-language novelist and short story writer, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Kafka's works The Metamorphosis, The Trial and The Castle depict the seemingly endless frustrations in man's attempts to stand against the system while pursuing a futile and unobtainable goal. The Castle is Franz Kafka's most humanistic work, virtually the only one in which the protagonist forms close relationships with other characters.
Hilarious, dark and surreal, The Castle explores alienation and bureaucracy, and the seemingly endless frustrations of one man's attempts to stand firm against the system while pursuing a futile and unobtainable goal. The Castle has been hailed as Franz Kafka's greatest work, and the one that best lives up to his maxim that a "book ought to be a hatchet to break the frozen sea within us." Franz Kafka died prior to finishing The Castle, while battling tuberculosis. Max Brod, Kafka's long-time friend and editor, was given the instruction to destroy all Kafka's works upon his death; instead, Brod completed The Castle based on Kafka's notes and saw to its publication in German in 1926.
The Castle will take place at Second Stage at The Adrienne Theater on Tuesday, September 3rd, Wednesday, September 4th, Thursday, September 5th, Friday, September 6th, Saturday, September 7th, Sunday, September 8th, Tuesday, September 10, Wednesday, September 11th, Thursday, September 12th, Friday, September 13th, Saturday, September 14th, Sunday, September 15th, Tuesday, September 17, Wednesday, September 18th, Thursday, September 19th, Friday, September 20th, Saturday, September 21st and Sunday, September 22nd. Tuesday through Saturday night performances will begin at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm. Ticket prices range from $15 for preview performances (September 3rd, 4th and 5th) to $25 for weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) performances. Weekday tickets (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) are $22.
2013 marks The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium's seventh season presenting and preserving difficult and rarely-produced absurdist works from authors around the globe. In 2012, The IRC presented critically-acclaimed sold out productions of Russian novelist and playwright Nikolai Gogol's Marriage: An Improbable Occurrence in Two Acts and heralded Polish author Witold Gombrowicz's Ivona, Princess of Burgundia.
Praise for the IRC's production of Ivona includes The Philadelphia Inquirer: "the IRC's spellbinding production compresses the epic scope of an opera into a microcosm of human malice... engaging and funny and insightful" and Stage Magazine: "(Ivona) offers wisdom through absurditythe absurdist-themed Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium soundly reaffirmed their position as the foremost purveyors of the genre in Philadelphia." Ivona was featured in the Editor's Note of the Fall Preview edition of The Philadelphia Weekly: "there's a strange sort ofspiritual affirmation that somehow bubbles up from it all, in part because it's hard not to see Ivona as a sort of Georgian-period Sweet Dee Reynolds from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, sufficiently smarter than everyone around her".
The Castle will operate under a contract with Actors' Equity Association. The IRC is a 501C3 non-profit organization, and a member of The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. The IRC's 2013 season is funded in part by generous grants from Wyncote Foundation, The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, The Samuel S. Fels Fund and The Charlotte Cushman Foundation.
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LocationSecond Stage at The Adrienne Theater (View)
2030 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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