July 29, 2014
Lincoln Center Festival
DATE: July 29, 2014
PRESS CONTACT
Eileen McMahon 212-875-5391
LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL ADDS SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2 PM PERFORMANCE OF
SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY’S THE MAIDS
Due to high demand for tickets, Lincoln Center Festival has today announced an added performance of the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Jean Genet’s The Maids will be presented on Saturday, August 9 at 2 PM. Starring Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert, joined by young newcomer Elizabeth Debicki, The Maids is directed by Benedict Andrews in a new translation by STC Artistic Director Andrew Upton and Mr. Andrews.
Tickets for the added performance will be on sale Wednesday morning, July 30, via CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, online at LincolnCenterFestival.org, at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, 65th Street and Broadway, and at the New York City Center Box Office, 131 West 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues. The production runs from August 6-16 at New York City Center, now, with 13 performances only.
The Maids had a highly successful run in Sydney in June of 2013; the Festival performances will be its U.S. premiere. For The Maids, in addition to directing Cate Blanchett for the third time, Benedict Andrews is reunited with other regular STC collaborators, designer Alice Babidge and lighting designer Nick Schlieper.
The play is set in a glamorous apartment crammed with flowers. Two maids, Claire and Solange (Blanchett and Huppert), are nearing the end of their psychological tether. Each night the sisters play a deadly game, or ceremony, creating their own theater in which they take turns playing the role of their mistress (Debicki).
Genet’s 1947 existentialist play was inspired by the Papin murders that transfixed France in 1933. Two sisters who were servants in the same household murdered their wealthy mistress and her daughter. The original play was staged amidst an environment of changing class boundaries in France following World War II. This new translation by Andrews and STC Artistic Director Andrew Upton highlights the cruel and frightening folie à deux between the play’s central sister duo, and brings the class issues raised by the work into a timeless period.
The modernization of Genet’s classic work is further realized by Alice Babidge’s sleek and stylish glass box set, while the use of live video amplifies the more intimate moments and callous actions of all three characters.
Presented in association with New York City Center.
The Lincoln Center Festival 2014 presentation of The Maids is made possible in part by generous support from Jennie and Richard DeScherer, The Grand Marnier Foundation, Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, and members of the Producers Circle.
Programs and artists are subject to change.
Since its inaugural season in 1996, Lincoln Center Festival has received worldwide attention for presenting some of the broadest and most original performing arts programs in Lincoln Center’s history. Entering its 18th year, the Festival will have presented nearly 1,260 performances of opera, music, dance, theater, and interdisciplinary forms by internationally acclaimed artists from more than 50 countries. To date, the Festival has commissioned more than 42 new works and offered some 137 world, U.S., and New York premieres. It places particular emphasis on showcasing contemporary artistic viewpoints and multidisciplinary works that push the boundaries of traditional performance.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 series, festivals, and programs including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Artist Program, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Books, Lincoln Center Dialogue, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Martin E. Segal Awards, Meet the Artist, Mostly Mozart Festival, Target Free Thursdays, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion campus renovation, completed in October 2012.
Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.
Lincoln Center Festival is sponsored by American Express.
Major support provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Lincoln Center Festival 2014 is also made possible by the Polska Music program of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, The Shubert Foundation, Robert and Helen Appel, Nancy A. Marks, LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, The Skirball Foundation, Larry A. and Klara Silverstein, The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Judy & Michael Steinhardt, The Katzenberger Foundation, Inc., Jennie and Richard DeScherer, The Grand Marnier Foundation, Brother International Corporation, ITOCHU International Inc., The J.C.C. Fund of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Inc., The Joelson Foundation, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG),Nancy & Morris W. Offit, Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Great Performers Circle, Producers Circle, Chairman’s Council, Friends of Lincoln Center, and One Anonymous.
Public support for Festival 2014 is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Endowment support for Festival 2014 is provided by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Nancy Abeles Marks
Artist Catering provided by Zabar’s and Zabars.com
MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center
Bloomberg is the Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center Summer Programs
Movado is an Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center
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WABC-TV is the Official Broadcast Partner of Lincoln Center
William Hill Estate Winery is the Official Wine of Lincoln Center
“Summer at Lincoln Center” is sponsored by Diet Pepsi
Time Out New York is Media Partner of Summer at Lincoln Center
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