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Event
Circle
"[In the script] Scenes 1-8 all include the symbol
'* * *' towards the end, during which time, the characters are having sex. There are many ways to stage this."
--Suzanne Bachner
from the production notes of Circle
If you think that fascination with sex in the culture is new, consider that Circle is based on the 1900 play Reigen ("The Round Dance") by Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler, which frankly traced the casual sexual couplings of ten people. All efforts to suppress the play, which showed how sex linked members of all socio-economic classes, ultimately failed. Reigen was the inspiration for the 1950 classic French film La Ronde, and David Hare's The Blue Room, a 1998 Broadway smash starring Nicole Kidman.
In Bachner's version, diverse characters (gay, straight and bi, stripper, rock star, husband) are linked through a daisy-chain of sexual contact. After each scene, one character leaves and one stays, to encounter a new person and new situation. They meet in Starbucks, in an S&M dungeon, in a bedroom, in a kitchen, and in cyberspace, striving for a deeper connection with one another. The setups are "laugh-out-loud funny" (Show Business Weekly), but that desire to connect, even when it fails, drives the play and provides its power.
Circle opened in 2001 and quickly moved to the Kraine Theater off-Broadway, where it was extended three times and ran for four months. Circle was winner of the 2001 OOBR Award, and has been optioned for production in Australia.
Praise for Circle and Suzanne Bachner:
"People begin laughing at the first sentence and continue to the last."
--The New York Times
"The one question remaining is this... why isn't one of our country's major producing organizations grabbing Bachner and exposing her talents to a wider audience? She is that good. As is Circle. Try to see it."
--OOBR (The off-off-Broadway Review)
"Impressive... Funny... Emotionally charged."
--Back Stage
"White hot, screamingly funny!"
--Greenwich Village Gazette
Finally, it is a small world: We have learned that Suzanne Bachner's upcoming play Bite will be directed by Rick Vorndran, a former Broom Street Theater and Mercury playwright and director in Madison Wisconsin. And it will premiere at NYC's Dysfunctional Theatre, the group started by Mercury Players founder Paul Wells.
Note: Circle contains nudity and strong sexual themes. Absolutley no one under 18 will be admitted.
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LocationBartell Theater
113 East Mifflin St (Just off the Capitol Square)
Madison, WI 53703
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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