For the final production of its inaugural
season, the Outside Art festival at BAM Park will present three
15-minute plays by the Suitcase Players, also in its inaugural
season.
"We wanted something we could do around the city, have some
fun and not have to use a theater," says Kathleen Grace,
founder and director of the company.
That "something" turned out to be 15-minute renditions
of Arthur Miller’s "Death of a Salesman," Thornton
Wilder’s "Our Town" and Tennessee Williams’ "The
Glass Menagerie."
Grace says she picked these works because they’re "interesting
plays with great characters, and when they’re adapted down to
15 minutes, they’re extremely funny."
"It takes the tragedy to a melodramatic level that points
out what’s ridiculous about the characters," she notes.
Nevertheless, Grace claims to have a profound respect for the
American classics.
"I really love classic American plays," she says. "People
see Shakespeare all the time. So many people haven’t seen ’Death
of a Salesman’ and don’t even know about it. This won’t be the
same as doing the full-length plays, but it might make people
want to read the plays or go see them."
"15-Minute Versions of Classic American Plays" will
be presented Aug. 5-7, at 7 pm, in BAM Park (Lafayette Avenue
at Fulton Street in Fort Greene). All performances are free and
open to the public. For more information, call (212) 889-0808.
