Black Box Players to present Sam Shepard’s ‘Fool for Love’

Black Box Players to present Sam Shepard’s ‘Fool for Love’April 04, 2006Paul Rescignoparescig@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s Black Box Players continues its 20th anniversary season with Sam Shepard’s striking American drama “Fool for Love.” The show opened March 31 and runs through April 8 at the Black Box Theatre located in the Regent Theatre Complex, which houses the SU Drama Department and Syracuse Stage at 820 E. Genesee St.

Hailed by The New Yorker as “the most brilliant dramatist working today,” Shepard catapults the audience into the passionate and complicated world of May and Eddie, a country girl and her cowboy. They are lovers tormented by a bond that is violent, restless and, as they realize, unbreakable. Eddie travels to the hotel room in Mississippi where May resides to rekindle their relationship and discovers that though they are inextricably linked, their stars may never align again. The play reaches a heightened sense of reality through the character of the Old Man, existing only in May and Eddie’s minds. The production is directed by senior Brina Guild.

An Obie Award-winning play, “Fool for Love” was first produced at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco in 1983, moving off-Broadway to Circle in the Square Repertory Theatre later that year. While Shepard had written plays with similar themes and set in the Midwest, (including “True West” and the Pulitzer-winning “Buried Child,”) “Fool for Love” has become the most famous. Known for his original style of writing about the West with a dash of absurdist wit, Shepard garnered new acclaim for his ability to win the audience’s sympathy for such a tumultuous, destructive love affair.

The roles of May and Eddie are played by senior Nikki Koutoufaris and sophomore Nicholas Pescosolido. Sophomore Dan Scott portrays May’s new date Martin and sophomore Ryan Canuelle appears as the Old Man. Juniors Carrie Flanagan and Adam George Fournier understudy the roles of May and Eddie. Sophomore Kristine Schlachter is stage manager for the production, and May’s dilapidated Mississippi hotel room is brought to life by senior set designer Kim Carter. Sophomore costume designer Julia Bowers’ creations convey the look and feel of the characters in the 1980s Mojave Desert. Sophomore Eli Polofsky serves as lighting designer and senior Megan Maloney as sound designer.

All Black Box Players productions are free of charge to the public. Seating is limited, so audience members should arrive at least a half hour prior to the performance to assure seating. To make reservations, leave a message on the Black Box Players’ voice mailbox at 443-2102. (All requests will receive a follow-up phone call from the box office.) For more information, visit http://www.blackboxplayers.org.