The Orion Online

Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of blueroomtheatre.com [Click to enlarge]

What: "The Illusion"
When: Thursday to Dec. 20
Where: Blue Room Theatre

Playwright Tony Kushner's adaptation of Pierre Corneille's French play "The Illusion" is hoping to work its magic with audiences at the Blue Room Theatre beginning 7:30 p.m. Thursday and running until Dec. 20.

Kushner is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Angels in America," which chronicles the lives of several people during the early years of the 1980s AIDS epidemic.

"The Illusion" takes place in 17th century France and follows a dying man who has disowned his only son. The man comes to realize that he would like to reconnect with his son and be with him before he dies. He sets out on a journey to find him, and during his search he stumbles into a cave and finds a magician named Alcandre.

Alcandre shows the man three different visions of his son since he has been gone. Each vision shows his son in a different life with a different name.

The play's main focus is on love and betrayal as well as what is real and what is not, said director Brad Moniz. As the story unfolds, the man finds out the truth about his son, which is unexpected.

While the play sounds more like a drama, it is actually a French farce, Moniz said.

"It's like a comedy of manners," he said.

Moniz doesn't want people to confuse the play's title with the 2006 Edward Norton film "The Illusionist," as Moniz did when he was asked by the Blue Room to direct it, he said.

"When I realized that it was the Tony Kushner play they wanted me to direct, I was like 'Oh, I know that,'" he said.

People who are familiar with Kushner's works shouldn't come in expecting this play to be like anything else he has done, said assistant director Melanie Smith.

While this play is different from what Kushner is known for, it still has a lot of the same elements of his other plays.

"It's very exciting and very funny," Smith said. "It's also elegant and full of depth."

"The Illusion" will offer people the chance to see some good acting and experience theater in the classical nature, she said.

"It's for people who want to see what theater can actually be, instead of two guys sitting at a table and drinking beer," Smith said. "It's more along the lines of a Shakespearean play."

Jerry Miller plays Alcandre and gets the chance to share the stage with his son, Loki St. Lynn, who plays three different characters. This is the third time Miller will share the stage with his son.

Miller's favorite part of being involved with "The Illusion" is the ability to work with a great cast and a great script, which he describes as a French "Christmas Carol," he said.

"The material is different and exciting," Miller said. "The cast is great to work with and that is the main thing that makes it fun."

The show is suitable for all ages, unlike any of Kushner's other plays, said producer Steve Swim. It will likely be one of the best shows of the year, and most members of the cast are veterans of theater.

"If you put together the amount of stage time of everyone involved in the play, it equals to about 70 years," he said.

Tickets are $12 for students and seniors and $14 for adults.

David Wangberg can be reached at
dwangberg@theorion.com

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