Blue Light Theater Company

The Blue Light Theater Company was an Off-Broadway theater company located in New York City primarily active in the late 1990s through 2001 and notable for the many celebrated actors associated with the company, including Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Frances McDormand, Billy Crudup, Marisa Tomei, and Marsha Mason,[1] as well as many who have since gone on to have notable careers including Josh Radnor, T.R. Knight, Chris Messina, and Matthew Saldivar. Actor/ Artistic-Director Greg Naughton (also a singer-songwriter with The Sweet Remains), founded Blue Light in 1995 with the stated mission of producing challenging, primarily larger-cast plays that would bring up-and-coming actors together with veteran artists in a spirit of apprenticeship.[2] They began as an itinerant theater troupe, renting theaters from such venues as Primary Stages, HERE Arts Center, the Classic Stage Company, and Atlantic Theatre Company, before settling in for two seasons at the 55th Street Theatre (now the Women's Project Theater) and their final two seasons in the McGinn-Cazale Theatre. Mandy Greenfield (later the artistic producer of Manhattan Theatre Club and artistic director of Williamstown Theatre Festival) [3] joined as Blue Light’s producing manager in 1998. She and Peter Manning (formerly producer of New York Stage and Film) are credited with the artistic direction and selection of Blue Light’s final season, when Mr. Naughton took a sabbatical.[1][4][5]

History

The Blue Light Theater Company initially gained attention from revivals of Clifford Odets's Golden Boy (starring James Naughton and Greg Naughton) and Waiting for Lefty[6] (starring Marissa Tomei), both directed by Joanne Woodward (wife of the late Paul Newman). Other revivals included Eduardo De Filippo's Filumena (adapted by Maria Tucci) and Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (directed by Austin Pendleton). The troupe transitioned to performing works by contemporary playwrights, such as the Michael Cristofer drama Amazing Grace, as well as the 1999 New York premiere of Philip Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney. Other productions include Jessica Goldberg's The Hologram Theory, the New York premiere of Daniel Goldfarb's Adam Baum and the Jew Movie, a revival of Philip Barry's Hotel Universe, and Darko Tresnjak's Princess Turandot. Blue Light produced six seasons and 16 main productions under an Equity Off Broadway Letter of Agreement contract before suspending its operations in 2001.[2][7]

Greg Naughton and Joe Grifasi in "Golden Boy", 1995

Awards

In 1998, the Blue Light Theater Co. staged playwright and director Dare Clubb's modern adaptation of Oedipus (starring Frances McDormand and Billy Crudup), which won an Obie Award for playwrighting.[8][9]

Productions

References

  1. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  2. 1 2 Diane Snyder (17 March 2000). "Bright Blue Light". Theatermania.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  3. ↑ http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/mandy-greenfield-to-become-artistic-director-of-williamstown-theater-festival/?_r=0
  4. ↑ "PBOL'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW, Feb. 3-9: Flickering Light". Playbill.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "THEATER - Actor as Overseer, Actors as Ensemble". Nytimes.com. 3 December 1995. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  6. ↑ http://www.unz.org/Pub/CharlieRose-1997-00386
  7. ↑ "Off-Broadway's Blue Light Theatre Suspends Operations After Six Years". Playbill. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Dare Clubb Wins OBIE for Oedipus". Playbill. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Greg Naughton : Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9C01E2D61039F93BA15752C1A963958260
  11. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/28/theater/theater-review-low-comedy-disguising-lofty-thoughts-about-art.html
  12. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/26/arts/theater-in-review-816302.html
  13. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/12/theater/theater-review-the-insufferably-valiant-meet-the-lust-for-revenge.html
  14. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/theater/show/10447/Adam-Baum-And-The-Jew-Movie/overview
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