- 2023-10-08
Oslo | WEST COAST PREMIERE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 31, 2018
MARIN THEATRE COMPANY
PRODUCES WEST COAST PREMIERE
OF J.T. ROGERS’
TONY AWARD-WINNING DRAMA
Oslo
MILL VALLEY, CA—Marin Theatre Company (MTC) catapults into their 2018-19 season with J.T. Rogers’ bold, arresting, 2017 Tony Award-winner for Best Play—Oslo.
This smash-hit political thriller details the widely unexplored story of how Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul, and her husband, social scientist Terje Rød-Larsen, brokered top-secret meetings between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, culminating in the historic 1993 Oslo Accords. Through back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics, common ground between Israeli and Palestinian envoys is carefully unearthed.
Premiering in 2016, at a time when America itself seemed divided and polarized more than ever before, Oslo recalls that our most powerful tool in any process toward peace, is hope. At its heart, Oslo is a deeply personal story set against a complex historical canvas; a story about the individuals behind world history and their all too human ambitions.
Despite its clear inspiration from documented events and real-life political players, J.T. Rogers is upfront that this play is not a docudrama. He recounts the surreal realization; “It’s the first play I’ve written where everyone is a version of a living or formerly living person.”
For Rogers—the man The Guardian called “that rare creature: an American dramatist who writes about global issues”—putting this story onstage was an artistic challenge, rather than a political one. To prepare, he “stalked the characters, through memoirs and TV interviews. But the lines on the stage are all [Rogers’]; there’s no verbatim.” Rogers upheld a rule: that “nobody on stage, no version of a real person, said things that were diametrically opposed to what [Rogers] understood to be the beliefs—intellectual, moral, emotional—of the real person.” He claims, “for a lot of them, I purposely didn’t listen to their voices because I wanted the sound, the rhythm, to be the way it needs to be on stage, in order to tell the story.”
Marin Theatre Company is honored to present the third production and West Coast Premiere of Oslo, directed by MTC Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis. This gripping new piece features a phenomenally talented cast of 14 actors—with many new faces joining familiar MTC favorites. J.T. Rogers’ dynamic script will unfold on a layered, dualistic set by Sean Fanning, underscored by original music from composer Chris Houston.
More About Playwright J.T. Rogers
J.T. Rogers’ plays include Oslo (Lincoln Center Theater, then Broadway; National Theatre, London, then West End); Blood and Gifts (Lincoln Center Theater; National Theatre); The Overwhelming (National Theatre, then UK tour with Out of Joint; Roundabout Theatre); White People (Off Broadway with Starry Night Productions); and Madagascar (Theatre 503, London; Melbourne Theatre Company). For Oslo he won the Tony, New York Critics, Outer Critics, Drama Desk, Drama League, Lortel, and Obie awards. As one of the playwrights for the Tricycle Theatre of London’s The Great Game: Afghanistan he was nominated for an Olivier Award. His works have been staged throughout the United States and in Germany, Canada, Australia, and Israel. He is a Guggenheim fellow and has received three NYFA fellowships in playwriting. Rogers is a member of the Dramatists Guild, where he is a founding board member of the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund. He is an alum of New Dramatists and holds an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
MTC’s Artistic Director, Jasson Minadakis, To Direct
Jasson Minadakis is in his 13th season as artistic director of Marin Theatre Company, where he has directed Shakespeare In Love, Thomas and Sally, Guards at the Taj, August: Osage County, The Invisible Hand, Anne Boleyn, The Convert, The Whale, Failure: A Love Story, the world premiere of Lasso of Truth, The Whipping Man (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for Best Production and Best Acting Ensemble), Waiting for Godot, Othello: the Moor of Venice, The Glass Menagerie, Edward Albee’s Tiny Alice, the world premiere of Libby Appel’s adaptation of Chekhov’s Seagull, Happy Now?, Equivocation (SFBATCC Award, Best Director), the world premiere of Sunlight, Lydia, The Seafarer, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, A Streetcar Named Desire, said Saïd, Love Song, and The Subject Tonight is Love. As artistic director of Actor’s Express Theatre Company, he directed The Pillowman; Bug; The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer; Echoes of Another Man;Killer Joe; Burn This; The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?; Blue/Orange; and Bel Canto. As producing artistic director of Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, he directed Jesus Hopped the ’A’ Train, Chagrin Falls (2002 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Production), and numerous others, including 19 productions of Shakespeare. Regional credits include The Whipping Man at Virginia Stage Company, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Hamlet at Georgia Shakespeare, Copenhagen at Playhouse on the Square (2003 Ostrander Theatre Award for Best Dramatic Production), and Bedroom Farce at Wayside Theatre.
CALENDAR LISTING
Theatre | Performing Arts
WHAT
Oslo
WHO
By J.T. Rogers
Directed by Jasson Minadakis
FEATURING
*Ashkon Davaran: HASSAN ASFOUR
*Aaron Davidman: YOSSI BEILIN
*Joe Estlack: THOR BJORNEVOG/AMERICAN DIPLOMAT
*Corey Fischer: SHIMON PERES
*Brian Herndon: YAIR HIRSCHFELD
*Marcia Pizzo: MARIANNE HEIBERG/TORIL GRANDAL/SWEDISH HOSTESS/GERMAN WIFE
*Peter James Meyers: JOEL SINGER
*J Paul Nicholas: AHMED QUERIE
Adam Niemann: TROND GUNDERSEN/GERMAN HUSBAND
*Paris Hunter Paul: URI SAVIR
*Mark Anderson Phillips: TERJE RØD-LARSON
*Charles Shaw Robinson: JOHAN JORGEN HOLST/FINN GRANDAL
*Erica Sullivan: MONA JUUL
*Ryan Tasker: RON PUNDAK/JAN EGELAND
* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association
WHEN
September 27 – October 21
PERFORMANCES
OPENING NIGHT: Tuesday, October 2, at 7:30pm
Evenings
Tuesday - Sunday, 7:30pm
Matinees
Sunday (Preview), September 30, at 4:00pm
Thursday (Perspectives), October 11, at 1:00pm
Saturday, October 6, 13, & 20, at 2:00pm
Sunday, October 7, 14 & 21, at 2:00pm
WHERE
Marin Theatre Company | 397 Miller Ave | Mill Valley, CA 94941
ABOUT
This smash-hit political thriller tells the widely unknown story of how Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul, and her husband, social scientist Terje Rød-Larsen, planned and orchestrated top-secret meetings between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, culminating in the historic 1993 Oslo Accords. Through back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics, common ground between the Israeli and Palestinian envoys is carefully unearthed. Oslo is a deeply personal story set against a complex historical canvas, a story about the individuals behind world history and their all too human ambitions.
Tickets $22 - $60
Discounts for seniors, teens, military families, and teachers are available.
Group Discounts: Purchase 8 or more tickets and receive a $6 discount off each ticket. MTC will also waive the $7 order fee. As the organizer of a group, your ticket is free! Contact the Box Office for more details.
Press Photos will be available for Oslo on Friday, September 28, 2018.
MTC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS
- Wrestling Jerusalem: In coordination with the Lark Theater, MTC will host a screening of Wrestling Jerusalem on Monday, October 15. Wrestling Jerusalem is a tour-de-force cinematic performance by writer-actor Aaron Davidman—who will feature as Yossi Beilin in MTC’s production of Oslo. Creatively adapting his acclaimed one-man stage show using only simple props and backdrops, Davidman conjures a host of different characters while seeking answers to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More information on show time, purchasing tickets, and guest speakers will be available soon.
- Window on the Work: Join members of MTC’s artistic staff and cast of the show to discuss artistic and production elements of MTC’s production of Oslo at 7:30pm on Thursday, September 11, at the Mill Valley Public Library.
- Young Professionals Night: Starting this season, MTC will host a Young Professionals Night, complete with a pre-show reception, on the first Wednesday of each production. For Oslo, YPN will take place on Wednesday, October 3rd prior to the 7:30pm performance. Interns, apprentices, students, and other young professionals in any field are encouraged to attend.
- Perspectives: The third Thursday of each show is the Perspectives matinee performance which includes a pre-show topical lecture. For Oslo, the Perspectives matinee is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, with the pre-show lecture beginning at 12:30pm, and the performance beginning at 1:00pm.
- Pre-Show Discussions: Join members of MTC’s artistic staff and cast of the show to discuss the play, playwright and play’s themes on Wednesdays before the 7:30pm performances.
- After Words: Join a member of MTC’s artistic staff (often with one or more members of the cast) for a Q&A talkback after every performance, except Saturday evenings and Opening and Closing Nights.
ACCESS
Marin Theatre Company provides open captioned performances of each of the plays in our mainstage series on the Thursday matinee. The open captioned performance for Oslo will be Thursday, September 11, at 1:00pm.
For visually impaired patrons, Large Print playbills are available with one week’s advance notice. To request a Large Print playbill, call MTC’s Box Office, (415) 388-5208, or use the California Telecommunications Relay Service by dialing “711.” For hearing impaired patrons, amplified sound Assistive Listening Devices are available. Our system will also work with personal assistive hearing devices equipped with a T-coil.
CONTACT
marintheatre.org | (415) 388-5208 | boxoffice@marintheatre.org
ABOUT MTC
Marin Theatre Company is the Bay Area’s premier mid-sized theatre and the leading professional theatre in the North Bay. We produce a six-show season focused on new American plays. We are committed to the development and production of new plays, with a comprehensive New Play Program that includes productions of world premieres, two nationally recognized annual playwriting awards and readings and workshops by the nation’s best emerging and established playwrights. Our numerous education programs serve more than 5,000 students from over 40 Bay Area schools each year. MTC strives to create intimate, powerful and emotional experiences that engage audiences to discuss new ideas and adopt a broader point of view. We believe in taking risks and inspiring people to participate in live theatre, regardless of personal means. MTC celebrates the intellectual curiosity of our community, and we believe that theatre is an important tool to help build empathy. MTC was founded in 1966 and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
PRESS CONTACT
Kate Robinson, Director of Ticketing and Communications Associate
(415) 322-6029 | kater@marintheatre.org