Visible Theatre Presents
www.visibletheatre.org
KRANKENHAUS BLUES
By SAM FORMAN
Directed by DONNA MITCHELL
Featuring
CHRISTINE BRUNO BILL GREEN JOE SIMS
Stage Manager: EMILY ALEXANDER-WILMETH
Original Music Composed & Performed by HELEN YEE
Additional Music: HANNAH HENS-PIAZZA
Set/Costume Design: KIMI MAEDA
Light Design: PAUL A. JEPSON
Light Board Op: AARON BOKROS
Program Cover by MICHAEL HAERTLEIN
DOROTHY STREISIN THEATRE
Part of the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex
312 West 36th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues)
212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com
October 5th – November 5th
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 PM; Sundays at 3 PM
In Sam Forman’s KRANKENHAUS BLUES you meet a bizarre cast of characters
who may or may not be undergoing medical experiments conducted by doctors in a
1930’s Nazi asylum. Bruno (Bill Green), a down-and-out Jewish playwright,
carries the ball in moving the action forward, but like the sometimes-humorous
subtitles that only clarify minimally, his rants/interrogations are akin to a
frantic romp through insanity (or sanity, based on your viewpoint). Joe Sims
is Fritz, a gay circus clown, who serves as an alter-ego to Bruno, and Anka (Christine
Bruno) is a disabled actress who obviously is the sexual interest/torment in
Bruno’s life. The one clear thing is that these three characters are in dire
straits during Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
With KRANKENHAUS BLUES you may as well go with the verbal flow. Sit back
and enjoy the rambling through twisted minds; you’re in capable hands with the
cast. And as Forman alternates between 1930 Germany and New York City today, he
introduces the fascinating concept of the playwright and reality. With an
underlying theme of loneliness, reality becomes fuzzy. Does the playwright in
dire straits, as well as the modern-day one, split off into separate characters
and try to tell his story? Does he by necessity destroy his pre-conceived
concept of reality and abstract whatever circumstances he experiences or
envisions? Is writing a play comparable to conducting sadistic medical
experiments and genocide of the self? These are thought-provoking questions for
sure. KRANKENHAUS BLUES leaves you with a big “Huh?” as an answer and
plenty of fodder for further discussion.
- Laurie Lawson -