Bruce Davison and Hector Elizondon in "The Physicists"
Entertainment Desk
June 24, 2009
L.A. Theatre Works records Friedrich Durrenmatt's classic satire "THE PHYSICISTS" for radio July 8-12.
LOS ANGELES - The Physicists is a provocative and darkly comic satire about life in modern times by one of Europe's foremost dramatists, Friedrich Durrenmatt. L.A. Theatre Works records five performances for radio broadcast, directed by Brendon Fox and starring Bruce Davison, Hector Elizondo, Amy Pietz, Roma Maffia, Melinda Page Hamilton, Matthew Patrick Davis and Matt Gaydos, at the Skirball Cultural Center July 8 - 12. LATW's nationally syndicated radio theater series airs weekly, broadcasting locally in Southern California on 89.3 KPCC and streaming on demand at www.latw.org.
Written in 1961 at the height of the Cold War, when scientific innovation was viewed largely as suspect and nuclear destruction seemed an immediate threat, The Physicists weaves a murder mystery with bizarre humor and wacky situations to question whether man can be trusted with destructive knowledge. Among the most chilling and unnervingly funny of Durrenmatt's diagnoses of cold-war lunacies, The Physicists presciently invokes a peril lurking beyond the rivalry of the superpowers: the threat, so widely feared today, of stateless networks obtaining catastrophic weapons. Durrenmatt asks the question: "Is science ultimately responsible to humanity?"
The world's greatest physicist, Johann Wilhelm Mobius, is in a madhouse, haunted by recurring visions of King Solomon. He is kept company by two other equally deluded scientists: one who thinks he is Einstein, another who believes he is Newton. It soon becomes evident, however, that these three are not as harmlessly lunatic as they appear. Are they, in fact, really mad? Or are they playing some murderous game, with the world as the stake?
Friedrich Durrenmatt "has the most lively concept of the absurd in his plays, which tend to burst across the stage like firecrackers... [The Physicists is] continually intriguing and entertaining," wrote The New York Times.
Friedrich Durrenmatt was born in Switzerland in 1921 and has long been considered one of the world's leading German-language playwrights. His plays have received international acclaim, and The Visit, Romulus the Great, and The Physicists have all been performed on Broadway and in major capitals throughout the world. The Physicists was first performed in Zurich in 1962. Durrenmatt died in December 1990.
For three decades, L.A. Theatre Works has been the leading radio theater company in the United States, committed to using innovative technologies to preserve and promote significant works of dramatic literature and bringing live theater into the homes of millions. L.A. Theatre Works' radio theater series can be heard locally in Southern California on Saturday from 10pm to midnight on KPCC 89.3 FM, and can also be streamed on demand at www.latw.org. The series can also be heard on the following stations (check local listings for broadcast times): 89.7 WGBH in Boston; 91.5 FM WBEZ in Chicago; 94.9 KUOW in Seattle; 91.1 KPBX Spokane; 93.5 FM KRTS "Marfa Public Radio" in Texas; 90.5 FM KUT in Austin; 88.9 FM KUNM in Albuquerque; 91.5 FM, Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan; 90.1 FM KKFI in Kansas City, MO; 90.7 FM KVNO in Omaha; 89.9 WRVO in Oswego, NY; 91.9 KMUN in Astoria, OR; 90.9 KCPB in Warrenton, OR; 94.1 KPFA in Northern California; 91.1 FM KRCB in Sonoma County; 89.3 KVPR in Fresno; 89.1 KPRX in Bakersfield; and 89.1 KUOR in Redlands.
Performances of The Physicists take place on Wednesday, July 8 at 8 pm; Thursday, July 9 at 8 pm; Friday, July 10 at 8 pm; Saturday, July 11 at 2:30 pm;and Sunday, July 12 at 4 pm. Tickets range from $20.00 to $48.00. L.A. Theatre Works at the Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd, off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Santa Monica Mountains (exit Skirball Center Drive). For tickets and information, call the L.A. Theatre Works box office at (310) 827-0889 or go to www.latw.org.
LOS ANGELES - The Physicists is a provocative and darkly comic satire about life in modern times by one of Europe's foremost dramatists, Friedrich Durrenmatt. L.A. Theatre Works records five performances for radio broadcast, directed by Brendon Fox and starring Bruce Davison, Hector Elizondo, Amy Pietz, Roma Maffia, Melinda Page Hamilton, Matthew Patrick Davis and Matt Gaydos, at the Skirball Cultural Center July 8 - 12. LATW's nationally syndicated radio theater series airs weekly, broadcasting locally in Southern California on 89.3 KPCC and streaming on demand at www.latw.org.
Written in 1961 at the height of the Cold War, when scientific innovation was viewed largely as suspect and nuclear destruction seemed an immediate threat, The Physicists weaves a murder mystery with bizarre humor and wacky situations to question whether man can be trusted with destructive knowledge. Among the most chilling and unnervingly funny of Durrenmatt's diagnoses of cold-war lunacies, The Physicists presciently invokes a peril lurking beyond the rivalry of the superpowers: the threat, so widely feared today, of stateless networks obtaining catastrophic weapons. Durrenmatt asks the question: "Is science ultimately responsible to humanity?"
The world's greatest physicist, Johann Wilhelm Mobius, is in a madhouse, haunted by recurring visions of King Solomon. He is kept company by two other equally deluded scientists: one who thinks he is Einstein, another who believes he is Newton. It soon becomes evident, however, that these three are not as harmlessly lunatic as they appear. Are they, in fact, really mad? Or are they playing some murderous game, with the world as the stake?
Friedrich Durrenmatt "has the most lively concept of the absurd in his plays, which tend to burst across the stage like firecrackers... [The Physicists is] continually intriguing and entertaining," wrote The New York Times.
Friedrich Durrenmatt was born in Switzerland in 1921 and has long been considered one of the world's leading German-language playwrights. His plays have received international acclaim, and The Visit, Romulus the Great, and The Physicists have all been performed on Broadway and in major capitals throughout the world. The Physicists was first performed in Zurich in 1962. Durrenmatt died in December 1990.
For three decades, L.A. Theatre Works has been the leading radio theater company in the United States, committed to using innovative technologies to preserve and promote significant works of dramatic literature and bringing live theater into the homes of millions. L.A. Theatre Works' radio theater series can be heard locally in Southern California on Saturday from 10pm to midnight on KPCC 89.3 FM, and can also be streamed on demand at www.latw.org. The series can also be heard on the following stations (check local listings for broadcast times): 89.7 WGBH in Boston; 91.5 FM WBEZ in Chicago; 94.9 KUOW in Seattle; 91.1 KPBX Spokane; 93.5 FM KRTS "Marfa Public Radio" in Texas; 90.5 FM KUT in Austin; 88.9 FM KUNM in Albuquerque; 91.5 FM, Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan; 90.1 FM KKFI in Kansas City, MO; 90.7 FM KVNO in Omaha; 89.9 WRVO in Oswego, NY; 91.9 KMUN in Astoria, OR; 90.9 KCPB in Warrenton, OR; 94.1 KPFA in Northern California; 91.1 FM KRCB in Sonoma County; 89.3 KVPR in Fresno; 89.1 KPRX in Bakersfield; and 89.1 KUOR in Redlands.
Performances of The Physicists take place on Wednesday, July 8 at 8 pm; Thursday, July 9 at 8 pm; Friday, July 10 at 8 pm; Saturday, July 11 at 2:30 pm;and Sunday, July 12 at 4 pm. Tickets range from $20.00 to $48.00. L.A. Theatre Works at the Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd, off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Santa Monica Mountains (exit Skirball Center Drive). For tickets and information, call the L.A. Theatre Works box office at (310) 827-0889 or go to www.latw.org.
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