TURAI: Where was your last position?  Rough Crossing opened at the Lyttelton Theatre, London, on October 30, 1984. The production was directed by Peter Wood, and designed by Carl Toms, with music by Andre Previn and lyrics by Tom Stoppard.
THE CASTDVORNICHEK -- Michael Kitchen TURAI -- Michael Standing ADAM --Andrew C. Wadsworth GAL -- Niall Buggy NATASHA -- Sheila Gish IVOR -- Robin Bailey CHORUS -- Cristina Avery, Tracy Collier, Elizabeth Davies, Chrissie Kendall, Gail Rolfe and Debbie Snook, with David Hitchen SYNOPSISRough Crossing is a free adaptation of Ferenc Molnar's Play at the Castle, set aboard the SS Italian Castle, sailing between Southampton and New York via Cherbourg.
FERENC WHO?Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1878, Ferenc Molnár is the author of numerous plays, including The Guardsman , Liliom, The Swan, The Glass Slipper, and Play at the Castle. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, presented in New York City in 1945, was based on Liliom. His plays are characterized by "graceful romantic situations and amusing dialogue." He died in 1952.
THE CRITIC SPEAKS"Adaptation in Stoppard's terms means finding a sympathetic text and using it as a springboard for invention that leaves the original far behind." Irving Wardel
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATIONONLINEThe following sites provide additional insight into the characters and themes of Rough Crossing:Rough Crossing: Playing with Words in a Play within a Play -- An article from the New York Times by Wilborn Hampton The Wodehouse Society -- P.G. Wodehouse used Molnar's Play at the Castle as the basis for his play, The Play's the Thing. OFFLINEPlay at the Castle by Ferenc MolnarLiliom by Ferenc Molnar 11046 accesses since December 14, 1997. |