IS A VOICE FROM THE PAST THE KEY TO OUR FUTURE?
MURROW MAKES ITS REGIONAL PREMIERE THIS APRIL AS PART OF THE ELEVATOR PROJECT
“Our history will be what we make it.
If we go on as we are, then history will take its revenge
and retribution will not limp on catching up with us”.
The Event
The words belong to American icon Edward R. Murrow. The events belong to history. The fate they can change is ours. MURROW by Joseph Vitale comes to Hamon Hall at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, April 11-21, as part of The Elevator Project. From Executive Producer Bren Rapp, this regional premiere of a powerful, multimedia, one-man show explores Murrow’s life and work, becoming both a lens to examine where we are now as a nation of media consumers, and a mirror providing reflections of much needed lessons from our modern history.
The Play
In a work the Huffington Post called “a dramatic masterpiece”, Joseph Vitale reveals the complexity and achievements of a man whose voice, intelligence and honesty inspired a nation. In MURROW, Edward R. Murrow’s life and work stand out as beacons of integrity and professionalism. From his courageous radio reports from London during the Blitz that brought WWII into American homes and made him a household name, to his broadcast from Buchenwald concentration camp, as chilling now as the day it was aired. From his groundbreaking television work unearthing injustices in our own country, like the blacklisting of citizens by Senator Joseph McCarthy, to his principles which made him a hero to many but an enemy to entrenched interests, ultimately forcing the conscience of America off the air by an industry that had grown more interested in profits. Through Murrow’s words, Vitale takes us back through our modern history, also taking a harsh look at a media that has fallen far from the standards that Murrow established for his profession, in a play shocking in its relevance.
The Production
Executive Producer Bren Rapp has taken this work and through the addition of dynamic multimedia elements created an impactful live experience for theatregoers, stretching beyond a simple historical presentation. Today, there are multiple war zones around the world where bombings of civilians are part of daily life. Antisemitic incidents in our country have risen 337% since last October. Fear mongering in politics finds us barraged with slogans instead of solutions. Cancel culture has run amuck. We have entered this presidential election year as a people more divided than ever. Regardless of where we fall on the political spectrum, or what marginalized group we are a part of or stand allied with, regardless of who we view as "us" or see as "them", we have all allowed and continue to allow an age of misinformation to hinder our ability to ever come together.
- 2/3 of all American adults have little to no trust in the nation's mass media to report news accurately or fairly. 30% believe national news organizations attempt to mislead the public.
- 47% of adults 18-44 get their news from social media while a recent study by MIT shows that there is a vast increase in the inability to decipher accurate information if presented in an environment to be "shared" than if sharing content were not a concern.
- Adults 55+ experience an increase, as age increases, of vulnerability to prior exposure effect meaning the more often they see a headline or news item, the more their belief in its accuracy increases.
…and yet we continue to consume, to tune in, to click, to share. Do we find ourselves right back at a point where Murrow’s 1954 words ring true again, or has history’s revenge indeed caught up with us? Can the man who also said, “We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason.” effect change now, when we need it the most, while also guiding a future generation, who have only known modern media, to demand better?
From Executive Producer Bren Rapp
MURROW by Joseph Vitale
Starring Nicolas Greco-Directed by Montgomery Sutton
Show Dates and Times
7:30PM Thursday, April 11
7:30PM Friday, April 12
1:30PM Saturday, April 13
7:30PM Saturday, April 13
1:30PM Sunday, April 14
1:30PM Wednesday, April 17 *free student, educator, parent matinee
7:30PM Thursday, April 18
7:30PM Friday, April 19
7:30PM Saturday, April 20
1:30PM Sunday, April 21
Tickets at attpac.org/event/murrow-by-
Shows perform at Hamon Hall in the Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street-Dallas, TX 75201
Special Events
*Wednesday, April 17: Thanks to a buyout of the scheduled Wednesday, April 17, 1:30PM matinee, by a generous underwriter Ivan Sokalsky, 100 tickets are being given away for free to this performance to students, educators, and parents. To reserve seats, visit americanchronicletheatre
Reservations are granted on a first come, first served basis.
Sunday, April 14: Post show panel with professional journalists, high school journalists, and playwright Joseph Vitale.
Date TBD: ASL interpreted performance. Information will appear on the show schedule online.
The Creatives
Executive Producer Bren Rapp has had great success with the one-man format as co-producer of the hit, I’M NOT A COMEDIAN…I’M LENNY BRUCE, which ran for 115 performances in Los Angeles, nine months Off Broadway, six months in Chicago and is currently on national tour, directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantegna and starring Ronnie Marmo.
Joseph Vitale studied journalism at Columbia University, has penned several plays and was a Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-finalist (2012), a finalist for the Joanne Woodward/Paul Newman Drama Award (2021-22) and recipient of the New Jersey State Council for the Arts Fellowship (2021).
New York actor *Nicolas Greco has stage credits spanning from Off Broadway to Shakespeare’s Globe, but is also no stranger to taking audiences back through history through his series television work starring in THE FOODS THAT BUILT AMERICA (The History Channel), TITANS: THE RISE OF HOLLYWOOD and TITANS: THE RISE OF WALL STREET (Prime Video), and INTO THE WILD FRONTIER (Peacock). *Nicolas Greco appears through an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association.
Montgomery Sutton comes to the project fresh off the heels of directing A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM for Atlantic Acting School/NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He serves on faculty for the Atlantic Acting School / NYU, where he also received his BFA. He has numerous directing, acting, and writing credits under his belt from work across the country and also trained as a member of the International Actors Fellowship at Shakespeare's Globe.
The rest of the team is rounded out by set designer Clare DeVries, projection designer Eirc Voecks, sound designer Kellen Voss, lighting designer Aaron Johansen, production manager Luisa Torres
The Elevator Project
The Elevator Project is a series of performances by Dallas-based arts groups, providing performance space in the Dallas Arts District to local talent, while giving audiences exposure to the vibrant arts scene around them. It was created in 2014 by the AT&T Performing Arts Center and is presented with generous support from the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.
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