New Play Entitled "My Brother"

[RJNorton]

Thanks to Bob Cook for sending the following information:

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Intact Productions Presents “My Brother” at the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival

John Wilkes Booth Portrayed in Controversial Play by "Picket Fences" Alum

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 04, 2014

The Hollywood Fringe Festival takes a second look at American History this year with the controversial new play “My Brother” from playwright/director Brendan Russo. The provocative new work, which examines the life and motives of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth, premieres as part of the Fringe at Theatre Asylum & Lab’s Lillian Theatre (1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood) on June 8th (7:30 PM), followed by 4 additional shows: June 14th (3:30 PM), June 18 (8:30 PM), June 22 (5:00 PM) and June 28 (10:00 PM).

Adam Wylie, long past the days of playing the young boy on CBS’s "Picket Fences, and who now spends his time performing on Broadway (the TONY-Winning Revival of "Into the Woods," Wicked) and on Television ("Veronica Mars," "Gilmore Girls," and as Peter Pan in Disney’s wildly successful Jake and the Neverland Pirates franchise) takes center stage as romantic matinee star/Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth, who is torn between his devotion to his family, and to the war-torn South. The play chronicles his life and his relationships, mainly with his writer-sister, Asia (Eryn Guyton) who lives stuck in a dead-end marriage with a sycophantic actor trying to milk the Booth family name for his career, and his much more famous brother, actor Edwin Booth (Vince Major), whose life devolves into alcohol and hedonism as he becomes one of the most famous men in the world.

The play, written by Russo as a reaction to his experience being a high school student in downtown New York City during the 9/11 terror attacks, examines the reasons why a person with all of the love and potential in the world would embark upon violent, long-lasting means to achieve the end they claim is peace.

Meticulously researched, and taken from the diaries of both Booth and his sister, "My Brother" takes a hard, emotional, complicated look at Booth, his life, his passions, and the people he affected both in the lead-up to, and the aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination.

During its nascency, "My Brother" received a private reading at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in New York. As the script was workshopped, it opened the door for Russo to gain acceptance to the Dramatists Guild, where then-president and playwright John Weidman (writer, "Pacific Overtures," "Anything Goes," "Big," "Assassins") gave Russo guidance in the structure, and development of the piece, bringing it to the form in which it exists today.

"My Brother" will have its world premiere as one of the most controversial and highly anticipated shows in the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival on June 14th with a special preview performance on June 8th at 7:30 PM. Tickets are on sale at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org

"My Brother" is an Intact Production written and directed by Brendan Russo; Starring Adam Wylie, Eryn Guyton, Vince Major, Steve Phelan, Erin McIntosh, Bianca Hali Doria, Steve T. Bartlett, Radek Antczak, and Aleksander Ristic; Produced by Alexa Berry, Javier Sepulveda, Brendan Russo & Juan Carlos Moreno Rangel; The Lillian Theatre, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood, CA 90038. For more information on "My Brother," please visit: http://www.mybrotherplay.com


http://www.busbyway.com/2014/06/04/intac...-festival/

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/06/prweb11908534.htm

[LincolnToddFan]

Thanks Roger. It's in my neck of the woods so I might like to go and see it. But I wonder what is it that makes it controversial?

[LincolnMan]

LincolnToddFan: I was wondering the same thing. Perhaps it takes a sympathic view of Booth?

[RJNorton]

Or possibly it looks at jealousy of Edwin's success and fame as a contributing cause for the decision to assassinate the president?

[LincolnToddFan]

Okay, thanks guys. That makes sense. In fact I think there is a book that asserts this very theory-that JWB assassinated AL partly because he was jealous of his brother's fame and wanted to "one up" him.

[L Verge]

That book is My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone, which is very well done and much more of a biography of the Booths than just the jealousy angle. I suspect that this play is based on Nora's work.

[LincolnToddFan]

That is indeed the one-thanks Laurie!

[GARY POPOLO]

(06-09-2014 10:08 AM)L Verge Wrote:  That book is My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone, which is very well done and much more of a biography of the Booths than just the jealousy angle. I suspect that this play is based on Nora's work.

Betty, I believe you are correct. I read Nora's book and was very surprised as to the degree of fame that Edwin had over John. Also what interested me was how Edwin treated and took care of the family. Not to mention his wealth. Edwin was a very interesting person in his own right. Best Gary

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(06-12-2014 12:43 PM)GARY POPOLO Wrote:  

(06-09-2014 10:08 AM)L Verge Wrote:  That book is My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone, which is very well done and much more of a biography of the Booths than just the jealousy angle. I suspect that this play is based on Nora's work.

Betty, I believe you are correct. I read Nora's book and was very surprised as to the degree of fame that Edwin had over John. Also what interested me was how Edwin treated and took care of the family. Not to mention his wealth. Edwin was a very interesting person in his own right. Best Gary

Sorry! Miss Verge, I addressed my reply to Betty when it was your comment I was referring to. Again my apologies. Best Gary

[L Verge]

(06-12-2014 12:43 PM)GARY POPOLO Wrote:  

(06-09-2014 10:08 AM)L Verge Wrote:  That book is My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone, which is very well done and much more of a biography of the Booths than just the jealousy angle. I suspect that this play is based on Nora's work.

Betty, I believe you are correct. I read Nora's book and was very surprised as to the degree of fame that Edwin had over John. Also what interested me was how Edwin treated and took care of the family. Not to mention his wealth. Edwin was a very interesting person in his own right. Best Gary

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(06-12-2014 12:43 PM)GARY POPOLO Wrote:  

(06-09-2014 10:08 AM)L Verge Wrote:  That book is My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone, which is very well done and much more of a biography of the Booths than just the jealousy angle. I suspect that this play is based on Nora's work.

Betty, I believe you are correct. I read Nora's book and was very surprised as to the degree of fame that Edwin had over John. Also what interested me was how Edwin treated and took care of the family. Not to mention his wealth. Edwin was a very interesting person in his own right. Best Gary

Sorry! Miss Verge, I addressed my reply to Betty when it was your comment I was referring to. Again my apologies. Best Gary

No problem, Gary. Betty and I could be the Bobbsey Twins (fraternal, of course).