A List
4/25/11

SLU Spring Production '1001' Re-Imagines 'Arabian Nights' Tales

CANTON - Jason Grote's 1001, a playful re-imagining of tales from the "Arabian Nights," will be performed at St. Lawrence University Wednesday, April 27, through Saturday, April 30, at 8 p.m. each evening in the Black Box Theatre, Griffiths Arts Center. Directed by Kirk Fuoss and Randall Hill, both associate professor of performance and communication arts, the performances are open to the public, free of charge.

The play is the St. Lawrence University Audrey Love Charitable Foundation Production, funded through a generous grant from the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation.

1001 playfully re-imagines the classic tale in which Shahriyar, a Persian sultan, outraged by his first wife's infidelity, weds a new bride each evening, only to kill her at daybreak before she has the opportunity to cheat on him. When he marries Scheherezade, however, she thwarts his plan by weaving a web of nested stories whose "cliff-hanger"endings - carefully timed to coincide with the coming of dawn - induce him to spare her life morning after morning until the days add up to 1001.

Grote's update on the tale takes audiences on a wild magic carpet ride in which time bends, cultures collide and a small ensemble of performers assume over 30 characters. 1001 shifts seamlessly between ancient Persia and a contemporary (and sometimes post-apocalyptic) New York City where Dahna, a Palestinian woman, and Alan, a Jewish man, live through a romance whose twists and turns echo those of Scheherezade and Shahriyar, especially as the same performers portray both sets of lovers.

Fuoss states, "One of the things I find most attractive about 1001 is that it isn't afraid to embrace contradictions. While it demands considerable physicality from cast members, it also demands that they attend to language and Grote's intricate wordplay. While it addresses charged political events such as the 9/11 attack and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it refuses to posit pat answers to issues that are anything but black and white. The play addresses 'big' ideas, but it refuses to take itself too seriously. One of my favorite descriptions of the play comes from a reviewer who described it as 'Monthy Python meets the Arabian Nights.'"

For more information, call 315-229-5184.

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