Photo Flash: CRT Presents Bertolt Brecht's GALILEO

"Who does not know the truth is simply a fool...Yet who knows the truth and calls it a lie is a criminal."

Galileo hears of a new invention, a telescope, and builds one for himself. With it, he confirms that the earth rotates around the sun. For this, he is summoned before a tribunal of the Inquisition where he is threatened with torture if he does not recant his findings. Bertolt Brecht puts the dilemma of one of history's greatest thinkers center stage; is it more important to cling to one's principles or save oneself to enable further contributions to knowledge?

Galileo examines the separation of science and the church by questioning the difference between empirical evidence and faith. Galileo's confirmation that the earth revolves around the sun is regarded as heresy, and a direct threat to church doctrine. Galileo pleads with church authorities to recognize that if something can be seen it must be true and to deny the truth is criminal. He is put on trial and recants, but serves house arrest, nonetheless. Galileo's capitulation, and his continued scientific investigation, even under the noses of his captors, provides a powerful exploration of issues of integrity, betrayal, courage, and devotion.

Director Gary English said, "Bertolt Brecht's interest in Galileo does not focus solely on his success and importance as a scientist in a traditional sense. Brecht is interested in interrogating the character of the man as a model for the interrogation of any hero. All heroes become mythic, to some degree, and in Galilei's case, even martyred and granted a sort of victim status. To Brecht, the practice of science requires valor. It is partly up to the scientific community to take responsibility for the development of a just society which means that truth, particularly scientific truth - must be defended."

Dramaturg Dassia Posner said, "2009 is the 400th anniversary of Galileo first peering at the heavens through his telescope. In the play Galileo, we view not only Bertolt Brecht's individual perspective on Galileo's life and times, but many of the events of the twentieth century also come into focus. By treating the story of Galileo as a modern myth, Brecht demonstrates that heroes are not and cannot be above scrutiny."

THE CREATIVE TEAM
Gary English (Director) Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in Dramatic Arts. His areas of expertise are in stage directing and stage design. BFA University of Arizona; MFA Northwestern University. Recent major directing credits include THE MIRACLE WORKER, and AMERICAN PRIMITIVE, both by William Gibson, and produced at The Berkshire Theatre Festival. Other projects include, Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, CAROUSEL, MAN OF LA MANCHA, which received the 1997 Best Musical Award for the Connecticut Critics' Circle, WINGS, THE MUSICAL which was nominated for Best Direction by the Connecticut Critics Circle, IPHIGENIA AND OTHER DAUGHTERS and OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD at CRT. As a designer, his work includes scenery and costumes for Off-Broadway, television and over 70 productions at many of America's leading repertory theatres, including Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse In the Park, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Buffalo Studio Arena, Stage West, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, George Street Playhouse. His most recent design credits include ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, KING LEAR, and a new production of THE DEAD, at Salt Lake City's Pioneer Theatre Company, OF MICE AND MEN at the Barter Theatre, Tom Dudzick's OVER THE TAVERN at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, MY FAIR LADY at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, and the world premieres of Beth Henley's L-PLAY and GOOD COMPANY, a new musical by Sheldon Harnick, also at the Berkshire Theatre Festival.

The Design team includes: Rachel Levy, Scenic Designer; David Smith, Lighting Designer; Marti Simmons, Costume Designer, Ed Weingart, Sound Design; Joe Therrien, Puppet Designer; and Dassia Posner, Dramaturg.

THE CAST

The cast will feature equity actors Dudley Knight as Galileo, Bonnie Black as Mrs. Sarti, and Kurt Zischke as Cardinal Barberini/Pope Urban VIII.
Dudley Knight (Galileo) Previously at CRT: Sergei Bojovic (Pentecost). Professor Emeritus of Drama at the University of California, Irvine. Founding member of the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT; extensive stage career includes major roles in regional theatres such as American Conservatory Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe Theatre, Magic Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and many others, along with hundreds of roles in film, television, radio, and voice-over. Certified as master teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. A forty year career as voice, speech, text, and dialect teacher and voice/text director for professional theatre, including five years on the artistic staff of Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory; conducts workshops and lectures on voice and speech for actors and voice teachers nationwide; published articles in journals and in the books, The Vocal Vision and Standard Speech. 

Galileo

Bonnie Black (Mrs. Sarti) CRT: A Man for All Seasons (directed by Gary English) and Restoration Comedy (directed by Dale AJ Rose). Jorgensen: Nutmeg Summer Playhouse's Gypsy. Theatre: Off-Broadway, NY International Fringe Festival, HB Playwrights Foundation Theatre; resident company member of Adrian Hall's Trinity Square Repertory Company; company member of the Alley Theatre (notably Regina in the production and tour of Another Part of the Forest) and the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival (notably Kate Nickleby in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby); guest artist with regional and stock theatres throughout the country such as the Shakespeare Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, L.A. Theatre Works, and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. Recently: Nancy Gordon in Third at Riverside Theatre and Millie in Car Talk at Stageworks/Hudson. Television includes: Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, several soaps, recurring as Cathy Wilson on Loving, and films for PBS.

Kurt Zischke (Cardinal Barberini/Pope Urban VIII) Broadway, Off-Broadway and National Tours include Whistle Down the Wind, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, George Abbott's Broadway, Three Sisters, The Beaux' Stratagem, Antigone, Ulysses In NightTown, Doll's House, King Lear, & Barbara's Blue Kitchen. Regionally he has appeared in leading roles in over 70 productions, including Wrecks, Julius Caesar, The Ladies Man, 1776, The Underpants, My Fair Lady, Camelot, Emma, Sherlock Holmes & The West End Horror, Richard III, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Born Yesterday, & 12th Night at such theatres as The Contemporary American Theatre Festival, The Pioneer, Cincinnati Playhouse, The Dallas Theatre Center, The Huntington, The Pittsburgh Public, The Westport Country Playhouse, The O'Neill Theatre Center, Barrington Stage, Repertory Theatre Of St. Louis, West Virginia Public, Virginia Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, The Marin Theatre Company, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Delaware Theatre Company and the Utah, Alabama, & New Jersey Shakespeare Festivals. A graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse and Stanford University.

The cast will also feature graduate acting students Gretchen Goode as Virginia, Ryan Guess as Andrea and Brian Patrick Williams as Ludovico.

Gretchen Goode (Virgina) is a second year MFA acting candidate. CRT credits include The Exonerated as Sue/Sandra/Female Lawyer and Pericles as Dionyza. She recently played Stephanie in the graduate performance workshop production of Reasons To Be Pretty. Past credits include Paulina in The Winter's Tale, Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, the title role in Lysistrata, Lucy in Your A Good Man Charlie Brown, Marty in Grease, Helena in A Midsummers Night's Dream, Fiddler On The Roof, Hamlet, and A Minor's Christmas Carol. She also studied at the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA.

Ryan Guess (Andrea) is a 2nd year MFA Actor at UConn. He last appeared in CRT's productions of The Exonerated, Hair (The Principle, Tribe), Pericles (as Cleon) and in the Graduate Acting project, The Winter's Tale (Florizel). Ryan is a graduate of Western Michigan University's Theatre Performance program. 

Brian Patrick Williams (Ludovico) is a second year Graduate Actor at UConn. Past Credits include: Waterside Theatre - Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus), The Lost Colony (U/S - Historian/Raleigh); CRT - The Exonerated (Rhodes), Hair (Claude), Pericles (Helicanus); UConn - the Graduate Actor project, The Winter's Tale (Polixenes); STAGES Theatre - Out of Order (George Pidgen), Equus (U/S - Alan Strang, Nugget); and FCC - The Cider House Rules, Parts 1 & 2 (Wally Worthington).

The ensemble cast also includes MFA actors Brooks Brantly, Kevin Coubal, Caroline Gombe, Christina Greer, Phil Korth, Philip AJ Smithey, and Robbie Thompson, Jr; BFA actors Anastasia Brewczynski, Cayla Buettner, Jack Fellows, Jeremy Garfinkel, Zachary Kamin, James Marin, Alexandra Perlwitz, Zane Roberts, Daniel Seigerman, Bryan Swormstedt, James Turner, Laura Zabbo.

INFORMATION
Please call 860-486-4226 for tickets or for more information. Please call the box office or visit for specific show dates and times because performance schedules vary and are subject to change.

Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at

8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Matinee performances start at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $11- $29.

Photo by Gerry Goodstein.