\t\t\t\t\t\t\t [aesop_video show_subtitles=”off” nocookies=”off” force_fullwidth=”off” mute=”off” viewend=”off” viewstart=”off” controls=”on” autoplay=”off” loop=”on” disable_for_mobile=”on” id=”59940289″ hosted=”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1977\/01\/03\/archives\/david-rudkins-ashes-moves-to-the-public-theater-jan-25.html” src=”self” align=”center” width=”100%”]\n[aesop_gallery pslightbox=”on” transition=”crossfade” width=”70%” galleryType=”thumbnail” id=”689″]\n
The entire experience of the 1976 NYC production of ASHES written by David Rudkin was \u2018seminal\u2019 not only for the gifted artists involved but it also it turned out to be the case for many members of our audiences. <\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll begin at the beginning of one my life changing moments in ASHES. The production originated as a \u2018work shop\u2019 in a small venue on the upper east side in a fairly new minted theater venture called MTC. The Manhattan Theater Club. My co-star was my friend and colleague Brian Murray. The young artistic director Lynne Meadow was at the helm directing and if I am correct ASHES may have been her directorial debut. Well she was nothing if not courageous. The play was huge and had some extremely important things to say\u2026 It had had a very successful run in London and it was described as \u2018a monster\u2019 undertaking. I think John Lee Beatty our designer may back me on that. In fact without John Lee whose set provided the production with \u2026 Ah but no wait. That will be my next \u2018seminal moment\u2019 next week.<\/p>\n Anyway, ASHES on a very limited run, (and budget) was finally up on its feet, getting a tremendous response and also getting ready to close. On a Sunday morning before a matinee my phone rang. \u201cHello?\u201d<\/i>\u2026\u201cIs this Roberta?\u201d<\/i> \u2026 \u201cUh huh\u201d<\/i> I said \u2026 \u201cThis is Joe, Joe Papp calling<\/i> \u2026 (pause)\u2026 and I\u2019ve decided to move ASHES down to The Public Theater.\u201d<\/i> (Big, big pause.)<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are you going to do that Mr. Papp?\u201d<\/i> I asked. And Joe Papp said, \u201cBecause good work should be seen. Good work should be rewarded.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Well we all knew he could be a man of few words but these words, these words really, really counted \u2026To be continued.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [aesop_video show_subtitles=”off” nocookies=”off” force_fullwidth=”off” mute=”off” viewend=”off” viewstart=”off” controls=”on” autoplay=”off” loop=”on” disable_for_mobile=”on” id=”59940289″ hosted=”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1977\/01\/03\/archives\/david-rudkins-ashes-moves-to-the-public-theater-jan-25.html” src=”self” align=”center” width=”100%”] [aesop_gallery pslightbox=”on” transition=”crossfade” width=”70%” galleryType=”thumbnail” id=”689″] The entire experience of the 1976 NYC production of ASHES written by David Rudkin was \u2018seminal\u2019 not only for the gifted artists involved but it also it turned out to be the case […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":264,"featured_media":956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-8"],"metadata":{"_edit_last":["264"],"_wpac_members_redirect_to":[""],"_wpac_show_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_show_excerpt_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_nonmembers_redirect_to":[""],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"_edit_lock":["1639354528:264"],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"_wp_old_date":["2021-10-18"],"_thumbnail_id":["956"]},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n