CLICK HERE FOR IMAGES FROM BETROTHED

RIPE TIME PRESENTS
BETROTHED
A NEW WORK BASED ON STORIES BY
ANSKY, CHEKHOV, AND
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER JHUMPA LAHIRI
AT THE OHIO THEATRE
BEGINNING PERFORMANCES FRIDAY, MAY 4
AND OPENING THURSDAY, MAY 10

COMPANY PRESENTED ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF INNOCENTS
CALLED “PURE VISUAL ENTERTAINMENT” BY THE NEW YORK TIMES

Ripe Time has announced that it will present the world premiere of Betrothed, written and directed by Rachel Dickstein, based on S. Ansky's "The Dybbuk," Anton Chekhov's "Betrothed,” and Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar” (from the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller Interpreter of Maladies), beginning Friday, May 4, at 8pm at the Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street, between Spring and Broome Streets.  The opening night is Thursday, May 10 at 8pm .

A triptych of tales that cross time and cultures, Betrothed features ensemble story-telling, a live score by Vijay Iyer, and Ripe Time’s signature dynamic imagery. Inspired by Indian Kathak folk dance, Marc Chagall, and wedding ceremonies from South Asian and Western cultures, the play offers a unique look inside three women’s struggle between marriage and personal independence, to explore what is one of the most controversial ceremonies of our time.

The cast of Betrothed is Mahira Kakkar (Miss Witherspoon, The Cave Dwellers), Derek Lucci (An Enemy of the People, Shakespeare Theatre, David Gordon’s Aristophanes in Birdonia), Paula McGonagle (Lily Bart, Innocents) Laura Butler, Lula Graves, Daniel Irizarry, Ryan Justesan, Gita Reddy, and Alok Tewari.

The original score is composed by Vijay Iyer; set and properties design is by Susan Zeeman Rogers; costume design is by Oana Botez-Ban; lighting design is by Nicole Pearce; the production manager is Gary Levinson; the production stage manager is Joanna Jacobson.  Live music is performed by Greg Heffernan (cello and electronics) and Natacha Diels (flute and electronics).  Betrothed is produced by Catherine Ward.

Rachel Dickstein, called “a maverick illusionist” by The New York Times, devised and directed the world premiere of the critically acclaimed Innocents at the Ohio Theatre (based on Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth).  Other Ripe Time projects include The Secret of Steep Ravines at P.S. 122, The Holy Mother of Hadley New York by Barbara Wiechmann, and The Palace at 4 A.M. (based on Edgar Allan Poe and the work of photographer Sophie Calle) presented at HERE Arts Center .  Other productions include Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd’s In What Language? at the Asia Society and Redcat (LA), and Ellen McLaughlin’s version of The Trojan Women.  Rachel’s work has also been seen at New York Theatre Workshop, New Georges, the Clark Studio at Lincoln Center , NYSF/Joe’s Pub, Drama League Director’s Project, and Seattle ’s Annex Theatre.  She has served as a resident director at New Dramatists and served for three years as assistant director to dance-theatre luminary Martha Clarke nationally and internationally.  She has received grants and commissions from NYSCA, the Rockefeller MAP Fund, P.S. 122, NEA/TCG, the Drama League and Yale University where she received her B.A.

Jhumpa Lahiri is the author of Interpreter of Maladies for which she received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and The Namesake, which was released locally in March 2007 as a critically acclaimed feature film directed by Mira Nair.  Ms. Lahiri was born in 1967 in London and was raised in Rhode Island .  She received a B.A. in English literature from Barnard College and an M.A. in English, an M.A. in Creative Writing, an M.A. in Comparative Studies in Literature and the Arts, and a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies from Boston University .  “The Treatment of Bibi Haldar” is one of this acclaimed author’s earliest works, written at age 20.

Anton Chekhov has come to be considered the greatest Russian storyteller and dramatist of modern times.   The author of such classics as The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, and The Seagull, he continued writing short stories throughout his life and Betrothed is the last story the prolific dramatist ever penned. Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport, better known by the pseudonym S. Ansky, was a scholar who documented Jewish folklore and mystical beliefs.  The Dybbuk, which was first staged in 1920 is a rarely revived classic in the canon of Yiddish drama that offers a portrait of a Jewish community wrestling with passion, faith, and ideology.

Vijay Iyer was called one of the "new stars of jazz" by U.S. News & World Report, and one of "today's most important pianists" by The New Yorker. He was awarded a prestigious Meet the Composer commission for his work on Betrothed. His collaboration with poet-hip hop artist Mike Ladd Still Life with Commentator recently premiered at BAM’s 2006 Next Wave Festival. He received the 2003 Alpert Award in the Arts and in June 2004 was named Up & Coming Musician of the Year in the Eighth Annual Jazz Awards.  Iyer signed a multi-album deal with Savoy Jazz, who released his quartet album “Reimagining” in 2005.  Other recordings include “Blood Sutra” (Artists House), featuring his quartet, and “In What Language?” (Pi) a multi-media work originally staged at the Asia Society and directed by Rachel Dickstein. Entirely self taught as a pianist and composer, Iyer draws from African, Asian, and European musical lineages to create fresh, original music in the American creative tradition.

Ripe Time was founded in 2000 to present new performance works built on rich language, visual invention, and physical rigor.  Acclaimed by The New York Times for its “stunning images” and “mesmerizing” ensemble acting, the company stages stories that offer potent allegories for our
time, exploring such polarizing forces in our culture as money, power, and ambition and the impact these forces have on women’s lives. These works range from collaboratively created theatre pieces, to new adaptations of novels and stories, to dynamic stagings of classic plays. New works are developed though a multi-year, ensemble-based approach to project development, with extended rehearsal periods and production level workshops leading to full production.

Betrothed plays Tuesday through Friday at 8pm , Saturday at 7 and 10pm , and Sunday at 7pm , through Saturday, May 26, at the Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street , between Spring and Broome Streets.  There is a special preview performance time on Saturday, May 5 at 8 pm .  Tickets are $25 and available at www.smarttix.com or by phoning 212 868 4444. For more information about Betrothed and Ripe Time visit www.ripetime.org.