By Kathryn Fenstermacher | Echo
Power. Love. Betrayal. Death. These timeless themes are a staple of art, but rarely grace the pulpit. However, art and spirituality will collide in epic proportions next weekend in First Presbyterian Theater's production of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra."
First Presbyterian Theater (FPT) is part of First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fort Wayne. The longest continuously-functioning church in the city, it houses an arts center which includes a 300-seat theater. The theater will celebrate its 45th anniversary this Christmas. Over the years, it has featured more than 200 productions, ranging from Broadway classics to postmodern satire.
"To have great theater, you have to start with great literature," said managing artistic director Thom Hoffrichter. "My philosophy is that we should be doing shows that somehow impact the spirit." The works chosen to perform each season generally fall into three categories: they show how human beings interact, they show how humans reach out to God or a god-figure or they celebrate the gift of life.
FPT's upcoming production of "Antony and Cleopatra," the final production of their 2012-13 season, embodies all three. "Anytime I embark on directing a Shakespeare, I'm amazed at what I learn about what it means to be human," Hoffrichter said. "He understood how people behave and provided incredible poetry to express it."
The premise of the play is a tragic love story between historic figures Egyptian queen Cleopatra and Roman general Mark Antony. Like Shakespeare's famous tragedy "Romeo and Juliet," "Antony and Cleopatra" is driven by the white-hot passion between two lovers.
Hoffrichter said the story rings true with audiences because consuming love, while it can lead to obsessive and irrational behavior, is a basic human desire.
"Everybody wants that kind of love," he said.
"Antony and Cleopatra" poses a particular challenge to the audience because the poetic language is difficult to understand. The cast spent 40-50 hours talking about the text before they even began rehearsals. However, Hoffrichter expects the emotion to transcend the text.
"One of the things I feel good about is . . . a lot of people walk out going, 'That was clear, I knew exactly what was going on,'" Hoffrichter said. "If you can forgive yourself and don't expect to understand every word, you can appreciate the music of the text."
The theater presents approximately seven shows each season and features both amateur and experienced performers from the surrounding community. Participants need not be church members.
"We aren't really in that evangelical church (wing) in terms of trying to entice people to the church," Hoffrichter said. About 85 percent of the participants in each FPT production are not members of the church.
While the theater has a large pool of community performers to draw from, they are always looking for fresh talent, especially among student participants.
FPT also encourages student audience members by establishing a discount program called "Tomorrow's Audiences Today." They set aside 30 tickets to each performance that full-time students can reserve free of charge.
The idea behind this program was to encourage students to attend and engage with the content being presented in the play.
"They're great shows for students," Hoffrichter said. "We wrestle with some pretty interesting literature." FPT also hosts $10 Thursdays when, the Thursday before opening night, audiences of all ages can preview the show for $10.
"Antony and Cleopatra" opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25. Showings continue at 7:30 p.m. April 26 and 27, May 3, 4, 10 and 11 and at 2:00 p.m. on May 5. To reserve tickets, call 260-422-6329 or email fptboxoffice@firstpres-fw.org. General admission is $20-$24. Student reservations are free.
For complete pricing or to purchase tickets online, visit firstpres-fw.org.
