Acclaimed biographical play about Peggy Guggenheim directed by Austin Pendleton makes Rochester debut.
September 13 - 15 at School of the Arts
“Remarkable... piercingly authentic.” – The New York Times
“Brims with attitude: bolshie and boho, grand and girlie.” – The London Times
★★★★★ “Judy Rosenblatt is a delight to watch... it’s a tour de force and a fascinating, enlightening piece – not just on the life of Guggenheim but on experience, art, love and tragedy.” -- Stage Talk, UK
"Judy Rosenblatt is a forceful presence as Guggenheim, an Auntie Mame-like ‘extraordinary character’: brash, single-minded and uninhibited.” -- The Stage, UK
After acclaimed productions in New York and London, Tony-nominated actor and director Austin Pendleton’s revival of WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS comes to Rochester. This biographical play by Lanie Robertson stars Judy Rosenblatt as famed art collector Peggy Guggenheim. WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS will be performed at School of the Arts’ Ensemble Theatre (45 Prince Street) as part of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival. Performances are Thursday, September 13 at 7:30pm; Friday, September 14 at 5:30pm; and Saturday, September 15 at 12:30pm. Tickets are $20 each, available at 585-957-9837 or www.RochesterFringe.com.
Rebelling against her wealthy New York upbringing, indulging her uncanny eye for great art and artists, and becoming the enfant terrible of the modern art scene, Peggy Guggenheim lived a life almost too amazing to be believed. With humor, heartbreak and grand hauteur, WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS offers the unforgettable story of the woman who discovered, encouraged and subsidized many of the greatest Expressionist and Surrealist painters of the first half of the 20th century, and was responsible for smuggling her enormous collection out of Europe and out of the hands of the Nazis. It is the story of a woman before her time.
Judy Rosenblatt’s film and TV credits include The Cobbler (Tom McCarthy, Dir.) with Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Buschemi and Ellen Barkin,); Taxi Brooklyn (web series); and The Sopranos (TV series). Her New York acting credits include The American Clock and Summerfolk (both directed by Austin Pendleton); The Dancers, Perfect Analysis Given by a Parrot, and The Last Hippie with the HB Theatre Ensemble; Peggy Guggenheim Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors at Florence Gould Hall; The Biscuit Club at the cell theater; Moses, The Author at FringeNYC; and Black Sun at LaMaMa. She also served as understudy for Roberta Maxwell and Marcia Rodd in Hellman V. McCarthy with Dick Cavett at Abingdon Theatre. Judy is a member of the HB Theatre Ensemble and The Players Club. Judy trained at Cornell University and The Central School of Speech & Dramatic Art in London and with Joseph Balfior, Sanford Meisner, William Esper, Uta Hagen and Austin Pendelton. Judy is a proud member of The Players Club, The Alliance for Jewish Theatre and The League of Professional Theatre Women, AEA and SAG/AFTRA.
Austin Pendleton starred on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof, Grand Hotel, Doubles, The Diary of Anne Frank, and the upcoming Choir Boy, and Off-Broadway in Oh Dad, Poor Dad…, The Exonerated, Educating Rita, and Straight White Men. His extensive film & TV credits include What’s Up Doc?, Finding Nemo, "Oz," My Cousin Vinny, "Billions," and A Beautiful Mind. As a director, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Director in 1981 for The Little Foxes starring Elizabeth Taylor. In 2011 he won an Obie for his production of The Three Sisters at Classic Stage Company. And in 2015 he was nominated for Drama Desk and Lortel awards for his direction of Between Riverside and Crazy at Atlantic Theatre Company and Second Stage.
Lanie Robertson’s plays include Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Alfred Stieglitz Loves O'Keeffe, Cannibal's Waltz, Last Gas Till Turnpike, Nasty Little Secrets and The Insanity of Mary Girard. His work has been produced in the US at venues including Abingdon Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Alley Theatre, Arena Stage, Baltimore Centre Stage, Coconut Grove, Crossroads Theatre, George Street Playhouse, PBS American Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, Trinity Rep. Co., the Vineyard Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre and the Wilma Theater, among others. Abroad, his works have been produced in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the U. K. He has been the recipient of an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Kliban Award and a Berrilla Kerr Award. Mr. Robertson is a member of The Dramatists Guild and The Writers Guild of America, East.
Since its debut in 2012, the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival has become one of the most successful fringe festivals in the U.S., attracting more than 78,000 attendees in 2017. Now an 11-day event, this multi-arts festival boasts over 500 performances and events – more than a quarter of which are free – in 25+ venues in downtown Rochester, NY. Celebrating and inspiring creativity, the Fringe – which is partially curated by the non-profit festival and partially by festival venues – includes everything from theatre, music, comedy and dance, to children’s entertainment, spoken word, visual arts, film, and much more. Please visit rochesterfringe.com for a complete schedule, tickets, and more information.