Photo by Lee Wexler with David Little as Galileo, Marnye Young as Suor Maria Celeste, and Elisa Matula as Suor Arcangela
***FINAL WEEK: SOLD OUT!***
Reviewers and audiences have been calling Elisa Matula’s performance as Suor Arcangela (Livia):
“admirable,” “stunning,” “incandescent,” “ethereal!”
Offoffonline Review
“Must-See Theater” New Theater Review
NY Times Photo, NYTimes
“Stunning performance by Arc Angela! When she tells Galileo the horrors of the future of science, the point … was to show the effect of this knowledge on Galileo’s 17th century mind. There was much humor and irony. The play is ahistoric. It’s a fiction…Watch this complex, ironic and brilliant play!” -Billy Rhodes, Village Voice Reader Review
“Elisa Matula is ethereal. She gives one of the best performances I’ve seen in my lifetime. The entire cast is exemplary.”-NYTimes Reader Review
“This isn’t at all a “historical” play. It’s fresh, energized yet there are many layers. It brings up serious issues for which there are no ready answers. …This play has been haunting me for a week.”- NYTimes Reader Review
“Once [Suor Arcangela] the possessed daughter gives her first speech, the play takes off….Theater doesn’t get any better than this.”-NY Times Reader Review
“Elisa Matula does an admirable performance as Livia, Suor Arcangela, the insane daughter suffering from demons and visions of torment…Her terrifying vision of the invention of a bomb especially resonates, making the point that Galileo’s theories could be the beginning of a path to evil….A seamless ensemble with a team of very committed actors….A well-acted drama on all counts.”- Maura Kelley offoffonline
STARRY MESSENGER
a play by Ira Hauptman
Directed by Susan Einhorn
January 27-February 13th
Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm
*added performance Sun Jan 30 8pm
Theater for the New City
155 First Ave (at 10th St) New York, NY
Tickets $15/$12 Students & Seniors
STARRY MESSENGER is a new take on Galileo and his family. It’s about science, faith, demons, madness and self-sacrifice—the drama behind his famous recantation of his belief that the earth moves. It’s about his two daughters, who were nuns, and his son, a lawyer, who were all caught in the confusion of shifting definitions of truth. The play traces the effects of Galileo’s ordeals on his family, and his family’s role in his decision to renounce his discoveries.
The pursuit of scientific truth in the face of opposition from entrenched social and political forces could not be a more timely subject. It is with us today in our conflicts over evolution and global warming.
Photo by Lee Wexler with David Little, Marnye Young, and Elisa Matula
_______PREVIOUS SHOWS FROM THE END OF 2010:______
DECEMBER 2010:
LITTLE WING
written by Seth Powers
at the Kraine Theater
NOVEMBER AND OCTOBER 2010:
MEMORIAL DAY
written, produced, and performed by
veteran soldier and acclaimed actor
Brian Delate
Accompanied by the voices of
Elisa Matula
at the Actors Studio in Los Angeles, California
and at INTERSECTIONS in New York City as part of the Veteran-Civilian dialogues
This timely piece presents an intimate look into the ancient and present day experiences that soldiers face when they return from war.
More performances to follow in 2011.
OCTOBER 2010:
CURRENTLY IN POST-PRODUCTION:
To be released in early 2011.
SEPTEMBER 2010:
Elisa participated in a 3-day development workshop at BAM incorporating marionettes, stilts, choreographic dance, and physical theater for:
69degrees SOUTH
Conceived and produced by
The Phantomb Limb Theatre Company
Directed by Gia Forakis
AUGUST 2010:
Inside, Not Looking Out
Directed by Debora Balardini
Not My Problem
Directed by Hiram Pines
Two experimental dance pieces performed as part of the New York Fringe Festival’s Al Fresco series en plein air.
SPRING 2010:
FX PROMO SHOOT for RESCUE ME with Dennis Leary
