Gary and the Booth One crew are pleased to welcome award-winning artistic director of Court Theatre, Mr. Charles Newell to the program. Court is the resident professional theater company of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. Charlie has been AD at Court since 1994. Under his leadership, Court has, in the words of playwright Tony Kushner, "developed a spectacular reputation as one of the most important theaters in the country." Charlie's directing credits span a spectrum from classic Shakespeare to world premiere dramas and comedies, from musicals to opera. He is the recipient of four Joseph Jefferson Awards for directing, and has been honored by TCG and the League of Chicago Theatres for artistic achievement. Charlie is one of the finest theatrical artists working in America today and refers to himself as "the luckiest man in show business."
Newell grew up in the Washington, DC area and first fell in love with theater when he saw an Arena Stage production of Death of a Salesman as a young boy. He studied at Wesleyan University, then honed his craft through a series of professional apprenticeships with some of the country's most outstanding theater artists, including Garland Wright at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
Charlie's most recent work is a production of Tom Stoppard's The Hard Problem. The title comes from philosopher David Chalmers' term to describe scientific efforts to understand consciousness. We discuss this play in depth as well as Newell's close relationship with Mr. Stoppard. Charlie and Tom have consulted personally on a number of other Stoppard productions Charlie has directed. For this one, they had almost daily conversations about the play during rehearsals. In his early career as a stage manager, Gary had the great privilege to work on the Broadway and National touring productions of Stoppard's The Real Thing. He and Charlie trade stories about working with Stoppard and what a true man of the theater he really is.
Much like Stoppard's other works, The Hard Problem is a tricky play to fully comprehend on a single viewing. Charlie talks about the way Stoppard's focus is centered on the emotional connections between the characters rather than the intellectual ideas. "If one can find the heart of it, the rest will fall into place." We think you will find the discussion illuminating and fascinating.
Court Theatre takes full advantage of being part of the University of Chicago. In 2010, with the support of some very generous members of the Board of Trustees, Court created The Center for Classic Theatre. "A new way of approaching what it means for a professional theatre to be in residence at a major university. It is an approach to producing that fully accesses the amazing intellectual resources that surround the theatre. This vision influences how Court Theatre builds seasons and serves its audience and community." The results have been exciting. For instance, this season Court produced the widely acclaimed world premiere of
