Shadowland Theatre: Judd Hirsch in Art, by Yasmina Rez
by Jay Blotcher

Remember the Royal Theater — the large, crumbling Texas movie house in Peter Bogdonavich’s classic film The Last Picture Show? As a symbol for sorrowful, inevitable endings and the erosion of a way of life, that building was a humdinger. Likewise, if you’re discussing optimistic new beginnings, you’d be hard–pressed to find a more apt symbol than Shadowland Theatre. A 1920 Art Deco cinema and vaudeville house that has been restored to a breathtaking sleekness, it radiates a stubborn pride in the still–struggling town of Ellenville.

Brendan Burke, stalwart paterfamilias and anxious mother hen of Shadowland, admits that it’s tough to keep dreams alive on a modest budget — especially in an era when people are more likely to choose Xboxes, iPods or Blu–Rays as their preferred entertainment.

But as a longtime actor and director, he remains a stubborn, wistful keeper of the faith. For the fourth season, Burke will lure acolytes to his temple with a shrewd combination of genial shows for the senior citizens over the border in Sullivan County and tougher material for younger people who usually attend Manhattan dramas, hoping to be unmoored.

There are numerous ways to measure the success of his enterprise, the candid Burke admits. One could point crassly at the bottom line: The Shadowland budget has bloomed from $250,000 to $315,000 since he arrived. But Burke knows that success is a relative term when one speaks of “the reality of producing on a small budget in a small rural town,” he said.

Burke assays the dual roles of managing director and artistic director for Shadowland, a challenge by any reckoning. “Half my time is spent making sure things are done well and affordably,” while “also trying to expand the artistic end,” he said. The parent of a newborn daughter, the multifaceted Burke can now add “sleep–deprived” to his talents.

Creating theatre for locals who subsist on the often empty calories of community theater, and others who enjoy the eclectic offerings of the colleges in this area, Brendan Burke adroitly builds each Shadowland season from a mixture of highbrow and middlebrow shows.

“The formula creates itself,” he said. “I do not try to fix it much.”

Not that Burke plays it safely, simply doling out overcooked theatrical chestnuts. He brought the Arthur Miller drama All My Sons to Ellenville in 2005, starring Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss. More than a half–century old, the World War II story about idealism at war with profit offered a stinging parable for our current era of Halliburton in Iraq. In 2007, Burke mounted the Pulitzer Prize–winning Paula Vogel drama How I Learned to Drive, a curiously tender coming–of–age tale which involves incest.

“They are really willing to be stretched,” Burke said, describing the resilience of Shadowland theatergoers. For the Vogel show, a post–show discussion allowed people to grapple with the thorny issues. “They felt uncomfortable,” he said, “but no one was offended.”

For those whose notions of reality intersect neatly with television, the appearance of Judd Hirsch in Art at the start of the season will certainly fill seats with fans of the prime–time TV comedy Taxi. (Only diehards will recall that Hirsch was a strong stage performer, his credits include Lanford Wilson’s Talley’s Folly and Herb Gardner’s I’m Not Rappaport.) Whether Hirsch serves up an Alex Rieger redux in the biting comedy–drama, is anybody’s guess. The situation could certainly accommodate the romantic–cynical Alex.

This 1998 Tony winner for Best Play for by Yasmina Reza concerns three good friends, Serge, Marc and Yvan, who share good times, career aspirations and headaches over women. But when Serge buys a high–ticket modernist painting, the purchase sets off dormant conflicts between the friends. Issues of wealth, taste and friendship are suddenly in the foreground. Art, translated from the original French by Christopher Hampton, offers a sobering reminder of how unconsciously but intensely we allow culture to define us as people.

The season continues with a timely drama. At a time in America when the right to presidential wiretapping is automatically renewed by oddly pliant senators and congressmen, and dissenters can face public censure, the World War I drama Sedition offers quease–making parallels. Written by David Wiltse, Sedition is based on a true story about a well–respected professor in a Nebraska college town who heeds his conscience and speaks against the war in Europe, and comes up against people who challenge his patriotism. (Sedition is a co–production with Playwrights’ Theatre of New Jersey.)

Leavening the line–up with humor, Burke describes Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer as “the crowd–pleaser on the list.” Certainly, it’s a spirited farce about a group of people running amok and in confusion during a blackout. But this show, despite being a high school drama club favorite, is no lightweight; a few shades less coruscating than the work of Joe Orton, the Shaffer show nonetheless disperses its share of barbs. Burke calls it “the hardest piece on the docket,” adding that “if it’s done right, it’s very graceful ballet.”

Mounting a musical on the limited Shadowland budget means flirting with a fiscal headache. But with the show Glorious!, Burke seems to have reached a happy compromise. Before the “pitchy” performers of “American Idol” there was Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944), an eccentric socialite who became famous for her notable lack of talent. The woman simply could not carry a note, but that did not stop her from booking major halls in an admirable spasm of self–confidence. On the strength of her own pocketbook, Jenkins finally strafed Carnegie Hall with her caterwauling. This British play by Peter Quilter takes far more liberties with the subject matter than the recent Broadway show Souvenir which also immortalized Mrs. Jenkins. Burke, who will direct this production, calls the show “a screwball comedy like Arsenic and Old Lace,” and can’t wait to tackle its mechanics.

Hurricane Katrina may have devastated Louisiana and Mississippi, but the shameful response by the Bush government only deepened the tragedy. The wounds will be laid bare again by the drama Rising Water by John Biguenet. This merciless new play (and 2008 Pulitzer nominee) concerns an elderly couple who have barely survived the deluge and have sought refuge in their attic. While waiting for help, they review the toxic details of their lives together.

Burke learned of this powerful work by colleagues at Playwrights Theatre in New Jersey. Hobbled by a modest budget, the company offsets their fiscal limitations by seeking out bold, new voices and shepherding them into productions. “They take a lot of risks,” Burke said, “probably a lot more risks than I would be willing to take.” Or perhaps not; after Playwrights produced a reading of the Biguenet drama, Burke offered to mount the show in Ellenville. In that way, the spruced up theatre on Canal Street demonstrates a courage that surpasses its small–town roots.

“As your ambitions grow, you try to raise the quality of work you are doing and the quality of people you are working with.”

In addition to the summer season, Burke offers internships to area students and began child acting classes last fall. He wants to stage readings of works by local playwrights.

“We’ve always been trying to find our own voice,” he said of Shadowland, “and I think we’ve made great headway there.”

Shadowland Theatre’s 2008 season begins May 30. Tickets are $24 and $26 apiece, but discounted season tickets are available. The “Pay What You Can” offers tickets to those with financial hardships to set their own fee for a ticket. Call the box office at (845) 647-5511 or order tickets online at www.shadowlandtheatre.org.

May 30 – June 15 | Art, by Yasmina Reza, starring Emmy and Tony Award–winning actor Judd Hirsch

June 20 – July 13 | Sedition, by David Wiltse

July 18 – August 10 | Black Comedy, by Peter Shaffer

August 15 – September 7 | Glorious! The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the Worst Singer in the World, by Peter Quilter

September 12 – September 28 | Rising Water, by John Biguenet