''Valparaiso'' is
Don DeLillo
Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, perf ...
's second play, in which a man suddenly becomes famous following a mistake in the itinerary of an ordinary business trip which takes him to
Valparaíso, Chile, instead of
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census.
History
The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...
.
The 1999 play, which incorporates live performance with video projection, looks at how the media has affected modern mankind. The central character, Michael Majeski, tries desperately to establish his own identity by throwing himself under the spotlight of celebrity. The piece is composed entirely of interviews, for a range of different media, and culminates in the protagonist committing assisted suicide with a microphone lead on a TV talk show.
''Valparaiso'' received its premiere at the
American Repertory Theater
The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...
in 1999 under the direction of
David Wheeler. Since then it has seen numerous revivals, including a production by
Steppenwolf Theatre in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and a French-language version in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. In 2002, the Rude Mechanicals of New York staged the
New York premiere, referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "a revelatory new production", directed by Hal Brooks. In 2003, it received its college premiere at
Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France.
Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Uni ...
under the auspices of the Ghlei company.
In 2005, DeLillo granted the UK premiere rights of the play to 24-year-old
film school
A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training ar ...
graduate Jack McNamara, whose production premiered at the
Old Red Lion Theatre
The Old Red Lion is a pub and fringe theatre, at Angel, in the London Borough of Islington.
The theatre was founded in 1979 as the Old Red Lion Theatre Club. The pub was Grade II listed in 1994 by Historic England.
History
Construction
The p ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on April 25, 2006. The production was produced by Weaver Hughes Ensemble. US productions in 2007 were: The Garage Theatre in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
, directed by Jeff Kriese;
The Hideout Theatre in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, directed by Jeremy O. Torres. US productions in 2008 include HB Studio, an HB Ensemble production, in New York City, directed by Rasa Allan Kazlas.
External links
Reviews
''The New York Times''''The Daily Telegraph''''The London Review''The Stage
Performances
{{Don DeLillo
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso
1999 plays