Harry Clarke
BY DAVID CALE
THE VINEYARD THEATRE PRODUCTION
DIRECTED BY LEIGH SILVERMAN
WEST COAST PREMIERE
RODA THEATRE
NOV 15–DEC 23, 2023
THE SHOW TO SEE THIS SEASON. Crudup creates an entire world of fascinating, flawed people, and at the center of it all is a man whose life is, in a way, theater....
CALE HAS CREATED AN IMPROBABLE BUT HIGHLY ENTERTAINING PLAY with sharp twists and turns peppered with hearty laughs even though it’s not a comedy.
The momentum that Crudup, Cale and Silverman create is SO PROPULSIVE, SO CAPTIVATING THAT THE END COMES FAR TOO QUICKLY.
A CHIEF JOY OF THE SHOW IS TO WATCH THE EMMY- AND TONY AWARD-WINNING [BILLY] CRUDUP divide himself as if by mitosis, slipping between one illusion and another all while barely moving.... He creates a soul at war with itself, each half astonished by its foe.
Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Crudup (Coast of Utopia, No Man’s Land, The Morning Show, Almost Famous) returns to Berkeley Rep in a tour-de-force solo performance helmed by Obie Award-winning director Leigh Silverman (Suffs, Violet, Soft Power, In the Wake). This wickedly funny thriller by Obie Award-winning writer David Cale features the exploits of Philip, an awkward Midwestern man leading an outrageous double life as the cocky Londoner Harry Clarke. He moves to New York City and, posing as the seductive Harry, charms his way into a wealthy family. Soon his impetuous and dangerous behavior threatens to unravel more than his persona. Reprising his acclaimed performance, Crudup has “the time of his life in a sly role terrifically suited to his gifts,” says The New York Times.
Production information
Runtime: One hour and 20 minutes; no intermission
Stage effects advisory: None
Content advisory: Course language; mentions of sexual acts, violence, and drug use
Cast
Philip Brugglestein/Harry Clarke | Billy Crudup*
Creative Team
Scenic Design | Alexander Dodge
Costume Design | Kaye Voyce
Lighting Design | Alan C. Edwards
Sound Design | Bart Fasbender
Original Songs | David Cale
Vocal Coach | Deborah Lapidus
Dialect Coaches | Deborah Hecht, Jessica Berman
Stage Manager | Cynthia Cahill*
Assistant Stage Manager | Emily Betts
* Indicates a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional stage actors and stage managers in the United States
Photo by Kevin Berne/Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Emmy and Tony Award winner Billy Crudup stars in David Cale’s Harry Clarke at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.