An HB Ensemble Production
Playwright: Nagle Jackson
Director: Karen Ludwig
Cast: George Bartenieff, Georgina Bates, Felipe Bonilla, Fabio Costaprado, Beth Dzuricky, Lisa Ingrisano, Amanda Plant, Carol Rosenfeld, Sean St. John, Tom Tagliente
The Quick-Change Room was performed July 13th-29th
Synopsis: Set against the crumbling of the Soviet Union, as observed backstage at the Kuzlov Theater in St. Petersburg, THE QUICK- CHANGE ROOM is the comedic metaphor for the too-rapid transformation of Russia from communism to free-market capitalism. Nina, the daughter of the wardrobe mistress, has been cast as Irina in a revival of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters. Using her considerable talents—theatrical and otherwise—she persuades management that what Chekhov’s play needs in the New Russia is “music…some songs…maybe even some dances.” Chekhov’s masterpiece becomes, for marketing purposes, an American style musical titled O My Sister! The venerable artistic director is kicked upstairs—after all, “Russia doesn’t need great men now; it needs clever men”—and the long-reigning prima donna ends up working in wardrobe. A funny-sad commentary on current events, the metaphor of the quick-change room is not lost on the audience as the world around the acting troupe changes as drastically and as quickly as the world outside.