Center for Theatre Arts' season kicks off on Sept. 14 with a 'View'

Cornell's Center for Theatre Arts kicks off its 2000-01 season with the Arthur Miller classic "A View From the Bridge." Set in 1950s New York, the play is a riveting portrait of a man's destructive, consuming passion, hidden behind the façade of a normal, lace-curtained household.

The play opens Sept. 14 at 8 p.m., with evening performances Sept. 15-16 and 21-23 and a matinee Sept. 23 at
2 p.m. A discussion for the audience and members of the cast and production team is scheduled to follow the Sept. 21 performance. Tickets are $7 for students and seniors and $9 for the public.

"A View From the Bridge" features the talents of guest artists Bob Hall, who directs, scenic designer Erhard Rom and fight director Steve Vaughan.

Hall has taught and directed at universities and professional theaters nationally and is a playwright. He directed CTA's "The Night of the Iguana" last season. Rom is an assistant professor of scenic design at Ithaca College. He has designed extensively for opera, including the Boston Lyric and Virginia operas, and for regional theaters, such as Syracuse Stage and Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Lending authenticity to the dramatic physical demands of the play, Vaughan has choreographed and staged fight scenes in New York and regional theaters as well as for television programs, such as "One Life to Live" and "America's Most Wanted."

Other guest artists lending their talents to the 2000-01 theater season are two Cornell alumni, Will Pomerantz '84 and Beth Milles '88, and actor Roshan Seth.

Pomerantz will direct the winter production of "The Taming of the Shrew," and Milles will direct the January production of "Vital Signs."

Seth will play Antonio Salieri in the April-May production of Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus." Seth rose to international prominence with his realistic portrayal of Nehru in Richard Attenborough's film "Gandhi," and he had key roles in the films "Not Without My Daughter" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

The cast of "A View From the Bridge" features returning Resident Professional Teaching Associate Tim True as Eddie Carbone, undergraduate Melissa Mortazavi '01 as his niece, Catherine, and Michael Benn '02 as her charming love interest, Rodolpho.

Resident Professional Teaching Associates

Resident Professional Teaching Associates come to Cornell for a yearlong residency. In addition to acting alongside Cornell students, the RPTAs teach undergraduate acting classes and workshops. This year three RPTAs join two returning professional actors on the CTA stage.

In addition to True, who last season had hilarious roles in "It Runs in the Family" and "Much Ado About Nothing" and a more serious character in "The Three Sisters," William Richert returns for a second year. Last season he appeared in "The Night of the Iguana," "The Prime of Miss Jean Brody" and "Much Ado About Nothing."

New RPTA Tracey Huffman will be on the CTA stage in "A View From the Bridge" in the role of Eddie's wife, Beatrice. Huffman has appeared in many roles at the American Conservatory Theater, as well as at many regional theaters, such as The Western Stage and California Theatre Center. She played Isabella in the off-off-Broadway production of "Measure for Measure" and has acted in two films, "Gremlins 2" and "Forever Evil."

After studying at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Brian Russell has acted in New York and regional theater, as well as in the national tour of "Laughter on the 23rd Floor." Russell has appeared in commercials for the U.S. Post Office and U.S. Golf Association and in films and on television, including on "As the World Turns."

Marc Moritz originated the role of the Talk Show Host in the Broadway production of the Sondheim/Prince musical "Merrily We Roll Along." Moritz has worked throughout the country in regional and stock theater, has appeared in numerous commercials and had a key role in the ABC movie "Dead and Alive." An experienced improvisational actor, he teaches Improv for Actors at the Second City Training Center in New York City.

These five actors will display their talents at the annual RPTA Showcase Sunday, Sept. 3, at 2 p.m. in the CTA Flexible Theatre. The performance is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.

Also on this fall's calendar are a dance performance, Paul Taylor Dance -- Taylor Two, Sept. 28; the Black Box Series production of Jean Genet's "The Maids," Sept. 29-Oct. 1; Shirley Lauro's "A Piece of My Heart," Oct. 18-29; "The Knave of Hearts," written and directed by Alan Rosenberg, Nov. 10-12; Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," Nov. 16-18 and Nov. 30-Dec. 2; and the Fall Dance Theatre, Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

A complete schedule of performances offered by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance is on the web at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/theatrearts/next.html.

For tickets and information, call or visit the CTA box office, 430 College Ave., weekdays, 12:30-5:30 p.m.; 254-ARTS.