Kushner and cabaret help celebrate CTA Brecht-Fest

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bertolt Brecht, one of the most innovative and influential playwrights and theatrical directors of the 20th century. In early February his artistry is being celebrated on campus in a talk by Pulitzer Prize--winning playwright Tony Kushner and a play titled "The Brecht Project."

A German dramatist, director and poet, Brecht developed the epic theater dramatic technique. His most well-known plays are, "The Threepenny Opera," "Galileo" and "Mother Courage and Her Children."

Kushner, the author of "Angels in America," will speak on Brecht on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Center for Theatre Arts Proscenium Theatre. The talk is free, but tickets are required.

"The Brecht Project," which debuted Feb. 3 in the Center for Theatre Arts, shows how Brecht's work is still meaningful today, said Cornell graduate student Roger Bechtel, the play's director. "Brecht, more than any other modern dramatist, changed how we think about putting plays on the stage. He also used theater politically in ways that had never been done before."

The play is a collaborative cabaret that features undergraduates and resident professionals performing excerpts from his plays and portraying him at three stages of his life. Three different Brechts, one of them a woman, tell the playwright's life story through anecdote, song and vaudevillian comedy routine.

Evening performances continue Feb. 4--7 and 9--13. Matinees are Feb. 7 and 14 at 2 p.m. A discussion with the cast and production team follows the Feb. 11 performance.

In addition a graduate student colloquium, "Brecht and His Legacy" will be held Monday, Feb. 8, at 4:30 p.m. in the Center for Theatre Arts Film Forum, followed by a screening of a film of Brecht's "The Threepenny Opera" at 9:30 p.m. The Brecht-Fest is sponsored by Cornell's Association for Grads in Theater (AGIT).

For tickets to the play and the Kushner talk, contact the Center for Theatre Arts Box Office, 430 College Ave., 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. weekdays; phone: 254-ARTS; fax: 254-2733.