Theater :: The Rover

The New York Classical Theater must be the city's best kept secret. They do FREE stagings all over Manhattan during warmer months of the year. The 12th season has been opened with the Restoration comedy "The Rover" by Aphra Behn inside the World Financial Center complex. The spectacle is called "panoramic theater": the location becomes the stage set, and the audience follows actors from spot to spot every 5-10 minutes.

"There's no sinner like a young saint."

I've attended "The Rover" twice, and did some reportage drawings. I was really impressed with the cast and the powerful performance. Last year's "Hamlet" and "Richard III" set the expectations very high. "The Rover" was delightful, fun and funny, from the plot and language to vibrant costumes and musical arrangement. It's a story of love, lust and jealousy.

Couldn't help but favor one character: Angellica Bianca, the courtesan "who never loved before". Her evil laugh was hair-raising. Here she is, striking a pose.

 The rover Willmore tells her:  
"Though I admire you strangely for your beauty, Yet I condemn your mind."

There is a parallel between the courtesan, Angellica Bianca, and the playwright, Aphra Behn: not only do they share the same initials, but also, according to Aphra, both "playwright and prostitute are entertainers of men."

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NEXT UP:

The School for Husbands by Moliere

Central Park (at West 103rd & Central Park West)

Thursday through Sunday, June 2 - 26 at 7:00 pm