Love song at Circa

Love song
By John Kolvenbach
Directed by Ross Jolly

modern, smart, sexy & funny

Funny, enchanting and wonderfully touching, John Kolvenbach’s offbeat comedy Love Song is a rhapsody to the power of love in all its forms.
The NZ premiere of this very funny and sexy comedy opens in CIRCA TWO on Saturday 14th June at 7.30pm, and runs until 19th July.

Beane is eccentric - an outsider from life – an oddball. Though his sister Joan and brother-in-law Harry try to make time for him, they can't get through. But when Beane's apartment is burgled, Joan is bemused to find him fabulously happy – what is the story behind his mysterious new love Molly?

New Yorker Kolvenbach creates what he calls “personal dramas that are some combination of funny and sad”.
Love Song received its world premiere at Chicago’s famous Steppenwolf Theatre Company in April 2006, before going on to be performed in London’s West End, throughout the United States, and in Australia.

Talking about Love Song Kolvenbach says, “The original idea occurred to me when I was in a car listening to a classic rock station. I was struck by the sneaky power of this Phil Collins rock-n-roll love ballad. I don’t know if this is true for everyone, but for me, they get under my skin. And you can try to resist - but in the end you can’t. They have a power that is greater than the sum of their parts. So it occurred to me to write a play that was like a love song.
“The play is about how our external circumstances can be affected by what’s happening internally. When Beane falls in love, his whole world, the way he perceives the world changes. That’s also true for Beane’s sister, Joan, and her husband, Harry—the way they perceive each other, the way their food tastes, and the way they look to each other. It all changes because of what’s going on inside them.”

With its sharp, quirky humour, compassion for human foibles, and glimpse of the power of the imagination, Love Song gives a wonderful insight into the beautiful contagiousness of love.

Director, Ross Jolly, says, “Part of my job is to read scores of plays, sifting the gravel looking for gold. So when a nugget like Love Song emerges unbidden from the dross it is a bonanza indeed.
“Love Song is an intelligent, funny comedy from a talented new writer. It has great characters, a plot that certainly caught me by surprise and the theme is the redemptive power of love.
“So … a well-crafted, funny, new comedy and a great cast of our best younger actors – just the ticket for a winter season in Circa 2!”

Love Song comes bearing rapturous overseas reviews:

“Outstanding ... one of the best new plays of the year ... richly comic and deeply touching ... a play in the great tradition of American drama, from O’Neill to Albee … smashing, compassionate” – The Daily Telegraph

“An intelligent play with a wise ending ... It leaves you meat, not fluff, to ponder afterwards. And that’s not often the case with American comedies today.” – The Times

“The sweet surprise of John Kolvenbach’s play LOVE SONG is its gentle touch … it’s both romantic and comic.” – Variety

“Funny, provocative and filled with hope” - The Age, Melbourne

“Will leave you with a smile on your face!” - GenQ Melb

Love song
featuring

aaron alexander, erin banks,
danielle mason, gavin rutherford

Opens at on Saturday 14th June at 7.30pm
and runs until 19th July

$20 Preview - Friday 13th June – 7.30pm
$20 Sunday Special – Sunday 15th June – 4.30pm

Performance times:
Tuesday - Saturday 7.30pm
Sunday 4.30pm

Ticket Prices:
Adults - $38; Concessions - $30; Friends of Circa - $28
Under 25s - $20; Groups 6+ s- $32

BOOKINGS Circa Theatre 1 Taranaki Street, Wellington
Phone 801 7992 www.circa.co.nz

ends

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