Week 4: July 19 – 22
Philip’s Glass Menagerie*
Directed by Philip Cuomo
Featuring Sascha Blocker, Isaac Lamb, Murri Lazaroff-Babin and Emily Newton
Family secrets, a collection of fragile glass animals, gender-bending gentleman callers, and memories of Blue Mountain – it’s the Wingfield family you only think you know. Elements of silent film, physical comedy, and the music of Philip Glass highlight this poignant, hilarious and whimsical telling of Tennessee Williams’ story of family facades, dreams of escape, and the reality of the everyday.
“The show combines several elements that don’t on the surface seem to go together: Tennessee Williams, clowning, and drag. But, somehow, these strange bedfellows work in concert beautifully.” – Broadway World Portland
GLASS UNICORNS. GENTLEMAN CALLERS. RUBBER GLOVES.
*Please note that all performances of Philip’s Glass Menagerie begin at 8:00pm. All other CoHo Summerfest programming begins at 7:30pm.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Supported by a Creative Heights grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, the CoHo Clown Cohort was created to cultivate an experimental ensemble of clown performers and recontextualize the value of clowning in the modern theatre landscape. Philip’s Glass Menagerie explores whether or not Williams’ emotionally intimate story can be told truthfully and powerfully through the extreme physical expression of clowning. A workshop production was presented during the 2018 Fertile Ground Festival of New Work.
Philip Cuomo is a director, actor, educator, Third Rail Repertory Theatre core company member, and CoHo’s Producing Artistic Director. His recent directing credits include The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence (CoHo Season 22),The How and The Why by Sarah Treem (CoHo Season 21), The New Electric Ballroom by Enda Walsh, Or by Liz Duffy Adams, Belleville by Amy Herzog, The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam and Crooked by Catherine Trieschmann (CoHo Season 18). He has created and directed multiple shows, including La Carpa Del Ausente and La Carpa Calavera for Portland’s Milagro Theatre (Drammy winner for outstanding achievement in directing), and the clown shows Pas Deux Bits, Box O’ Briefs and Exaggeration On A Theme. As an actor he has appeared at Lincoln Center, The Hartford Stage, The Civic Theatre of Central Florida, Third Rail, Artists Repertory Theatre, Shaking the Tree, and Imago Theatre. Philip is an adjunct faculty member at Portland State University teaching movement and clown, and a founder and faculty member of the Institute for Contemporary Performance.
