The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Performing at Caldwell Theatre Company (Jan 8 - Feb 12)
Synopsis
The milieu of “professional” wrestling should not dissuade serious theatergoers, although the faux spectacle including brief grappling bouts will entertain anyone but a killjoy. The copious comedy is laced with cutting social commentary about demagogues exploiting our prejudices about race and nationality to make money or gain power.
Kristoffer Diaz’s play – a Pulitzer finalist in 2010 – is a risky choice for a theater whose audience prefers a title they have at least heard of, if never seen. But Artistic Director Clive Cholerton is betting heavily on word of mouth for this wacky but thought-provoking work in which performers tossing each other around is just the decorative icing on an incisive script featuring long philosophical monologues and rapid-fire repartee. ...
Think pro-wrestling is all outrageous masks and pyrotechnics? Think again — there’s so much more in this 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity slams together thrilling spectacle, incredible characters and geopolitical allegory into an invigorating theatrical experience you can’t find on pay-per-view. This smackdown of a play tackles racism, drop-kicks globalization and brings a championship tale into the ring. In wrestling, as in life, behind every winner lies the story of a really excellent loser.
STRONG ADULT LANGUAGE
See what the critics are saying
“Contemporary America, with social commentary pounded and pinned…under a bold and brash production… made all the more bruising by the pumped-up cast's adrenalized performances.”
“It’s fast and flawlessly paced, insanely funny…the play itself is just about perfect”
Christine Dolen ---Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/14/2589549/chad-deity-is-a-flashy-funny-smackdown.html
“Chad Deity…morphs the art of Pro Wrestling into an adrenaline-fueled satire of American excess.”
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Theater Information
Caldwell Theatre Company
Caldwell Theatre Company opened its doors in December 1975 at the suggestion of James R. Caldwell, inventor of the rubber dustpan and founder of the Rubbermaid Corporation. During the past 33 years in four different locations, and now in its own, permanent Count de Hoernle Theatre on U.S. 1 in north Boca Raton, the Caldwell has been called South Florida’s “Cinderella Theatre” and Boca Raton’s “Jewel in the Crown.” Artistic director Michael Hall, who co-founded the theater with the late Frank Bennett, continues as artistic director, and company manager Patricia Burdett marks her 32nd season this year
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