The online magazine Encore* has a set of interviews up with Adam and some of the other boys of Vassar’s Powerhouse Theatre series and there’s an Apple mention! Which we love, we love attention for the Apple. We are petty that way, but Adam says, “It was started as a joke by a friend of mine, and he didn’t let me in on the joke for a year. I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve arrived.’” We feel hurt that our sincere offering has been cruelly dismissed as a “joke” and we await an apology.

There’s also some nice stuff in there about Adam’s process in working on his just-closed run in We Are Here, so check it out.

*See Pages 12-13.

Adam’s latest theatrical venture, the world premiere of Tracy Thorne’s We Are Here, has its opening night tonight as the Mainstage production in Vassar’s Powerhouse Theater summer season. The show runs through July 11th. Tickets are $35.

Excerpt from “At Vassar College, Summer Is for the Stage: Tony Winners of Tomorrow Begin New Season at Poughkeepsie Company” by Pia Catton, Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2010:

Powerhouse kicks off its new season Tuesday with a new play, “We Are Here,” written by Tracy Thorne. Though the work is not a musical, the characters have a penchant for breaking into song. “It’s about a family that has a tradition of singing to each other,” Ms. Thorne said. “I wanted them to sing standards. I have chosen the songs carefully to show this is how I feel.’”

Among the selections are Cole Porter’s “I Concentrate on You” and Van Morrison’s “Moondance.”

Director Sheryl Kaller—who earned a Tony nomination this year for her direction of “Next Fall”—emphasized that the signing is about the emotional need to communicate, and is not meant to be judged on the quality of the performance. “It celebrates what people sing, not how they sing,” she said. “We didn’t even ask people if they could sing in the auditions.”

For those of you in the Poughkeepsie area (you know who you are), Adam will once again be appearing in the world premiere of a new play as part of Vassar’s Powerhouse Mainstage series. According to playwright Tracy Thorne, We Are Here “comes from that eternal question of how we’re meant to cope with unimaginable loss and how do we get on from there.”

June 29 – July 11
We Are Here

Written by Tracy Thorne
Directed by Sheryl Kaller
Set design by Scott Bradley
Costume design by Toni-Leslie James
Lighting design by Russell H. Champa
Sound design by John Gromada

WE ARE HERE (June 29 – July 11) by actor and playwright Tracy Thorne (Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it, Building Big Buildings, Miss St. Hilda’s Junior Kindergarten), directed by Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall, Adrift in Macao, Dangerous Beauty), will offer a glimpse at three generations of a family possessing wit, endurance, and compassion in the face of unimaginable loss. As the joyful past and devastated present are braided together with song, young parents Billie (de’Adra Aziza) and Hal (Adam Rothenberg), together with Billie’s sister Shawn (Uzo Aduba) and their parents Everett (Larry Pine) and Vera (Adriane Lenox), search for the strength to live on.

Mainstage in the Powerhouse Theater. Tickets are $35.

Performance dates and times: June 29, 30, July 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 at 8:00pm; July 3, 10, 11, at 2:00pm. There will be a post-show discussion on Tuesday, July 6, and after the matinee on Saturday, July 10.

Powerhouse Theater, now beginning its 26th season, continues its mission to offer a haven for world-class artists to gather and explore new material in an atmosphere that is both protected and challenging. Each season Powerhouse offers its audience debuts by Pulitzer, Oscar, and Tony-winning writers, directors, and actors, and introduces its patrons to exciting emerging artists, all at affordable ticket prices.

Above: Larry Pine, Adriane Lenox, de’Adre Aziza, Uzo Aduba and Adam Rothenberg; photo by Krissie Fullerton.

From The Retributionists (Photos: Joan Marcus).

We’ve been remiss lately in keeping up with Adam news at the Apple and there’s certainly been a fair amount of Adam news to report, so let’s get to it.

The DVD release of Tennessee has been pushed back to January 26, 2010. Which makes us sad.

The opening night of Adam’s play, The Retributionists, is this Tuesday, September 15th. The limited run of the play ends on September 27th, so Adam fans will want to make sure to catch it before it goes. We’re keeping an eye out for any reviews, but, if you just can’t wait for some words of praise for our boy, check out the latest installment of the podcast, Playwrights Horizons on Demand. Playwright Daniel Goldfarb talks about Adam’s work around the 5:15 mark.

There are more publicity stills of shirtless Adam after the jump, so be sure check those out and check back later in the week for more news.

(more…)

The Apple is thrilled to report that Adam will be returning to the New York stage later this month in the New York premiere of Daniel Goldfarb’s The Retributionists at Playwrights Horizons. Tickets are available now for this limited run and we know all Adam fans will want to observe our man in his natural habitat once again, so check it out.

The Retributionists
August 21 – September 27, 2009
Mainstage Theater

The New York Premiere of a new play by Daniel Goldfarb
Directed by Leigh Silverman

Cast: Hamilton Clancy, Adam Driver, Rebecca Henderson, Margarita Levieva, Cristin Milioti, Adam Rothenberg, Lusia Strus
Scenic Design: Derek McLane
Costume Design: Susan Hilferty
Lighting Design: Peter Kaczorowski
Sound Design: Jill BC DuBoff
Original Music: Tom Kitt
Production Stage Manager: Bess Marie Glorioso

Spring 1946. The plan was simple: a German for every Jew. Its execution would be swift, clean, its impact undeniable. In this daring new romantic thriller inspired by actual events, a band of Jewish freedom fighters attempts to avenge a society’s wrongs – if they can keep from tearing each other apart.

According to a report by Access Hollywood, Tennessee‘s release date has been pushed off from this Friday, December 19th, to a later release, tentatively scheduled for March.

The film has had a couple of festival screenings so far as well as a one-week run at the beginning of December to qualify for Oscar contention, largely in the hopes of getting a nod for co-star Mariah Carey’s “Right to Dream,” listed among five front-runners by the Los Angeles Times:

THE POP STAR

Mariah Carey’s “Right to Dream.” In need of a guitarist for “Right to Dream,” Carey aimed high, going straight to country legend Willie Nelson. Written for ” Tennessee,” in which Carey plays an aspiring singer, “Right to Dream” is restrained elegance, with some light, finger-picked guitar flourishes and a dash of late-night soul. “I was humming different melodies while I was on the set and stuff,” Carey says. “I was just thinking that Willie Nelson would be somebody fabulous to collaborate with. I reached out to him, and we met after one of his concerts.”

Thanks to commenter Jeane for the heads up on the For Your Contention ad from the December 3 Los Angeles Times and h/t to the Mariah Daily Journal for the scan.

We realize it’s been too long for an update, so we took a tiptoe through the internets and found this review of one of Adam Rothenberg’s projects from the Fall of 2001. Wish we’d been there. (Photo: Hikenutty)

The first one we could find, anyway, from the OMH website, describes the play as “terrifically acted,” noting that “Rothenberg, an up-and-coming Hollywood actor, convinces as the pushy salesman with an agenda.” We will continue the hunt for more info.

Update:

We found snippets of a few more reviews at The Assembly Rooms 2006.

The actors put in a stunning performance with enthralls the audience. You continue to try and second-guess the writer all the way through this production, and find yourself getting into the characters’ shoes and feeling every up and every down they experience – you also keep wishing you could press fast forward to skip to the end just to satisfy your curiosity. So, couple inspired acting with a twist no one could guess, and you cannot fail to enjoy this clever and entertaining production.
**** Three Weeks, 17th August 2006

Three tightly disciplined performances as a would-be property developer, his siren-like banker (Mindy Crist, recognisable from top-end US television shows such as Six Feet Under and 24 and the mysterious third man who, in a top-class performance from Adam Rothenberg, is never quite what he seems… A terse and effective account of how their lives are emotionally hollowed out from the inside, unable to connect on any human level… Glengarry Glen Ross with added sex and violence – top-class.
*** The Times, 15th August 2006

This European premiere is played with flair and conviction – with a very powerful performance by Josh Stamberg as the menacing Ferguson. It’s a compelling piece, confidently directed… by Amy Glazer, and you can’t fault it’s seriousness of intent.
*** The Scotsman, 12th August 2006

Our Adam has surfaced again in Scotland, rather like the Loch Ness Monster he so dearly loved as a child.

He recently joined the cast of Finder’s Fee, opening in the 2006 EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE.

Here’s a clipping with the juicy details:

Finder’s Fee, the New York thriller set to open at Assembly at the beginning of the festival, has postponed its premiere by two days to accommodate a mid-rehearsals team change, it was announced 25 July.

The original director, Olivier-Award winner Wilson Milam, has stepped down from the production due to unforeseen commitments to his TONY award nominated production of Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which continues to run on Broadway. Milam, who has directed two workshop readings of Finder’s Fee already, has been replaced by Amy Glazer, the Associate Director at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre.

The play, making its European debut after productions in New York and Los Angeles, will now open on Monday 7th August. Ticket holders for the two cancelled preview performances will be able to transfer to any performance before 13th August at the same price and discount they booked initially. The Assembly Box Office can be contacted on 0121 226 2428.

Three rising American actors making their Edinburgh Festival debuts have also been announced in the cast: Adam Rothenberg – whose recent New York theatre credits include plays with MCC, Second Stage and New York Stage and Film – has just finished filming opposite Frasier‘s Jane Leeves in the new WB sitcom Misconceptions; Josh Stamberg, whose feature films include soon-to-be-released Fracture with Anthony Hopkins and Drifting Elegant (the latter also directed by Amy Glazer); and the television regular Mindy Crist, whose recent appearances include ER, NYPD Blue, House, Six Feet Under and 24.

Amy Glazer has directed world, American and west-coast US premieres at Magic Theatre including Rebecca Gilman’s The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, Blue Surge and The American in Me, Steven Belber’s Drifting Elegant and Tape, and Barry Gifford’s Wyoming. She is the recipient of Dean Goodman, Drama-logue, and Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards and is currently a theatre and film professor at San Jose State University.

Assembly producer Louise Chantal said: “We’re very sorry to lose Wilson, who has contributed hugely to the script’s development over the last two years. However, Amy Glazer is a superb director and has been able to step into the breach immediately. Rehearsals continue in San Francisco and Finder’s Fee will be adding a little Californian glamour to the Festival in August.”

Finders Fee is appearing in The Supper Room, The Assembly Rooms, George Street 7th-28th August at 2pm.

We here at the Apple congratulate Adam Rothenberg for his recent turn in the world premiere of Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain. Between July 11th and the 23rd, Adam and co-star Josh Stamberg graced the Mainstage of Vassar College’s New York Stage and Film Festival under the direction of Trip Cullman. Described as “an urban tale of love and rage,” the play was inspired by events surrounding the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer and chronicles “two Chicago cops, friends since childhood, and their competing accounts of the few harrowing days that changed their lives forever.”

A 2005 Perform Ink review of the script stated that:

The latest work by Chicago playwright Keith Huff is gripping. Along the way, the play asks questions about love and loyalty, family and friendship, power and control, what it means to be a cop, what it means to be a father. The characters are riveting from the moment they step out on the bare stage until the inevitable, tragic end.

We’re kicking ourselves for missing it.