Ulysses
Elevator Repair Service
September 5-7, 2024
Ulysses
Created by Elevator Repair Service
Directed by John Collins
Co-Direction and Dramaturgy by Scott Shepherd
Text: James Joyce
Presented in association with the Rosenbach Museum & Library.
James Joyce’s Ulysses has fascinated, perplexed, scandalized, and/or defeated readers for over a century. Building on a rich history of staging modernist works—Gatz, The Sound and the Fury, The Select (The Sun Also Rises)—Elevator Repair Service (ERS) takes on this literary landmark.
Seven performers sit down for a sober reading but soon find themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls, and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast- forward tour through Joyce’s funhouse of styles. With madcap antics and a densely layered sound design, ERS presents an eclectic sampling from Joyce’s life-affirming masterpiece.
A manuscript of Ulysses in Joyce’s hand is housed in Philadelphia at the Rosenbach Museum & Library! Check out our special Joyce-themed events and tours – Always Meeting Ourselves: James Joyce’s Remarkable Influence on the Modern Novel and “Written in My Heart”: James Joyce and Irish Authors.
Performance Information
September 6–7, 2024
September 5 at 7pm
September 6 at7pm
September 7 at 1pm + 7pm
Pricing
Sept 5 $100
Includes entry to VIP Opening Night Party
from 5:30pm
with food and open bar
Sept 6+7
$49 Standard
$15 Students & 25-and-Unders
$2 FringeACCESS
FringeArts Member discounts & benefits available
Venue
FringeArts
140 N. Columbus Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
About the Artists
Elevator Repair Service
Elevator Repair Service (ERS) is a New York City–based company that creates original works for live theater with an ongoing ensemble. The company’s shows are created from a wide range of texts that include found transcripts of trials and debates, literature, classical dramas, and new plays. Founded in 1991, ERS has created an extensive body of work that includes upwards of 20 original pieces. These have earned the company a loyal following and made it one of New York’s most highly acclaimed experimental theater companies. The company is best known for Gatz, its award-winning verbatim staging of the entire text of The Great Gatsby. ERS has received numerous awards and distinctions, including Lortel awards, a Bessie award, and an OBIE award for Sustained Excellence, as well as a Guggengheim Fellowship and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award for Artistic Director John Collins.
Upcoming: Gatz at the Public Theater in New York (November 1-December 1)
Cast & Creative Team
Ulysses
Created by Elevator Repair Service
Directed by John Collins
Co-Direction and Dramaturgy by Scott Shepherd
Text: James Joyce
Performers: Dee Beasnael, Kate Benson*, Maggie Hoffman, Vin Knight*, Scott Shepherd, Christopher-Rashee Stevenson, Stephanie Weeks*
Scenic Design: dots
Costume Design: Enver Chakartash
Lighting Design: Marika Kent
Sound Design: Ben Williams
Projection Design: Matthew Deinhart
Properties Design: Patricia Marjorie
Assistant Director and Stage Manager: Maurina Lioce
Producer: Hanna Novak
Production Manager: Aaron Amodt
Show Operator: Gavin Price
Sound Engineer: Jason Sebastian
Company Manager: Becky Hermenze
Teleprompter and Clock Software by Scott Shepherd
Photos (c) Maria Baranova, Owen Hope, Marika Kent
Supporters
Festival Star Producers
Linda and David Glickstein
Festival Co-Producers
Richard and Margaret Greenawalt
Jackie and Eric Kraeutler
Susan Muller
Peter and Eleanor Nalle
Elevator Repair Service Funding
ULYSSES was commissioned by and received its world premiere at the Fisher Center at Bard in June 2024. Major commissioning and development support was provided by the T.S. Eliot Foundation and Fisher Center LAB, which receives funding from members of the Live Arts Bard Creative Council, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, and the Fisher Center’s Artistic Innovation Fund, with lead support from Rebecca Gold and additional funding from The William and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation.
This performance by Elevator Repair Service is made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Ulysses was commissioned by and developed at Symphony Space. On June 16, 2022, Symphony Space presented an early iteration of the piece for its annual one-night-only “Bloomsday on Broadway” event.
Elevator Repair Service is also supported with funds from The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Howard Gilman Foundation, The J.M. Kaplan Fund, Jockey Hollow Foundation, Lucille Lortel Foundation, The O’Grady Foundation, Scherman Foundation, Select Equity Group Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation.
Elevator Repair Service is a member of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York.
Accessibility
Wheelchair/limited mobility seating and assistive listening devices available.
Health & Safety
Masks are optional, vaccines are not required. More information about FringeArts COVID policies can be found here.
Philly Fringe 2024
This event is presented by FringeArts as part of the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. To browse programming curated by FringeArts, click here.
The 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival runs from September 5–29, and features more than 300 participating artists and companies in venues across the city. Join us all month long for audacious, adventurous, astonishing art.
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