“The Elephant Man,” Bernard Pomerance’s 1979 Tony Award-winning drama, was based on the true story of Joseph Merrick, a deformed young man in Victorian London, and Frederick Treves, the surgeon who took him in.
The Mirror & Masque Theatre Company and Playwrights’ Theatre of East Hampton have joined forces, by arrangement with Concord Theatricals, to bring to LTV Studios a new production that opens Thursday and will run through Nov. 1.
The staging at LTV takes into consideration that Merrick was a featured component of a 19th-century sideshow menagerie. It happens in the round, on a single circular platform that serves as Merrick’s dormitory, surrounded by an eight-foot-wide runway that represents the streets of London. Guests will enter through a 10-by-10-foot muslin drape, hand painted with an enlargement of the original Victorian advertisement for the Elephant Man. A surround of red-and-white curtains suggests a circus town.
The play has long been percolating for Dayne Rasmussen and Robert Doyle, the co-founders and co-artistic directors of Mirror & Masque. “Rob and I have been wanting to do this show for as long as I can remember,” Rasmussen said. “The message of the show is really, at the end of the day, what matters most to both of us. It’s about being able to look past the outside at the inside, and learn who the human being is, first and foremost, rather than judging them on their appearance.”
“When you walk in, you have that sort of macabre, smoky feeling,” said Doyle. “We want you to be transported instantly.”
The play premiered in London in 1977 and opened in New York off Broadway in 1979 before moving to the Booth Theatre. It won Tony Awards for best play, best direction of a play, and best performance by a leading actress, and secured nominations for costume design, scenic design, and best performance by a leading actor.
In his New York Times review of the Off Broadway production, Richard Eder wrote, “This thoughtful and frequently moving play opened yesterday in a skillful production by the American National Theater and Academy at St. Peter’s Church . . . It is an admirable production of a most worthwhile play.”
“This beautiful play, based on a true story, peels away layers of surface prejudice and scorn to reveal the beating, hopeful heart of human dignity and compassion that can bind us all,” said Josh Gladstone, LTV’s executive and creative director. “It’s a sublime gift of empathy, masquerading at Halloween as something designed only to horrify and titillate. LTV masquerades, too, as an immersive seaside carnival — step right up and trick or treat!”
In addition to Rasmussen and Robert Doyle, the cast includes Gerard Doyle, Gladstone, Seamus Doyle, Carolann DiPirro, and Rebecca Edana. Betsy Doyle, Robert’s mother and a retired music teacher, assists with stage management. (None of the other Doyles are related.)
Because of a scene involving nudity, the show is only for those 18 and up. Performances are set for Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. shows on Saturdays and Sundays.
General admission tickets are $30, $15 for students, and $65 for table seating with a drink ticket.
