The Vincent Dowling Theatre Company is delighted to come to the wonderful Emelin Theatre to perform The Rivalry, a riveting drama about the momentous Lincoln-Douglas debates. Recently playing off-Broadway to packed houses, we are just beginning a Fall tour. Audiences love this play; the critics wrote superb reviews of the run in New York City; and we are excited to bring it to Westchester audiences.

Vincent Dowling, founding producer and director, decided to revive The Rivalry last fall. Vincent Dowling is a Lifetime Associate Director of the Abbey Theatre Dublin and an Emmy award-winning producer. His passionate belief is that every American needs to see this play as soon as possible. He has said that "...from the moment I laid the play down, I knew I had to do it. I had to do everything in my power to give everyone who understand English and who cares about democracy, from age 12 to 112, a chance to see it." The themes in the play resonate deeply today: human rights, integrity, passionate conviction, the idea that politics matters.

Here is insight into how the actors' see their roles.

For Christian Kauffmann, playing Lincoln in The Rivalry is the role of his career. He feels that The Rivalry resonates today because of the enduring questions it asks: Is it right or wrong to trample on the rights of others? As a people, do we have a right to do this? Christian hopes this play continues to have life for a long time. He feels that it is a great opportunity, an important piece of writing and a meaningful contribution to American thought.



What the critics have to say about Christian Kauffmann's performance: "So why not just stay home and read the transcripts?" asks Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal in his recent review of this production. "Because, among other things, you'll be depriving yourself of the chance to see Mr. Kauffmann impersonate Lincoln...Unlike the secular saint portrayed by Henry Fonda in John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Kauffmann's Lincoln is recognizably human, and even when he's flinging great shafts of rhetoric across the platform he still seems like a small-town lawyer who has been ennobled by fate." Diana Barth of the Epoch Times simply says in her review: "In fact, the Lincoln of Christian Kauffmann is spellbinding. His resemblance to the late president is uncanny, while his presentation of what we know of Lincoln appears to be dead-on accurate."

Peter Cormican plays the role of Stephen A. Douglas. He says that over the course of the last twenty years he has played quite a number of roles large and small - nevertheless, so far in his career, he says no role has been more satisfying than playing Douglas. To Peter, what made Douglas so outstanding was his mastery of the English language, his vast ability to learn from a young age, a gift for oratory, and a keen sense of human understanding, his racism and race baiting notwithstanding.



As she prepared for her role in The Rivalry as Adele Douglas, Mary Linda Rapelye was greatly impressed by Adele's wisdom at such a young age. Mary Linda has continued to research the history of Rose Adele Cutts Douglas in order to speak her experiences in as truthful and heartfelt a manner as possible. About the play Mary Linda says that The Rivalry reminds us of the values on which our country was founded and that those values still need perfecting. She points out that Norman Corwin, the playwright, has intricately woven all of the salient points of the debates into a find dramatic piece. To tie these points together, he uses the wonderful narration of Adele who witnessed the debates first hand.



By Nancy J. Phillips
Co-Producer The Rivalry
The Vincent Dowling Theatre Company
October 27, 2009
Larchmont, NY

More information and reference material:

Guelzo, Allen G. (2008). Lincoln and Douglas - The Debate That Defined America. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Terms from The Rivalry

Reviews:
The New York Times
Wall Street Journal
New York Post

Do you remember the first time you saw, and heard, The Sound of Music? I do. My grandmother had the soundtrack on vinyl, and I used to put it on the turntable in the big old stereo cabinet and dance around her living room to "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and "My Favorite Things." Then when I finally saw the movie and glimpsed Julie Andrews – who, I was sure, was really Mary Poppins – I fell hopelessly in love with the whole idea of it.

I don't know if that's what Doug Elkins was thinking when he created the superlatively wonderful Fräulein Maria, but it couldn't have been far off. Elkins is at turns reverent and irreverent in this incredible dance send-up of the original soundtrack, complete with Julie Andrews' belting out "The Sound of Music." The day I saw Elkins' show at Joe's Pub, the athletic and beautiful cast was called out for three curtain calls, the entire multi-generational audience cheering and clapping and smiling. You don't have to know anything about dance to love the vibrant, good-natured energy of Fraulein Maria, and perhaps you'll even remember the first time that you fell in love with the Von Trapp family.

-Lisa

More info and ticket, click here!



"Mr. Elkins’s ceaselessly brilliant and often hilarious take on The Sound of Music is a fount of unending movement ideas and about as much visceral pleasure as it’s possible to have in a theater." -The New York Times

"Fräulein Maria lovingly deconstructs The Sound of Music through dance. It transcends parody to become a giddy, wondrous celebration." -Heather J. Violanti, nytheatre.com

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love

----

A lovely night,
A lovely night,
A finer night you know you'll never see.

Two perfect sentiments for Thursday, October 15th, the night of the Emelin’s annual benefit! As the raindrops of the season’s first nor'easter fell, nearly 300 friends gathered for an evening full of music, flowers, wonderful food, and lots of fun. Some highlights? We honored Rita Houston, whose gracious acceptance speech for the 2009 Bravo Award for Excellence in Service to the Arts, reminded us that the arts reach out and touch people in all different ways at all different times of our lives, and that we are always enriched for it. President Mark Ettenger offered a moving remembrance of Seth Kaplan, the Emelin's co-president who passed away in August. Debbie Chapin's lively and hysterical stint as our auctioneer raised record amounts of money to assist in technological improvements to the theater. Frank Soriano and the House of Flowers dazzled all of us with spectacular decorations, full of roses and lilies and candles. And there was much, much more! Thank you to everyone for making the night such a great party and such a rousing success for the theater. We can't wait for next year!

Here are a few photos...stay tuned for more! (Photos by Ric Kallaher)


Performer Todd Londagin with Honoree Rita Houston


Emelin Board of Trustees President Mark Ettenger


Todd Londagin

As expected, the Wailers show was a blast! They put on an incredible show that had the crowd dancing in the aisles (literally)!

For your enjoyment, we have prepared a little video/photo montage of their performance, featuring the Wailers incredible live version of Redemption Song.



Here are a few photos from the post-show meet & greet at Molly Spillane's:





Check out more photos!

Welcome to our first episode of our video blog, Inside the Emelin! In this episode, Production Manager Justin Stronk teaches how to hang a stage light from the Emelin catwalks. Hope you aren't afraid of heights (unlike our not-so-fearless cameraman/Marketing & Creative Director, Adrien)!