Taking a break from its usual program of touring Shakespeare, the Hudson Shakespeare Company of Jersey City delves into a modern story that is known as a classic film but not as a stage play. In honor of the film’s 60th anniversary, the company will be producing a stage adaptation of
ON THE WATERFRONT
WHEN & WHERE:
- Saturday, October 11@1 PM at The Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, 435 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ (under tents in case of inclement weather)
- Sunday, October 12 @1 PM at The Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, 435 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ (under tents in case of inclement weather)
- Saturday, October 18 @7:30 PM at Fort Lee High School Auditorium, 3000 Lemoine Avenue, Fort Lee, NJ
- Sunday, October 19 @7:30 PM at Fort Lee High School Auditorium, 3000 Lemoine Avenue, Fort Lee, NJ
TICKETS: A $10 suggested donation is asked for admission and concessions will be sold
All tickets can be purchased at the door. Please contact http://www.jerseycitycemetery.org/ and http://www.fortleefilm.org/ for advanced sales on their respective shows.
For more information on all the shows, call 973.449,443 or visit www.hudsonshakespeare.org .
When people think about the movie On the Waterfront usually impressions that come to mind are Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden and the fact that it was mostly shot in Hoboken come to mind. Also, the famous “I could have been a contenda!” scene of Brando’s has become something of a parody as people often try a Brando imitation with this famous line. This usually has more to do with his put on voice in The Godfather and some other campier roles. Nothing could be further from the truth in either the scene from the film or the nature of the story itself.
Director Gene Simakowicz has always been a fan of the movie but was intrigued when he learned that there were several stage versions and delighted when asked by Hudson to direct this production. “I love the era and getting to the meet of the story,” he said. “People love the movie, but you have to forget the movie as that clouds any fresh take on the main story. I tell my actors don’t watch the film and try to imitate it. Do your own take. I have each actor provide an on the spot biography where I ask them as the character, ‘who are you?’ ‘How did you get here?’ ‘What are you looking to get out of this person’ and this allows them to concentrate on the character story and not the film, Simakowicz said on his approach to directing the piece.
Hudson Shakespeare Company is producing this adaptation with The Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery will be fundraisers for the upkeep of the historic sight. The show’s second weekend are being produced in partnership with the Fort Lee Film Commission.
Hudson Shakespeare was established in 1992 and regularly produces a summer touring Shakespeare program performing lesser done Shakespeare works and unique takes on more popular titles. They also produce modern shows as second stage productions some of which included Inherit the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird recently performed in Fort Lee’s municipal courtroom.
(Image: Terry Malloy (Chris Botte) tells Edie (Noelle Fair) about his days as a prize fighter in a scene from Hudson Shakespeare’s stage adaptation of On the Waterfront)
