Review Fix chats with Playwright Tom Rowan who discusses his new production “Faye Drummond.â€
About The Production:
Playwright Tom Rowan combines Greek tragedy with cutting edge comedy to present FAYE DRUMMOND, part of the UnFringed Festival at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City.
FAYEÂ DRUMMONDÂ runs August 17th @ 9:15pm; August 20th @ 8:45pm; and August 21st @ 3pm at The Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., Long Island City, NY.
Featured in the cast are Renee Bang Allen(Company on Broadway) as FayeDrummond; with Peter Reznikoff (IRENA’S VOW on Broadway); Geena Quintos (A CHORUS LINE national tour); Andrew Gelles, Caleb Schaaf, and Bob Angelini.
Faye Drummond, the trophy wife of the fifth-richest man in America, lives in luxury in a penthouse overlooking Central Park. She’s the woman who has everything, but she wants the one thing she can’t have: her handsome stepson, Paul Letos.
With apologies to Euripides and Racine, FAYE DRUMMOND updates the Greek myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus to contemporary New York, with uproarious results.
Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?
Tom Rowan: I had always been intrigued by the idea of writing a modern version of a Greek tragedy, and the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus was one I always found so provocative and kinky. I wrote the first version in 2009 when, like many people, my financial life had fallen apart and I think I was expressing a certain amount of anger at the whole idea of money and people with money. And I wanted to find out if something could be outrageously funny and outlandishly tragic all at the same time!
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
Rowan: This one has been unique because I’m also the director. I’ve never directed one of my own full-length plays before. I have to be careful because I wrote it, so I hear all the lines so specifically in my own head. I know how I meant them to sound so I have to remind myself to give the actors time to make their own discoveries and resist any urge to spoon feed them results. Luckily I have a wonderful cast of honest actors with great comic instincts, so rehearsals so far have been a total blast.
Review Fix: What makes this different or special?
Rowan: I conceived of the play (back in 2009) as taking place in a luxury penthouse overlooking Central Park (sound familiar?), and the filthy rich tycoon who rules the roost bears suspicious similarities to a certain someone who is now a candidate for a certain rather high-profile public office. So the satirical element is off the charts all of a sudden, and much more timely and provocative than I ever meant it to be—or wanted it to be!
Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?
Rowan: I learned that my sense of humor can be a lot meaner or nastier than I ever thought. My other plays are kinder and gentler; this one goes straight for the jugular.
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?
Rowan: It’s scary to be the writer and the director. In a way it’s exciting because I can make the show exactly what I want it to be, but it’s a lot of responsibility. I have a very supportive producer, Stefano Fuchs, so that definitely helps!
Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?
Rowan: I want to see the play get picked up for full-scale Off-Broadway run, then hopefully get published and get produced all over the country. And I hope it gets people interested in asking to see my other scripts as well!
Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?
Rowan: I think people will dig the political and social satire, the outrageous characters, and the sexy innuendoes. There’s even a drag queen playing a Greek goddess!
Review Fix: What’s next?
Rowan: Just this week I got commissioned to write the libretto for a new opera based on an Oscar Wilde short story. More on that when I figure out what I’m doing!
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