twi-ny: Yes they had, with Yogi Berra as manager. What was the rehearsal process like? Were going to put this play up. I didnt have it like Danny Burstein; I didnt have to go to the hospital. Thats the way I connect to religion. He escaped the Nazis. I mean, I also shot some TV shows over the course of the pandemic, so all of the Zoom stuff felt more like the way an actor like me connects to short-term work. He was by himself and I went over to him and said, Im going to ask you something that no one probably ever asks you about. Irish Repertory Theatre has announced the return of special audio event, Bikeman by Thomas F. Flynn, directed by Joseph Discher, produced by Robert Cuccioli, and featuring Robert Cuccioli, Stephen Eng, April Ortiz & Richard Topol. rt: We were wearing masks around the table. Im no Josh Harmon. Manhattan Theatre Club And I survived. Ive always had this obsession with searching for a father and he was my father-in-law, so lets do that. Richard Topol is the author of Naked City (3.75 avg rating, 5387 ratings, 446 reviews, published 2011), The Maze at Windermere (3.50 avg rating, 2855 rat. Its a short question, right? Were like, You know what, its not worth it. What was that like? She made her Broadway debut in Jekyll & Hyde, with other notable Broadway roles including Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Vivienne in Legally . That seemed like a good starting-off point, discussing my becoming a father and my seeing the best potential father to me to help me learn how to be a father. "There were probably a good two dozen words that were a regular part of our household," he says. He holds an MFA in Acting from NYU's Graduate Acting Program and a BA in Political Science from Brown University. We have a full Biography, Photos, Theatre Credits, and more! BWW TV: Check Out Kelli O'Hara and More in KING LEAR - Performance Highlights! The Public took a lot of care in making it. rt: Yes, well, thats what Willy said. Topol was raised in Mamaroneck and lost his father when he was twelve. Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of REGRETS, the new play by Matt Charman, directed by Carolyn Cantor will open tonight, Tuesday, March 27 at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). twi-ny: Yes they had, with Yogi Berra as manager. rt: Exactly. Richard Topol's next show will be The Unbelieving which opens on 10/27/2022 on Off-Broadway. They produced Lanford Wilsons Talleys Folly they cast a married couple who played the two parts. We did that reading and I think it confirmed for Manhattan Theatre Club and for Josh that he had latched on to something incredible. Topol was born on September 9, 1935, in Tel Aviv, [1] [3] in what was then Mandatory Palestine (now Israel ). and Larry Kramers The Normal Heart. There was a sense of having more in the heads of the director and the producers, what we could imagine this great thing being, that infused the development and the rehearsal and experience of doing it. twi-ny: As a listener, I felt it Shipwreck was one of the audio plays that worked the best during the lockdown. By Steve Feeney Share Rich. During our wide-ranging Zoom conversation, Topol is thoughtful and generous, laughing and smiling . That theater had stayed open through the pandemic because Maine had so few cases, because of the regulations, and because of their skill at keeping people safe. We did the kind of work that you do in a play before you get up on your feet. He was beautiful. And then we did a couple of Zoom workshops. It is a really challenging piece of theater and really satisfying to act in. We dont know when but were still committed to doing the play. And thats how it came to pass, and Anita Stewart, the artistic director of Portland Stage, was just a real cheerleader for the piece. I dont think Im as extreme as Patrick; Patrick is a Jew who doesnt know anything about his Judaism and is happy to not know anything about his Judaism and is somebody who thinks of organized religion as what he says in the play, which is bullshit.. You were a Mets fan, then you switched over to the Yankees. No, no, please dont. Richard J Topol, 79. Maybe Im fooling myself. Get the fuck out of here. twi-ny: Jon Stewart would ask, is it too Jewy? The Unbelieving begins previews October 20, 2022, in Theater B and opens October 27 for a run through November 20, 2022. Remember Sunday is a 2013 American romantic drama film directed by Jeff Bleckner, written by Michael Kase and Barry Morrow, and starring Zachary Levi and Alexis Bledel. Antisemitic Protestors Chant At Audience Outside First Preview Of PARADE, Cooper, Esparza, and More Will Lead OLIVER! He was really amazing. And then because the pandemic happened, we both had the time to really work on it. BWW TV: Performance Highlights from MTC's REGRETS! Where I feel most soulful and spiritual is when Ive climbed a mountain and I feel small in relation to a large, amazing thing. rt: Exactly, the third guy from the left. Richard Topol, Kelli O'Hara, and Sam Waterston in King Lear, directed by James Macdonald, running at The Public Theater through November 20. He is currently starring in Joshua Harmons Prayer for the French Republic, a scintillating three-hour exploration of anti-Semitism that travels between 1944 and 2016; Topol plays Patrick Salomon, a nonreligious Jew who has decided not to go into the family piano business. Even those people understand, given what weve lived with, at least certainly for the last few years. March 23 May 19, free (donations accepted) Since these are your lines and theyre about you, if a joke didnt quite take or something emotional didnt register with the audience, is it more or less upsetting than when youre reciting somebody elses words and something might not go as expected? We started first day of rehearsal learning about the Covid protocols, getting tested regularly. Originally from Larchmont, NY, he now lives in New York City with his wife, actress Eliza Foss, and their daughter. Willy and I had been talking about this play for a number of years. Hes really, really, really kind to all his characters. I was like, No, no, no, no, no. Manhattan Theatre Clubs world premiere ofPrayer for the French Republic, written by Drama Desk Award winnerJoshua Harmonand directed by Tony Award winnerDavid Cromer, opens tonight, Tuesday, February 1, atNew York City Center Stage I (131 West 55thStreet). And then a month later, its, Yeah, were not going to do the play in September. We did the workshop, we did a live reading in front of people. And then one of our stage managers tested positive, and luckily she didnt give it to anybody else. I was like, No, no, no, no, no. Richard has appeared on Broadway numerous times, most recently nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as Lemml in the Tony Award winning production of Indecent, with Larry David in Fish in the Dark, with Al Pacino . People who know me and my life saw it. And Im slightly disappointed myself too, because I knew I was going to do this part for a long time and I knew that these songs were in the piece. When they said, Will you read Patrick? And then when we started up on our feet, we were unmasked, for those who were comfortable with that. And so from March 12 of 2020 to November 3, 2021, was the longest period of time I hadnt been onstage in my adult life. twi-ny: You finally returned to the stage in November in Portland with Searching for Mr. Michael Panay 3 episodes, 2018-2019 Im like, Why is my agent calling me? And we were shut down. And there were conversations among the cast about, Well, what do we do at home? Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and Margot Harley, the Tony-winning Acting Company has served as a training ground for hundreds of performers over the years. It doesnt have any songs . rt: I have asked that of my non-Jewish friends. But then I went to a hockey game and sixteen thousand people are screaming, no masks, lots of eating and drinking. Benhamou, Kenneth Tigar, Richard Topol, Nancy Robinette Im just some guy . Josh is a writer. They produced a lot of one-person shows. Ive been to some plays where Im sitting right next to total strangers and everybody has their mask on, and this was the same. Wilson (Happy Now? Willy did most of the writing. Or is it not? Itll be sometime in 2021. The business is entirely shut down. Look, we live in a world where the hate for other has been unleashed. Theyre like, To be honest, Charles should be, if not actually North African, at least more Sephardic, more Middle Eastern. They produced a lot of one-person shows. And we were shut down. And in the scenes where I play myself, most of that writing is me, having written down my versions of stories that Ive experienced. If you can listen to him playing on Lenny Bernsteins Age of Anxiety, listen to the piano on that. And then the testing protocols, were getting tested every day, and you cant come into the room until youve tested negative, and, knock wood, thats been it. Josh was holding it close. And on the other hand, it was incredibly scary because it was the first play that Id ever cowritten with anybody, and it was about my life. During our wide-ranging Zoom conversation, Topol is thoughtful and generous, laughing and smiling a lot. Im a tree worshiper. The Acting Company Ive been to some plays where Im sitting right next to total strangers and everybody has their mask on, and this was the same. Im a tree hugger. Even though he wasnt Jewish; he didnt think of himself as a Jew. Featuring Broadway Star Richard Topol At the moment of his daughter's birth, Rich Topol searches for a father to replace the one he lost and finds two - his famous father-in-law Lukas Foss and himself. Or is it not? The play was well received, so I didnt have the experience of Oh, that sucked. twi-ny: I felt that that Josh really attacked the numerous angles of how to look at anti-Semitism and Israel and American Jewry. And she said, You just got an offer from Manhattan Theatre Club for Prayer for the French Republic. . Then when my wife told the story to Willy about when she gave birth the opening scene of the play is her giving birth to our daughter and Elizas parents, in black tie, come in from a gala, bursting into the delivery room because they thought she was about to have a baby she was about to have a baby were like, What are you doing here? What was that like? This is your first one-man show, which you wrote with Willy Holtzman, a two-time Pulitzer nominee. (l-r front row) - Peyton Lusk, Yair Ben-Dor, Ari Brand, Molly Ranson, Jeff Seymour, Betsy Aidem, Francis Benhamou, Yair Ben-Dor, Richard Topol, Molly Ranson, Kenneth Topol, Nancy Robinette, Betsy Aidem, Richard Topol, Ari Brand, I sing well, and maybe Im justifying, but I feel like I play and sing just well enough but not too well for who he is. Ive also actually played a lot of Jewish narrators who step into the play. Originally from Larchmont, NY, he now lives in New York City with his wife, actress, Richard Topol as Fritz Haber in Genius: Einstein, Episode 7, Richard Topol as Fritz Haber on Genius: Einstein episode 1. I play my mother, I play my wife, I play my mother-in-law. 212-581-1212 rt: It was miserable. And so it was the worst it could be without being bad. Here we have been waiting for so long to do it. Francis Benhamou, Jeff Seymour and Yair Ben Dor in Prayer for the French Republic (courtesy of Matthew Murphy). And so I was like, Okay, fine. People who know me and my life saw it. 59E59 Theaters and The Civilians have announced the full cast & creative team for You played Yogi in Bronx Bombers. You were a Mets fan, then you switched over to the Yankees. He had Parkinsons disease. Get Richard Topol's email address (r*****@cnrs.fr) and phone number at RocketReach. And thats when [director David] Cromer came on board. rt: Yeah, I know. rt: He does a great job of giving everybody a valid argument. So you cant pick a bone with me if it was because my father had just died and my next-door neighbor was a Yankees fan. Behind him in his living room is a landscape by his mother-in-law, the painter and teacher Cornelia (Brendel) Foss. Shifting in flashback between (2016-2017) and (1944-1946) set in two different Parisian apartments, Prayer for the French Republic (currently at Manhattan Theatre Club) by Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews), directed by David Cromer (The Band . So thats the sort of glib answer. And then when we started up on our feet, we were unmasked, for those who were comfortable with that. And without, I think, insulting anyone and without becoming didactic and preachy. rt: Oh, less upsetting because I know Im not a professional. But even though theyre being Covid careful, they have diminished audiences because there are a lot of people who feel, Im not going to see a play. And so the ones that I was willing to share were the ones that couldnt be avoided and, I guess, were the most important. I had symptoms on the ides of March, on the 15th of March, and I was in bed for nineteen days with Covid-19. And she said, You just got an offer from Manhattan Theatre Club for Prayer for the French Republic. I went to a concert where everybody had to be masked and there were some empty seats, but it was pretty much sold out. From March 23 to 26, you can stream Luis Quinteros Hip Hop Therapy, a preview of a concept album in which Nick Bottom from A Midsummer Nights Dream is a therapist for out-of-work actors. The world premiere will now play two additional weeks and must close Sunday, March 27 atNew York City Center Stage I. 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