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Except for the script's reference to a VCR being a new invention, The Real Thing at USC will be a very contemporary look at reality and relationships. The Tom Stoppard comedy-drama, first produced in 1982, opens Theatre South Carolina's new season Sept. 29.
"This is Stoppard's most accessible play because he is dealing with relationships and how we determine what is 'the real thing' in relationships," said Karla Koskinen, a faculty member in the Department of Theatre and director of the production. "Of course, he's referring to love, but being Stoppard, he also explores the question from the broader perspective of art.
"The main character is a successful playwright who is all intellect at the beginning of the play," said Koskinen, who most recently directed Measure for Measure at USC. "As the play progresses, Henry must learn to connect with his emotions. The play does not explore quantum physics, like many of Stoppard's plays, but it challenges the audience to discern what is reality and what is fantasy, and it takes them through a range of emotions."
When The Real Thing opens, Henry is married to Charlotte, an actress, and they have a teenage daughter. Henry falls in love with an actress who is appearing in one of his plays and, eventually, the two marry. When Henry's latest play is staged, life begins to imitate art, and Henry, Charlotte, and their closest friends begin to change in strange and surprising ways.
In Theatre South Carolina's production, Henry will be played by Brian Schilb, a USC graduate who received an MFA in acting in 2004 and is now a professional actor. Annie will be played by guest artist Susan Wilder, who is from the Shakespeare Theater in Washington, D.C. Robyn Hunt, a new faculty member in the Department of Theatre, will play Charlotte. Local actor Paul Kauffman will play an actor and Annie's husband. Three USC undergraduates have roles in the play: Martha Hearn plays Debbie, Henry's daughter; Mark Virtucio plays Billy, a young star; and George Pate plays Brodie, a young thug. Andy Mills, a USC theatre graduate and technical director for the department, is designing scenery and props. Lisa Martin Stuart is in charge of costumes.
The Real Thing received the 1984 Tony Award for Best Play and the 2000 Tony Award for Best Revival. Stoppard has written many plays, including the well-known Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. He and fellow writer Marc Norman wrote the screenplay for the movie Shakespeare in Love, which won several Academy Awards in 1998, including one for best original screenplay and one for best picture.
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Brian Schilb and Susan Wilder appear as Henry and Annie, respectively, in Theatre South Carolina's production of The Real Thing.
