True West comes to Center for the Arts at Kayenta
Center for the Arts at Kayenta announces its first dramatic play of 2023, True West, written by Sam Shepard and directed by Rachel Park. Performances run from January 26 through February 4, 2023.
True West is widely considered one of Sam Shepard’s most potent plays. The performance projects a grim slice of Americana, profiling two estranged brothers: a Hollywood screenwriter and a petty thief. The struggle for the American Dream is at the heart of this classic play, and Sam Shepard brings all its ugliness and heartbreak to light.
“Shepard’s masterwork… It tells us a truth, as glimpsed by a 37-year-old genius.”
– New York Post
Shepard is a master at connecting Austin and Lee to each other and to their past. Within minutes, the relationship between Lee and Austin becomes a skewed but wholly recognizable relationship between two brothers who have always secretly envied each other.
Of course, if you think this will be about two men reconnecting and reminiscing about the good times in their youth, you haven’t read much Sam Shepard.
“I wanted to write a play about double nature, one that wouldn’t be symbolic or metaphorical or any of that stuff. I just wanted to give a taste of what it feels like to be two-sided. It’s a real thing, double nature. I think we’re split in a much more devastating way than psychology can ever reveal. It’s not so cute. Not some little thing we can get over. It’s something we’ve got to live with.” – Sam Shepard
The action and dialogue in True West drives the story forward, defines the characters, and creates storytelling at its best. The action and the characters’ words make True West a work of drama that stands out. This savage and blackly humorous version of the Cain and Abel story also satirizes the modern West’s exploitation of the romanticized cowboys-and-Indians West of American mythology.
TRUE WEST ARTISTS:
David Rosenblatt (Austin) has appeared on film and television in “The Mon Also Rises” (Cannes), “Minx” (HBO), “Little America” (Apple TV+), and “Dad Stop Embarrassing Me” (Netflix). He has performed on stages across the country, from Los Angeles to New York, including performances with Shakespeare & Co and Humana Festival.
Paul Turbiak (Lee) has appeared onstage all over Los Angeles and beyond, including The Geffen Playhouse, LATC, Pasadena Playhouse, Garry Marshall Theatre, Independent Shakespeare Company, the Bootleg, Rogue Artists Ensemble, Colony Theatre, Actors Co-op, Not Man Apart, A Noise Within, Sacred Fools, North Coast Repertory Theatre, East West Players, The Speakeasy Society, Son of Semele, Theatre of NOTE, the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, and REDCAT. In addition to his theater career, Paul has picked up several film and commercial credits along the way, and his voiceover work can be heard in over 30 feature films.
Douglas Caputo (Saul) has performed at Theater 138, the University of Utah, and The Salt Lake Acting Company and has appeared in numerous film, television, and stage productions, including Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Mosaic project and Yellowstone. He is a co-founder and past artistic director of The Space Between Theatre Company. Past projects include Cabaret, Cowgirls, Exposed, Other Desert Cities, and The Vagina Monologues.
True West runs from January 26 to February 4, 2023, @ 7:30 PM, with a Sunday performance at 6 PM. Adults are $35, and Students are just $10. Visit www.KayentaArts.com or call 435-674-2787 and come be part of the Arts!
