M. Proust October 8, 2009

Written by Tony Award Winner Mary Zimmerman
Based on the writings of Celeste Albaret & Marcel Proust
Directed by Eric Rosen
Mary Beth Peil, Tony nominated Broadway star and well known for her roles on Dawson’s Creek and Fringe gives a riveting one-woman tour-de-force performance in this intense, beautiful exploration of genius, madness, and secrets by one of our greatest theatrical minds, Mary Zimmerman. Peil plays Celeste Albaret, who was the housekeeper, personal assistant and confidante to the famous French novelist Marcel Proust. For a decade at the dawn of the 20th century — a time when the famously neurotic Proust was obsessed with completing his seven volume masterwork, Remembrance of Things Past — Albaret kept constant vigil, and was the intimate witness to the creation of one of the greatest works of world literature. Near the end of her own life, Albaret broke her 50-year silence with a fascinating memoir about her years with one of the world’s greatest literary figures. Originally premiered in a highly acclaimed About Face/Steppenwolf co-production, M. Proust is a poignant, beautiful, and surreal exploration of the essence of creativity, obsessive love and memory, and what it means to have one’s life swept into the powerful current of genius.
Seating will be limited to the lower section of Copaken Stage for this intimate portrayal written by Tony Award-winner Mary Zimmerman, who brought you the smash hits Metamorphoses and The Arabian Nights, and directed by Artistic Director Eric Rosen. Joseph Jefferson Nominee for Best New Work.
“Exquisite, magical...Mary Zimmerman has devised a richly shaded one-woman show.” -Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

Official Website: http://www.kcrep.org/our_season/2009-2010/M_Proust.php