The Big Knife
October 2012
Eastbound Theatre, Milford, Connecticut
(From Milford Mirror, Eastbound Theatre season starts with 'Big Knife', September 19, 2012)
"Eastbound Theatre, a division of the Milford Fine Arts Council, will present the first show of its 19th season, “The Big Knife,” a tense drama set in Hollywood’s Golden Age, in October.
In the play, Charlie Castle is a Hollywood star whose years of compromise for the sake of his career have resulted in the slow destruction of his personality.
When his contract expires, Charlie debates abandoning films altogether. But the studio executives, who want to keep their “property” for another 14 years, are all too quick to remind him of all the scandals they have buried on his behalf. As he struggles to escape from the net of insincerity and falsehood in which he has trapped himself, Charlie is forced to face the consequences of his past.
The play was written by Clifford Odets and directed by James Leaf.
Odets is the author of such well known works as “Waiting for Lefty,” “Awake and Sing” and “Golden Boy.” He has become a popular modern playwright, notably for his complex treatment and examination of social issues in his pieces, particularly the price people must pay for success in a capitalist system.
He also wrote and worked on many more commercial pieces including a movie for Elvis Presley, “Wild In The Country,” and The Richard Boone Show, for which he was a story editor.
The show features Steve Benko of Fairfield, Jeremy Funke of New Haven, Philip Hahn of Stamford, Manny Lieberman of Westport, Kimberly Lowden of Stamford, Alisson Wood of Stratford, Albert Burton Glassman of New Haven, Raymond Arnold of Milford, Jaki Valensi-Lauper of East Haven, Amanda Gann of New Haven and Jason A. Coombs of Bridgeport."