Published on June 21, 2022 | Broadway World | Written by Chloe Rabinowitz
Sundog Theatre will bring George Orwell’s “1984” to life June 7, 2022. Staten Island. Sundog Theatre presents George Orwell’s dystopian tale “1984”, running June 17 – June 26, 2022, at Wagner College’s Stage One. Orwell’s iconic novel was published in 1949 and this version of the play was written more than 30 years ago. Sundog’s production of “1984”, however, is the first one to be produced professionally on Staten Island.
“Although Orwell did write the play as a warning rather than a prediction, the subject matter is prescient” states Sundog Executive Director Susan Fenley. “Surveillance, government control, loss of rights, media misrepresentation, and propaganda are here. Of course, these occurrences were not new at the time of writing, since they were realities throughout Orwell’s life. Re-reading the play after so many years showed how timely it still is. Art again serves as a mirror for society. That is what makes it frightening.”
George Orwell wrote 1984 as a distillation of his experiences during the times of Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky, WWII, Russian Communism, and Fascism in Spain. Written as a satire of totalitarian government, readers for decades have seen it as a cautionary tale. Terms that Orwell coined in “1984” have been in popular vernacular since the book was written: doublespeak, Big Brother, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, and thought police. And the contradiction of governmental authorities abounded: The Ministry of Peace fanned the fire of perpetual war. The Ministry of Love dealt out torture in Room 101. The Ministry of Truth distributed propaganda and instituted Newspeak, making descriptive and subtle language obsolete in favor of the oversimplified–where one word would suffice for all descriptions: good/ungood/doubleplusgood.
Heading up the cast as the protagonist and antagonist, respectively, are Shea Ryan as Winston Smith and Ritty Mahoney as O’Brien. Also appearing in key roles are Kaitlyn Cox, Diane Zerega, Jason Biss, Caitlyn Efner, Austin Nakamura, and Joseph DeSena. Director is Mickey Tennenbaum. Costumes are by Joe Gambino and lighting design by Pamela Pangaro.
Dates: June 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26: Fridays/Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 3:00pm. At Wagner College’s Stage One, 610 Howard Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301. Tickets: $20 general admission and $18 for students with ID & seniors.
Sundog Theatre is a Staten Island-based performing arts organization, formed in 2002, that provides contemporary and original theater for adults and children, educational touring shows, acting classes for young people, and programs that bring teaching artists into schools to support curricula through the arts that help make learning come alive. For more information: 718-816-5453. SundogTheatre.org or info@SundogTheatre.org.
