- Fortune's Fool
.
The setting is a vast Russian country estate where the resident
aristocrats and their many servants are jolted out of their tranquility by the arrival of someone from the city, down-on-his-luck Vassily Semyonitch Kuzovkin, whose own property has been tied up for years in a hopeless lawsuit. At one time a "court jester" to the estate's original owner, Kuzovkin remained in the house as a permanent guest following his master's death. He is anxious about the impending homecoming of theheiress to the estate and her new husband, fearful that, having forgotten the warm relationship they once shared, she will expect him to move out. Wealthy neighbor Flegont Alexandrovitch Tropatchov, who disdains Kuzovkin and thepoverty he represents, goads him into drinking too much at a luncheon that culminates in his drunkenly revealing an unsettling secret that disrupts the lives of everyone involved and forces them to deal with the consequences of his rash action.A century and a half after it was written in 1848, "Fortune's Fool" was staged on Broadway for the first time in an adaptation by
Mike Poulton . After 28 previews, the production opened onApril 2 ,2002 at theMusic Box Theatre , where it ran for 127 performances. The cast, under the direction ofArthur Penn , includedAlan Bates (who had starred in a production staged at theChichester Festival Theatre and the Theatre Royal in Bath in 1996),Frank Langella ,Benedick Bates (Alan's son), andEnid Graham .Awards and nominations
*
Tony Award for Best Play (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Actor in Play (Alan Bates, winner)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Frank Langella, winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Bates, winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Langella, winner)External links
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=13288/ Internet Broadway Database listing]
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