Noam Shapiro is a Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Lyra Theater, a company dedicated to championing the voices of emerging artists through full productions, workshops, and readings. To learn more about Lyra, visit www.lyratheater.org
Lyra's first production was the U.S. premiere of Jennifer Wise's translation of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht, which played at the Olmsted Salon from October 20th - November 5th, 2016. Lyra has also produced four staged readings and is actively developing new plays.
ABOUT THE SHOW
The economy is in a recession. The government is gridlocked. The people are restless. An outsider with no political experience runs for office. He’s brash, charismatic, and dishonest. He takes over a party, hypnotizes the public, and rises to power.
Written in 1941, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui was Bertolt Brecht's attempt to explain to Americans how tyranny could come to a democratic state. In Jennifer Wise's modernized translation, eight actors play over forty roles, transform a stage into sixteen locations, and take audiences on a theatrical roller coaster that rivals the best that CNN can offer.
PRESS
"The companies... call their productions warnings against the prospect of a Trump presidency. The Trump campaign declined to discuss its role as creative inspiration.”
-The New York Times
THEATER IS EASY BEST BET: Lyra Theater has created a wildly entertaining production that does the Brecht classic proud. It is superbly original and immediate, and exactly the right way to tackle the societal issues we all face today... showing its relevance and making the piece an important theatrical examination of morality. It is a true testament to what theatre-makers can, and should, do.”
-Theatre is Easy
"I love it when new theatre companies invite sprawling, rarely produced texts into their season. I like it even more when they do it brilliantly... This production is off off-Broadway at its best... Shapiro and Lyra Theater worked within a small budget yet remained true to Brecht’s vision. They allowed the imaginative and talented cast room to create. They are a group to watch and support."
-New York Theatre Wire
"The presidential election has a way of bringing drama to everyday life... Small wonder, then, that Election Day can imbue certain plays with greater urgency. This year, that certainly rings true for Bertolt Brecht’s 1941 parable, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui."
-TDF Stages