Philadelphia: "A Prayer For Owen Meany"

Probably too big a cast for PT, but I sure do love the novel. Hmmm...

A Prayer for Owen Meany
Sep 14 - Oct 15
A Novel by John Irving
Adapted by Simon Bent
Directed by Terrence J. Nolen
On the Haas Stage, Arden Theatre, Philadelphia
The acclaimed adaptation of John Irving’s beloved novel

Arden Theatre Company will kick off the 2006/2007 season with the Philadelphia premiere of A Prayer for Owen Meany, adapted from the beloved, bestselling novel by celebrated author John Irving (The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules). Owen Meany is an unusually small child with a striking voice who considers himself an instrument of God. When he accidentally kills his friend’s mother in 1950s New Hampshire, the two boys are forever linked as they search for truth in a provocative dark comedy of friendship, faith and destiny. Published in 1989, the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany became an international phenomenon among readers and critics, hailed by Time as “vintage Irving… a boisterous cast, a spirited story” and “roomy, intelligent, exhilarating… Dickensian in scope” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review. After the play’s premiere at the Royal National Theatre in London, the Evening Standard raved: “Simon Bent's adaptation is a triumph of elegant compression..[a] beautiful recreation for the stage of John Irving's epic American novel.” The Arden’s production features some of Philadelphia’s most distinguished actors, including Ian Merrill Peakes, Scott Greer, Mary Martello, Anthony Lawton, Paul L. Nolan, Karen Peakes, Catharine K. Slusar and Maureen Torsney-Weir. Doug Hara—seen on Broadway in “The Boys of Winter” and “Metamorphoses”—will bring to life the indelible character of Owen Meany. The show is directed by Arden Theatre Company’s Producing Artistic Director and co-founder, Terrence J. Nolen.