Czech play to be 'unveiled' Friday

The comedy "Unveiling" by Vàclav Havel will begin its two-week run Friday at the John Waldron Arts Center to raise awareness about Havel, the writer, and his struggles in communist Czechoslovakia. \nThe play will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 26-28. Additional matinees are at 2 p.m. Oct. 21 and 28. General admission is $16; senior citizens and students with ID will be charged $13. Tickets are available at Bloomingfoods East or www.bloomingtonarts.info. \nHavel was a dissident playwright during the communist era who became president of Czechoslovakia, according to a press release. \n"Unveiling" tells the story of a man named Vanek, a character resembling Havel, who is invited to the private unveiling of a materialistic couple's remodeled home. The couple tries to persuade Vanek to adopt its worldly views. \n"Havel, as a playwright, is a very gifted artist and deftly funny, not just as a heavy polemical or political writer," Deborah Galyan, IU employee and member of the Cardinal Stage Company, said in an e-mail. \nShe explained that Havel uses the same "comedic toolbox" as someone like Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" to satirize politics. \nThe play, which will be performed in the Waldron Arts Center's Rose Firebay, is being brought to Bloomington by the Cardinal Stage Company, IU's Office of International Programs and the Russian and East European Institute. \nIn addition to the play, REEI will sponsor a teaching workshop called "The Playwright Who Would Be President: Vàclav Havel and the Art of Dissent in Communist Czechoslovakia." The workshop will be led by three IU professors: Maria Bucur-Deckard, associate professor of East European history; Jeffrey Holdeman, Slavic language coordinator; and Bronislava Volkova, professor of Slavic languages and literature. \n"(The teacher workshop is for) area high school teachers to learn more about the play, Havel and the history of the time period in which 'Unveiling' was written," Galyan said. \nAfter its run in Bloomington, the play and its cast will go to New York City for a festival celebrating Havel's 70th birthday. Havel will be staying at Columbia University as 18 theater groups stage all his plays. \n"Cardinal Stage is very excited about taking some of Bloomington's most talented actors to the festival to participate," Galyan said. "Using theater to stimulate dialogue in the local community, and connecting the local community to the rest of the world through events such as this festival, is part of Cardinal Stage's mission"