Malaparte was an American non-profit theater company based in New York City, New York.
History While driving cross-country in 1991, actors Josh Hamilton and Ethan Hawke and playwright Jonathan Marc Sherman decided to form a theater company.Brown, Emma (February 8, 2013). "Life's a Baal for Jonathan Marc Sherman," Interview. Retrieved September 16, 2017. Actors Robert Sean Leonard, Frank Whaley, and Steve Zahn joined the fledgling enterprise, which Hawke named after an obscure novel.Sternbergh, Adam (January 31, 2010). "The Ethan Hawke Actors Studio," New York. Retrieved September 16, 2017. Leonard later explained, "We would be sitting around New York a lot, and we bowled a lot, and eventually we thought, 'When we're not doing anything, why don't we see if we can put some new plays on?'"Rousuck, J. Wynn (March 16, 1997). "Model Role Actor," The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
Malaparte's first production was a new translation of Luigi Pirandello's 1918 play A Joke starring Hamilton, Hawke, Sherman, Cynthia Nixon, and Austin Pendleton, which ran from October 9–31, 1992.Willis, John, ed. Theater World: 1992-1993 Season. New York: Applause, 1995. 79. The company operated for three seasons in the 1990s as the members juggled film and television work; there were often disputes over fundraising, casting, and play selection. Shows were performed in rented venues throughout Manhattan, with a flat $10 ticket price. In 1992, Jason Blum joined Malaparte as co-producing director with Ami Armstrong who had been running the office out of her home apartment. Blum personally hawked fliers in Times Square, shouting, "Don't go see some Broadway show! Come see a new play by an American playwright!"Nicholson, Amy (October 19, 2015). "Can Budget-Slasher Jason Blum Prove the Way Hollywood Makes Movies Is Horrifyingly Wrong?," LA Weekly. Retrieved September 16, 2017. The New Yorker critic Hilton Als wrote that the Malaparte collective "brought a new take on male anxiety to the American theatre, and was not embarrassed by its love of women, or its romanticism."Als, Hilton (October 29, 2007). "Boys to Men," The New Yorker. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
Malaparte officially dissolved in 2000, in part because the members wanted to devote more time to their children.Landman, Beth, and Ian Spiegelman (May 15, 2000). "Babies Lower Boom on Theater Group," New York. Retrieved September 16, 2017. In 2005, Hawke referred to the company's heyday as "pretty much the most thrilling period of my life".Bacalzo, Dan (January 3, 2005). "Flying High," TheaterMania.com. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
Productions Title Author(s) Director Cast Run Venue 1 A Joke Luigi Pirandello Keith Bunin Josh Hamilton, Ethan Hawke, Cynthia Nixon, Austin Pendleton, Jonathan Marc Sherman October 9–31, 1992 Sanford Meisner Theatre 2 Wild Dogs! Daniel J. Rubin Ethan Hawke Amelia Campbell, Isabel Gillies, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Steve Zahn December 3–19, 1993 Theatre Row Theatre 3 Acoustic Night (coffeehouse) Jesse Harris, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Lisa Loeb, Frank Whaley December 21, 1993 Theatre Row Theatre 4 Good Evening Dudley Moore and Peter Cook James Waterston Robert Sean Leonard, Frank Whaley December 30–31, 1993February 9–17, 1994 Theatre Row TheatreWet Bank Cafe 5 It Changes Every Year and Sons and Fathers (one-acts) Jon Robin Baitz and Jonathan Marc Sherman Nicholas Martin Brooks Ashmanskas, Calista Flockhart, Dana Ivey, Josh Hamilton, Ethan Hawke, Steve Zahn January 7–22, 1994 Theatre Row Theatre 6 Veins and Thumbtacks Jonathan Marc Sherman Ethan Hawke Nicole Burdette, Lynn Cohen, Frank Whaley October 7–23, 1994 Theatre Row Theatre 7 Hesh Matthew Weiss Frank Pugliese Nadia Dajani, Ned Eisenberg, Ethan Hawke, Frank Whaley November 4–12, 1994 Theatre Row Theatre 8 The Great Unwashed Nicole Burdette Max Mayer Lynn Cohen, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Martha Plimpton, Frank Whaley November 18 – December 4, 1994 Theatre Row Theatre
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