Playwright Bing Ringling yearns to savor the sweet taste of celebrity, and he's hoping play number 844 will be his lucky break. But on opening night, Bing slips into a nightmarish phantasmagoria that shows him just how wrong things can go. From the ingenious mind of John Guare, who brought Six Degrees of Separation and The House of Blue Leaves to the American stage, Rich and Famous springs to life with twisted humor, rapid-fire dialogue, and outrageous songs scribed by Guare himself.
John Rando (A.C.T.'s Urinetown, The Musical and Broadway's The Wedding Singer) directs this newly revised, delicious dark comedy in its first major revival since its 1976 New York debut. Brooks Ashmanskas, who was nominated for a 2007 Tony Award for Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me and has appeared in The Producers and Gypsy, takes on the role of Bing, starring alongside Mary Birdsong (Reno 911! on Comedy Central, Hairspray on Broadway), Stephen DeRosa (Hairspray and Into the Woods on Broadway), and A.C.T. core acting company member Gregory Wallace ('Tis Pity She's a Whore and The Government Inspector).
"Maniacally funny . . . I laughed my head off and then went home feeling wistful . . . John Rando, who directs comedy as well as anyone in America, has staged it to the hilt for A.C.T. . . . We haven’t seen much of Mr. Guare’s work in New York of late, so I flew west to find out what we've been missing. The answer: a lot." —Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
"From the platform shoes to the big butterfly bow ties . . . A.C.T.'s Rich and Famous [is] loaded with laughs . . . wickedly cutting and just plain goofy" —Contra Costa Times
"A crazy romp, an oversized, invariably over-the-top comedy" —San Francisco Examiner
"Packed with zany devices and well-honed zingers" —San Francisco Chronicle
"Wild and woolly . . . a gorgeous hodgepodge of words and songs" —San Jose Mercury News
"A theatrical treat . . . you'll laugh your head off!" —KGO Radio
"Easily shines as one of the season's most entertaining productions" —Wcities
"A bitingly funny satire by one of our theater's most inventive playwrights"
—The New York Times
"As pure comedy, Rich and Famous is like a funhouse maze."
—Newsweek
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Koret Prologue*
January 13, 5:30 p.m.
Get inside the artistic process—come early for a preperformance discussion with the director and a member of the A.C.T. artistic staff.
Theater on the Couch*
January 16, 8 p.m.
Join members of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis for an exciting postperformance discussion that explores the psychological aspects of the show and addresses audience questions.
Koret Audience Exchanges*
January 20, 7 p.m.
January 25, 2 p.m.
February 4, 2 p.m.
After the show, stick around for a lively Q&A session with the actors, moderated by a member of the A.C.T. artistic staff.
OUT with A.C.T.
January 21, 8 p.m.
LGBT night at A.C.T. features a catered afterparty and a cast meet and greet. Visit www.act-sf.org/out for more information about how to subscribe to OUT nights.
*Discussions are free for ticket holders. Please note that performance times vary.
Insight into the Play, the Playwright, and the Production
Each entertaining and informative issue of Words on Plays, A.C.T.'s in-depth performance guide series, contains a synopsis, advance program notes, study questions, and additional background information about the historical and cultural context of the play.
Words on Plays is available for purchase in the lobby of the theater during performances or online ($12 each + postage and handling). To subscribe to the full season ($70), call 415.749.2250.
Words on Plays Prepared by
Elizabeth Brodersen, Publications Editor
Michael Paller, Resident Dramaturg
Dan Rubin, Publications & Literary Associate
Lesley Gibson, Publications & Literary Intern
Table of Contents
Words on Plays is made possible in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Adobe Reader is required to view A.C.T. publications.
A Conversation with John Guare
Acclaimed playwright John Guare, author of Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves, and A.C.T.'s Rich and Famous visited the American Conservatory Theater on December 13, 2008 to take part in a candid conversation with A.C.T. Dramaturg Michael Paller. Guare shared stories about working in the American theater over the last four decades and talked about his new version of Rich and Famous, which includes major rewrites in preparation for the show's first revival since 1976.
Press Releases
American Conservatory Theater presents John Guare's Rich and Famous
December 3, 2008
American Conservatory Theater presents A Conversation with John Guare
November 24, 2008
Announcing American Conservatory Theater's 2008–09 Season
March 26, 2008
Reviews and Other Press
A.C.T.'s 'Rich and Famous' loaded with laughs (PDF)
Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times
A.C.T. season opens rich and famously (PDF)
Janos Gereben, San Francisco Examiner
A.C.T.'s 'Rich and Famous' a delicious lampoon of both (PDF)
Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News
Now, that's 'Rich': A nightmare of ambition is madcap at A.C.T. (PDF)
Marcus Crowder, The Sacramento Bee
Where's Guare? Way Out West (PDF)
Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
Our Mister Brooks: Brooks Ashmanskas steps into the center ring for A.C.T.'s production
of John Guare's Rich and Famous
Brian Scott Lipton, Theatermania.com
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