Pericles

Based on the play by William Shakespeare

Music by Joe Popp, Brian McCabe and Tylor Durand

Lyrics by Joe Popp

Book by Neil Gobioff & Shawn Paonessa

Directed by David M. Jenkins

Encore Performance

Apr. 7 – 11, 2010

Wed. – Sat. 8pm, Sun. 4pm

Tickets: $15

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center

Off-Broadway Premiere

Apr. 15 – 17, 2010

Thr. – Sat. 8:30pm, Sat. 4pm

Tickets: $15

HERE Theater, New York

[Pericles] made Shakespeare’s dark romance fresh, relevant, and more widely appealing." – Shakespeare Bulletin
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Creative Loafing Best of the Bay

Jobsite Theater is bringing back their production of Pericles: Prince of Tires in a showcase format to take to New York after playing a week of encore performances in Tampa. Pericles: Prince of Tires is a comic rock mob musical based on William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre.

Joe Popp (dogs on ice, The Hornrims, MAXWELL) has paired his power-punk music and oddball sense of humor with the estimable talents of perennial Jobsite wordsmiths Neil Gobioff & Shawn Paonessa (The Curse of Milhaven, The March of the Kitefliers) to create an ass-kicking good time.

This telling of Pericles has been shifted in time and space to modern era United States. Perry, “Prince of Tires”, gets caught up in a web of intrigue, incest and the mafia as he tries to balance having a family while also running a “family.” His sometimes hilarious and sometimes poignant exploits take him through New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, while he dodges mob hits, lecherous carnies, multiple storms at sea, and losing his wife and daughter. As his epic journey ends, he learns that saving both his biological family and his mafia family are rooted in truly understanding the value of loyalty, honor and love.

Shakespeare’s Pericles centers around a young Greek prince travelling to exotic locales in what’s today Greece, Turkey and Lebanon. Despite many successful stagings over the years, Shakespeare’s Pericles is typically considered one of his lesser plays. The first nine scenes of the original are often argued to not even be the Bard’s work.

Jobsite’s Pericles largely keeps the major plot and structure of Shakespeare’s play and in some instances keeps the same character names. However, Pericles: Prince of Tires is considerably more accessible and immediate to a modern audience.

Theocratic royalty is replaced with underworld royalty, as the plot is spun with both dramatic and comedic elements that audiences will instantly recognize from modern classics like The Godfather and The Sopranos. Anyone familiar with the original play will easily see the corollaries; those who aren’t won’t miss a thing.

This production is being presented in New York through HEREstay, a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support.

Warning

Pericles contains adult language and subject matter and is intended for mature audiences only.

(L-R) Spencer Meyers, Amy E. Gray, Stephen Ray and Joe Popp in Jobsite's Pericles. (Photo: Brian Smallheer.)

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Previews

Pericles: Prince of Tires returns to Jobsite – Creative Loafing

Radar: Pericles – Creative Loafing

Pericles: A New Rock Musical comes to TBPAC – St. Petersburg Times

With musical makeover, Shakespeare rocks – Tampa Tribune

Theater interview: Joe Popp works his magic in Jobsite’s PericlesCreative Loafing

Artbeat: Pericles – Reax

Shakespeare rocks: Tampa artists turn Richard III, Pericles into wild fun – TBT

Pericles: Prince of Tires – Time Out New York

Pericles Plays HERE Arts Center 4/15–17 – Broadway World.com

Pericles on Broadway World.com.

Check out Pericles creators Joe Popp, Shawn Paonessa & Neil Gobioff and director David M. Jenkins discuss the show on WMNF 88.5’s Art in Your Ear (32 min. into the show.)

Cast & Crew

  • David M. Jenkins – Director
  • Xylina Golding – Stage Manager/Lighting & Video Operator

Music and Book

  • Joe Popp – Composer, Lyricist & Guitarist
  • Tylor Durand – Composer & Drummer
  • Brian McCabe – Composer & Bassist
  • Neil Gobioff – Playwright
  • Shawn Paonessa – Playwright

Cast

  • Katie Castonguay – Marina, et. al.
  • Jason Evans – Lizard, et. al.
  • Amy E. Gray – Dion, et. al.
  • Spencer Meyers – Henry, et. al.
  • Chris Perez – Fat Tony, et. al.
  • Joe Popp – Gower
  • Stephen Ray – Perry
  • Shawn Paonessa – Vinnie Carbonza
  • Ami Sallee – Talia
  • Katrina Stevenson – News Reporter

Crew

  • Summer Bohnenkamp – Sound Operator
  • Amy E. Gray – Voice Coach
  • David M. Jenkins – Video Designer
  • Kevin Kennedy – Sound Designer/Engineer
  • Shawn Paonessa – Video Engineer
  • Brian M. Smallheer – Lighting & Scenic Designer
  • Katrina Stevenson – Costume Designer

Patron Reviews

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