OPEN UP, HADRIAN
2012
About the show.
In the years between the fall of the gods and the rise of Jesus, a young man named Hadrian emerged as Rome’s most philosophical emperor, caught in the midst of two bloody wars of expansion. He loved poetry, theatre, and all things Greek. Open up, Hadrian imagines the life of this highly successful but deeply frustrated man with elements of Greek drama and dark comedy—his anguished love, lofty ideals, and his big, famous wall.
Open up, Hadrian was staged in promenade throughout the 20,000 square foot south Brooklyn warehouse that for one remarkable year was a venue known as Magic Futurebox.
2012 September-October Magic Futurebox, Brooklyn, NY (Premiere)
Written by Javier Antonio González
Directed by Meiyin Wang
2012 Cast
B. Brian Argotsinger • Michael Barringer • Laura Butler Rivera • Yaremis Félix • Doris Mirescu • Tania Molina • Luis Moreno • David Skeist • Marcos Toledo
Set by Jian Jung
Lights by Tim Cryan
Costumes by Elizabeth Barrett Groth
Sound by Elizabeth Rhodes
Stage Manager Brooke Bell
Open up, Hadrian - Photo by Suzi Sadler
Open up, Hadrian - Photo by Suzi Sadler
Open up, Hadrian - Photo by Suzi Sadler
Open up, Hadrian - Photo by Suzi Sadler
Open up, Hadrian - Photo by Suzi Sadler
Open up, Hadrian - Photo by Suzi Sadler
Open up, Hadrian - Photo by Suzi Sadler
What People Are Saying
“González’s astonishing talent lies in saturation, in soaking our time in the ancient one and letting the stain set. In creating this opulent, delightful text, González absorbs a thousand images of Roman excess and turns them into their own genre—just as another might use and subvert the vocabulary of noir.”
— Helen Shaw, Time Out NY
“Open Up, Hadrian is aesthetically stunning, beautiful staging met by creative design...The script proves as smart as it is eloquent. Gonzalez employs emotional torrents mixed with philosophical discussions in a way reminiscent of Greek drama. The play is elegantly constructed and engrossing for the audience. Open Up, Hadrian brings dramatically compelling action to a discussion of some of the fundamental questions of the human life. It’s quite wonderful.”
— Joseph Samuel Wright, TheaterOnline.com