Lia Chang: C.J. Wilson navigates armor and swordplay in Signature Theatre Company’s World Premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s Medieval Play

C.J. Wilson (Photo by Lia Chang)

For C.J. Wilson, the Signature Theatre Company’s new Frank Gehry-designed complex- The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York- has been his home away from home since January 17th.

The Lady from Dubuque castmembers Laila Robins, C.J. Wilson, Tricia Paoluccio and Peter Francis James. Photo by Lia Chang

That’s when he began rehearsing for his role as Fred in Signature’s revival of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque, starring Jane Alexander in the title role, and featuring Catherine Curtin, Michael Hayden, Peter Francis James, Tricia Paoluccio, Laila Robins and Thomas Jay Ryan. The Lady From Dubuque began preview perfomances on February 14, was twice extended, and closed on April 15th.

C.J. Wilson as Fred and Tricia Paoluccio as Carol in Signature Theatre Company’s production of Edward Albee’s The Lady from Dubuque. Photo by Joan Marcus

“It was the first time I’d done an Albee play,” said Wilson. “Edward was around for the meet and greet, and then there was an ‘ask Edward any question you want day’. Later on, he would come to run thrus. I was inspired by him. He can be a very intimidating presence. I felt it was very inspiring because of his intensity. I was playing a very intense character. Fred, he’s a drinker, he’s been married 3 times, he’s brought his girlfriend to a party to meet his friends. He’s a bit of a racist, a lush, a drunk. I think there has to be something charming about him to have been married 3 times.”

In reviews of The Lady From Dubuque, Erik Haagensen of BACKSTAGE writes, “C.J. Wilson’s Fred is the epitome of testosterone-fueled misogyny, gleefully common and palpably sexual,” and Suzanna Bowling of Times Square Chronicles writes, “C.J. Wilson is perfect as the self obsessed soulless midlife man obsessed with youth.”

“Being a part of the cast of The Lady from Dubuque was my first time working with Signature,” said Wilson. It’s an honor to have performed in the inaugural production for the space. I’m very lucky.”

Medieval Play castmembers C.J. Wilson, Josh Hamilton, Tate Donovan, Kevin Geer and Halley Feiffer. Photo by Lia Chang

Little did Wilson know at the time that he would be cast in the world premiere of Kenneth Lonergan’s new comedy Medieval Play, which Lonergan is also directing. Against the classic comic background of late 14th century ecclesiastical politics, Lonergan’s Medieval Play follows the story of two French mercenary knights who set out on a quest for relative moral redemption.

It is a story of friendship, love, noble feats of arms, indiscriminate brutality, the progressive refinement of medieval table manners and the general decline of the chivalric ideal at the onset of the Great Papal Schism of 1378. When I met up with Wilson in the Café of the Center during his dinner break, he was in the throes of tech – navigating swords, shields, suits of armor and endless costume changes.

C.J. Wilson (Photo by Lia Chang)

“I’m having a blast working with Kenny Lonergan, who as the director and playwright, will instantly incorporate hilarious one-liners into the play,” said Wilson. “I’m playing three knights. I have three sets of armor changes. I fight in two of them. I feel like Robocop. You move differently. There’s no peripheral vision with the helmets. In addition to the knights, I play a medieval doctor with all of the trappings, a lusty cardinal, a pigeon, pilgrims and a monk. I’ve done a good handful of Shakespeare plays where I’ve worked with swords, using swordplay, but I’ve never had to wear armor before. There are lots of quick changes, and working with armor takes some getting used to.”

In addition to Wilson, the cast includes Anthony Arkin (I’m Not Rappaport, The Waverly Gallery), Heather Burns (Middletown, Lobby Hero), Tate Donovan (Good People, Lobby Hero), Kevin Geer (Unconditional, Twelve Angry Men), Halley Feiffer (The House of Blue Leaves, Tigers Be Still), Josh Hamilton (The Coast of Utopia, The Cherry Orchard) and John Pankow.

Wilson caught the acting bug when he attended Troy State University in Alabama.

C.J. Wilson (Photo by Lia Chang)

“My first acting experience was in college,” said Wilson. “I’m from Fairhope, Alabama, where there were no dramatic arts programs. I always wanted to act. I had a choice between watching Monday night football or auditioning for 1776. It was a Scottish part, and I could do the accent. After I auditioned for 1776, I also got cast in A.R. Guerney’s The Dining Room. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

A graduate of Juilliard, Wilson has worked steadily in theater, film and TV, making his Broadway debut in the 2000 revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. His other Broadway credits include A Steady Rain, Festen, Henry IV and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Off-Broadway, he appeared in All-American at LCT 3; The Bear at HERE; Offices and Voysey Inheritance at Atlantic Theater; Race at Jewish Rep; Stop Kiss, The Cripple of Inishmaan and The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Public.

In 2010, Wilson received a Lucille Lortel nomination for his role as Michael, in Primary Stages’ production of Lucinda Coxon’s Happy Now?.

“I played this British ne’er-do-well,” said Wilson. “He was funny, charming and genuinely loved women. It made it easier for women to like him. It was a lot more joyful to play.

Charles Isherwood, of The New York Times writes, “This jolly lout, played to perfection by C. J. Wilson, exudes the friendly neediness of a tail-wagging golden retriever. He practices a patented form of seduction, lavishing sympathy and flattery on hard-driven professional women looking for a steam valve to release some pressure.”

Mary Bacon as Kitty and CJ Wilson as Michael in the Primary Stages production of Happy Now? by Lucinda Coxon at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters. Directed by Liz Diamond. Photo credit: James Leynse.

A staff writer for the New York Daily News writes, “And Wilson delivers an especially potent performance as the sad-sack serial seducer who sets out to pick up a woman and ends up helping her to wake up to her life.”

Regionally, he has worked with the Berkshire Theatre Group, Wilma, Shakespeare Theatre, Old Globe, Williamstown, ACT in Seattle, Fulton Opera House, McCarter, Syracuse Stage, Acting Company. On TV, he has guest starred on “Blue Bloods,” “Pan Am,” “Onion Sportsdome,” “Brotherhood,” “Without a Trace,” “Third Watch,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order:SVU,” Law & Order: CI,” “Ed,” “New Amsterdam,” and “All My Children.” Wilson can be seen as a fireman in the summer release of Rob Reiner’s The Magic of Belle Isle, which stars Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen, and he has also appeared in the film Ghoul.

The design team for Medieval Play includes Walt Spangler (Scenic Design), Michael Krass (Costume Design), Jason Lyons (Lighting Design), David Van Tiegham (Sound Design) and J. David Brimmer (Fight Direction). The production stage manager is David H. Lurie.

C.J. Wilson, Medieval Play playwright/director Kenneth Lonergan and Matthew Broderick at The Signature Pershing Square Center in New York on May 12, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Kenneth Lonergan’s Medieval Play runs May 15 – June 24, 2012 with a June 7 opening night in The Irene Diamond Stage at the Company’s new Frank Gehry-designed home The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Single tickets are now on sale for Medieval Play at the Signature Theatre Box Office (212-244-7529) and at signaturetheatre.org. Tickets are also on sale for Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa! and Will Eno’s Title and Deed.

Tickets to the initial runs of all productions of Signature’s Inaugural Season at The Pershing Square Signature Center are $25, part of the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, a program that guarantees affordable and accessible tickets to every Signature production for the next 20 years. Serving as a model for theatres and performing arts organizations across the country, the Initiative was founded in 2005 and is made possible by lead partner The Pershing Square Foundation and founding sponsor Time Warner, Inc., with additional seed support provided by the Ford Foundation, Margot Adams, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Thom Sesma is the keynote speaker for the Library of Congress celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) at the Mary Pickford Theater on May 17
BD Wong Creates Kickstarter Campaign for his Live Concert Recording of HERRINGBONE, to be performed May 21-22 as a Benefit for Dixon Place
Epic Theatre Presents Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, starring Joel de la Fuente, May 20-21, 2012
David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Christine Toy Johnson helms Concert Reading of Jason Ma’s Gold Mountain starring Raymond J. Lee & Ali Ewoldt on 5/21
André De Shields in BLACK BY POPULAR DEMAND at the Laurie Beechman, 5/4, 5/11 & 5/18
David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season
Photos: Laila Robins, Sean Dugan, C.J. Wilson, Peter Francis James, Bill Irwin and Tricia Paoluccio at Signature Theatre Company’s revival of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque
Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot, starring Colman Domingo & Scott Shepherd in The Alice Griffith Jewel Box at The Pershing Square Signature Center through March 11, 2012
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot, starring Colman Domingo & Scott Shepherd in The Alice Griffith Jewel Box at The Pershing Square Signature Center through March 11, 2012

BLOOD KNOT's Colman Domingo, dialect coach Barbara Rubin and Scott Shepherd at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York on February 13, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Last night, I attended a very special performance of BLOOD KNOT, written and directed by Athol Fugard and starring Tony Award-nominee Colman Domingo (The Scottsboro Boys) as Zachariah and Obie Award-winner Scott Shepherd (Gatz) as Morris, in the Signature Theatre Company’s (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) spectacular new space, The Pershing Square Signature Center, designed by Frank Gehry, located at 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenues in New York. BLOOD KNOT is Signature’s inaugural production in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, and is the first play in the Residency One: Athol Fugard Series, runs January 31 – March 11, 2012 with a February 16th opening night. BLOOD KNOT is the first of three Fugard shows Signature will present this season.

After the curtain call, Fugard joined his cast Colman Domingo and Scott Shepherd onstage, calling their performances “gentle, courageous and brave,” and was surprised with a cake to commemorate 50 years since the play was staged at Labia Theatre, Cape Town on February 12, 1962.

Between patchwork walls in a one-room shack, two biracial South African brothers grapple with crippling poverty and lonely isolation. Morris, the punctilious force that keeps their room tidy, is light-skinned enough to pass for white, but dark-skinned Zach feels imprisoned by his job at a whites-only park. When they find themselves on some dangerous new ground, the brothers must come face to face with the blood knot between them. Athol Fugard’s revolutionary breakthrough play is a searing indictment of apartheid and one of his most celebrated works.

The design team includes Christopher H. Barreca (Set Design), Susan Hilferty (Costume Design), Stephen Strawbridge (Lighting Design), Brett Jarvis (Sound Design) and Barbara Rubin (Dialect Coach). The Production Stage Manager is Pamela Salling and Assistant Stage Manager is Maggie Swing. Casting is by Telsey + Company.

All regularly priced single tickets ($75) for the initial run of both shows will be made available for $25 through The Signature Ticket Initiative: A Decade of Access. Tickets and season subscriptions can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 212-244-7529 or online at www.signaturetheatre.org.

Barbara Rubin and Gordana Rashovich Photo by Lia Chang

2011-2012 SEASON OVERVIEW
RESIDENCY ONE – ATHOL FUGARD SERIES
BLOOD KNOT
Written and Directed by Athol Fugard
January 31 – March 11, 2012

MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA!
By Athol Fugard
Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
May 1 – June 10, 2012
Written in 1989 shortly before the end of apartheid, My Children! My Africa! presents an honest and unflinching portrait of a country on the brink of revolution, and is a testament to the power and potential of youth, hope, and ideas.

THE TRAIN DRIVER *** NEW YORK PREMIERE ***
Written and Directed by Athol Fugard
August 14 – September 23, 2012

Based on a true story, The Train Driver is a soulful exploration of guilt, suffering and the powerful bonds that grow between strangers.

LEGACY PROGRAM
EDWARD ALBEE’S THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE
Directed by David Esbjornson
February 14 – March 25, 2012

At a late night party, Sam and Jo entertain their friends with a round of Twenty Questions and another round of drinks. When an unexpected guest and her mysterious companion arrive, the question “Who are you?” gains a whole new and desperate meaning. Tony Award-winner Jane Alexander will play the title role.

RESIDENCY FIVE
HURT VILLAGE *** WORLD PREMIERE ***
By Katori Hall
Directed by Patricia McGregor
February 7 – March 18, 2012

It’s the end of a long summer in Hurt Village, a housing project in Memphis, Tennessee, and a government Hope Grant means relocation for many of the project’s residents. A bold, gritty and devastating work, Hurt Village earned Katori Hall the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, given annually to an outstanding female playwright.

Featuing Marsha Stephanie Blake (The Merchant of Venice; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), Nicholas Christopher(Rent, In the Heights), Corey Hawkins (Suicide, Incorporated), Charlie Hudson III (The Piano Lesson, Mother Courage), Ron Cephas Jones (Gem of the Ocean, The Bridge Project), Joaquina Kalukango (Godspell), Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change; “All My Children”), Saycon Sengbloh (Fela!, Hair) and Lloyd Watts (“Treme,” Mother Courage.)

TITLE AND DEED *** U.S. PREMIERE ***
By Will Eno
Directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett
In association with Gare St. Lazare Players Ireland
May 8 – June 3, 2012

A nameless traveler from a far off place searches for connection and solace in an unknown country in this funny and sad meditation on mortality, loneliness, innocence, home, family, love, funerals, words, and the world. A provocative new work by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Horton Foote Prize winner Will Eno, whom The New York Times called “a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation.”

A NEW PLAY BY KENNETH LONERGAN *** WORLD PREMIERE ***
May 15 – June 24, 2012

Kenneth Lonergan, acclaimed playwright (This is Our Youth, Lobby Hero, The Starry Messenger) and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter (You Can Count on Me), shares a new work with Signature audiences.

About SIGNATURE THEATRE
Founded in 1991 by James Houghton, Signature Theatre exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright’s body of work, and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process. Signature is the first theatre company to devote an entire season to the work of a single playwright, including re-examinations of past writings as well as New York and world premieres. By championing in-depth explorations of a living playwright’s body of work, the Company delivers an intimate and immersive journey into the playwright’s singular vision.

Signature has presented entire seasons of the work of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornes, John Guare, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, the historic Negro Ensemble Company, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, August Wilson and Lanford Wilson. Signature remains deeply committed to season-long residencies, and during the company’s tenth and fifteenth anniversaries, Signature introduced the Legacy Program. The Legacy Program invites past Playwrights-in-Residence back to Signature through two series: the Signature Series, which presents “signature,” or more well-known works; and the Premiere Series, which presents New York and world premieres.

In pursuit of its goal to build new audiences and remove the price barrier to those interested in experiencing live theatre, Signature has provided $20 tickets to all of its productions since 2005 through its groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative. Providing unprecedented access to world class theatre, this innovative program has served as a model for theatres and performing arts organizations across the country. The program’s next phase, A Decade of Access, will continue for the next ten years, making all regularly-priced single tickets ($75) during the initial announced run available for $25. Signature is committed to raising the funds needed for A Decade of Access and continues to pursue lead corporate sponsorship. Generous seed support has been provided by Marma Foundation, Time Warner Inc., The Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the New York City Council.

Signature, its productions and its resident writers have been recognized with a Pulitzer Prize, fourteen Lucille Lortel Awards, sixteen Obie Awards, six Drama Desk Awards and twenty-two AUDELCO Awards, among many other distinctions. The National Theatre Conference recognized the company as the 2003 Outstanding National Theatre of the Year. For more information on Signature please visit www.signaturetheatre.org.

AboutThe Pershing Square Signature Center
Opening in January 2012, The Pershing Square Signature Center is the new, permanent home of Signature Theatre. Spanning an entire city block at 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenue, the Frank Gehry-designed The Pershing Square Signature Center will feature three intimate theatres, a studio theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café and bookstore and will serve as both a theatre community hub and neighborhood destination. Working hand-in-hand with Signature leadership and architect of record H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture LLC, Gehry’s design has been carefully calibrated to foster interaction among playwrights, artistic collaborators and the public. The Pershing Square Signature Center will allow the 20-year old Company, critically acclaimed for its programs that celebrate the playwright’s body of work, to expand and enhance its programming, introduce new initiatives, and build audiences.

At The Pershing Square Signature Center, the Company’s programming will include: Residency One, the continuation of Signature’s core program which provides audiences with an immersive exploration of the work of a singular playwright; Residency Five, a new artistic initiative which provides five-year residencies and guarantees three full productions for multiple playwrights to support the creation and staging of new work; and the Legacy Program, which honors the lifetime achievement of artists who have previously been in residence at Signature with stagings of new plays and signature works. The Pershing Square Signature Center will serve as the artistic home for as many as 9 playwrights at any one time, fostering a dynamic creative community where playwrights will engage directly with audiences and one another.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Linsanity: Sports Illustrated Cover Guy New York Knicks Starting Point Guard Jeremy Lin
Photos: AALDEF 2012 Justice in Action Honorees Parkin Lee, Jean Koh Peters and Fareed Zakaria
Broadwayworld.com Photo Flash: Library of Congress’ IN REHEARSAL Exhibit
Cindy Cheung’s solo show SPEAK UP CONNIE, directed by BD Wong at Stage Left Studio has been extended, February 5-15, 2012
broadwayworld.com: Photo Flash: SPEAK UP CONNIE In Rehearsal
Feb. 13: Chinglish Playwright David Henry Hwang Moderates “RepresentAsian: The Changing Face of New York Theater” at Pope Auditorium at Fordham University
Larry Bryggman, Peter Jay Fernandez, Arliss Howard and David Pittu Set for Atlantic Theater Company’s CQ/CX, January 25-March 4, 2012
Ma-Yi Theatre Company Presents Qui Nguyen’s THE INEXPLICABLE REDEMPTION OF AGENT G at Theatre Row’s Beckett Theatre, 2/7 – 3/4
Photos: Eiko Ishioka
Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert and Minnesota Tour, February 9-19, 2012
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos & Video: Celebrate Chinese New Year with David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish through January 29, 2012
Mu Daiko 15th Anniversary Concert and Minnesota Tour, February 9-19, 2012
Photos: “How To Succeed” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rose Hemingway and John Larroquette at Lord & Taylor for Windows Unveiling
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet, Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Subscribe to Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. In 2010, the Library of Congress established The Lia Chang APA Theater Portfolio in the Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian Pacific American Islander Collection.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at lia@liachangphotography.com.