Radicalization of Rolfe Reveals the Big Story Behind a Small Character in Sound of Music | Playbill

News Radicalization of Rolfe Reveals the Big Story Behind a Small Character in Sound of Music The play, which won a NY Fringe Award, is neither a musical nor a comedy.

Tom Stoppard won a Tony Award for his Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which told the story of Hamlet from the point of view of two of its minor characters.

The Radicalization of Rolfe, winner of a 2016 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award, does the same for The Sound of Music, through the eyes of daughter Liesl’s famously “17 going on 18” boyfriend, who is drawn into the growing power of the Third Reich in Austria, and nearly betrays her family to the Nazis as they are trying to escape to Switzerland.

Written by Andrew Bergh and directed by Abigail Zealey Bess, the play—neither a musical nor a comedy—shows Rolfe as a confused young gay man trying to find his way in the fiercely repressive society in which he lives. The Radicalization of Rolfe runs through October 29 at the Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street in Manhattan.

Here’s how it is described in production notes: “Messenger boy, Rolfe, 17 going on 18, is trying to make his way in the Third Reich and rise in the new order, but has been stuck delivering messages to a certain widowed Austrian Naval Captain with seven children at his Villa. There he flirts with the Captain’s eldest daughter, under the watchful eye of the children’s new governess from nearby Nonnberg Abbey. He quickly discovers that the conflicts between his ambition and his sexuality pose life and death consequences.”

The cast includes Logan Sutherland as Rolfe, Polly Adams as Frau Schmidt, Dominic Comperatore as Herr Zeller, Alex J. Gould as Johan, and Jay Paterson as Franz.

The Radicalization of Rolfe reopened as part of the Fringe Encore Series 2016 at The Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, New York City, October 23. Tickets are $18.

Visit www.facebook.com/RadRolfe for more information and tickets.

 
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