Flyer The Rat Trap by Noël Coward

Hicksville, NY Pe r m i t N o . 1 4

pa i d

non - profit u . s . postage

PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

JONATHAN BANK

CAST

Emily Bosco, Jason Eddy, James Evans Elisabeth Gray, Kate Hampton Ramzi Khalaf, Heloise Lowenthal Cynthia Mace, Claire Saunders Sarin Monae West

Alistair Macaulay, The Financial Times

“Anyone interested iN Coward should see it..”

American Premiere

412 West 42nd St New York, NY 10036

CREATIVE TEAM

Vicki R. Davis Hunter Kaczorowski Christian DeAngelis Bill Toles Amy Stoller Stephanie Klapper

New York City Center Stage II 131 West 55th St

(Between 6th & 7th)

MINTTHEATER.ORG

THIS PRODUCTION IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY: The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

By public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Even worse was the introduction Coward wrote for the publication in which he admits defeat for his untried play and throws it overboard, “For years I have mourned the fact that The Rat Trap never saw the light of day…but now the time for it is past.” He dismisses the play as an “early work”, providing fodder for critics to later quote.

The first ever revival came 80 years later at the Finborough in London, where it was exclaimed by the Evening Standard as “an absolute revelation.”

“Already you see him, as a precocious stripling, sketching out the theme that was to haunt his later work: the idea that talent is best fulfilled by shedding emotional commitments.”

Michael Billington, The Guardian

From November 1 through December 10, 2022, at New York City Center Stage II, Mint will present the American Premiere of The Rat Trap

by Noel Coward, written when he was 18.

“An unjustly forgotten drama that is both like and interestingly unlike the plays that followed.”

Jeremy Kingston, The Times

“Anyone interested in Coward should see it.”

Noël Coward (1899-1973) captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic over the course of five decades, as a playwright, actor, singer, and songwriter.

At the time of his death, Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times recounted his association with our city: “He exploded on New York in 1925 where he was unknown to most theater-goers.

Within three months, three plays by him appeared on Broadway stages—The Vortex, in which he acted a leading part, Hay Fever and Easy Virtue…Most of us did not realize that he had been on the stage for many years. When he was 11, he played Prince Mussel in The Goldfish, a fairy story for children. In view of his sophistication as a playwright, it was amusing to think of him acting in innocent plays, including Peter Pan, when he was 17.”

Alistair Macaulay, The Financial Times

This remarkably mature drama tells the story of a newlywed couple looking towards a bright future together, two promising writers vowing to support and love each other through the challenges of creative and professional endeavor. Things go even worse than you might imagine.

ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY! Performances November 1 through December 10, 2022 NYCITYCENTER.ORG

The Rat Trap mixes a caustic realism with flashes of Coward’s brilliant, biting wit. Looking back on the play in 1937 in Present Indicative, Coward calls it “My first really serious attempt at psychological conflict…When I had finished it, I felt, for the first time with genuine conviction, that I could really write plays.”

Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri, & Sat at 7:30pm | Wed, Sat, & Sun at 2:30pm

The play was not produced until 1926, riding on the coattails of Coward’s recent successes with The Vortex, Hay Fever and Fallen Angels—not to mention his ascending fame as an actor.

Audiences expecting the scandalous decadence and high farce of these other works must have been surprised by The Rat Trap — less dry martini and more bitter stout: dark, strong and sour. It ran for the scheduled two weeks and disappeared. Coward, away from England, never even saw it.

No 2:30 perf. on 11/2 & 11/9 No 7:30 perf. on 11/23, 11/24, 11/30

Critical reception of The Rat Trap in 1926 was compromised by Coward himself, as he was on a boat headed to America while it was in rehearsal, giving the clear impression that he didn’t care. “To produce the play on the fringe of town, half apologetically as a work of youth and curiosity was to damage it in advance,” wrote the critic for The Sunday Times. Variety went so far as to say that “Coward had taken no interest in the production. If he had, why did he run away?”

At NY City Stage II 131 W 55th St (between 6th and 7th)

Premium Seating: $90 Standard Seating: $75 CheapTix: $45

Price includes $3 Facility Fee and $7 handling fee for phone and online orders.

Ticket Info

NYCITYCENTER.ORG

Box Office

131 W 55TH ST