Dante Today

Performing Arts Archive

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Ruth Virkus and Brenna Jones, "Dawn's Inferno -- A Divine Comedy" (2009)

http://theflowershopproject.com/wp/

"Dawn's Inferno - A Divine Comedy Part way through her life's journey, Dawn Ahlgren finds herself in a dark wood... Darkwood, MN. Returning to her hometown for her ten-year high school reunion, Dawn is trapped in the Inferno Bar & Grill, surrounded by classmates determined to prove that Hell is indeed other people. Based on The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, Dawn's Inferno is an innovative and hilarious update of Dante's classic trip through Hell, re-invented as another kind of divine comedy."

The Flower Shop Project Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
http://theflowershopproject.com/wp/

Performances at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theatre, July 9-25, 2009
Minneapolis, MN

Posted on July 2, 2009

Sante Maurizi, "Paolo e Francesca" (2000-2001), La botte e il Cilindro theater, Sassari (Sardinia)

http://www.bottecilindro.it/bottecilindro/?p=422

"Paolo e Francesca" is a journey through the different ways in which the story told by Dante in Inferno V has be represented in visual art, theater, poetry, etc.

Information on the play, "Paolo e Francescsa" by Sante Maurizi:
http://www.bottecilindro.it/bottecilindro/?page_id=614

Information on La botte e il Cilindro theater:
http://www.bottecilindro.it/bottecilindro/?page_id=2

See also the link to a wonderful collection of illustrations on the "Paolo and Francesca" scene of Inf. V:
http://www.bottecilindro.it/bottecilindro/?page_id=618

Posted on June 2, 2009

Dante's Inferno Documented (2009)

http://www.dantesinfernodocumented.com/

"Dante's Inferno Documented, now in final stages of post-production, started filming in Italy (Rome, Florence and Bellagio) in February, 2008 and continued in Los Angeles, United States in March, August, December 2008, January 2009 (including its narration) and finished additional filming in February of 2009...

"Dante's Inferno Documented is an introduction to Dante Alighieri's journey through the first part of the afterlife, Inferno. It is a four-quadrant compelling film organized circle by circle and presented in an unprecedented and unique way that no other documentary has done up until now. Dante's Inferno Documented is a visual and narrative journey to Hell told by over 30 scholars and artists who were interviewed on Dante's Inferno, in both Italy and the United States. It features over 50 black and white illustrations by Gustave Dore, over 50 original color illustrations from the upcoming Dante's Inferno comic book and magazine series and a few dramatic animations from the upcoming animation short film..."
http://www.dantesinfernodocumented.com/

See also these related websites:
http://dantesinfernocommunity.com/
http://www.dantealighieri.name/

Posted on May 26, 2009

Roberto Benigni, "TuttoDante" in the US

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/theater/23dant.html?emc=eta1

"...Next week he will begin a short North American tour of TuttoDante, a monologue about Dante's Divine Comedy that mixes literary insights with off-the-cuff political jokes. In Italy, where he has been doing the show regularly for three years, it has drawn more than a million people..."

Ben Sisario, The New York Times, May 22, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/theater/23dant.html?emc=eta1

Contributed by Pamela Montanaro

See also
"Hell's Kitchen" by Stephan Faris, The New Yorker, June 1, 2009

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/06/01/090601ta_talk_faris

"For the record, the Italian actor Roberto Benigni does not believe that New Yorkers are going to Hell. 'I hope they go to Paradise, every one of them,' he said last Thursday, in the back seat of a taxi, blinking against the swish and roar of traffic. But that might be because he thinks it's a journey the city's residents have already made. 'This is the beginning of Hell,' he said. 'The deeper we go, the greater the range of utterances of grief and fury we will hear. Different colors of people. Slang! Obscenity! Curses! Sighs! Keening!' He paused while a van blasted its air horn. 'This is really the sound of Hell,' he said. 'But we need to pass through the Inferno to reach Paradise.'..."

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/06/01/090601ta_talk_faris

Contributed by Patrick Molloy

Posted on May 25, 2009

Yale Cabaret, "Funny as Hell" (2009)

http://www.yalecabaret.org/what.html

"Dante's Divine Comedy is a staple of the so-called western canon. Aged and distinguished--though mostly just age--like fine wine and pungent cheese, it's the classic man's classic. Roughly seven centuries later (incidentally, a divine number of completion), Russell Taylor, Brian Dambacher DRA '11 and Dave Dambacher breathe new life into the familiar narrative with their collaborative creation, 'Funny as Hell'... a baptism under fire.

"Directed by Dambacher and Taylor, 'Funny as Hell' goes up this weekend at the Yale Cabaret. It features Taylor, Darlene McCullough and Ryan Hales DRA '11. And in keeping with themes of the afterlife, this particular version marks the piece's third reincarnation..."

Nicholle Manners, Yale Daily News, January 16, 2009

Contributed by Patrick Molloy

Posted on April 30, 2009

Walt McGough, "Dante Dies!! And Then Things Get Weird" (2008)

http://www.sideshowtheatre.org/dante.html

"Seven hundred years ago, Dante Alighieri began writing one of the world's most compelling and imaginative texts. This June, we respectfully screw it all up.

"Sideshow Theatre proudly presents the world premiere of Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird), a new play by Walt McGough oh-so-loosely based on Mr. Alighieri's Inferno. Partway along the journey of his life, Dante finds himself mourning a lost love, feeling morose and, for some reason, in Hell. Trying to find his way home, he encounters incredible suffering, infernal bureaucracy, some sins of his own, and the aggressive attention of a competitive hot dog eater. Each step downward brings him closer to a personal reckoning with his own story, and maybe a chance to find an answer or two. Enacting the story single-handedly, versatile performer Matt Fletcher brings over fifteen different characters to life as he tracks Dante's progress through the nine circles of Hell in this unexpected and epic adventure."

http://www.sideshowtheatre.org/dante.html

Contributed by Patrick Molloy

Posted on April 30, 2009

Joe Wright, "The Soloist" (2009)

http://data.kataweb.it/kpm2cinx/field/image/tcimage/372149

"The Soloist is a buddy movie with none of the usual grace notes of the genre, and the backdrop--a skid row seemingly conjured by Dante where legions of homeless lead a feral existence --is part of a Los Angeles few ever see. In his films Mr. Wright has displayed a remarkable visual facility, and The Soloist is no exception. Instead of hills and canyons, the city is rendered in soaring concrete, brutal poverty, scary dark nights and hard sunlight..."

David Carr, The New York Times, April 15, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/movies/19carr.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Posted on April 19, 2009

"A Mexican Tradition Runs on Pageantry and Faith"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/world/americas/12mexico.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

"The Passion Play in Iztapalapa, Mexico, has a cast of thousands. The 50 or so main parts tend to remain within local families... The Roman Catholic Church's attitude toward the play has fluctuated over the years. In the past, there were complaints that the script, which draws not only on the Bible but also on Dante's Divine Comedy, deviated too much from sacred texts..."

Larry Rohter, The New York Times, April 11, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/world/americas/12mexico.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Posted on April 12, 2009

Federico Fellini, "Fred and Ginger" (1986)

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/FILM/DVDReviews21/ginger_and_fred_dvd_review.htm

"In the opening scenes, a group of TV variety show guests and performers are riding in a van from Termini Station to the TV studio for the taping of the show. Playing on the video monitor in the the van is what appears to be a children's show, featuring a Dante marionette who is lost in a dark forest. The sequence ends as Dante finds a compass and happily walks home."

Contributed by Roy Scarbrough

Posted on February 21, 2009

Synetic Theater, "Dante," Washington, D.C. (2009)

In an unprecedented, ambitious production, Synetic Theater takes on the entirety of Dante Alighieri's epic masterpiece, the tale of a lost traveler's visionary journey through the torments of Hell and up the slopes of Purgatory, before the final attainment of redemption and Paradise. Delving into the core of Dante's original work, this modern retelling will bring the Italian classic to life in a way never seen before.
http://www.synetictheater.org/season_0809_divine_comedy.html

Contributed by Aisha Woodward (Bowdoin, '08)

Posted on February 19, 2009