In RITES OF PRIVACY, actor and author David Rhodes begins as himself, but quickly shifts gears -- and costumes - to portray an array of characters aching to reveal their darkest secrets: a fading Southern pageant queen, an aging refugee from Nazi Germany, a fish-out-of-water Jew in New Hampshire, a doctor facing an unwanted pregnancy, and a Belgian drug dealer. Throughout, Rhodes alternates these characters with candid stories from his own experience, ultimately seeking a place of clarity and authenticity in his creative and personal life. David Rhodes appeared in Clay McLeod Chapman's LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGLERS, produced by Moving Parts Theater in 2004. Other New York credits include I'M TELLING YOU, COLUMBUS: THE MUSICAL, JULIUS CEASAR, JOB (La MaMa) and ACCEPTANCE SPEECH. Regionally has appeared in ROMANCE/ROMANCE, THE SLEEPER, EQUUS and THE MISER, as well as national tours of GREASE with Jack Wagner and PETER PAN with Cathy Rigby. Film and television credits include "Playing for Keeps," "Law & Order," "The Dueling Accountants," Fox-TV's "9 to 5," and ABC daytime's "Loving." He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Carnegie-Mellon and Wesleyan University. Mr. Rhodes is also a founding member of The First Folio Shakespeare Company. As a director Charles Loffredo received an OOBR award for his direction of Richard Willet's THE GODSEND. For Moving Parts Theater, he directed world premieres of Clay McLeod Chapman's BROKEN BOUGHS and LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGLERS. A former resident member of New Directions Theater, Mr. Loffredo directed its world premiere of RED LIGHTS AND DRAGONS by Oscar-nominated writer HERMAN RAUSHER. He is the Artistic Director of Moving Parts Theater, which he founded in 2000. As an actor, his credits include NY premieres of Joyce Carol Oates' HERE SHE IS! and Michael Weller's GHOST ON FIRE and Richard Willet's TRIPTYCH. Moving Parts Theater is a Manhattan-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the incorporation of performing, literary and visual art. Founded by Mr. Loffredo in 2000, Moving Parts Theater counts among its ranks an ever-growing list of actors, singers, dancers, writers, artists, photographers, musicians, composers, choreographers, puppeteers and designers -- all collaborating to create productions which seek to expand the boundaries of traditional theater by combining several different genres into one unique theatrical event. Since its inception the company has produced two much-acclaimed plays by Clay McLeod Chapman: BROKEN BOUGHS and LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGLERS, and most recently, Christopher Kenney and Hank Bones' LEGS! starring downtown drag sensation Edie. Moving Parts Theater also presented the fundraising event DELICIOUSLY WICKED FUN at the Blue Heron Arts Center, featuring Academy Award-winning actress Kim Hunter.
http://www.movingpartstheater.com
‘In his one-man show, David Rhodes sings, dances, and portrays five characters, each with a secret to tell. Ranging from a genteel Southern widow, to a New Hampshire fisherman to an elderly refugee from Nazi Germany, they allow for an array of joyfully employed dialects, outfits, and wigs, which Rhodes sheds between scenes in order to tell stories from his own life…warmly delivered’
THE NEW YORKER
‘Whether he’s a fading Southern belle, a Holocaust survivor, a gay Belgian club kid or merely himself, Rhodes is nothing short of entrancing. The stories are funny, touching and occasionally shocking’
HX MAGAZINE
‘A magnetic and exciting work of theatre… “Rites of Privacy” offers plenty of food for thought on its tantalizing main subjects of privacy, secrecy, rituals, and transformation; and it introduces us (inside and out) not only to a mesmerizing and talented actor but to a compelling collection of characters who have much to teach us about the powerful lure and danger of not telling’
NYTHEATRE.COM
‘During "Rites of Privacy," performer-writer David Rhodes seems genuinely in control … Clarinda Delaboise, Rhodes' towering Georgian lady, harbors a nasty secret about her husband's death. The eventual revelation isn't vile or mean-spirited -- it's just sad, and it illuminates this armor-plated character, holding up to the light the things that can embarrass her enough to penetrate her defenses. Rhodes seems to know that Clarinda is both grand and a little silly, and to love her excesses … There's a character known only by his personal ad handle, boi4u2use ... He's an immigrant from Belgium…who finds the love of his life in the New York club scene …the eventual tragedy that befalls the young man and his boyfriend is genuinely touching
’
VARIETY
‘A transcendent moment early on in “Rites of Privacy,” when one of the characters mimes playing the harp while singing Noël Coward's syrupy anthem "I'll Follow My Secret Heart." Fingers twirling, voice aquiver with tremolo, caricature is transcended to reveal an inner essence with a ridiculous force, something artists like Charles Ludlam knew to be a pathway into pathos’
BACKSTAGE
‘ Rhodes, bright eyed and agile, is an engaging performer’
THE TIMES
Wednesday 13 January to Sunday 14 February 2010
Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30pm
Saturday & Sunday at 3:30
Tickets
Tickets £18 Concessions £16
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