Ben Jonson's VOLPONE with André De Shields | Coming June 14

An Online Benefit Reading

VOLPONE, OR THE FOX
by BEN JONSON
Adapted and directed by JESSE BERGER

MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2021
7:30 PM EDT | LIVESTREAM

Meet Volpone, the rich old magnifico, whose ingenious schemes and farcical scams dupe his wealthy friends into showering him with gold. This feast of extraordinary language and outrageous characters is a merciless satire that delightfully skewers the selfish manipulations of hypocrites—without excusing the greed and gullibility of their victims. Against scoundrels cloaked in propriety and legal dodgings, the virtuous are practically defenseless—and even the judge is on the make. Is Volpone the sly fox...or the outfoxed?

Directed by Jesse Berger, this online benefit reading will feature ###strong as Volpone, Jordan Boatman, Sofia Cheyenne, Franchelle Stewart Dorn, Clifton Duncan, Amy Jo Jackson, Peter Francis James, Hamish Linklater, Roberta Maxwell, Sam Morales, Kristine Nielsen, Mary Testa, and Shannon Wicks. é>

First produced by Red Bull Theater in 2012, this new version will feature emendations & elaborations by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher (The Government Inspector). VOLPONE will have visual design by John Arnone, costume design by Rodrigo Muñoz from original designs by Tony Award winner Clint Ramos, original music and sound design by Scott Killian, and property design by Faye Armon-Troncoso.é>

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ABOUT THE PLAY

by JEAN E. HOWARD

Ben Jonson set most of his comedies in early modern London, but for VOLPONE he chose Venice. In the Renaissance, Venice was a wealthy center of trade where luxury products from the East made their way into Europe, but it was also famous for its Republican political structures, its art, and its courtesans. In Volpone, Jonson used Venice to signify both wealth and moral decadence.
The play opens with the main character, Volpone, making a rapturous speech to his gold. Nearly every other character is also in thrall to this “dumb god,” and to attain more and more wealth these Venetians are ready to prostitute their wives, disinherit their sons and defile their honor. The action of Volpone exposes and satirizes the actions of its avaricious characters, but it does so with dazzling ingenuity. The play is dominated by a magnificent con artist, Volpone, and his tricky servant Mosca. Together they dupe the well-off doctors, lawyers, and merchants of Venice into giving rich gifts to Volpone, who pretends to be near death, in the hope that one of them can become his heir. Jonson underscores the predatory logic of the play by playing with the conventions of the beast fable in which the actions of humans are figured by animals...KEEP READING

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We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions: ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS, AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS, and SAG-AFTRA through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on these programs.