Presented by Theatre at Barton
April 10 and 13, 2014
The cold-war years following World War II had a remarkable effect on world drama and spawned numerous works, “apocalyptic” in nature. Renowned American playwright Clifford Odets, recognized for metaphorical conflict and fiery, left-wing rhetoric, chose a unique and unexpected approach to this theme; he wrote a heartwarming and outrageously funny retelling of the Noah’s Ark story titled The Flowering Peach. This 1954 play was to be Odets’ last; the work was posthumously adapted into the wonderful musical, Two by Two, by the celebrated team of Richard Rogers (Oklahoma!, The King and I, The Sound of Music, etc.), Martin Charnin (Annie) and Peter Stone (1776, Titanic), and starred Danny Kaye.
Imagine a crotchety, comfortable 600-year-old Noah being informed that he was going to have to build an ark, larger than anything ever conceived of, as a means of saving the human race … not to mention all land animals. Then imagine Noah springing that on his very average, dysfunctional family and encouraging them to assist, in spite of all the grief they receive from the neighbors and the town.
This is where our story begins, and we invite you to join us at the Kennedy Family Theatre to share in the fun, the antics, the enchanting music … and perhaps grab a hammer and pitch in!