Pericles
Pericles
Based on the play by William Shakespeare
Music by Joe Popp, Brian McCabe and Tylor Durand
Lyrics by Joe Popp
Book by Neil Gobioff & Shawn Paonessa
Directed by David M. Jenkins
Encore Performance
Apr. 7 – 11, 2010
Wed. – Sat. 8pm, Sun. 4pm
Tickets: $15
Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center
Off-Broadway Premiere
Apr. 15 – 17, 2010
Thr. – Sat. 8:30pm, Sat. 4pm
Tickets: $15
HERE Theater, New York
Distinctions
Creative Loafing Best of the Bay
- Best Theatrical Composer – Joe Popp
- 2009 Top 10 Production
- Best Theater Production, Reader’s Poll Runner-Up
What It's About
Jobsite Theater is bringing back their production of Pericles: Prince of Tires in a showcase format to take to New York after playing a week of encore performances in Tampa. Pericles: Prince of Tires is a comic rock mob musical based on William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
Joe Popp (dogs on ice, The Hornrims, MAXWELL) has paired his power-punk music and oddball sense of humor with the estimable talents of perennial Jobsite wordsmiths Neil Gobioff & Shawn Paonessa (The Curse of Milhaven, The March of the Kitefliers) to create an ass-kicking good time.
This telling of Pericles has been shifted in time and space to modern era United States. Perry, “Prince of Tires”, gets caught up in a web of intrigue, incest and the mafia as he tries to balance having a family while also running a “family.” His sometimes hilarious and sometimes poignant exploits take him through New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, while he dodges mob hits, lecherous carnies, multiple storms at sea, and losing his wife and daughter. As his epic journey ends, he learns that saving both his biological family and his mafia family are rooted in truly understanding the value of loyalty, honor and love.
Shakespeare’s Pericles centers around a young Greek prince travelling to exotic locales in what’s today Greece, Turkey and Lebanon. Despite many successful stagings over the years, Shakespeare’s Pericles is typically considered one of his lesser plays. The first nine scenes of the original are often argued to not even be the Bard’s work.
Jobsite’s Pericles largely keeps the major plot and structure of Shakespeare’s play and in some instances keeps the same character names. However, Pericles: Prince of Tires is considerably more accessible and immediate to a modern audience.
Theocratic royalty is replaced with underworld royalty, as the plot is spun with both dramatic and comedic elements that audiences will instantly recognize from modern classics like The Godfather and The Sopranos. Anyone familiar with the original play will easily see the corollaries; those who aren’t won’t miss a thing.
This production is being presented in New York through HEREstay, a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support.
Warning
Pericles contains adult language and subject matter and is intended for mature audiences only.
Critic Reviews
... if you love the Bard, good rock music, The Sopranos or just edgy theater, Pericles is a must-see. It’s an eloquent reminder of how indispensable Jobsite has become in ten years, and how consistently daring. – Creative Loafing
... a raucous force of nature ... a butt-kicking, rocked-out adaptation ... It's clear that Jobsite has worked to create a non-musical musical ... The acting is good ... [the script] is delightfully smartass and rude. But the music is what makes this production really sing. – Tampa Tribune
Popp's songs have never been better, with great hooks and melodies tempered with punkish rawness. The cast features performers known mostly for their acting, but several of them reveal some really impressive pipes. There's really not a bad singer (or actor) in the eight-person cast. – St. Petersburg Times
Be ready to get blown away ... It’s fun, quirky, and energetic ... a rare commodity, an original rock musical, put together by the raw energy and talent of a group of committed artists ... They went out on a limb to produce this edgy, possibly controversial show. It works, and there’s nothing canned or fake about it. Turn off the television and go see Pericles. – Tampa Bay Arts Net
[Pericles] made Shakespeare’s dark romance fresh, relevant, and more widely appealing. – Shakespeare Bulletin
Joe Popp is a beast on stage... The cast of eight play the roles of many and adapt to portray each character to perfection. The slapstick comedy is something of an unexpected surprise and really carries the show. – REAX Music
News
Cast & Crew
- David M. Jenkins – Director
- Xylina Golding – Stage Manager/Lighting & Video Operator
Music and Book
- Joe Popp – Composer, Lyricist & Guitarist
- Tylor Durand – Composer & Drummer
- Brian McCabe – Composer & Bassist
- Neil Gobioff – Playwright
- Shawn Paonessa – Playwright
Cast
- Katie Castonguay – Marina, et. al.
- Jason Evans – Lizard, et. al.
- Amy E. Gray – Dion, et. al.
- Spencer Meyers – Henry, et. al.
- Chris Perez – Fat Tony, et. al.
- Joe Popp – Gower
- Stephen Ray – Perry
- Shawn Paonessa – Vinnie Carbonza
- Ami Sallee – Talia
- Katrina Stevenson – News Reporter
Crew
- Summer Bohnenkamp – Sound Operator
- Amy E. Gray – Voice Coach
- David M. Jenkins – Video Designer
- Kevin Kennedy – Sound Designer/Engineer
- Shawn Paonessa – Video Engineer
- Brian M. Smallheer – Lighting & Scenic Designer
- Katrina Stevenson – Costume Designer
Patron Reviews
Just got in from seeing the great musical Pericles. It is one of the best plays that I have seen in a while. The music was great, lyrics were significant to the story line and the performance done by each cast member was OUTSTANDING. Each actor played and sang their part so very well. I was caught up in the plot, which is for mature audiences only. The players easily drew me into their character and I felt as though I were part of the performance. I will be attending this musical again with friends and family…. Treat yourself to a night out of a modern musical with a great cast of actors, singers and comedians. It is time to make a memory. Enjoy. – Jeanette French
I was frankly very unsure about this Pericles thing. Shakespeare, mobsters, punk-rock. Sounds like something that you might see in a Simpsons episode about community theater. And who is this Joe Popp guy anyway? Add to that the hype, the glowing reports of the people who saw it in rehearsal and the preview night and I was very worried it wouldn’t live up to the expectations. It didn’t. It surpassed them. I know who Joe Popp is now, he’s a wizard. The music was amazing, powerful, energetic and still melodic over a broad variety of styles … The cast were uniformly strong, passionate and energetic … The book was a very clever transmogrification of the original as well as incredibly funny … I’ll be seeing it again, everyone should go see it. – David Hood
One of the best shows I’ve seen at the Jobsite!!!! I saw the show Friday and also was suprised at the ‘silence’ from the audience at the start. Finally, the crowd gave in “thankfully” and made noise so my laughter wasn’t alone and my clapping was joined by others. Great Job by the everyone involved! – Sam Combs
I haven’t had that much fun in a musical and wanted to sing along since Rocky Horror. – Julie Garisto
OMG just watched Pericles at TBPAC! Everyone in tampa should go:) awesome rock musical and *whisper* its only $15!!!! – Jessy Julianna Quinones
Pericles rocks! – jmasc6
@jobsitetheater did it again! #Pericles was incredible! Go see it unless you want Fat Tony to send Nico after you! – mmobrien
Lol…wow. #Pericles is out of CONTROL. go see it, people! It’s playing through this weekend. – songofthebeast
Was in the audience tonight for the sneak preview, and the musical was FANTASTIC! My boyfriend and I just really enjoyed ourselves. Tampa area people… go see this musical. It’s totally worth it. – mmobrien (via LiveJournal)
GREAT SHOW!! Definitely something to come and spend your money on. Support the local artistic community and keep great projects like this coming back again and again!!!! – theatergoer from Largo (via tampabay.com)
That’s really lovely work you’re doing in the Shimberg. I was terrifically impressed with the focus and the timing and the writing and the singing and the characterizations. You deserve a bigger venue. Joe deserves a house band to back him up. Thanks for loving what you’re doing. It shows. – Steve Garland
Great music, great energy, great laughs, great show! – Banky (via Time Out New York)
Tell all your friends to take attend this one. Great performances, intriguing story line set to modern day. If you love Coney Island, you will enjoy the references. Quite entertaining! Afforadable to all… – C&C (via Time Out New York)
Actors were excellent! Songs and lyrics were great! Set was amazing (loved how well you utilized space)! It was a little loud for me so some of the lyrics were hard to understand, but no different from any other rock show. Definitely worth seeing!!! – Lorie Kittendorf
Thanks so much for putting on such a rocking show! It was my 1st Jobsite performance & DEFINITELY not my last, look forward to the next one! – Matt E. Lee
Act1 of @jobsitetheater’s #Pericles rocked my face off. That’s right Tampa, I am faceless. – flsquirrel
I’m going to die from laughter. @jobsitetheater ‘s #Pericles is another must see! This weekend only. Then of to NY! – faedkisses
Holy crap! My face! It is being rocked off! #pericles – Critus
At @jobsitetheater’s production of #pericles at HERE in NYC. Need more Joe Popp in my life. – MatthewEverett
