'An Evening with Al Pacino': Godfather star to perform one-man show on Paris stage
Al Pacino will perform in October at the Théâtre de Paris for two solo shows where he will talk about not only his film career but also shed light on his experiences in theatre.
"I have long dreamed of playing in Paris," said the American actor. The theater announced that the Scarface actor will perform on 22 and 23 October in "An Evening with Pacino". The show will be in English. His inspiration behind doing the special show was also revealed.
"Thanks to a mutual friend, Jean Reno, the dream of Al Pacino will finally come true. [He] is crazy about theater, with a culture of great texts," Richard Caillat, general manager of the Theater of Paris told AFP. "He is going to play the improvisation card, as he has done in London and Sydney with classic texts, but also monologues of his films. The two shows will be different," he said.
"I have never had a real desire to play Hamlet and yet it has been a source of inspiration throughout my life. I like Chekhov, Molière and many other theater writers.I know better European literature," Pacino said in an interview in Figaro.
A legend of Hollywood, his films like 'The Godfather', 'Scarface', 'Donnie Brasco' and 'The Time of a Weekend' have somehow overshadowed an important career in the theater where Pacino played including 'Richard III', 'Othello' or 'The Merchant of Venice'. Pacino started his stage career in 1967 at Charles Playhouse in Boston.
He performed in Clifford Odets' 'Awake and Sing!' for one season.
The synopsis for the play says that it is set in The Bronx borough of New York City in 1933 and it concerns the impoverished Berger family, who all live under one roof, and their conflicts as the parents scheme to manipulate their children's relationships to their own ends, while their children strive for their own dreams. This was said to be his first big paycheck which was US$125 a week. He then starred in Jean-Claude Van Itallie's 'America, Hurrah'. Many productions later, more recently Pacino starred in the Broadway production 'China Doll', a play written for him by David Mamet. This was is a limited run of 87 performances following the acclaimed reviews of four performances in October 2015. Before that, he was seen in the 30th anniversary Broadway revival of David Mamet's classic play, 'Glengarry Glen Ross', which ran from October 2012 to January 20, 2013.
With inputs from AFP.
