For immediate release.

ANNA DEAVERE SMITH’S “HOUSE ARREST” POSTPONED AT TAPER

Anna Deavere Smith’s new play “House Arrest,” which was to begin previews at the Mark Taper Forum April 5, 1998, has been postponed until the Taper’s 1998-99 season, it was announced today by Gordon Davidson.

“The size and scope of this play are so vast and so complex,” stated Davidson, “that all of us feel it is better served by taking more time to work on it. This also allows Anna the opportunity to take into account the extraordinary situation now unfolding in Washington. Postponing will give us the time necessary to develop and deepen the full, rich potential of this original piece of American drama.”

“This Greek drama which is being played out in Washington right now speaks to the heart of what ‘House Arrest’ is all about,” said Smith. “The nature of what it means to be president today, the question of what character is, who defines it and how character counts, the struggle between the press and the White House to communicate with the American people — all of this changes the theatrical landscape for me as much as it changes the political landscape for our country. I need to observe and understand this complicated new chapter in our history and see how it will inform my work.”

Smith returned to Washington to attend the president’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. She will continue working on the play, researching and writing over the next several months and workshopping it at the Taper later this spring.

“House Arrest,” which premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in November 1997 as a co-production with the Taper, the Intiman Theatre of Seattle and the Goodman Theatre of Chicago, explores the national identity as embodied by the American presidency, both past and present.

An announcement will be made shortly about the production which will replace “House Arrest” in this season’s schedule at the Taper.