Valparaiso (play)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Valparaiso is Don DeLillo's second play, in which a man suddenly becomes famous following a mistake in the itinerary of an ordinary business trip which takes him to Valparaiso, Chile, instead of Valparaiso, Indiana.
The play, which incorporates live performance with video projection, looks at how the media has affected modern mankind. The central character, Michael Majeski, tries desperately to establish his own identity by throwing himself under the spotlight of celebrity. The piece is composed entirely of interviews, for a range of different media, and culminates in the protagonist committing assisted suicide with a microphone lead on a TV talk show.
Valparaiso received its premiere at the American Repertory Theatre in 1999 under the direction of David Wheeler. Since then it has seen numerous revivals, including a production by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre and a French-language version in Paris. In 2005, Don DeLillo granted the UK premiere rights of the play to 24-year-old film school graduate Jack McNamara, whose production premiered at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London on April 25, 2006. The London production was produced by Weaver Hughes Ensemble. The most recent US production, directed by Jesse Young for Portland, Oregon's Theatre Vertigo, commenced on August 25, 2006 and ran through September 23, 2006.
