Since its 1997 New York debut at the Union Square Theater with Eli Wallach in the lead role, Jeff Baron’s award-winning play “Visiting Mr. Green” has been translated into 28 languages and performed in over 500 productions across 52 countries.
This year alone, the play will be in Kazakhstan, Belgium, Mexico, Lithuania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Greece, and the U.S.
Baron is featured speaker at Shelter Island Public Library’s Friday Night Dialogues on August 5 at 7 PM.
He’ll share the triumphs and foibles of his unusual choice to collaborate with producers, directors, and translators worldwide to bring his work to culturally relevant, timely, and authentic life.
Fierce guardian
So, what accounts for such a spectacular international run? The dramatic arc, describing a relationship forged between two men of disparate cultures, ages, and temperaments, is sharply drawn with an economy and precision of language that compels universal engagement. The play is a unique mix of comedy and emotional drama.
Baron has been a fierce guardian of the play’s words as originally written, even in languages he doesn’t speak. “I use online tools to evaluate each translation,” Jeff said, “then I send copious notes.”
Theater impresarios in far-off places have been tempted to adapt the central storyline of families torn apart by moral rigidity — but Baron has held fast to “making sure they are telling the story I intended to tell.”
Baron will share a few scenes from a reading that starred Eli Wallach and Noah Wyle. And he’ll show videos from productions in other countries to convey the complexity of translation and the excitement of expanding the play’s reach beyond borders.
Ultimately, Baron aims to trace his path as an artist, which though not without bumps, leaves him constantly in awe of “the miracle of making a living doing this.”
FND registration and details
Register for the program via the library’s website.
Questions? Contact Jessica Montgomery at jmontgomery@silibrary.org or 631-749-0042. If you want to read the play before Baron’s presentation, you can pick up a copy at the circulation desk.
All library programs are free to the public; however, donations are gratefully accepted.
Next Up: On Friday, August 12 at 7 PM, CNN Senior Political Analyst and Anchor John Avlon will talk about his new book “Lincoln and the Fight for Peace.”
Bonnie Berman Stockwell is a Trustee of the Shelter Island Public Library.
