Rope, a co-production between the Drama Dept. and the Zipper, will end its limited engagement at the Zipper Theatre early. The show, which was scheduled to run through January 15, will now shutter on December 23. At the time it closes, Rope will have played a total of 14 previews and 23 performances.
Patrick Hamilton's Rope tells the story of two young Oxford men who attempt "the perfect murder" to prove that they are above ordinary people. After killing a college friend, Brandon and Granillo hide the body in a trunk in their living room and host a cocktail party, serving dinner off of the trunk. Alfred Hitchcock adapted the play which was originally titled Rope's End for his celebrated 1948 film.
This production of Rope, directed by David Warren, stars Christopher Duva, Ginifer King, John Lavelle, Lois Markle, Zak Orth, Sam Trammel, Neil Vipond and Chandler Williams. It opened on December 4. In his Broadway.com Review of the mounting, William Stevenson wrote: "Rope now feels pretty tame--especially compared to today's fast-paced gore-fests. While the play has a few suspenseful moments, it's not likely to have 21st Century audiences on the edge of their seats. It isn't the actors' fault. Trammell and Williams make a pretty convincing upper-crust couple of the era… Despite its sensationalistic murder, Rope is so old-fashioned that it feels rather dusty in 2005. Hamilton's crime melodrama just doesn't pack a punch the way it did when it was written."
