ABOUT

Boy genius, rebel, visionary, Rimbaud set off a bomb in the world of letters with the publication of Illuminations. 130 years later, this dazzling book of poems, written mostly in prose, continues to amaze . John Ashbery's recent highly-acclaimed translation offers us these poems through the wonderfully precise and always surprising language of one of America's greatest contemporary poets. For Rimbaud in New York, The Civilians create a wildly original, playful and enriching inquiry into the meaning and legacy of Illuminations, staging how these revolutionary poems continue to resonate in the American imagination, setting off explosions in the minds of new readers. The show finds Rimbaud in the 1950s of Ashbery and Frank O'Hara, in the downtown scene of the 1970s and in the many artists and musicians he's influenced -- Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, David Wojnarowicz and Jean-Michel Basquiat, to name a few. But, most centrally the show focuses on the poems themselves, which The Civilians animate through performance, song and an eclectic theatricality that brings Rimbaud into the present, here and alive in New York City.

RIMBAUD IN NEW YORK

Written and Directed by Steve Cosson

Poems by Arthur Rimbaud translated by John Ashbery

Featuring songs by Adam Cochran, Michael Friedman, Rebecca Hart, Joseph Keckler, Matthew Dean Marsh and Grace McLean

Produced by BAM with major support from the Poetry Foundation

March 1 - 6, 2016 at BAM

Visit www.bam.org for tickets and information.

CREATIVE TEAM

Scenic Design: Andromache Chaifant

Costume Design: Paloma Young

Lighting Design: Eric Southern

Sound Design and Additional Compositions: Daniel Kluger

Music Direction: Matthew Dean Marsh

Original Cast:

Adam Cochran

Harriett D. Foy

Rebecca Hart

Joseph Keckler

Jo Lampert

Tony Torn

Dito Van Reigersberg