Nearly a decade after The Prodigal Son became one of Off-Broadway’s most memorable productions, Barry Shapiro is revisiting the story with a revival that blends familiar faces with a new generation of talent.
Set to arrive at the Hudson Theatres in Los Angeles in late August and early September, the production carries an unusual sense of continuity. Returning Robert Sean Leonard to the stage is Robert Sean Leonard, reprising his role as Alan Hoffman, the faculty member whose complicated relationship with troubled student Jim Quinn serves as one of the play’s emotional anchors.
The student, Jim Quinn is portrayed as a brilliant but unruly Catholic student from the Bronx.
While Leonard brings the experience of a performer revisiting a role he helped define, the production also introduces a new wave of actors eager to leave their mark. Among them is George DeNoto, who steps into the role of Jim Quinn at a pivotal moment in his career.
Following his appearance in Money Talk$, which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, and a year that included a widely documented summit of Mount Fuji, DeNoto arrives at The Prodigal Son carrying life experiences that he believes are central to his interpretation of the character.
Like great performers prior to him, George DeNoto is stepping into Jim Quinn. DeNoto says he is going to focus on the character and not on the performers who have taken on this role earlier.
“It’s the George DeNoto show,” he said. “And it will always be more about taking the life experiences I’m pulling from to bring this character my own breath of life and do those life experiences justice. No one else has my life experiences and hardships, so how could they compare to George DeNoto?”
His philosophy is evident throughout rehearsals. DeNoto not only approaches Jim Quinn singularly through one emotional lens. Instead, DeNoto explores Quinn’s characters, multiple moving facets from confidence and self-destruction to humor, anger & vulnerability within the same scene. His portrayal of Quinn is a complex & full/broad spectrum work of a young man of Character, who is hoping and striving to find out and understand further who he is.
For Leonard, being able to work with the younger performers has been one of the most enjoyable elements of the revival.
“Being able to work with George and the other upcoming actors and actresses from this cast has brought back the excitement and the passion i had at the beginning of my career. It has inspired me seeing how much they want this and how devoted they are to the material.” Leonard said.
Shapiro’s revival seems to be making an effort to bring a story that is still touching and engaging to audiences and bring forth new aspects and realities that are still relevant to us/from the past. It is still important to engage in the many questions and concepts of identity and class and faith and belonging (mentorship) as it was at the beginning of captivating audiences with the invention of this play/performative work.
With opening night coming soon, The Prodigal Son feels less like a revival and more like a passing of the torch: an opportunity to celebrate history and present to the audience the artists who will carry it forward.
Performances are set to begin at the Hudson Theatres in Los Angeles in late August. Ticket details are expected to be made available soon.
Photos by Christopher Zepeda.
