Long-awaited U.S. premiere of ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie’ set for Minetta Lane Theatre
“My Name is Rachel Corrie,” the award-winning play based on the writings of Rachel Corrie, is at long last coming to the United States. Initially set to open at the historic Making Theatre in New York on March 22 of this year, the play was “postponed indefinitely” on short notice by the New York Theatre Workshop amid political pressure over the one-woman piece’s humanistic content about the military occupation of Palestinian Territories. Shortly after the derailment at the Making Theatre, however, the the one-act performance found a home in New York at Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre. The play opens October 5.
You can read more about “My Name is Rachel Corrie” and the controversy around it in the section on this site dedicated to the play.
About the Foundation
Rachel Corrie was killed in the Gaza Strip in Palestine on March 16, 2003, trying to prevent the demolition of the home of a Palestinian pharmacist, his wife, and three young children. The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice was recently established by members of Rachel’s family and community to continue the kind of work that she began and hoped to accomplish. For more information on Rachel Corrie, see this section.
The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice continues the work that Rachel Corrie began and hoped to accomplish, and carries out that work with her vision, spirit, and creative energy in mind. We conduct and support programs that foster connections between people, that build understanding, respect, and appreciation for differences, and that promote cooperation within and between local and global communities. For more information on the foundation, see this section.
Rachel’s Words
“My Name is Rachel Corrie” was scheduled to open at the New York Theatre Workshop on March 22nd. Amid political pressure, the play was “postponed indefinitely,” and The “Rachel’s Words” initiative was born. It was made up of a broad spectrum of groups and individuals who believed that Rachel’s words and her message of human rights and justice should be heard. “Rachel’s Words” was an event in March of 2006 to keep Rachel’s message form being censored. It has since become a movement.
Click here for other informaton
about Rachel Corrie on this site
By Robert Simonson
05 Oct 2006
Megan Dodds will reprise her role in the American premiere of the acclaimed — and controversial — historical solo play My Name Is Rachel Corrie, which begins preview Oct. 5 at Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre.
Dodds played Rachel Corrie in the April 2005 Royal Court Theatre production, and reprised the role both at The Royal Court and at The Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End in spring 2006.
The limited engagement will play 48 performances through Nov. 19. Opening is Oct. 15.
Megan Dodds in a scene from My Name Is Rachel Corrie.
photo by Stephen Cummiske
The play, which is taken from the writings of the late American activist Rachel Corrie, will be directed by actor Alan Rickman, who, with journalist Katharine Viner, edited Corrie’s writings into this work for the stage.
The play became the subject of a heated debate this past spring when it was scheduled and then postponed at Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop. Both NYTW and the Royal Court were thrust into a press-statement war immediately after the decision to delay the work; the London-based company and the play’s creators accusing the New York company of censorship while the New York troupe stating it merely sought to present the play in a climate suitable for the volatile work.
My Name Is Rachel Corrie, according to press notes, “chronicles the human, social and political evolution in the life and controversial death of a young woman. The play traces the life of Rachel from her early days in Washington State through her experiences as an activist seeking to learn more about the community within Gaza.” Corrie was a 23-year-old protester who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer.
