A Boy and His Horses

A A A Comments By Jef Otte Thursday, Feb 24 2011

Although he argues that Peter Shaffer's Equus is a theater classic on a level with Death of a Salesman or Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Craig Bond, director of Vintage Theatre’s upcoming performance has an explanation for why it isn't staged all that often. “The play won’t give you the rights to do the show unless you do the nudity,” he says. “You actually have to sign an agreement when you get the rights to do the nudity as written in the script.” A classic and nudity: two reasons to go, right there. And nudity is not the main reason, either.

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“The Vintage tries to present classic theater that may not have been seen, or to expose people to work that should be seen,” Bond says, and by “work,” he does not mean “body parts.” Rather, he’s making the case for why Equus, the story of a seventeen-year-old boy who stabs the eyes of six horses and the psychiatrist who explores the boy's descent into insanity, is a play that deserves local representation. Although its Tony Award for Best Play in 1975 and its lengthy Broadway run have guaranteed Equus's entry into the theatrical canon, it's not often performed around these parts – and by parts, we do not mean “body parts.”

The show opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Vintage, 2119 East 17th Avenue, and continues Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through March 20; tickets run $15 to $20. For tickets or more information, call 303-839-1361 or go to www.vintagetheatre.com.
Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Starts: Feb. 18. Continues through March 20, 2011

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