Seeing herself as unclean trash, Teresa jumps out a window. Completely unhinged, Edward stomps out of the room. One evening at a midtown Manhattan party, Teresa confesses to Edward that she had an affair with his high-class concert manager. Turns out, Edward was once deeply in love and married to a beautiful Puerto Rican woman named Teresa. Then why, we may ask, is one of the world's greatest pianists tickling the eighty-eight at a rundown bar? It isn't until midway through the novel that we are given Eddie's backstory. In the first few pages we also come to know there is another side to cool Eddie, that is, some years ago Edward Webster Lynn, a concert pianist trained at the Curtis Institute, toured Europe and performed at Carnegie Hall, captivating and mesmerizing audiences with musical talent bordering on genius. Remaining cool, detached and emotionally uninvolved is the key note (no pun intended) of Eddie's threadbare, solitary life. Eddie acknowledges his brother but remains cool and doesn't stop playing his sweet honky-tonk music on the joint's piano. Turley ducks into a run-down neighborhood bar called Harriet's Hut and finds his brother Eddie (the novel's main character) who he hasn't seen in over six years.

Among the luminaries appearing there over the years have been Buster Keaton, Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Thorton Wilder, Eli Wallach and Joanne Woodward.įor tickets or more information, call (413) 298-5576.This gritty, hard-boiled novel by David Goodis opens with an action scene where a bloody-faced Turley Linn is running for his life through the alleys of a Philadelphia slum, fleeing from two professional hit-men. It wasn't until the 1960s that the venue was named the Berkshire Theatre Festival. The playhouse itself was built by Stanford White, initially as a gentlemen's club. Corley is also the recipient of the TCG/NEA Director Fellowship.Įva Le Gallienne founded the Berkshire Festival in 1928 with The Cradle Song. Eddie's lived his whole life without the influence of Turley, until Turley turns to him for help.ĭirector Corley has previously staged The Game of Love and Chance, The Illusion, and Quills for The Unicorn Theatre.

It tells the story of two brothers, Turley and Eddie - Turley, a minor underworld figure and Eddie, a classical musician who has seen better days. 'Shoot the Piano Player' was written in 1956 by Goodis and was the basis for the Francois Truffaut film noir classic with Charles Aznavour. takes place at The Berkshire Theatre Festival's Unicorn Theatre, currently running through Aug. The world premiere of Shoot the Piano Player, adapted from the David Goodis novel by director Richard Corley.

Shoot the piano player david goodis