Cornell opens Tony-winning ‘Equus’ Oct. 13 starring actor from Broadway production
Oct. 7, 2006
MOUNT VERNON — An actor who appeared in the 1975 Broadway production of “Equus” plays the lead role when Cornell College opens “Equus” on Friday, Oct. 13, at Kimmel Theatre.
Performances are Oct. 13 and 14 at 8 p.m., Oct. 15 at 2 p.m., Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and youth. Admission is free to Cornell students, faculty, staff, emeriti faculty and retired staff, but reservations are required. To reserve tickets, call the box office at (319) 895-4293 or go to www.cornellcollege.edu/theatre/box_office/.
“Equus,” a Tony-winning play by Peter Shaffer, focuses on the causes underlying a seemingly senseless act of violence — the blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England — by an adolescent boy. The violence forces the characters to confront questions of responsibility and ultimate meaning. “Equus” contains adult content.
Starring in the lead role as psychiatrist Martin Dysart is guest artist David Combs of Los Angeles, who played Nugget, the lead horse, in “Equus” on Broadway. Martin Dysart, he says, is “one of those roles that has become classic.”
“It was a big hit on Broadway, and so many excellent actors have done the role and were challenged by it,” he says, noting Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins both starred as Dysart in the Broadway run. “I know the role so well, having done nearly 700 performances of the play. It requires a certain amount of maturity to understand what the man is going through.”
Combs should be familiar to eastern Iowans as a frequent cast member in Riverside Theatre productions, especially the summer Shakespeare Festival in Iowa City’s Lower City Park, which is how the Cornell connection developed. Mark Hunter, chair of Cornell’s theater department, occasionally directs at the Shakespeare Festival; Riverside co-artistic director Ron Clark is artist-in-residence and director of Cornell’s production of “Equus.”
Combs left New York in 1987 for California to work in commercials and television. His screen credits include “The West Wing,” “JAG” and “NYPD Blue,” and several films including “The Accidental Tourist.”
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