Last Chance to Get Tickets for ‘Diary of a Madman’ at BAM

The second production in BAM’s spring season lineup, “The Diary of a Madman,” opened last Friday at the to a standing ovation.

Joe Melillo, executive producer at BAM, said the play – an adaptation of a short story by Nikolai Gogol and which stars Geoffrey Rush – is nearly sold out. The run continues through March 12; call (718) 636-4100 to inquire about remaining tickets.

“It is a pleasure and a privilege to have Geoffrey Rush on our stage,” Melillo said. “This is an acting tour de force.”

Rush, currently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “The King’s Speech,” first appeared in the play’s title role in 1989, when Australian theatre company Belvoir brought it to the stage in Sydney. He has reprised the part for the play’s US premiere at BAM following its sold-out second engagement at the Belvoir St Theatre in Australia.

Neil Armfield, a long-time collaborator with Rush, directed the play’s first run more than 20 years ago and does so again now.

“The Diary of a Madman” revolves around a Russian civil servant, Poprishchin, during the repressive mid-19th century era of Nicholas I. Poprishchin falls for a senior official’s daughter but is plagued by delusions of his own imagined royal status and talking animals. As he descends into madness, though, he attains a measure of greatness.

Actress Yael Stone joins Rush in multiple roles including a Finnish maid, the object of Poprishchin’s affections, and an asylum inmate.

“Although written by Gogol in 1835, the issues of an individual living a life amid extreme bureaucracy is timely,” Melillo said. The story satirizes state bureaucracy in St. Petersburg, depicting an average man’s “quest for individuality in an indifferent world.”

Melillo previously attempted to bring to BAM Armfield and Rush’s last collaboration, Eugene Ionesco’s “Exit the King,” but plans were already in the works to stage that production on Broadway. (Rush won a 2009 Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance.)

“When they announced that they would do 'The Diary of a Madman' as Neil’s closing production as Artistic Director of Belvoir Theatre,” Melillo said, “I immediately contacted Neil to determine if this creation could travel to the Harvey Theater, and here we are.”

Two upcoming artist talks supplement “The Diary of a Madman”: Armfield and Rush discuss the play at 6 p.m. this Sunday, Feb. 20, at the BAM Harvey Theater, and psychologist Adam Phillips talks about “Acting Madness” at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, in the Hillman Attic Studio. Tickets for each event cost $15 or $7.50 for Friends of BAM.