Friday, October 07, 2011

Public Theater Pushes Ahead with Play About Steve Jobs - Speakeasy - WSJ:

Daisey said he texted the Public’s artistic director, Oskar Eustis, a few minutes after learning of Jobs’s death. The two discussed how audience reactions will change in light of the news, he says, but he added that they never considered postponing performances, which are set to run through Nov. 13

In a statement released Thursday, Eustis extended his condolences to Jobs’s friends and family but also called this the right time to evaluate the consequences of the digital world that Jobs helped create.

“This is a perfect moment to contemplate that world, its values and practices, and decide what part of his legacy we should embrace and what parts we need to reject,” Mr. Eustis said in a statement.

Daisey has performed the unscripted show over the last 16 months. Last January, Jobs took an indefinite medical leave of absence around the same time “Agony” started previews at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, Calif. “In a sense you could say I’m being hard on him,” Daisey said of his depiction of Jobs. “He was always a very tough person, though, and he was not a big believer in nostalgia and pussyfooting around. I believe in using those same tools in this investigation.”