“The Buddha -- In His Own Words”
Premieres In Boston
March 25 - April 12

The moving and enlightening one-man play “The Buddha -- In His Own Words” will debut in Boston at the Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts (March 25 - April 4) before moving to the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre (April 10 - 12). Written by and starring Evan Brenner (below), the production is directed by David Fuhrer.

The man the world knows as the Buddha lived in Northern India around 500 B.C. and introduced the teaching known as Buddhism. Approximately 300 years after his death, an extensive oral history of the movement was written down, carried and copied throughout Asia, and this canon became the taproot of the entire Buddhist tradition.

The play captures the Buddha in his own words -- from the evolution of his thoughts to his triumphs and the rarely portrayed tragedy at the end of his life. Framed in a most unusual and personal context, actor and playwright Evan Brenner brings his original one-man play to the stage, presenting authentic texts and enacting the extraordinary life of the man, from start to finish. The Buddha's life stands among the great archetypal adventure stories.

“The Buddha -- In His Own Words” was workshopped in Boston and NYC for approximately two years, presented in a bare bones fashion at such local venues as the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. This professional premiere will incorporate new and dynamic layers to the presentation supported by the production design of Nikki Black. The New York City-based producers (Buddha Play Productions) are pleased to officially open the show in the city in which it was developed.

Evan Brenner is particularly interested in the Buddha’s life as an expression and example of spiritual struggle, achievement, and ongoing challenge. He has a B.A. in Drama and Religion from Vassar College, and an M.A. in Dramatic Writing from Loyola Marymount University. A veteran writer and actor in New York, Brenner has practiced meditation and studied Buddhism for 20 years and, since 2003, has pursued canonical sutra studies in the Therevada tradition.

The Boston Center for the Arts is located at 539 Tremont Street in Boston. For tickets and information, call 617-933-8600 or visit www.bostontheatrescene.com.

The Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre is located at 820 Massachusetts Ave in Cambridge. For tickets and information, call 800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com.

Photo: Phoebe Sudrow

-- OnStage Boston