Kazalište Planet Art

The staging of this play was made possible by the United States Embassy, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands and the Open Society Institute.

THE PLAY

Visiting Mr. Green by the American author Jeff Baron is a play with the highest number of performances in the world in the last ten years. It is translated to 25 languages, performed in over 40 countries in more than 250 different productions. In Croatia the play stars the legend of Croatian theatre, Pero Kvrgić and it is the most viewed play over the last ten years.

Visiting Mr. Green is a witty, touching story of two people, the old and the young man with different viewpoints and experiences, who gradually become close despite the prior misunderstanding and intolerance.


SUMMARY

Mr. Green, an old retired dry cleaner is almost hit by a speeding car driven by young corporate executive Ross Gardiner. Found guilty of reckless driving, Ross is ordered to spend the next six months making weekly visits to Mr. Green.

JEFF BARON

Jeff Baron’s first play, Visiting Mr. Green, starred Eli Wallach and was nominated for Best Play by the Drama League. After its year-long run at the Union Square Theatre in New York, it has been translated into 22 languages and performed around the world in over 250 separate productions. Its many awards include Best Play in Israel, Greece, Germany and Turkey. It was a Best New Play nominee for the Moliere Award in France and was nominated for the Argentinian magazine award Clarin. In 2001, Jeff Baron was awarded the European culture award – KulturPreis Europa as the first American and the first playwright to receive this award. He was invited in 1999 to speak at the United Nations and to present a reading of Visiting Mr. Green.

Recently he finished the screenplay for the movie of the same title as the play, starring Eli Wallach. His second play, Mother's Day, has been produced in Australia, Germany, Brazil and Michigan. His play Brothers-in-Law will be produced in the upcoming theatre season in Buenos Aires. Other new plays include Mr. & Mrs. God and Edna and Joe Forever in collaboration with Moe Angelos. His short play Bless Me, Father was commissioned and produced in New York as part of an evening of plays about September 11 2001. His one act Give 'em an Inch was commissioned and produced in Los Angeles, and he directed his commissioned one act opera Song of Martina at Carnegie Hall.

In addition to his work in theatre, Jeff Baron wrote and sold four original screenplays. His film The Bruce Diet has been featured around the world won the CINE Golden Eagle award. He has also written for television, The Tracey Ullman Show, A Year in the Life, Sisters, Almost Grown and Nickelodeon. His articles, poetry and fiction have been published in New York Magazine, Dallas Times-Herald, Tetu (Paris), T.O. (Toronto), and the New York Daily News.

KULTURPREIS EUROPA

Jeff Baron’s first play, Visiting Mr. Green, starred Eli Wallach and was nominated for Best Play by the Drama League. After its year-long run at the Union Square Theatre in New York, it has been translated into 22 languages and performed around the world in over 250 separate productions. Its many awards include Best Play in Israel, Greece, Germany and Turkey. It was a Best New Play nominee for the Moliere Award in France and was nominated for the Argentinian magazine award Clarin.

In 2001, Jeff Baron was awarded the European culture award – KulturPreis Europa as the first American and the first playwright to receive this award. He was invited in 1999 to speak at the United Nations and to present a reading of Visiting Mr. Green. Recently he finished the screenplay for the movie of the same title as the play, starring Eli Wallach. His second play, Mother's Day, has been produced in Australia, Germany, Brazil and Michigan. His play Brothers-in-Law will be produced in the upcoming theatre season in Buenos Aires. Other new plays include Mr. & Mrs. God and Edna and Joe Forever in collaboration with Moe Angelos. His short play Bless Me, Father was commissioned and produced in New York as part of an evening of plays about September 11 2001.

His one act Give 'em an Inch was commissioned and produced in Los Angeles, and he directed his commissioned one act opera Song of Martina at Carnegie Hall.
In addition to his work in theatre, Jeff Baron wrote and sold four original screenplays. His film The Bruce Diet has been featured around the world won the CINE Golden Eagle award. He has also written for television, The Tracey Ullman Show, A Year in the Life, Sisters, Almost Grown and Nickelodeon. His articles, poetry and fiction have been published in New York Magazine, Dallas Times-Herald, Tetu (Paris), T.O. (Toronto), and the New York Daily News.

Excerpt from the award text:
Culture is not a natural phenomenon. Its development is something that is not necessarily positive. It is an accomplishment which has to be forced out of nature. This goes for Europe especially. All of the aspects which led to the idea of Europe, spiritual, cultural or social, are in danger, if the egocentricity of certain nations negate this as a community. Treasuring Europe as a sum of social and cultural heritages of each country is a worthy effort considering the fact that the heritage of every country is valuable and deserves to be integrated and used. This is the thesis promoted by the European Culture Award.

Jeff Baron is the first American and first playwright to win this prestigious award.