PROJECT SYNOPSIS

“The Two Gentlemen of Verona”
(New York Shakespeare Festival)

Joel was cast as Valentine, the star-crossed gentleman, immediately upon finishing his training at the Graduate Acting Program at NYU. It was a dream job for de la Fuente, who grew up idolizing actors like Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, who “cut their teeth” doing Shakespeare in front of 2000 people every night in Central Park. In fact, the last actor to play Valentine in the Park before Joel was Raul Julia, in a musical version of the play.

Set in an anachronistic world, the production is remembered for a huge, water-filled moat that took up the entire downstage portion of the stage and for a large billboard of a Calvin Klein “Obsession” ad, featuring Kate Moss. Despite the claim that the ad was a design choice underlining the obsessive nature of Proteus’ love for Sylvia, the audience occasionally booed the sign. Actor Peter Gerety, who played the clown Launce, threw things at it during the performance.

Originally, director Adrian Hall (considered one of the founders of regional theater in this country) wanted the play to open with the two gentlemen naked and bathing one another in the moat. When informed that Proteus and Valentine could not be in the water wearing $3000.00 microphones, Hall was undaunted and made the male ensemble get naked instead.

The play’s cast featured: Malcolm Gets as Proteus, Joel de la Fuente as Valentine, Nance Williamson as Julia, Lisa Gay Hamilton as Silvia, Peter Gerety as Launce, Robert Dorfman as Speed, Camryn Manheim as Lucetta, and Steven Skybell as Thurio.

"America Dreaming"
(Vineyard Theater)

Produced by the Vineyard Theater, "America Dreaming" was an expressionistic new play by Chiori Miyagawa dealing with the romantic union between an Asian American woman (Liana Pai) and her Caucasian lover (Billy Crudup). Joel played various roles ranging from the young woman's brother, David, to an old Asian woman in the desert.

In retrospect, it is interesting to see the continuance of certain collaborations and the beginnings of new ones. Joel was re-united with his acting school friend and classmate Billy Crudup and director Michael Mayer, who directed their class at NYU. On the other hand, it was the first time Joel worked with composer Tan Dun, whose musical style draws upon musical traditions from all cultures and time periods. It was the first time Joel incorporated song and dance into a professional performance; something that would continue to a greater degree years later when he and Tan Dun would collaborate again on "The Peony Pavilion."