Remainder of Enemy of the People Run Canceled as Solo Star Ann Dowd Departs Production

The Park Avenue Armory has canceled all remaining performances of Robert Icke's Enemy of the People, to enable performer Ann Dowd to "address a pressing family matter." The solo play began previews on June 22 and opened on June 30. The scuttled shows were scheduled to take place July 10-August 8, and all tickets will be fully refunded to the original payment method of ticketholders.

Commissioned by the Armory and developed during the pandemic, writer and director Icke's adaptation of the Ibsen drama centers on a small former manufacturing town that has been revitalized as a resort destination due to its natural hot springs. When a scientist, who is the sister of the town's Mayor, finds that the water is contaminated and the baths must be shut down, a democratic society confronts, in public and in private, a complex ethical crisis. The audience, sitting in pods of friends or family, was invited to vote at critical moments of the story – and the majority vote determined the play's direction at each juncture.

Enemy of the People had sets and costumes by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting by Natasha Chivers, sound by Mikaal Sulaiman, and video by Tal Yarden.

Read our review of Enemy of the People here.