Monday, December 15, 2008

Review - A Memory Play (WorkShop Theater Company)

Review by Byrne Harrison
Photo by Gerry Goodstein


On Easter Sunday in 1947, Steve (Artie Ray), a cocky young G.I., married Judy (Susan Izatt) a Southern belle. What followed could best be described as a train wreck of lies, alcoholism, and the psychological damage that comes a dysfunctional family.

Many years later, Kip (Trey Albright), Judy and Steve's playwright son, attempts to undo the damage by writing a memory play about that fateful Easter, but this time, he is determined to keep his parents from marrying. Although he is the playwright and they are merely characters in his play, Judy and Steve are not going to let their past change so easily. As they put up a fight, Kip is forced to jump into the action, playing a range of supporting characters and occasionally taking over Judy and Steve's roles in an effort to keep things on track. While Kip may not end up with the commercial success that he set out to create, he does gain a great deal of insight into his parent's doomed relationship, the sacrifice that all relationships demand, and more importantly, a better sense of how his behavior relates to the lessons he learned from Judy and Steve. Acknowledging that his parents' past does not control his future, he lets go of the resentment and takes control of his life.

Bob Stewart's A Memory Play is an interesting look at relationships, the lies that abound in them, and the collateral damage they do later on. It's also a subtle send up of memory plays and the inelegant way that they are wielded by earnest playwrights who dream of writing the next The Glass Menagerie. Meaning of course Kip, not Mr. Stewart, who has written a funny and poignant piece.

The acting in A Memory Play is uneven, though this seems to be less a matter of the actors' abilities than in the production being underrehearsed. There a hesitancy in certain scenes, as though the actors aren't quite sure whose line is next. That said, much of this could be due to opening night jitters, and if the past WorkShop productions are any guide, has most likely been smoothed out.

Susan Izatt's work as Judy, the prim and proper Southern lady with a remarkably big secret in her past is particularly strong. While it could be easy to reduce the role to a Blanche DuBois knock-off, she gives Judy depth. Albright's work as Kip, the narrator and playwright, is good, though he most easily seems to inhabit the role of Rydell, Judy's flamboyant gay friend. As Rydell is mocked by Steve for being effiminate, Albright shows Rydell's dignity while also showing Kip's hurt. Though he knows his father came to terms with his homosexuality, Kip can't help feeling insulted by Steve's treatment of Rydell. Albright plays this ambivalence well. Artie Ray's character work as Steve is solid, especially in scenes where he goes from being a cocky 20-something G.I. to being the older version of himself dealing with the fallout of the relationship.

Despite some rough patches, A Memory Play is an interesting reimagining of a familiar genre. The first play in a trilogy called The Marriage Variations, it leaves the audience interested in seeing what else Bob Stewart has up his sleeve.

Written by Bob Stewart
Directed by Gary Levinson
Lighting Design: Wanda Ruggiera
Scenic and Sound Design: ArtSink
Production Stage Manager: Dale Smallwood
Coordinating Producer: Scott C. Sickles
Assistant Producers: Lynda Berge and Bob Stewart
Press Representative: Scotti Rhodes Publicity

Featuring: Trey Albright (Kip, Sgt. Cato, Rydell), Susan Izatt (Judy), Artie Ray (Steve)

Main Stage Theater
312 West 36th St.
4th Floor East

Wednesday - Saturday
December 3-20 at 8 PM

Reservations: 212-695-4173 ext. 4#

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Review - Glimpses of the Moon (Sharon Carr Associates, Ltd.)

Review by Bryan Clark
Photo by Erica Parise

Glimpses of The Moon is a pleasant musicalization of a 1922 novel by Edith Wharton, better known today for her earlier work The Age of Innocence. This production had an initial run at the Algonquin Oak Room from January to March of this year, and has now returned for a second engagement with new actors in three of the six roles. John Mercurio’s music has a plausible and upbeat jazz-age flavor, though not especially memorable. The book and lyrics by Tajlei Levis are more interesting, and could easily stand alone as a non-musical period piece.

The story is familiar: society girl Susy wants to break free from her dependence on well-heeled patrons and find true love, while writer Nick wants to secure a patron for his artistic endeavors…and find true love. No surprises in this storyline, as the lovers come together out of convenience, fall in love, compromise their principles, fall out of love, prepare to marry within their own circles – but wait! Will true love prevail over money and class? A no-brainer, but the great chemistry between Autumn Hurlbert and Chris Peluso holds the tension to the very end. Hurlbert is particularly strong, in a nuanced performance that invites empathy even when her character’s behavior is not so attractive.

Jane Blass gives a brilliant and effortless turn as Ellie Vanderlyn, Susy’s would-be mentor in the world of high society. She seems born to play this character, and her words flow out as though she wrote the role herself. Glenn Peters has a huge arc to contend with in the duplicitous role of Winthrop Strefford, and he delivers it with precision and vigor. Daren Kelly does fine as Nelson Vanderlyn, a smallish role which mainly rests on his exit scene – which he performs with understated enthusiasm. The only odd note comes from Laura Jordan as Nick’s stalker/other-love-interest Coral, a role which does suggest a certain degree of eccentricity but reaches out of the period style in this interpretation. (Jordan doubles as the superfluous character Ursula, a character that is used in the opening scene to introduce Nick and then never appears again.)

Surprisingly, the least successful aspect of this production is its placement in the Oak Room. The sprawling story takes us from brownstones to fishing lodges to fur boutiques, but the production is firmly stuck in the Oak Room. Although Marc Bruni’s direction and James Milkey’s lighting work wonders in the cramped quarters, the fact remains that this piece is a play, not a cabaret act, and belongs on a stage. (The brief scene in The Oak Room itself, with a walk-on appearance by a rotating guest star, is awkward and incongruous.) The audience members who were seated within inches of the action were by turns excited and uncomfortable, but in either case they were highly visible and needlessly distracting. Above all, the Oak Room doesn’t hold up so well under theatrical lighting. Never noticed that cheesy Motel 6 carpeting? Now you have. But this ill-advised venue does not diminish the value of this otherwise well-conceived new musical. As was noted in the reviews of the earlier run, Glimpses of the Moon is well-suited for summer stock and small regional theatres, and it should have a healthy future life.


Based on the novel by Edith Wharton
Book & lyrics by Tajlei Levis
Music by John Mercurio
Directed by Marc Bruni
Choreographed by Denis Jones
Music Direction by Rick Hip-Flores

Producer: Sharon Carr
Lighting Design: James Milkey
Costume Design: Lisa Zinni
Scenic Consultant: Ted LeFevre
General Manager: Brierpatch Productions / Laura Janik Cronin & Scott Newsome
Production Stage Manager: Carlos Maisonet
Press Representative: Katie Rosin/Kampfire Films PR

Featuring: Autumn Hurlbert (Susy), Chris Peluso (Nick), Jane Blass (Ellie), Laura Jordan (Ursula/Coral), Daren Kelly (Nelson) and Glenn Peters (Winthrop “Streffy”)
Understudies: Russell Arden Koplin and Matt Lutz
Reed player at performance reviewed: Dave Nolan
Guest star at performance reviewed: Lisa Asher

Oak Room
Algonquin Hotel
59 West 44th Street

For reservations call 866-468-7619 or visit ticketweb.com.

Mondays at 8PM
(doors at 6PM; dinner service to 7:30PM)

Open run.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Review - Moonlight & Love Songs (WorkShop Theater Company)

Review by Byrne Harrison
Photo by Gerry Goodstein

Love is a hard thing, even at the best of times. But when Harry (Jeff Woodman), an architect with a history of bad relationships, meets Jim (Ryan Tresser), a much younger man with a shared love of classic movies, it seems that his luck could be changing. But a fairy tale ending is not to be in Scott C. Sickles's latest play, Moonlight & Love Songs, being presented by the WorkShop Theater Company.

Jim, who claims to be a college student at a local university, is actually much younger than he appears. Harry, driven perhaps by his own innocence or merely not wanting to see the truth, ignores the clues about Jim's age. When Jim's father, The Reverend Bennett (David M. Mead), figures out what his son has been doing, he contacts the police, sending Harry's life into a spiral. He is arrested and loses both his job and the respect of his family.

Jim, forced by his sick mother not only to examine his relationship with Harry, but his own father's infidelities, must figure out if he is willing to sacrifice everything to help Harry.

Sickles's play is well-written, and because of his main characters' shared love of movies, references several classic Hollywood love stories in charming and inventive ways. Framing it in classic movie references, and by telling the main story as an extended flashback, he is able to show that no matter how terrible things get after the revelations about Jim's age, everyone makes it out more or less okay. Director David Gautschy allows the characters to set the pace of the play; Harry's scenes moving with a sort of fussy deliberateness that seems to suit his character, and Jim's with a sense of reckless energy. In addition, he makes good use of the entire Main Stage Theater space and Duane Pagano's versatile set and lighting.

While the cast is particularly good, Woodman does an exceptional job as Harry, especially in his scenes of wide-eyed yet dubious wonder when a beautiful younger man expresses interest in him, and his later scenes of stoic resignation with a healthy dose of gallows humor. Tresser as Jim effortlessly plays the mercurial tendencies of teenagers - impulsive, confused, and living each emotion with a terrifying intensity, as though it were the first time any human had ever felt it. Tresser, however, looks even older than the 20 year old college student that Jim pretends to be, but it's a minor inconsistency that is quickly overlooked.

Also outstanding are Jeff Paul, as Ben Stafford, Harry's best friend, boss and brother-in-law, and Nicole Taylor as Harry's sister Diane. As the one person who stands by Harry throughout the scandal, Paul plays Ben as a truly stand up guy, with a touch of frat boy humor, but an unflagging loyalty, and Taylor's take on Diane shows a great deal of range and mines all the humor in the role.

Sickles takes a potentially controversial topic and crafts a beautiful story of a doomed romance. Like the old movies it references, Casablanca chief among them, Moonlight & Love Songs shows that love often demands sacrifice to become transcendent.


Written by Scott C. Sickles
Directed by David Gautschy
Lighting and Scenic Design - Duane Pagano
Sound Design - David Schulder
Assistant Director - Chaya Muldavin
Production Stage Manager - Michael Palmer
Assistant Stage Manager - Samantha Mercado
Coordinating Producer - Mitchell Sawyer
Press Representative - Scotti Rhodes Publicity
Promotional Art/Logo - Todd Alan Johnson

Featuring: Ryan Tresser (Jim Bennett), Jeff Woodman (Harry Wallace), Jeff Paul (Ben Stafford), David Palmer Brown (Box Office People, et al), Nicole Taylor (Diane Wallace-Stafford), David M. Mead (The Reverend), Anne Fizzard (Eileen Bennett)


Main Stage Theater
312 W. 36th St.
4th Floor East

For reservations call 212-695-4173 x5#

Wed.-Sat. 8PM
Matinees on Sat. at 3 PM

Through November 22

Monday, November 10, 2008

Fundraiser - Into the Underworld (Maieutic Theatre Works)

ONE-NIGHT ONLY BENEFIT ENGAGEMENT
November 10, 2008 AT THE TRIAD NYC

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT THEATERMANIA.COM

MAIEUTIC THEATRE WORKS (MTWorks) is pleased to announce their one-night only benefit event, INTO THE UNDERWORLD: A Broadway Understudy Tell All…With Music, once again under the musical direction of Matt Doebler (Wicked), hosted by Katie Adams & Julie Reiber of Wicked. INTO THE UNDERWORLD will take place on Monday, November 10th (9:30pm) at The Triad NYC (158 West 72nd Street).

Into The Underworld will included performances by:

-KATIE ADAMS (Wicked)
-JUSTIN BRILL (Rent, All Shook Up)
-TONY CHIROLDES (In The Heights)
-JEFF EDGERTON (Grease, Parade)
-MICHELLE LOOKADOO (The Little Mermaid)
- KIMBERLY DAWN NEUMANN (A Chorus Line)
-KATE PAZAKIS (Jerry Sprnger The Opera)
-JULIE REIBER (Wicked)
-DAVID SPANGENTHAL (Beauty & The Beast, Thoroughly Modern Millie)
-SHAUN TAYLOR-CORBETT (In The Heights);

...as they share their most intimate stories on how they made it to the Broadway stage.

The proceeds from this event will go to funding MTWorks Season 08-09, including The 2009 National NewBorn Festival in January 2009, and the production of Jacqueline Goldfinger’s The Oath in April 2009 at The Arclight Theater.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

TICKET PRICES:
General Admission: Advance Purchase $40.00 (+2 drink minimum, cash bar)
Day of the Event $45.00 (+2 drink minimum, cash bar)

*VIP Tickets: 65.00 (+2 drink minimum, cash bar).

Tickets are now available online at http://www.theatermania.com/ or by calling 212-352-3101. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at The Triad NYC half hour prior to Showtime, cash only.

*VIP Tickets include preferential reserved seating, Broadway Memorabilia, Bottle of Fine Wine, Tickets to The Oath and VIP Gift Bag.

Complimentary Hors D’Oeuvres will be served at the event; there will be an auction, including tickets to Wicked, Altar Boyz and My First Time, Broadway Memorabilia and more.

For more information visit http://www.mtworks.org/. You can also visit http://www.triadnyc.com/ for driving/subway information.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Fundraiser - Scavenger Hunt for Red Door Theatre

The Scavenger Hunt is coming!(THIS WEEKEND!!!)

First Annual RDT Scavenger Hunt will be held on Saturday, November 8th beginning at 1pm. (Registration begins at 12:30pm)

Start getting your team together (2-4 people per team).

Don't have a team? That's ok, we'll pair you up when you get there.

$10/per person, or $35 for a pre-registered team of four.

(You will also need a digital camera, phones are fine, and an unlimited metro card)

Win Theatre tickets, Free Seminars at The Network and other great prizes!

RSVP at kateerin@thereddoortheatre.com

(You must email us to "Pre-register" for the 4-person discount!)

Please put "Scavenger Hunt" in the subject line

Details:Saturday, November 8, 2008
Time: 1:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: World Wide Plaza
Street: Between 49th and 50th, and 8th and 9th
City/Town: New York, NY

Special thanks to: Richard Frankel Productions, The Network, & Design Napier

Please visit http://www.thereddoortheatre.com/ for all the Official Rules and Details

Review - The Pumpkin Pie Show (Horse Trade Theater Group)

Review by Byrne Harrison
Photos by Cedar


Every once in a while I find out about a show that I never knew existed, but has been around for years. Once upon a time, it was Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. This time it is The Pumpkin Pie Show. Returning to New York for its tenth anniversary, The Pumpkin Pie Show makes me wish I'd known about it ten years ago.

The Pumpkin Pie Show is an evening of story telling. The latest incarnation features Clay McLeod Chapman and Hanna Cheek, two enthralling actors with a gift for telling a compelling story. The actors have prepared fourteen stories, all written by Chapman, any six of which will be performed in an evening. While this does make for a new and exciting show every night, it also makes it hard to review. Based on the six stories performed the night I saw it, and of course the fact that it is Halloween, the common theme of this version seems to be horror. This falls into roughly three categories: visceral, as in Chapman's look inside the mind of a returning veteran in Grand Marshal and Cheek's tale of a murder revealed in Bridesmaid; sly and humorous, Cheek's Overbite, about a woman with jaws of steel and the problems that can cause, or the absolute winner of the evening, Late Bloomer, a Lovecraftian look at sex ed; and emotional, as in Cheek's story of a young nurse dealing with the loss of war in The Suitor's Ward, or Chapman's look at the silver lining of Alzheimer's in Oldsmobile.

While Late Bloomer is my favorite of Chapman's stories, mostly because it allows him to delve into a breathlessly over-the-top prose, my overall favorite was the lovely and heart-breaking The Suitor's Ward. Anyone not moved by this tale of a nurse and the gentle way she provides comfort to mortally wounded soldiers must have a heart of stone.

The Pumpkin Pie Show has now closed, but when it returns, do yourself a favor and buy tickets early. The show routinely sells out, and next time, I'm bringing all my friends.

Stories written by Clay McLeod Chapman
Performances by Clay McLeod Chapman and Hanna Cheek

UNDER St. Marks
94 St. Marks Place

Closed 11/1

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Review - Something Weird . . . In the Red Room (Rachel Klein Productions)

Review by Byrne Harrison
Photos by Lisa Soverino

Something Weird . . . In The Red Room certainly lives up to its name. It is in the Red Room and it is most definitely weird. This evening featuring two short plays directed and choreographed by Rachel Klein has a fun and freaky vibe, and though somewhat confusing, is a good time.

The first play of the evening, Sir Sheever by Benjamin Spiro, is a quirky play about a hapless burglar, Ralph (Bret Haines), who wanders into a creepy dollhouse of a mansion run by Miss Elise (Kari Warchock), a Baby Jane type, and populated with a group of life-sized dolls. Incorporated into her fantasy role-playing, Ralph, now dubbed Sir Sheever, discovers that the dolls are more than they appear, and this knowledge may spell the end of Ralph and Miss Elise.

Klein's direction is strong, though her forte appears to be more geared toward the choreography (which is outstanding) and the creation of fascinating stage pictures, and less toward the pacing and dialogue. While the actors playing humans are good, the ones playing dolls are outstanding. Special praise goes to Megan O'Connor, as a haughty talking doll, complete with pull-string, named Miss Prissypants, and Ted Caine, as the hypersexual Fredrick doll.

Aenigma by Sean Gill, the second play of the evening is . . . well, enigmatic. This strange tale about Diana (Jillaine Gill) and Charlotte (Elizabeth Stewart), two sisters who are trying to find backers for their children's show, quickly changes into a psychosexual thriller about blackmail, murder, magic, and the universe that exists just beyond our realm of consciousness.

While Klein once again demonstrates her skill with choreography and movement, Aenigma better highlights her skills as a director. Using flashbacks, slow motion, and other decidedly non-realistic techniques, Klein makes up for the main weakness of the show, the necessity of explaining the backstory of Diana and Charlotte, by making the show fascinating to watch.

Outstanding performances are given by both Gill and Stewart, as well as Rob Richardson, as the emotionally blank blackmailer, Mr. Green. Bret Jaspers, who portrays Tad, a strange antagonist to Gill's Diana, does a good job, though Tad is at his off-kilter best when Jaspers and Gill are interacting.

For an Off-Off Broadway show with, I imagine, a small budget, the technical aspects of the show are excellent. Lighting designer Lisa Soverino does an outstanding job using light, shadow, and color to highlight the more surreal moments of both plays. Makeup designer Anita Rundles and costume designers Emily Dorwart and Rachel Klein create marvelous ensembles, especially for the dolls in Sir Sheever.

Something Weird . . . In The Red Room is fascinating evening of theatre. You might come out of it scratching your head, but even so, you will come out of it entertained.


Written by Benjamin Spiro (Sir Sheever) and Sean Gill (Aenigma)
Directed and Choreographed by Rachel Klein
Lighting Designer: Lisa Soverino
Makeup Designer: Anita Rundles
Costume Designer: Emily Dorwart and Rachel Klein
Costume Consultant: Emily Taradash
Sound Designer: Rachel Klein and Sean Gill
Sound Engineer: Benjamin Spiro and Sean Gill
Original Music Composer: Sean Gill and John Gill
Photographer: Lisa Soverino
Graphic Designer: Anthony Patryn
Press Representative: Emily Owens PR
Stage Managers: Lizz Giorgos and Marina Steinberg
Producer: Rachel Klein
Associate Producers: Benjamin Spiro and Sean Gill


Featuring (Sir Sheever): Candy Bloise (Euripides), Ted Caine (Fredrick), Bret Haines (Ralph), Abigail Hawk (Eunice), Megan O'Connor (Miss Prissypants), Michael Porsche (Robert), Kari Warchock (Miss Elise)

Featuring (Aenigma): Jillaine Gill (Diana), Bret Jaspers (Tad), Dasha Kittredge (Body Rock Crew), Christopher Loar (Body Rock Crew), Rob Richardson (Mr. Green), Claire A. Sansaricq (Body Rock Crew), Elizabeth Stewart (Charlotte)


The Red Room
85 E. 4th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Ave.

Closed 10/31

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Blood Brothers Present . . . The Master of Horror (The Blood Brothers and Nosedive Productions)

Review by Byrne Harrison
Photos by Aaron Epstein

After a year spent dreaming up fresh horrors for Gotham's citizens, the Blood Brothers are back. And this time, they've brought along a famous friend.

Nosedive Productions has been given the rights to stage four plays based on the Stephen King short stories Nona, Quitters, Inc., In The Deathroom, and his poem, Paranoid: A Chant. Serving as a frame for the plays is James Comtois' The Last Waltz. This piece, based on a chapter of King's nonfiction work, Danse Macabre, covers the mayhem and murder that has been blamed on King's work and features the delightfully homicidal Family Blood (Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer as the titular Blood Brothers, Rebecca Comtois as Sister Blood) acting out the various immolations, impalements, and murders with bloodthirsty glee. Just hearing Boisvert hiss "They're all going to laugh at you" to a woman who had been impaled with kitchenware (à la Carrie's mother) was enough to make this one of my favorite parts of the show.


The first King show of the evening is Nona, a play about obsession and the lengths a man will go to for his dream woman, real or not. Loverboy (Jeremy Goren) is not much of a man until he meets the sultry and desperate Nona (Jessi Gotta). Where she leads, he follows even if it means murder and madness. The play, ably adapted by James Comtois, features some nice special effects, a healthy dose of blood, and some excellent fight choreography by Qui Nguyen, who does his usual bang up job. Well paced by director Shearer, it nonetheless lacks a certain amount of suspense. As with any play, props must be changed, sets moved, and "dead" actors must leave the stage. Shearer does what he can to keep the audience in the moment so the suspense can build, but the interruptions take their toll.

The second play, Quitters, Inc., adapted by Qui Nguyen, attempts to add a note of humor to the evening. This tale of Richard (Michael Criscuolo), who wants to give up smoking, and Vic Donatti (Marc Landers), who is willing to do absolutely anything to absolutely anybody to ensure Richard's success, is somewhat overwritten by Nguyen and seems somewhat under-rehearsed. This combination makes the play drag. That said, Nguyen proves adept at using flashback - the play begins with the reunion of the man and his wife (Marsha Martinez) and jumps back in time as he explains what led up to it - and Boisvert proves adept at directing it, making Martinez a witness to the scenes as Landers and Criscuolo act them out, while reacting as though she's being told a story by Criscuolo. All in all, a nice effect, and a good way to adapt the story for stage.

The next play, Paranoid: A Chant, is a monologue which will be familiar to anyone who has sat near an unbalanced person on the subway. The Paranoiac (Jessi Gotta) is being watched - and studied - and recorded - but she's one step ahead of them. She knows their tricks. Played with outstanding intensity by Gotta, who manages to make the the audience feel her stifling paranoia and makes them feel claustrophobic in the creeping darkness, and directed with a manic intensity by Boisvert, this is the highlight of the evening.

The final piece, Mac Rogers' In the Deathroom, is the best in terms of a story that translates well to the stage. Following Fletcher (Ben Trawick-Smith), a NY Times reporter who is being tortured by the sadistic Heinz (Christian Toth) under the orders of Pilar (Marsha Martinez) and Escobar (Jeremy Goren), a couple of petty dictators in an unnamed Latin American country, this tale of love and revenge is a tight, well-written, well-directed (Boisvert again), and well-acted play. Of particular note is Toth, whose Heinz is an evil maniac, but one who is slave to his passions. In the Deathroom also features a wonderfully gruesome special effect that occurs during an electrocution.

Although the adaptations vary in their degrees of success, overall The Blood Brothers Present . . . The Master of Horrors delivers what it promises - humor, fear, and a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on your point of view) dose of gore. And when was the last time you saw a group of actors who could be so good at being so evil?


Written by James Comtois, Qui Nguyen and Mac Rogers
Adapted from the short stories of Stephen King
Directed by Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer
Stage Managers: Stephanie Cox-Williams and Ben VandenBoom
Fight Choreographer: Qui Nguyen
Lighting Designer: Leslie Hughes
Sound Designer: Patrick Shearer
Special Effects Coordinator: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Original Music: Larry Lees
Press Agent: James Comtois
Producers: Pete Boisvert, James Comtois, Rebecca Comtois, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Marc Landers, Ben VandenBoom, and Patrick Shearer
Associate Producer: Jessi Gotta

Featuring: Rebecca Comtois (Sister Blood), Michael Criscuolo (Morrison/Ramon/Trucker #2), Jeremy Goren (Loverboy, Escobar), Jessi Gotta (Nona, the Paranoiac), Marc Landers (Cook/Blanchette/Donatti), Marsha Martinez (Cindy, Pilar), Ben Trawick-Smith (Ace Merrill/Good Samaritan/Fletcher), Christian Toth (Trucker #1, Cop, Jimmy McCann/Heinz)

Endtimes Underground
at the Gene Frankel Theatre
24 Bond Street (between Bowery & Lafayette)

October 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, 30-31, and November 1, 2008
7:30 PM

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Announcement - Plucking Failures Like Ripe Fruit (Horse Trade Theater Group/No Tea Productions)

HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP

PRESENTS A

NO TEA PRODUCTIONS

PRODUCTION OF

PLUCKING FAILURES LIKE RIPE FRUIT
(A Night of One-Act Romantic Tragedies)

Directed by Lindsey Moore

NOVEMBER 20-DECEMBER 6

PLUCKING FAILURES LIKE RIPE FRUIT is a collection of small works by big playwrights, all of which are about people trying, and failing, at love. Before each show, the audience will draw our performance order from a collection of more than 10 short plays, so every night is guaranteed to be a different show! Plays include Sure Thing by David Ives, 1-900-Desperate by Christopher Durang, Here We Are by Dorothy Parker, Request Stop by Harold Pinter, Cold by David Mamet, Miss You by David Auburn, Please Have a Seat And Someone Will Be With You Shortly by Garth Wingfield, Anything For You by Cathy Celesia, A Day For Surprises by John Guare, Breaking Even by Dan Dietz and, 4 a.m. (Open All Night) by Bob Krakower,

PLUCKING FAILURES LIKE RIPE FRUIT features Alicia Barnatchez, Brooke Eddey, Sabrina Farhi, Richard Lovejoy, Jeremy Mather, and Jeff Sproul.

The production, produced by Horse Trade Theater Group and No Tea Productions, will play at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place) November 20-December 6, Thursday through Saturday at 8pm and Sunday, November 30 at 2pm (no show on November 27). Tickets ($15, $12 students/seniors) are available by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or online at www.horseTRADE.info

# # # #

For the last year and a half, No Tea Productions has been staging off-off-Broadway shows, mostly brand new works by young playwrights in New York. With each show, we strive to be funny and entertaining, but also to always present a larger truth.

"A company to look out for … this young production company kicks out a tremendous show with an equally powerful ensemble." - Richard Hinojosa, NYtheatre.com

"...A reason for hope for American theatre." - Ethan Stanislawski, BlogCritics Magazine

Horse Trade is a self-sustaining theater development group; with a focus on new work, it has produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. Horse Trade’s Resident Artist Program offers a home to a select group of Independent Theater artists, pooling together a great deal of talent and energy. It is also the home of FRIGID New York – the first and only festival of its kind in New York City.

# # # #

www.NoTeaProductions.com

News - 3LD Art & Technology Center Receives Grants

New York, NY— The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded 3LD $400,000. The Mellon grant supports all artistic and organizational initiatives at 3LD from 3-Legged Dog's own artistic production, to 3LD's Resident programming, Professional Development Resources and Program Analysis. Mellon has attached a two-to-one match requirement to $200,000 of this grant as a challenge to other 3LD supporters to make their own commitment to 3LD's facility and the continuation of artistic activity in Lower Manhattan that keeps New York City a vital cornerstone of artistic experimentation and cutting-edge creativity.

In addition 3LD has just been awarded $200,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation's New York City Cultural Innovation Fund, a fund which helps improve quality of life throughout the city by recognizing and supporting new opportunities in the creative sector. This highly competitive two-year grant, for 3LD's Cooperative Professional Resources program, will bolster several 3LD projects for large-scale theater and media artists:

- The Cooperative Studio Licensing Program, which develops the new art work of seven to nine arts groups annually.

- Professional Development technology and other training sessions, both private and public.

- Artist Working Groups, which bring artists together to tackle pressing problems affecting the New York City creative community.

- The expansion of 3LD's International Consortium, which creates long-term global partnerships for experimental art production.

3-Legged Dog was founded in 1994 by a group of artists working at the Ontological-Hysteric Theater and has become one of the leading experimental arts groups in New York. Its mission is to produce new, original works in theater, performance, media and hybrid forms. Working out of a strong literary tradition, they explore the new narrative possibilities created by digital technology, and provide an environment for their artists to create new tools and modes of expression so that they can excel across a range of disciplines. The company's award-winning work has been shown in New York and Europe. For more information visit http://www.3leggeddog.org/

In 2006, the company inaugurated the 3LD Art & Technology Center at 80 Greenwich Street south of the World Trade Center site. 3LD Art & Technology Center is an artist-run production studio with one goal, to create a culture of risk taking, experimentation, independence and ambition with a cooperative international community of artists centered in New York. 3LD's facility and programs offer an arena in which residents simultaneously increase knowledge, streamline production processes and realize their creative visions. 3LD's resident programs are designed to create a stable, savvy, self-sufficient experimental arts community with access to resources and professional development that leads to better quality work, high production values, and new ways of engaging the public, here and abroad. With 3LD's resources and the time to really dig into their work, residents have the opportunity to test the limits of their materials and expand their artistic imaginations. Over the last two years, the company has supported the work of nearly 1000 artists including Laurie Anderson, Charles Mee, New Georges, Hourglass Group, HERE, The TEAM, Troika Ranch, Trick Saddle, Ripe Time, Reid Farrington, and many others. For more information visit: http://www.3ldnyc.org/

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Announcement - Revealed (Horse Trade Theater Group/GiGi La Femme & Doc Wasabassco)

Horse Trade Theater Group presents
a GiGi La Femme & Doc Wasabassco Production:

REVEALED
More burlesque than you’ve ever seen before!

***

Wednesday, November 19, 10:00pm $20
Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place, New York, NY

***

REVEALED . . . Brought to you by the Power Couple of Burlesque (GiGi La Femme and Doc Wasabassco) Revealed is a cutting-edge burlesque show with a sinfully dirty twist. This unique and extra-sultry night features the sexiest, most notorious burlesque performers in New York City, as you’ve never seen them before! Revealed promises you more bang for your buck than any other show in town.

Featuring tantalizing performances by Amber Ray, GiGi La Femme, Kobayashi Maru, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Peekaboo Pointe and Gal Friday with your charming and inebriated host, Bastard Keith!

What surprises will the girls have in store for us this month? Sushi eating? Pillow fights? Come find out and experience an evening of salacious striptease and skin, where the climax of each number leaves everything…Revealed.

"Worth considerably more than the paltry $20 admission fee it demands, the neo-burlesque show Revealed offers up a substantial helping of coquetry, comedy and camp, along with other, pinker, softer words beginning with the letter C." –New York Press

# # # #

Revealed Burlesque
UNDER St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place

The third Wednesday of every month, at 10:00 PM

Admission is $20. Tickets are available online at http://www.horsetrade.info/ or by calling 212-868-4444

# # # #

www.MySpace.com/RevealedBurlesque

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Review - Brew of the Dead (Horse Trade Theatre Group and Dysfunctional Theatre Company)


Review by Byrne Harrison

You've studied Romero and Raimi. You've watched Shaun of the Dead and 28 Days Later. Maybe you've even sung along to Zombie Prom and Evil Dead: The Musical. But will you survive the Zombie Apocalypse? And if so, are you going to be able to come up with some cool one-liners to use while you fight off legions of the walking dead?

Sadly, the answer is probably no. (For some good examples click here)

Luckily, playwright Patrick Storck has provided us with a handful of plucky survivors who, armed with a small cache of weapons and a staggering knowledge of zombie lore (heavy on the pop culture), flee Pittsburgh and decide to hole up in the Latrobe brewery. After all, if you're going to wait out the Zombie Apocalypse, you might as well have a nice buzz. Along the way, one of them gets bitten, and rather than giving up, he decides to drink the infection away (assuming it is an infection).

Brew of the Dead doesn't get much more complex than that, but that's fine. It's really about the jokes, adrenaline, and five people who probably wouldn't hang out together except for that whole zombie thing. Think of The Breakfast Club as directed by George Romero. The zombies in Brew of the Dead are rarely seen, but they are the subject of endless debate. Why do they eat brains? Why do they eat at all since they're dead? Is a chainsaw really a useful weapon, or did it just look cool in the Evil Dead movies? While most of these questions are never answered, they do allow for some great quips, one-liners and sarcastic banter.

The best lines of the evening tend to come from Craig (Peter Schuyler), a shaggy-looking drunk who nearly becomes zombie chow. He's the first to articulate what most of the others are thinking; even though they've seen death, un-death, and destruction, they're actually having a hell of a time. Each of them is suddenly out of his routine and boring life, and using skills they didn't know they had. Nerdy Kim (Amy Overman) is the organizer of the group. She knows where each gun and machete is and how much food they need to scavenge. Derek (Tom O'Connor) is the voice of reason; he sees the potential dangers and tries to avoid them. Nexus (Amy Beth Sherman) is the kick-ass Goth girl. Matt (Eric Chase) and Craig (Peter Schuyler) are slackers who probably watched every zombie movie in college and suddenly find themselves oddly prepared for the end of the world. Despite the circumstances, the characters seem to be having a pretty good time and that gives the talented cast plenty of material to play with.

Brew of the Dead provides more laughs than chills, though the last minutes of the play provide some nice scary moments, showing that director Justin Plowman can do horror just as well as he does comedy. It is just the thing for a night out with friends, especially as Halloween approaches. Since the theatre (Under St. Marks) sells beer and cider, there's no reason not to crack open a cold one and drink along with the cast. After all, you never know when the zombies will attack.


Written by Patrick Storck
Directed by Justin Plowman
Assistant Director: Rob Brown
Producer: Amy Overman
Associate Producer: Peter Schuyler
Original Show Graphics & Postcard Design: J.L. Soto
Additional Graphics Designer: Cory Plowman
Lighting & Sound Designer: Justin Plowman

Featuring: Eric Chase (Matt), Tom O’Connor (Derek), Amy Overman (Kim), Peter Schuyler (Craig), Amy Beth Sherman (Nexus)

UNDER St. Marks
94 St. Marks Place

October 3, 4, 11, 18, 25 and November 1 at 10:30 PM

Tickets: Smarttix (212-868-4444) or www.horsetrade.info

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Review - Caprice (Wings Theatre Company)

Review by Byrne Harrison

Sue Berch, Jared Joplin, Frank Galgano and LinDel Sandlin
Photograph by Ben Strothmann

One of the things I admire about the Wings Theatre Company is their willingness to serve as an incubator for new musicals. Sometimes, they have a hit. Sometimes they don’t. Unfortunately, their latest musical Caprice, Robert Lux’s backstage musical set in the late 1950s, misses the mark.

Following the adventures of the cast, crew and managers of the Caprice Theatre, the show promises “dueling divas, naïve ingénues, conniving board members, and a fortune teller.” And while it’s true that those things appear, the flimsy story that connects them all fails to make them interesting.

Caprice follows B. Frank Facetious (Jared Joplin) and his long-suffering and clearly besotted stage manager, Paul Marseilles (Frank Galgano), as they attempt to stage what is destined to become the latest in a line of musical stinkers. As B., as he is known to his cast, makes mistake after mistake – being seduced into casting the untalented Louise Horntinsky (Sue Berch), allowing the rivalry between Louise and the better qualified actress, Veeda Goodrich (LinDel Sandlin), to become a knockdown fight, ignoring the feelings of the puppy-dog-eyed Paul, and allowing a domineering board member (Mary Anne Prevost) to walk all over him – he spirals closer and closer to being fired and losing everything.

Lux’s music is enjoyable, though his lyrics (with an assist by Jim Keeler) tend toward the obvious. He has a gift for ballads, however, and two of the songs, “Once Again” and the lovely “On the Day of Love,” are rather good taken on their own. The second in particular, sung by Vanessa Wendt as a gypsy fortune teller, showcases a problem with the musical. The song, and indeed her character, seems shoehorned into the show. This is compounded by director Fred C. L. Mann’s decision to have the gypsy character onstage for the first few numbers before her scene, silently watching the events unfold. This makes it seem that her character will be somehow more important to the plot of the show. Several characters, especially the underwritten dueling diva, Louise, seem to be merely afterthoughts. The fact that the dueling divas rarely appear onstage together (Louise rarely appears period) and that only Veeda has any songs, give short shrift to what could have been a fun secondary story.

Lux’s decision to place the musical in 1959 seems likewise unnecessary, especially as it made one of B.’s songs, “Life is Not a Musical,” anachronistic, by referencing modern musicals like Annie. It did, however allow costume designer Kurt A. Smith and set designer Justin Couchara to have a little fun with their great period costumes and mod designs.

The acting in Caprice is uneven, with a certain amount of blame going to Mann’s flaccid direction and Lux’s cardboard characters. The one standout is LindDel Sandlin. Her Veeda is an salty broad with a touch of Merman about her. If Veeda had been given more chances to shine, and a better written opponent, Sandlin could have brought down the house.


Music and Lyrics by Robert Lux
Additional Lyrics by Jim Keeler
Directed and Choreographed by Fred C. L. Mann III
Musical Direction by David Hancock Turner
Costume Design by Kurt A. Smith
Set Design by Justin Couchara
Lighting Design by Joyce Liao
Stage Manager: Chelsea Underwood

Featuring: LinDel Sandlin (Veeda Goodrich), Joey Kovach (Cecil Beam), Jimmy Glidden III (Michael Sparks), Frank Galgano (Paul Marseilles), Jared Joplin (B. Frank Facetious), Sue Berch (Louise Horntinsky), Melissa Zimmerman (Heather Winterset), Vanessa Wendt (Madame Sherry), Mary Anne Prevost (Grace Weidenfelt), Cooper Cerulo (Georgie Weidenfelt), Anthony Fusco (Virge Butler)

Wings Theatre
154 Christopher Street

Thursday-Saturday 8 PM
Sundays 3:30 PM
Monday 8 PM

Closed October 5th

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Review - 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter’s Night (Creative Concept Productions and Adam Weinstock)

Review by Byrne Harrison

Spencer Quest, director David Drake and Scott Cunningham
Photo from Creative Concept Productions


Considering its reputation as a haven for artists of all kinds, it comes as no surprise that theatre is thriving in Provincetown, especially during the summer season. Also not surprisingly, much of the theatre is geared toward the LGBT community, either overtly as with Varla Jean Merman’s camp parody Shut Up Sweet Charlotte, or less so with the Provincetown Theater’s production of Terrance McNally and David Yazbek’s The Full Monty. Given the title of James Edwin Parker’s play 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter’s Night and the warnings in its publicity materials about its nudity and sexual situations, this play clearly falls into the former category. Those looking for a light comedy or an opportunity for some voyeurism may be surprised to find that they’re attending a thoughtful play about love, desire and relationships, and while both performers are certainly attractive, they are also remarkably good actors.

The title of the play sets the stage rather nicely. Daryl (Scott Douglas Cunningham) and Peter (Spencer Quest) are enjoying some post-coital napping in bed on a cold winter’s night. Having just met that evening at a bar, neither really knows anything about the other, except that they share an attraction and that they had some great sex. Peter, rugged and taciturn, wants to sleep, but Daryl is chatty. He wants to discuss relationships, jobs, and generally try to determine if he and Peter are compatible. Daryl is looking for a boyfriend; Peter is just looking for a good time. Though it seems this will be a play about two opposites who may or may not make a lasting connection, Parker’s play is more complex. Neither character is quite what he seems and it’s this unveiling and discovery that gives the play its most interesting moments.

Cunningham makes a very believable Daryl. As a “pretty” gay man nearing 40, Daryl has seen the writing on the wall. Having not had a relationship lasting more than a few dates in years, he desperately wants some sort of human connection. Lost in nostalgia for his youth and his last somewhat successful relationship, he has trouble connecting in the here and now. His need for intimacy comes across as desperation, especially when he blurts out the “L word” at an inopportune moment. At times like a friendly puppy, at others shrewdly calculating and bitter, Daryl allows Cunningham to show some good range.

Despite his lack of theatre credits – his only other one is the NYC production of Naked Boys Singing - Quest is remarkably strong as philosopher/construction worker Peter. Quiet and sexy, Peter seems as self-assured at Daryl is needy. It isn’t until the end of the play that Peter allows this façade to slip and the audience glimpses some of the pain that his cocky manner hides. Quest excels in these quieter, more vulnerable moments.

Like many plays from the early ‘90s, 2 Boys deals with AIDS, but it is not an AIDS play, per se. AIDS is more of a metaphor for Daryl’s general fear of life and love and what drives Peter’s hedonism. And though it deals with a couple of gay men, it’s not really a gay play. The issues that are being discussed, the fear that both characters deal with, and the yearning for love and intimacy that everyone craves are universal, and that is the strength of this play.

Ably directed by David Drake, who brings out the humor and poignancy in Parker’s script, 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter’s Night is a strong production of an interesting and thought-provoking play.

Written by James Edwin Parker
Directed by David Drake

Featuring: Scott Cunningham (Daryl) and Spencer Quest (Peter)

The Art House Theater
214 Commercial Street
Provincetown, MA

Through Tuesday and Wednesday at 9 PM through August 27th
For tickets visit OvationTix.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Review – Lonely Planet (Redd Tale Theatre Company)

Review by Byrne Harrison


Will LeVasseur and James Stewart
Photo by Ben Strothmann


As we move further from those days, it's worth remembering the human toll that the AIDS crisis took in the '80s and '90s. Not just with the deaths, though those were certainly horrifying, but in the lives of the people who were left behind as their friends, lovers, and neighbors died around them. To some of these survivors, living with the burden of memory and fear may have seemed worse that succumbing to the illness.

Two of these battered survivors are at the center of Steven Dietz' touching and funny Lonely Planet. Jody (James Stewart) runs Jody's Maps and is so frightened by what's going on around him that he can no longer bring himself to go outside. His best friend, the puckish Carl (Will LeVasseur), deals with it in his own way – he collects chairs and brings them to Jody's store. Though Jody protests, the chairs grow in number, blocking the aisles, stacking up in corners, filling the shop.

Jody is a broken man. Horrified by the world around him, he retreats into his store and himself. Maps make sense to him; they are fixed in time and space, unchanging. But even maps have issues. Like the Mercator distortion that makes Greenland look as big as South America, we accept those distortions in order to move from Point A to Point B. But as Jody realizes, eventually, those distortions can get you. Carl reacts in a different way. To Jody, he seems to be an enigma. One day he claims to restore art. Another, he's a reporter or a cop. Fluid and ever-changing, he seems to be a pathological liar. But his lies, like the chairs he collects from his friends who have died, have a purpose, and in a particularly moving monologue late in the play, Carl explains all.

Carl slowly readies Jody for his eventual return to the world, and the AIDS test that he has been avoiding for fear that it holds a death sentence. His humor, grace, and occasional tough love eventually save Jody from him self-imposed exile.

Dietz' play is well produced by Redd Tale Theatre Company. Director Stanley Brode takes a gentle approach to direction, allowing the actors and the situations to set the pace and providing a natural feel to the play. Designer Jessalyn Maguire does a good job with the set, though despite Jody's insistence that the store is getting overrun by chairs, the large space at the Spoon Theatre never really feels that full.

James Stewart does a good job showing both Jody's fear of life and broken spirit, as well as the friendship he has with Carl. LeVasseur is excellent as Carl. With his broad smile and his seeming enjoyment at playing Carl's quirks, he serves as an excellent counterpoint to Stewart's inhibited Jody. Watching the two men as their roles reverse, Jody's sternly parental relationship with Carl being slowly eclipsed by Carl's patiently and lovingly parental caring for Jody, is very moving.

Though Dietz' play does at times seem a little like a souvenir from another time and place, it is a hearfelt and well done production.

Written by Steven Dietz
Directed by Stanley Brode
Costume/Sets: Jessalyn Maguire
Stage Manager: Anastasia Zorin

Featuring: James Stewart (Jody) and Will LeVasseur (Carl)

The Spoon Theatre
38 W. 38th Street

August 1-16
Visit www.smarttix.com for tickets.

Review – Cake and Plays . . . But Without the Cake (At Hand Theatre Company)

Review by Byrne Harrison

Cake and Plays . . . But Without the Cake is an evening of one-act plays by emerging playwright Jono Hustis featuring Cow and Shakespeare, Monsoons, and In the Name of Bob. While the plays are not all of the same caliber, they do add up to a fun evening of theatre.

The first of the plays, Cow and Shakespeare, finds Will Shakespeare (Michael Hartney), a particularly untalented writer, trying desperately to start and finish a play that is due to be given to his theatre company the next day. Fortunately for him, a Cow (Michael Micalizzi) in nearby pasture overhears his cries of frustration, not to mention his extremely bad prose, and offers to help. Being a selfless cow with a sublime writing talent, he offers to supply young Shakespeare with 40 or so plays he's written himself – Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and The Taming of the Shrew, just to name a few. While the ultimate outcome of Shakespeare's interaction with this cow is fairly predictable - it centers around an invitation to dinner - it is nonetheless entertaining. Both Hartney and Micalizzi do a good job with their roles; Hartney with a decidedly tongue in cheek attitude and Micalizzi with a bovine insouciance. However, it's the little details, from Stephani Lewis' East Village inspired costumes, to the quill made from a Crayola marker with a feather taped to it, that add to the sense of whimsy in this play.

Monsoons, the second play of the evening, shows what might possibly be one of the most cringe-inducing blind dates on record. Jack (Craig Mungavin) and Theresa (Morgan Lindsey Tachco) are clearly not meant to be together. As they stand drinking their $4 coffees while Jack says one wrong thing after the next, the scene gets funnier and funnier. Though there isn't much to this play, it will resonate with anyone who has ever been on an uncomfortable date. Again, both actors do good jobs with their roles, but it is Mungavin who shines as the befuddled Jack as he tries to walk through the minefield that the date has turned into.

The final play of the evening, In the Name of Bob, is a genuinely sweet tale about Alicia (Darcy Fowler), a woman who was badly hurt in a relationship and has been unable to move on, and Marvin (Andy Gershenzon), a frenetic ball of energy who is either unbalanced or a guardian angel sent by Bob (God's real name) to help Alicia move on. The chemistry between Fowler and Gershenzon is marvelous and Fowler does a particularly good job moving from fear to bemusement to friendship to something more as Alicia opens herself up to the possibility that Marvin may indeed be her guardian angel. Gershenzon plays Marvin as a live wire, pulsing with a wild energy that is meant to shock Alicia from her dull routine and make her take a chance and truly appreciate the life she's been given. In the Name of Bob is delightful and certainly the high point of the evening.

Featuring Jono Hustis' amusing plays and snappy dialogue, good direction from Daniel Horrigan, and a talented cast, Cake and Plays . . . But Without the Cake puts another check in At Hand Theatre Company's win column.


In the Name of Bob's Darcy Fowler and Andy Gershenzon

Written by Jono Hustis
Directed by Daniel Horrigan
Scenic Designer: James Fenton
Sound Designer: Nathan Leigh
Costume Designer: Stephani Lewis
Lighting Designer: Aaron Spivey
Stage Manager: Kate Pressman
Rehearsal Stage Manager: Gary Slootskiy
Production Manager/Technical Director: Marty Strenczewilk
Assistant Technical Director: Lauren Madden
Assistant Set Designers: Lauren Madden and Samantha Bocchicchio
Assistant Costume Designer: Amanda Crommett
Assistant Lighting/Sound Designer: Gary Slootskiy
Production Assistant: Kaela Whitaker
Company Member: Liz Schurra
Press Representative: Emily Owens PR
Producers: Daniel Horrigan and Marty Strenczewilk
Graphic Designer: Sandra Salerno
Company Photographer: Salma T. Khalil

Featuring: Darcy Fowler (Alicia), Andy Gershenzon (Marvin), Michael Hartney (William), Michael Micalizzi (Cow/Doug), Craig Mungavin (Jack), and Morgan Lindsey Tachco (Theresa)

The Gene Frankel Theater
24 Bond Street

August 6-24
Wednesdays at 8 PM
Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 PM
Saturdays at 2 PM
Sundays at 6 PM

Visit http://www.smarttix.com/ for tickets or call 212-868-4444

Monday, August 11, 2008

Review - Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell (Maieutic Theatre Works and FringeNYC)

Review by Byrne Harrison


Shelly Feldman as Anaïs Nin

It turns out we were wrong about the afterlife. No golden gates. No heavenly choirs. Just a chain of islands in a sea guarded by a man-eating Hydra. On one of those little islands sit some of the greatest women in history: Andromeda, Cleopatra, Heloise, Joan of Arc and Queen Victoria. While they had little in common during their lives, they are now united in one pursuit - waiting for their men to return and rescue them. It is a wait that for some of them has gone on for millennia.

This is their afterlife. While they scan the seas, they quarrel, play pranks on one another, and occasionally self-immolate to pass the time. That is until Anaïs Nin arrives. Diarist, bohemian, writer of erotica, student of psychoanalysis, and above all a believer in the power of women, her presence will shake the illustrious figures to their foundations and force them to reevaluate their lives and afterlives. Are these women really defined by what they see, or think they see, in their lovers' eyes? And is the afterlife merely an extension of their lives on Earth, or an opportunity to transcend them and release the burdens they've carried for so long? Anaïs may hold the answer, if only she can make them understand.

David Stallings has written a fascinating and thought-provoking play, full of humor, smut, philosophy, and a smattering of Karen Carpenter. If there can be said to be one weakness, it is that Stallings broadcasts the ending. Not surprisingly, the characters in the play are forced to a final decision – search for their beloved men or let go. By not developing certain characters while lavishing time and attention on others, Stallings makes it perfectly clear which characters will choose to grow and which will stay the same. A little tension during those final moments would be welcomed.

The ensemble does a good job with Stallings' work. Of particular note are Shelly Feldman as Anaïs and Aly Wirth as Heloise. Feldman captures both Anaïs' cockiness and her hidden uncertainty; she is, after all, in uncharted waters. Wirth's Heloise is funny, vulgar and above all angry. Angry at a life she feels was wasted on both her lover Abelard and the God she served as an abbess. Wirth shows Heloise's anger and her childlike delight at what she learns from Anaïs and gives a wonderfully moving performance. Also notable is Maggie Benedict as the sinuous and sultry Cleopatra.

Set, lighting and sound design (Stephanie Tucci, Dan Gallagher and Martha Goode, respectively) are well done. David "DW" Withrow's costumes are outstanding, especially his costumes for Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria, and Anaïs.

Maieutic Theatre Works has produced another winning play. Since this is a FringeNYC production, there aren't many chances to catch Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell. See it while you can.

Written by David Stallings
Directed by Cristina Alicea
Producer: Julie Griffith
Set Designer, Prop Master: Stephanie Tucci
Costume Designer: David "DW" Withrow
Lighting Designer: Dan Gallagher
Sound Designer: Martha Goode
Stage Manager: Stuart Shefter
Assistant Stage Manager: Jonathon Saia
Marketing/Audience Building Director: Antonio Miniño
Press Agent: Katie Rosin/Kampfire Films PR
Casting Director: Colleen Piquette
Graphic Designer: Lindsay Moore
Photographer: Erica Parise
Volunteers: Allison Ikin, Maureen O'Boyle, Robin Madel

Featuring: Maggie Benedict (Cleopatra), Shelly Feldman (Anaïs Nin), Jeremy King (Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas), Madalyn McKay (Queen Victoria), Colleen Piquette (Joan of Arc), Marnie Schulenburg (Andromeda), and Aly Wirth (Heloise),

Connolly Theatre
220 E. 4th Street

Aug. 8-24
For dates, times, and tickets visit http://www.fringenyc.org/

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Announcement - 7 Stories (The Strain Theatre Company)

THE STRAIN THEATRE COMPANY
PRESENTS
7 STORIES

Written By Morris Panych
Directed By Greg T. Parente

August 7-24, 2008
The Gene Frankel Theater

A man teeters on the ledge of an apartment building, seven floors up, contemplating suicide. Before he can take the final leap he is confronted by the stories of the manically eccentric residents inside. The two lovers who constantly threaten to murder one another, the actor on his wedding day who plans to stay in character for the rest of his life, and the lady who keeps her own faith by answering the prayers of residents on the sixth floor. After hearing these "seven stories" it looks like all the insanity is inside, and that the suicidal man is the least likely to jump . . .

7 STORIES features Connor Paolo* ("Gossip Girl", Snow Angels, World Trade Center, Alexander, Mystic River), Toni-Ann Gardiner, Alice Kremelberg (Baby Mama, "30 Rock", "Guiding Light", "Law & Order"), Thomas James Lombardo ("Law & Order"), Thomas Patel, Erica Terpening-Romeo, and Rachel Troy.

The production, produced by The Strain Theatre Company, will play at The Gene Frankel Theater (24 Bond Street between Lafayette and Bowery) August 7-24, Thursday through Saturday at 7pm. Sundays at 2pm.

Announcement - Cake and Plays . . . But Without the Cake (At Hand Theatre Company)

AT HAND THEATRE COMPANY

PRESENTS

CAKE AND PLAYS…BUT WITHOUT THE CAKE

A night of plays by Jono Hustis
Directed by Daniel Horrigan
August 6-24, 2008
The Gene Frankel Theater

CAKE AND PLAYS…BUT WITHOUT THE CAKE is an evening of 3 plays by emerging playwright, actor and Striking Viking Story Pirate, Jono Hustis. Shakespeare finding more than a muse in a cow, a blind date gone terribly wrong and a derelict guardian angel are all a part of the off beat universe of this highly theatrical evening. With great humor, the plays point out and poke fun at our own human frailties, longings and insecurities.

The production, produced by At Hand Theatre Company, will play at The Gene Frankel Theater (24 Bond Street between Lafayette and Bowery) August 6-24, Wednesdays at 8pm, Friday & Saturday at 9:30pm. Saturday at 2pm and Sundays at 6pm.

Announcement - 52 Man Pickup (FringeNYC & Working Man's Clothes)

The New York International Fringe Festival--FRINGENYC & Working Man's Clothes
present

52 MAN PICKUP

at The Jazz Gallery
290 Hudson Street @ Spring
(1 to Houston; C/E to Spring)

August 14 @ 7:45 PM August 18 @ 9:15 PM August 20 @ 5:30 PMAugust 21 @ 10:00 @ 10 PM August 23 @ 3:00 PM



New York alt-comedy diva Desiree Burch mixes playing cards, audience participation and parting gifts as audiences “go fish” through her deck of hilariously true and unadulterated encounters. Between firemen, construction workers, editors, rockers, schoolteachers, bartenders and male cheerleaders, this salacious evening of storytelling and stand-up explores sex in the city that never sleeps with the same person twice.

Visit the 52 Man Pickup Website for Details!

Photo by Sarah Sloboda

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Announcement - The Boy in the Basement (FringeNYC & Basement Boy Productions)

WORLD PREMIERE OF LIVE ACTION ROMANCE NOVEL
THE BOY IN THE BASEMENT
AT THE 2008 NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL

Basement Boy Productions is proud to present THE BOY IN THE BASEMENT as part of the 12th annual New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC. The Boy In The Basement is written by Katharine Heller and directed by Nell Balaban (Assistant Director of Golda’s Balcony and The Foreigner on Broadway). Performances will run from August 9th to 23rd, 2008, at the SoHo Playhouse (Venue #7), located at 15 Vandam Street between 6th Avenue & Varick in NYC. The show features original music on piano performed live by Jon Quinn.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at http://www.fringenyc.org/ or by calling 1-866-468-7619. Running time is 75 minutes.

For more information on the show visit http://www.theboyinthebasement.com/.

THE BOY IN THE BASEMENT is a live action romance novel about four co-eds who find a striking stranger trying to rob their house. His punishment? One weekend in the basement - as their sex slave. But see what happens when Lance Speedworth breaks into their home . . . and steals their hearts. Sexy, funny and touching, THE BOY IN THE BASEMENT is a story about friendships with modern commentary on the contemporary romance novel.

Director Nell Balaban has served as associate director to Scott Schwartz on many plays and musicals including The Foreigner (starring Matthew Broderick) and Golda’s Balcony (starring Tovah Feldshuh). She’s worked at venues including The Roundabout, Papermill Playhouse, The Alley Theatre (Houston), Goodspeed Opera House and The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta). As a Broadway actress she appeared in the original Broadway cast of Jane Eyre.

The cast includes Lynne Rosenberg and Katharine Heller (both honored with a 2007 Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Ensemble for Naked in a Fishbowl), Nick Fondulis (NBC pilot Kings), Michael Solis (Cubicle Improv), Tom Macy, Meghan Powe and Anna Stumpf.

Author Katharine Heller is a New York native who has appeared in numerous improv and theater shows including Chick Flicks, Ka-Baam! and Forbidden Fruit. She recently starred in the short film, The Thorny Rose, for Cherry Films, a new company headed by Ethan Coen’s wife, Tricia Cooke. Written originally as a book six years ago as a gift to her three college housemates (on whom the story is loosely based), Katharine then self published The Boy in the Basement as a novel.

The design/production team consists of Kathryn Moise (Producer), Sean Tribble (Set Design), Grant Yeager (Lighting Design) and Terra Vetter (Stage Manager).

Announcement - Revealed (Horse Trade Theater Group)

Horse Trade Theater Group presents
a GiGi La Femme & Doc Wasabassco Production:
REVEALED
More burlesque than you’ve ever seen before!

Wednesday, August 20, 10:00pm $20
Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place, New York, NY

REVEALED . . . Brought to you by the Power Couple of Burlesque (GiGi La Femme and Doc Wasabassco)

Revealed is a cutting-edge burlesque show with a sinfully dirty twist. This unique and extra-sultry night features the sexiest, most notorious burlesque performers in New York City, as you’ve never seen them before! Revealed promises you more bang for your buck than any other show in town. Experience an evening of salacious striptease and skin, where the climax of each number leaves everything…Revealed.

Featuring tantalizing performances by Jo Boobs, Mailah, GiGi La Femme, Kobayashi Maru, Peekaboo Pointe, and Harvest Moon with your charming and inebriated host, Bastard Keith!

"Worth considerably more than the paltry $20 admission fee it demands, the neo-burlesque show Revealed offers up a substantial helping of coquetry, comedy and camp, along with other, pinker, softer words beginning with the letter C." –New York Press

Revealed Burlesque
UNDER St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place
The third Wednesday of every month, at 10:00 PM Admission is $20. Tickets are available online at http://www.horsetrade.info/ or by calling 212-868-4444

www.myspace.com/revealedburlesque

Announcement - The Invitation (Wordmonger)

Obie Winner John Clancy Directs Revenge Comedy
THE INVITATION
September 5 - 27 at The Ohio Theater

Wordmonger presents the World Premiere of THE INVITATION by Brian Parks beginning September 5 at The Ohio Theater in SoHo. This new "revenge comedy" is directed by Obie Award winner John Clancy. Opening night is slated for Wednesday, September 10.

Black humor is the main course in THE INVITATION, a new dark comedy by Brian Parks. In an elite city apartment, a birthday-dinner celebration among a group of highly successful friends takes an abrupt, peculiar turn in a play that veers maniacally and sardonically through the worlds of politics, art...and revenge.

THE INVITATION stars David Calvitto, Leslie Farrell, Katie Honacker, Paul Urcioli, and Eva von Dok with set and costumes by Rose A.C. Howard and lighting by Eric Southern.
John Clancy is an Obie Award-winning director and the co-founder of FringeNYC. He works for Clancy Productions, an international touring and production company specializing in new American theater and serves as the Executive Director of the League of Independent Theater, the advocacy organization for 99-seat theaters in New York City. His directing credits include Parks' Americana Absurdum, Don Nigro's Cincinnati, his own play Fatboy and the UK premiere of Midnight Cowboy. He was awarded The New York Magazine Award in 1997 for "creativity, enterprise and vision".

Brian Parks is also the author of Americana Absurdum, which won the Best Writing Award at the 1997 New York International Fringe Festival, a Fringe First Award at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was performed in 2004 at London's Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre, among other productions. His plays, which include Goner and Suspicious Package, have been performed in New York, Ireland, Scotland, Dallas, San Jose and San Francisco.

Wordmonger is a New York City-based theater company, whose previous productions include Americana Absurdum, Goner and Suspicious Package.

THE INVITATION runs September 5 - 27, Weds. - Sat. with additional performances September 7 & 8. All performances are at 8pm.

The Ohio Theater is located at 66 Wooster Street (between Spring & Broome Streets -- accessible from the C, E trains to Spring Street.)

Tickets are $18, available at 212-868-4444 or http://www.smarttix.com/.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Announcement - Anita's Underground Game Show (Horse Trade Theater Group and Anita Cookie)

HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP
AND
ANITA COOKIE
PRESENT

ANITA’S UNDERGROUND GAME SHOW!

August 14, 10:30pm $10
Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place, New York, NY

Burlesque star, Anita Cookie loves to drink almost as much as she loves to play games! COME ON DOWN to Anita's Underground Game Show, where anyone can be a winner… even YOU!

Anita's Underground Game Show . . . It's The Price Is Right with boobs and booze, an interactive game show where contestants, each randomly selected from the audience, play pricing games to win baked goods, free booze, and so much more! But it's not just fun and games! Hosted, in pasties, by Anita Cookie, Anita's Underground Game Show is packed with live music, jokes, hidden talents, and BOOBS!

Every month, the dazzlingly drunk is joined by that ever so tightly-wound announcer guy, Scott Rayow, as well as her rockin' live band, "The Kindergarteners". This month Cookie will also be joined by one of her favorite Drinking Buddies, the incomparable Nasty Canasta! She’s sexy! She’s sassy! She’s crafty! And I totally mean that in the Martha Stewart sense.

From the theme song to the cookies and right on down to the cleavage, Anita's Underground Game Show is a guaranteed good time! Chock full of fun, drinking, and games, games, games!

ABOUT THE STAR
Anita Cookie is dedicated to bringing quality burlesque to the masses, and she hopes to do this by always finding new and exciting ways to showcase jokes as well as jiggling bosoms. In addition to Anita's Underground, she co-produces a LIVE late night talk show in Williamsburg called The Night Cap, and she is the drunk in The Drunk 'n' Dirty Duo who can be seen monthly at the Palace of Wonders in Washington, DC. When Anita's not shaking her hips, she's in the kitchen whippin' up her special goodies! She makes cookies, sauces, decorative items and much, much more!

NASTY CANASTA
Burlesque baby Nasty Canasta wasn't born nasty; she's just drawn that way. The product of a brief tryst following a late-night card game between Sid Vicious and Carol Burnett, Nasty is old-school glamour at its most surreal. Her burlesque performances celebrate the vagaries of pop culture and the wicked sense of humor that makes it all bearable. Nasty can be found bumping & grinding, turning (magic) tricks, and fending off the advances of lascivious puppets at various unsavory locations throughout Brooklyn and NYC.

“What’s the one thing that could make The Price is Right sooo much better? Anita Cookie, the singing, dancing, sexed-up game show host who wants nothing more than to give you free stuff!" – New York Press

"Anita Cookie will intoxicate you (literally) with her stage presence. And, uh, donuts" - MetroMix

http://www.horsetrade.info/

Fundraiser - Working Man's Clothes

Working Man's Clothes'
Poker Party Event of the Summer!
"Monte Carlo Poker Night"
Let the Games Begin...
THIS SATURDAY
August, 2nd 2008
Arrive at 7:30!
Cash Prizes!
Everyone's first Monte Carlo drink is on the House!
**(while supplies last)

Play poker, Watch people play poker, Drink, Talk, Enjoy the night in 'Monte Carlo',

and...

CHECK OUT WORKING MAN'S NEW EVENT VENUE IN BROOKLYN!

Monte Carlo Poker Party
Let The Games Begin...


For The Poker Players:
$25 Initial Buy-In
$20 Re-Buy-In for the first hour of play
1500 Chips Given for Both
Blinds will be raised every 15 minutes

Final Prize Amounts are subject to the pool,
The More Players... THE BIGGER THE PRIZES!!!!

Minimum Winnings Available:
First Place: $150
Second Place: $75
Third Place: $25

For The Party People:
Let's get this party going!
Come in your best Monte Carlo Attire to add to the Ambiance! Your first drink is on us!*

7:30 pm at Working Man's New Brooklyn Loft Space!
698 Flushing Ave. Loft#1F (1 block from Flushing stop on JMZ, 2 from Flushing stop on G) Brooklyn (E. Williamsburg)

"See You in SATURDAY in Monte Carlo!"

RSVP to play!
Contact: Darcie Champagne - Darciec@workingmansclothes.com

Announcement - The Rick Younger Show (Younger Child Productions)

Younger Child Productions announces upcoming performance date:

The Rick Younger Show
Wednesday August 20, 2008 at 7pm
at The Laurie Beechman Theater at the Westbank Cafe, 407 W. 42nd St., at 9th Ave., NYCReservations: 212-695-6909

NEW YORK, NY - The Rick Younger Show, a contemporary variety show with an old school style, announces an upcoming performance on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at The Laurie Beechman Theater at the Westbank Cafe, 407 W. 42nd Street, New York City, at 7pm. Admission just $10.00 at the door plus a $15.00 food or drink minimum.
To make reservations please call 212-695-6909.

The Rick Younger Show merges live music, sketch comedy and stand-up in an evening of parody, soul, and silliness! Never the same show twice, the show involves a revolving cast of well known sketch and stand up performers. Cast members for this show will include Marc Theobald (The Chappelle Show), Kyle Grooms (Comedy Central Presents) and Clayton Fletcher (The Buddy Holly Story). And Love Bucket, the show’s fantastic six piece House Band, will jam with Rick as he sings his favorite songs!

“Rick Younger’s show is entertainment at its best . . . I encourage all to go, if not just to see the vocal stylings of the fabulous Rick Younger, then to see one of the best house bands I have seen in a long time, Love Bucket, or just to check out the new talent Rick Younger brings to his next show.” -The Cabaret Exchange

Rick Younger’s stand-up appearances include BET's Comic View, 30 Seconds to Fame,It's Showtime at the Apollo, and NBC's Last Comic Standing. As a singer and actor, Rick toured nationally with the Broadway Musical, RENT, and appeared in the feature film Fulgazi. He can regularly be seen on television in numerous national commercials and on a recurring “Today Show” segment.

We invite you to The Rick Younger Show, a variety show with an old school style, Wednesday, August 20 at 7pm at The Laurie Beechman Theater at the Westbank Cafe, 407 W. 42nd Street.

www.YoungerChildProductions.com

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Announcement - Pinkalicious, The Musical (Vital Theatre Company)

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES

PINKALICIOUS, THE MUSICAL

RETURNS TO NEW WORLD STAGES
Saturdays at 2pm, Sundays at 12pm August 2nd - September 21st
(No performances on September 13-14)

VITAL CHILDREN’S THEATRE is pleased to announce the return of PINKALICIOUS, THE MUSICAL at NEW WORLD STAGES August 2nd - September 21. The production, with book and lyrics by ELIZABETH KANN and VICTORIA KANN, music, lyrics and orchestrations by JOHN GREGOR is based on the popular children's book PINKALICIOUS by Elizabeth Kann and Victoria Kann. The musical adaptation is directed by TERESA K. POND with musical direction by JAD BERNARDO.

Performance run Saturdays at 2:00 pm and Sundays at 12:00 noon August 2nd through September 21st. There are no performances on Saturday and Sunday September 13th and 14th. All tickets are $29.50. The show is appropriate for children ages 4 to 12. For tickets and information visit http://www.vitaltheatre.org/ or call Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200. NEW WORLD STAGES is located at 340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenue.

Pinkalicious can't stop eating pink cupcakes despite warnings from her parents. Her pink indulgence lands her at the doctor's office with Pinkititis, an affliction that turns her pink from head to toe - a dream come true for this pink loving enthusiast. But when her hue goes too far, only Pinkalicious can figure out a way to get out of this predicament. Lyricist, composer and orchestrator JOHN GREGOR received a 2004 Frederick Loewe Award for his musical WITH GLEE, for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics. Recently, WITH GLEE was presented in a workshop by the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU and premiered this fall at the New York Musical Theater Festival. His musical adaptation of Gogol's tragicomic short story THE OVERCOAT has been presented in London at the Bridewell Theatre, Barrington Stage Company and The New York International Fringe Festival. He has also co-written several children's musicals for Vital Theatre Company, including THE CHANGELING and THE BULLY.

ELIZABETH KANN & VICTORIA KANN (book & lyrics) are co-authors of the New York Times best-selling children's picture books PINKALICIOUS (HarperCollins, 2006) and PURPLICIOUS (HarperCollins 2007) that Victoria also illustrated. Elizabeth and Victoria are sisters who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Victoria's award-winning artwork has graced the covers and pages of many magazines, newspapers, and books. Elizabeth's writing has appeared in a variety of newspaper and print publications. To learn more about the sister duo and their books, visit them online at their website at http://www.cupcakesforall.com/.

Director TERESA K. POND has produced and directed numerous plays, musicals, and opera during her seven year tenure as Producing Artistic Director of ACT (Alaska). Musicals include WEST SIDE STORY, THE MUSIC MAN, THE WIZARD OF OZ, CAMELOT and HONK! Regional work includes MACBETH, TARTUFFE, LYSISTRATA, THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER and OF MICE AND MEN. Her award-winning production of HALF LIFE was hailed as the top show of The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) in 2005 (New York magazine). Recent work includes: EXTRAORDINARY! at Vital Theatre Company, PERFECT WEDDING and RUN FOR YOUR WIFE at Millbrook Playhouse.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY commissions four to five new musicals for children each season. Since its founding in 1999, Vital Theatre Company has been honored with two AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE by the Off Off Broadway Review and received high acclaim from audiences and critics alike for being “a wonderful place for parents to introduce their kids to the glories of live theatre, done well and at modest prices.” Now in its 9th season, the company is dedicated to producing entertaining and educational theatre for young audiences. To date, the company has presented 38 original productions for over 35,000 children and their families.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Announcement - Perfect Harmony (The Essentials)

PERFECT HARMONY EXTENDS!!!
A HIT FROM THE 2006 NY FRINGE FESTIVAL DOWNTOWN
IS NOW A SUMMER OF 2008 HIT ON THEATRE ROW
PERFORMANCES WILL EXTEND THRU AUGUST 9th
AT THE CLURMAN THEATRE

New York City (July 25, 2008)-The Essentials' production of PERFECT HARMONY, a hit of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival and now a hit on Theatre Row, will extend for two additional weeks starting on Monday, July 28 through Saturday, August 9, due to ecstatic reviews and terrific sales. PERFECT HARMONY is conceived and directed by Andrew Grosso, and is written by Grosso and The Essentials. Performances began on July 6 at the Clurman Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), and will continue there.

PERFECT HARMONY is a comedy about the struggle for truth, love and high school a cappella championship glory. Perennial powerhouse, The Acafellas, and their female classmates, The Ladies in Red, bare their dreams, hopes, and struggle to blend, as they battle to win Acapalooza and discover the true meaning of harmony. The ten member cast is: Dana Acheson, Clayton Apgar, Sean Dugan, Benjamin Huber, Scott Janes, Vayu O'Donnell, Amy Rutberg, Kathy Searle, Margie Stokley, and Nisi Sturgis. The set design is by Eliza Brown, the costume design by Becky Lasky, the lighting design by Brian Jones, and the music director is Ray Bailey. The Essentials is a New York City based theater company that collaboratively creates innovative new theater. PERFECT HARMONY is presented in association with La Vie Productions.

The New Yorker says Perfect Harmony has "an abundance of heart. This likable music-filled comedy is written and performed with an acute understanding of the anxieties and quirks of young achievers. The singing and acting are strong, the song choices hilarious." Talkin' Broadway calls the show "Unbearably funny;" Curtain Up says "Perfect Harmony is young, exuberant, over-the-top, and at times, unexpectedly moving;" TheatreScene.net writes "It's so perfectly, gorgeously wicked and has an amazing cast. We'll be seeing Perfect Harmony for a long time to come!" and NYTheatre.com's reviewer called Perfect Harmony: "Perfectly sweet, gleefully funny entertainment. The cast is outstanding. Perfect Harmony is pure joy from its start to its musical climax. It would be easy to envision this production having a Broadway address in the very near future."

The remaining complete schedule for "PERFECT HARMONY" (July 28 through August 9) will be: Mondays through Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $36.25 for the two extension weeks. The box office number for reservations is 212-279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com.

Announcement - Three Sisters (Theatre of the Expendable)

THEATRE OF THE EXPENDABLE
ANNOUNCES THEIR PRODUCTION OF ANTON CHEKHOV’S
THREE SISTERS

3 Sisters, 6 Actors, 12 Dollars
December 4-21, 2008

Theatre of the Expendable will present their production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters this fall at The Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex. TotE’s production, directed by Jesse Edward Rosbrow will use only six actors, instead of the typical fourteen or more, and will be presented true to the original script, with very few cuts and staged in a nontraditional method while still telling the story traditionally.

The production will play at The Dorothy Strelsin Theatre at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex (312 West 36th Street, 1st Floor) December 4-21 Thursday-Saturday at 8pm & Sunday at 2pm. Tickets will be $12.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Announcement - Johnny Law, Courtroom Crusader (FringeNYC & Johnny Boy Productions)

Johnny Boy Productions
Proudly Presents the World Premiere of

JOHNNY LAW
Courtroom Crusader


Performed by
TIM RYAN MEINELSCHMIDT

Written by
TIM RYAN MEINELSCHMIDT and THOMAS L. FOX ESQ.

Directed by CHRISTOPHER FESSENDEN

THE NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL-FRINGENYC
A PRODUCTION OF THE PRESENT COMPANY
AT THE SCHAEBERLE STUDIO THEATRE
AUGUST 8TH - AUGUST 24TH
TICKETS: $15. FOR TICKETS VISIT http://www.fringenyc.org/

JOHNNY BOY PRODUCTIONS is pleased to announce the world premiere production of JOHNNY LAW, Courtroom Crusader, the newest solo show from Tim Ryan Meinelschmidt whose last solo show ALL THE HELP YOU NEED, The Adventures of a Hollywood Handyman was honored with the Overall Excellence Award in the 2004 NY Fringe Festival. JOHNNY LAW, directed by Christopher Fessenden, will play a limited engagement as part of the 11th annual New York International Fringe Festival-FringeNYC at The Schaeberle Studio Theatre (Venue #2, 41 Park Row at William Street). Performances begin August 9th and continue through August 22nd.

JOHNNY LAW is a streetwise, savvy and somewhat cynical criminal defense attorney. Having seen it all, from corporate clients dripping in smug privilege to the urban gang-bangers thrown under the wheels of the legal system Johnny nonetheless remains, a tireless advocate for social justice and the rights of the individual. In this "election year FringeNYC," with so many issues of personal freedom and social justice hanging in the balance and before the public eye, JOHNNY LAW is the right-show for right-now.

JOHNNY LAW is loosely based on the Johnny Law Stories by attorney Thomas L. Fox, whose colorful career has lead him from the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington DC, to the L.A. County Public Defenders office and everywhere in between. A longtime supporter of the arts as producer and legal advisor, Fox, is the rare criminal defense attorney who effortlessly segues in and out of the entertainment world.

Karina Martins is the stage manager.

JOHNNY LAW plays the following schedule through Friday, August 22nd:

Saturday, August 9th at 1:45 pm
Thursday, August 14th at 9:30 pm
Friday, August 15th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 17th at 6:30 pm
Friday, August 22nd at 5:00 pm

Tickets are $15 and are now available online at http://www.fringenyc.org/ or by calling 866-468-7619. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at The Schaeberle Studio Theatre, 1/2 hour prior to showtime.

Announcement - Zombie (FringeNYC & Razors Edge Productions)

WORLD PREMIERE OF JOYCE CAROL OATES’ ZOMBIE
AT THE 2008 NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL

MAMMA MIA! RESIDENT DIRECTOR THOMAS CARUSO TO DIRECT

New York, NY – Razors Edge Productions presents the World Premiere of Zombie as part of the 12th annual New York International Fringe Festival. Zombie is a novella by Joyce Carol Oates, adapted for the stage and performed by Bill Connington and directed by Thomas Caruso (resident director of MAMMA MIA!).

Performances will run from August 9th to 21st, 2008 at The Players Theatre Loft Space (Venue #13), located at 115 MacDougal Street (3rd floor) between West 3rd Street & Minetta Lane in NYC. Cast members of Joyce Carol Oates’ Zombie and The Corn Maiden will be featured at a FringeU event entitled “Behind the Production: Zombie and Corn Maiden,” on Monday August 18th from 6pm to 7:30pm at FringeCENTRAL (201 MulberryStreet).

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at http://www.fringenyc.org/ or by calling 1-866-468-7619. Runningtime is one hour. For more information on the show visit http://www.zombienyfringe.com/.

“I’m not Jeffrey Dahmer, I’m Quentin P__. They say I murder, torture andrape young boys. That’s not how I see it. I’m trying to create a zombie. Join me. I’ll tell you my side of the story.”

What happens when outwardly “normal” people snap? Joyce Carol Oates’Zombie sheds insight into this question by taking you inside the mind of a sexual psychopath. In Zombie, a Jeffrey Dahmer-esque serial killer by the name of “Quentin P__” describes the murder, torture and rape of his young male victims. A sexual psychopath, he aspires to create zombie slaves to meet his every need. Zombie received the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel and was awarded the Lilla Risk Rand fiction prize by the Boston Book Review. Warning: Zombie contains sexually graphic and violent language - no one under 18 will be admitted.

“When people say there is too much violence in my books, what they are saying is there is too much reality in life.” ~ Joyce Carol Oates in The New York Times

Joyce Carol Oates has written some of the most enduring fiction of ourtime. In a prolific and varied career that ranges over several genres of fiction, Joyce Carol Oates has proven herself one of the most influential and important storytellers in the literary world. She is a New York Times best-selling author of more than 70 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry volumes, plays, literary criticism and essays. She is a recipient of the National Book Award, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the Common Wealth Award for Distinguished Service in Literature. She has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize, and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.

Director Thomas Caruso is the resident director of MAMMA MIA! on Broadway. His other directing credits include Mimi Le Duck (starring Eartha Kitt) at New World Stages, a national tour of Master Class (with Charlotte Cornwell of the Royal Shakespeare Company), Diagnosis (The Play Company) at 59E59, Two Boys… at Rattlestick and the musical Bingo at St. Luke’s Theatre. Thomas was the associate director for both Bombay Dreams and the musical revival of Follies. He received the Kenneth Frankel Memorial Directing Fellowship from Manhattan Theatre Club.

Bill Connington’s acting credits include Mr. Gallico at HERE, Spectacle of Spectacles at La MaMa and All Mixed Up Inside My Head at La MaMa. As a playwright, his credits include Lord Byron’s Lover, Teach Me All About Love, Johnny Mathis, and his own adaptation of The Picture Of Dorian Gray, all of which have been seen in New York. Bill has twice been a finalist at The O’Neill Theater Conference.

Zombie includes an original score composed by Deirdre Broderick. The design/production team consists of Joel E. Silver (Lighting Design), Josh Zangen (Scenic Design) and Naomi Anhorn (Stage Manager).