The Blood Brothers are back in Brooklyn

By Byrne Harrison

Growing up, my parents used to play the cast album from "You Don't Have to be Jewish" quite often.  One of the short plays featured a Jewish mother crying out "Oh, the agony! Oh, the ecstasy!"  When asked what was wrong, she confessed the her only daughter had eloped (the agony), but it was with a nice, young doctor (the ecstasy).

My own agony/ecstasy moment is happening now.  Oh, the agony… the next installment of the Blood Brothers' Bedlam Nightmares series opens tonight and I'm out of town for the run.  Oh, the ecstasy… one of the Blood Brothers has smuggled me a copy of the script.

I can't review the production, since I won't be able to see it.  And I don't want to give out any spoilers.  So I'll just say this.  The show is well-written.  It is bloody (oh, how I wish I could see what Stephanie Cox-Williams has planned for the special effects).  And it is full of the stuff that will give you nightmares, including the return of Grandma Blood.

I can't wait to hear the buzz about the show when I get back.

So while I can't tell you much about this weekend's show, I thought I'd give you some information about this new Blood Brothers series and review the previous show in the series - "The Blood Brothers Present… Bedlam Nightmares, Part One: Strapped In."

Part One found the Blood Brothers (Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer) inmates in Doctor Queen's (Kristen Vaughan) asylum.  Scheduled to be executed in October, Doctor Queen plans to spend the rest of the year figuring out what makes the Blood Brothers tick.

Helpless for the first time in their lives, the Blood Brothers find it hard to adapt to their new surroundings and to Doctor Queen's insistence that they no longer directly address the audience (those familiar with the Blood Brothers know that Shearer's character serves as a sort of bloodthirsty host/emcee - think of a psychopathic Rod Serling or a cross between the Marquis de Sade and Mr. Roarke).  Bereft of their normal source material, the Blood Brothers incorporate the stories of the other inmates into the narrative.  These include a new inmate and his cellmate who promises to watch over him during his first night, a woman obsessed with being forgiven by the love of her life for a betrayal, and the survivor of a yoga retreat that went horribly awry.

Also included in the mix is Nat Cassidy singing the first section of a song cycle that will span the Bedlam Nightmare series about a nascent (and pre-pubescent) serial killer.

As usual, the evening features some amazing writing from Blood Brother stalwarts Nat Cassidy and Mac Rogers, as well as some strong directing from Pete Boisvert, Patrick Shearer and Stephanie Cox-Williams.  Cox-Williams, often referred to as the Tom Savini of Off-Off-Broadway does her stomach-churning best with the special effects for this show.  Just an example of what she can do - in one of the short plays, Mac Rogers' creepy "Breakfast at Six," featuring the new inmate (Collin McConnell) and his cellmate (Bob Laine), one of the characters rips off his own eyelids (one of which is later eaten by Boisvert's Blood Brother).  Nasty, horrifying, and so incredibly well done.

The surprise of the evening was Cassidy's "Into the Life of Things," about the yoga retreat.  A young couple (Matthew Trumbull and Stephanie Willing) falls under the spell of a charismatic leader (August Schulenberg).  Throw in some food deprivation, a touch of psychic ability, and a possible love triangle and the retreat takes a homicidal turn.  This was a strong, well-structured story with an unexpected paranormal twist, and it worked nicely into the main Blood Brothers/asylum story.  This was longer than the typical short play included in a Blood Brothers show, which provided a nice balance to Rogers' and Cassidy's other short pieces.

I'm happy to see that some of the evening's pieces will be continued in the current episode of Bedlam Nightmares.

I can't wait to see where this series goes.


The Blood Brothers present… Bedlam Nightmares, Part One: Strapped In

Strapped In
Written by Mac Rogers
Featuring Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer (the Blood Brothers), J. Robert Coppola and August Schulenberg (the Orderlies), and Kristen Vaughan (Doctor Queen)

Breakfast at Six
Written by Mac Rogers
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring Collin McConnell (the New Kid) and Bob Laine (the Longtimer)

All in Good Fun
Written by Nat Cassidy
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring Nat Cassidy (the Troubador), Melissa Roth (Mrs. Albemarle), and Bob Laine (another Old Man)

Into the Life of Things
Written by Nat Cassidy
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring Rebecca Comtois and Leal Vona (the Cops), Anna Rahn (the Attendant), Stephanie Willing (Carole), Matthew Trumbull (Joshua) and August Schulenberg (Edmond)

Leslie & Steven Forever
Written by Mac Rogers
Directed by Stephanie Cox-Williams
Featuring J. Robert Coppola and Melissa Roth (the Orderlies) and Ivanna Cullinan (Leslie)

Production Manager: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Fight Choreographer: J. Robert Coppola
Costume Designer: Karle J. Meyers
Gore/Prop Designer: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Graphic Designer: Pete Boisvert
Lighting Designer: Morgan Anne Zipf
Sound Designer: Patrick Shearer
Production SM/Board Op: Robyne C. Martinez
Original Music: Larry Lees and Nat Cassidy
Producers: Pete Boisvert, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Roger Nasser, Patrick Shearer


The Blood Brothers present… Bedlam Nightmares, Part Two: Shock Treatments opened tonight at The Brick Theatre, 575 Metropolitan Ave. in Brooklyn.  It runs through Saturday, May 10th.  For more information, visit www.bricktheatre.com.

Gruesome Fun - "The Blood Brothers Present... Freaks From The Morgue"

By Byrne Harrison

I will admit that I get a little spring in my step when I hear the Blood Brothers are back.  While I would never want to share an elevator with this particular pair of ghouls (so creepily brought to life by Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer), I know that their annual show, "The Blood Brothers present...," will be full of thrills, chills, and blood.  Oh yes, plenty of blood.

Narrated by the Blood Brothers, The Blood Brothers present... Freaks From the Morgue is a "torn from the headlines" evening of horror.  Freaks, in this case, refers to newspaper slang for short news articles.  The morgue is place where old newspapers and stories are kept.  So freaks from the morgue refers both to the cast of characters and the newspapers that inspire these stories.

The plays feature your friends and neighbors - drug addicts, good Samaritans and the people who take advantage of them, strong women, pedophiles, kidnappers, survivors, the mentally unbalanced, and of course, murderers.

Freaks From the Morgue is comprised of seven short plays from some of Off-Off Broadway's best - Mac Rogers, Stephanie Cox-Williams, James Comtois, Crystal Skillman, and Brian Silliman (whose work as an actor I'm familiar with, though this was my first experience with his playwriting).  The plays are directed by Pete Boisvert, Patrick Shearer, and John Hurley.

It would take a little too long to describe all the plays, so let me just give you a little snapshot.  Some plays are humorous, like Silliman's Hiccup, which features a girl (Leah Carrell) who can't stop hiccuping, and becomes addicted to the attention it brings her.  Some are gross - Comtois' Daddy's Bad Medicine nearly made me sick with its description of a stomach-turning mutilation, and his Otty, which features just a touch of cannibalism, had the best blood/body parts effects of the evening.  For pure creepiness, Silliman wins with his play Evening Lullaby featuring the relationship between a pedophile (Marc Landers) and his young victim (Ingrid Nordstrom).  It also features the best scream of the evening from Judy Merrick as the girl's mother.

My favorite of the plays, both in terms of the writing and the performances, is Final Girl by Mac Rogers.  This tight and well-written short play is disturbing, features some outstanding work by Ingrid Nordstrom and Stephanie Cox-Williams as meth-addicted whores, Collin McConnell as their dealer, Marc Landers as a serial killer, and Samantha Mason as a young woman looking for her lost sister - a young woman who knows one way or another, she will survive.  Adeptly directed by Patrick Shearer, this is the piece that shows just what The Blood Brothers presents... does best - creepy, supernatural thrillers.

Final Girl notwithstanding, Freaks From the Morgue isn't always as tight of a production as past Blood Brothers shows.  On the night I attended, some of the special effects didn't cooperate (a prop knife didn't discharge its blood in one scene, a blood pack was oozing blood early in another) and the timing seemed off in places.  But more than the timing, the energy seemed a bit off.  In past productions, there was an almost palpable feeling of perverse glee with the special effects (some scenes in previous shows still stick in my mind years later).  It's as though the designer was thinking, "Just how far can I take it this time?"  This year's production doesn't have quite the same joie de sang.  The effects are still well done technically, and plenty of arterial blood shoots across the stage (and occasionally into the audience), but with the exception of a gross (and absolutely terrific) blood effect in Otty, they just seem a little pro forma.

The high point of any Blood Brothers production for me is Boisvert and Shearer as the Blood Brothers.  Creepy and intimidating, their performances set the standard for the rest of the play.  Everything needs to be as disturbing as this duo is.

I will also say that one of the best ways to see horror, be it a play or movie, is to see it with a full audience.  The visceral reactions of your fellow audience members - the gasps, the starts, the covering of the eyes, the exclamations of disgust -  only serve to enhance the feelings you have while watching.  The matinee performance I attended had a small audience, which took away from the experience somewhat.

One other note, during the scene changes, bits and pieces from newscasts relating to the stories that inspired each short play can be heard.  Emphasizing the fact that these are based on real-life attrocities, this is a truly brilliant touch.

My suggestion is this.  First, go see Freaks From the Morgue before it closes.  The Blood Brothers present... is a rare annual delicacy, and shouldn't be missed.  Bring some friends.  And have some drinks, loosen yourself up.  Be prepared to be creeped out by what you see.  And sit close so you can feel the danger (and possibly the blood).  You'll have a great time doing it.

The Blood Brothers present... Freaks From the Morgue
featuring

Freaks
By Mac Rogers
Featuring: Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer as The Blood Brothers

Bad Samaritan
By Stephanie Cox-Williams
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Ingrid Nordstrom (Woman), Abraham Makany (Larry), Leah Carrell (Missy), Ben Schnickel (Eddie)

Hiccup
By Brian Silliman
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: Leah Carrell (Teenager), Ben Schnickel (Young Man), Samantha Mason (Young Lady), Marc Landers (Photographer), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Reporter)

Daddy's Bad Medicine
By James Comtois
Directed by John Hurley
Featuring: Stephanie Finn (Lil Angel)

Final Girl
By Mac Rogers
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: Ingrid Nordstrom (Lil Sister), Samantha Mason (Ashley), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Dolly), Collin McConnell (Quentin), Bobby (Marc Landers)

Evening Lullaby
By Brian Silliman
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: Ingrid Nordstrom (Young Girl), Juddy Merrick (Mother), Marc Landers (Pedophile)

Nest
By Crystal Skillman
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: Samantha Mason (Girl), Collin McConnell (Man)

Otty
By James Comtois
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Ben Schnickel (Rice), Abraham Makany (Smith), TJ Clark (McNeil), Leah Carrell (Priscilla), Judy Merrick (Otty)

The Kraine Theatre
85 E. 4th St.

Through July 3rd

Review – The Blood Brothers Present . . . Pulp (The Blood Brothers and Nosedive Productions)

Stage Buzz review by Byrne Harrison

The Blood Brothers are back. After last year’s successful production, The Blood Brothers Present . . . An Evening of Grand Guignol Horror, the ghoulish Brothers Blood (Patrick Shearer and Pete Boisvert) have returned bringing panic, terror, wit and gore to a city that can’t seem to get enough of it. This year’s production, a perfect lead in for Halloween, features three short plays sandwiched between gory vignettes. Not everything in Pulp works, but the show features many more hits than misses.

The theme of this year’s production is ‘pulp,’ as in the pulp fiction of the ‘40s and ‘50s. Two of the three short plays hit this style dead on. The first, Best Served Cold by Mac Rogers, is a suspenseful tale of a woman’s revenge on the woman who stole her man. Set in a diner late at night, and narrated by the delightfully cold Patrick Shearer, Best Served Cold shows the confrontation between wronged Marybeth (Anna Kull) and Brianne (Jessi Gotta), the diner owner and woman who ran away with Nick (Marc Landers) and all Marybeth’s money. The play is tight, clever and suspenseful and is very deftly directed by Patrick Shearer and Pete Boisvert. The acting is outstanding, with particularly high marks going to Gotta and Kull.

The other play that hits the nail on the head is James Comtois’ Listening to Reason - a fun little play, full of malice and threat, but with a tidy surprise-ending. In this one, Marc Landers is back playing a serial killer who preys on young women. Hounded by the police and by Patrick Shearer, who again narrates and seems to be inside the killer’s head (one hesitates to call so malicious a voice ‘his conscience’), he takes shelter in the apartment of Miss Greene (Jessi Gotta). Unlike most of the women who venture onstage in a Blood Brothers play, Miss Greene lives. Comtois’ twist is excellent and brings to mind the old mysteries on ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents.’ Jessi Gotta is, once again, particularly good, and Listening to Reason gives Marc Landers a chance to shine as the brutish killer.

The third play in Pulp is a disappointment. Dead Things Kill Nicely, by Qui Nguyen, ignores the pulp genre entirely and tries for comic horror, along the lines of the recent Evil Dead: The Musical. The story, a young girl (Gyda Arber) “saved” from zombies by crazy woman, Story (Stephanie Cox-William), and her creepy son, Rhyme (Pete Boisvert), is okay, and could actually have been fun. Unfortunately, it was hampered by forced dialogue spoken in accents that would have made the Monty Python boys wince. It was also the only one of the three main plays not using a narrator. Stylistically, this made it stick out. While this was my least favorite piece of the evening, it did feature a truly creepy turn by Pete Boisvert as the gravel-voiced Rhyme – so named because he speaks in nursery rhymes. He does such a marvelous job, Rhyme is guaranteed to make an appearance in your next nightmare.

Surrounding the three main plays are four vignettes that have less to do with Pulp and more to do with the Blood Brothers. These are the gory, creepy little tales to disgust and delight the audience. The first of these, Metaphor by James Comtois, features the entire Blood family – Shearer again, as the more literate of the Brothers, Boisvert, as the other brother, and Stephanie Cox-Williams as Gramma Blood. In this vignette, Shearer explains the similarities between theatre and surgery, using his brother as a handy visual aid. The second piece, a comic, and bloody magic show called Something Up His Sleeve, features Brian Silliman as the Magician, with Anna Kull as his hapless assistant. The two creepiest pieces follow. In the first, Bugs In My Skin, Michael Criscuolo plays a young man who comes to appreciate his little multi-legged insect friends to the point of wanting to turn himself into one. Not only is it freakishy disturbing, but it features some excellent directing by Stephanie Cox-Williams. The final vignette is a brutal piece about torture featuring Arber and Kull called What Color Is The Sun?

It is worth mentioning that the bloody special effects in The Blood Brothers Present . . . Pulp are more sophisticated than last year’s, and as such, are much more fun to watch. While there is no guarantee that Nosedive will continue this to bring back the Blood Brothers and their gory stories, if this is an indication of what they can do after only two years, I can only imagine what the Blood Brothers could be with a couple more years, and many more corpses, under their belts. The Blood Brothers Present . . . Pulp closes soon – don’t miss it.

Written by James Comtois, Mac Rogers, Pete Boisvert, Patrick Shearer, Qui Nguyen
Directed by Rebecca Comtois, Patrick Shearer, Pete Boisvert, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Matt Johnston
Production Manager: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Stage Manager: Jessica Lazar
Board Operator: Mike Caputo
Fight Choreographer: Qui Nguyen
Lighting Designer: Phil Shearer
Makeup Designer: Leslie Hughes
Sound Designer: Patrick Shearer
Original Music: Larry Lees
Press Agent: James Comtois
Producers: Pete Boisvert, Rebecca Comtois, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Patrick Shearer
Associate Producers: James Comtois, Marc Landers

Featuring Gyda Arber (Serena, Molly, First Victim, Croceus), Michael Criscuolo (Tired Driver, Man, Police Officer), Jessi Gotta (Brianne, Miss Greene), Anna Kull (Marybeth, The Assistant, Second Victim, Tormina), Marc Landers (Nick, Killer), Brian Silliman (Officer Clancy, The Magician, Brad, Mr. Tucker), Pete Boisvert (Brother Blood, Rhyme), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Gramma Blood, Story), Patrick Shearer (Brother Blood)

The 78th Street Theatre Lab
236 W. 78th Street, 2nd Floor

Through Saturday, October 27th

"The Blood Brothers present... Bedlam Nightmares - Execution Day" - For the ghoul in all of us

By Byrne Harrison
Photos by Kent Meister

I've seen some horrific things at the Blood Brothers' shows -- eyelids ripped off, skin peeled, human flesh consumed, rape and incest, and more forms of murder than you can shake a stick at.  But when the lights went down after Nat Cassidy's short play "The Art of What You Want," my first reaction was to lean over and whisper to the person sitting next to me, "THAT was fucked up."

And that was just the first of the short plays.

The final episode of "The Blood Brothers present… Bedlam Nightmares" series provides all the thrills and macabre chills that you've come to expect from the long-running franchise.  Following the now familiar format, "Execution Day" features a series of short plays about inmates in the sinister Hospital One, framed by the story of the Blood Brothers' incarceration and scheduled execution.

Nat Cassidy's play about a very rich, very determined man, Harris (Michael Markham), whose dead wife (Morgan Zipf-Meister) keeps showing up at his house, and the lengths he will go to keep her, is easily one of the creepiest of I've ever seen.  Markham shows great versatility in this piece, and watching him with Kristen Vaughan's Doctor Queen (part of the story that ties the play into the rest of the evening) is a treat, as are Markham's interactions with Lynn Berg's Terry, Harris's best friend.  Featuring the best (and most upsetting) surprise ending I've seen in a while, "The Art of What You Want" sets a very high bar.

Playwright Mariah MacCarthy meets that challenge with the extremely disturbing, and surprisingly gore-free, "Daddy's Girl."  All George (Tom Reid) wants to do is keep his pretty Sely (Jessica Luck) safe as she grows up.  After all, everything he is doing is for her.  And the sooner she realizes that, the easier it will be for her, because Daddy knows best.  Reid is the epitome of the loving father who just goes completely off the rails.  That Reid can inspire both disgust and sympathy from the audience highlights his excellent work in this piece.  And Luck's portrayal of a happy daughter, warily trying to understand her father's smothering behavior and betrayal is exceptional.

Nat Cassidy returns (both as a writer and performer) in the second act with "All in Good Fun" and "Joy Junction" (also credited as "cannibalized" by Mac Rogers for this production).  "Joy Junction," which appeared in an earlier Blood Brothers production, features Christian TV puppeteer Ronald (Roger Nasser) who, when not looking at photos of little kids, is experimenting with new "life-sized" puppets.  Well, you can guess what those puppets really are.  Nasser's Ronald is creepy as hell, in all his saccharine sweetness, but the really disturbing part of this play is one of the most grotesque sound effects I've heard.  If you are easily nauseated, this will set you off.

"All in Good Fun," which features Cassidy on guitar as The Troubadour, completes his song cycle which has been slowly teased out in the earlier episodes of "Bedlam Nightmares," about a 7-year-old serial killer in training who lives in Hospital One.  Maybe he's real.  Maybe he's just a myth.  But he is a hero to some of the inmates.  Cassidy, ghouled up in Blood Brothers make up (pale face and blood red eyes), is mesmerizing, and the piece, directed by Patrick Shearer, features some marvelous theatrical devices - shadow puppetry, moving sets (used to show someone running), projections, mime - and like "The Art of What You Want," a terrific surprise ending.

Not to mention that the song features some catchy hooks that will immediately plant themselves in your brain.  I'm still hearing sections of it in my head a week later.

"Execution Day" the overarching story of the Blood Brothers (Patrick Shearer and Pete Boisvert) and their upcoming execution is everything that I hoped it would be (they are even forced to perform in a final Grand Guignol show featuring a short play, "Arby's," describing their final murder spree that landed them in Hospital One).  Disturbing, funny (thanks in no small part to Bob Laine), surprising, and ultimately completely satisfying.

The only thing that upsetting about the finale is knowing that no matter who wins, you'll have to say goodbye to an amazingly well realized character.  Because it's clear that someone has to die - either the Brothers or Doctor Queen - and the characters are so wonderfully drawn by Mac Rogers and brought to life by the actors that you kind of want to find a way for everyone to live and form a sort of bloodthirsty family.  It's a weird position to find yourself in - rooting for all the psychopaths to win and live happily ever after.

It has been a delight watching Boisvert and Shearer get to stretch their characters outside of their normal  milieu (Shearer's normally suave killer becoming tentative and beaten down, Boisvert's thuggish brother finding a mother in Doctor Queen) and Vaughan's Doctor Queen is a force of nature.  Vaughan gives a speech about what it means to be a true "Master of Horror" that will leave you stunned.  Mac Rogers' words with Vaughan's delivery… priceless.

While I'm sorry to see "Bedlam Nightmares" come to a close, I really enjoyed the ride.

The final episode of "Bedlam Nightmares" is billed as being appropriate for people who haven't seen the rest of the trilogy.  I brought a Blood Brothers virgin to the theatre with me, he confirmed that it was easy to follow without prior knowledge.

So don't be afraid to see the Blood Brothers if you haven't seen the rest of the series.  Just be afraid of the psychopaths you'll see onstage.

"The Blood Brothers present… Bedlam Nightmares - Execution Day"

"Execution Day"
By Mac Rogers
Featuring: Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer (the Blood Brothers), Kristen Vaughan (Doctor Queen), Bob Laine (The Old-Timer), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Grandma Blood), Roger Nasser (Mintz), J. Robert Coppola (Orderly Joe), Nat Cassidy (The Troubadour), Ivanna Cullinan (Sonia/Leslie), Collin McConnell (The New Kid), C. L. Weatherstone (Tim), Andy Chmelko (Jim)

"The Art of What You Want"
By Nat Cassidy
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Michael Markham (Harris), Kristen Vaughan (Doctor Queen), Morgan Zipf-Meister (Emily), Lynn Berg (Terry)

"Daddy's Girl"
By Mariah MacCarthy
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: Tom Reid (George), Jessica Luck (Sely)

"All in Good Fun"
Words and Music by Nat Cassidy
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: Nat Cassidy (The Troubadour), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Mrs. Albermarle), Bob Laine (Another Old Man), John Hurley (Andre Grijalva), Karle J. Meyers (The Nurse), Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer (The Blood Brothers)

"Joy Junction"
By Nat Cassidy (as cannibalized by Mac Rogers)
Directed by Stephanie Cox-Williams, assisted by Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Roger Nasser (Ronald), Collin McConnell (Marty), Lynn Berg (Marigold)

"Arby's"
By Mac Rogers
Featuring: Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer (The Blood Brothers), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Cashier), Bob Laine (Cavaliers Fan), Collin McConnell (Boy), Tom Reid (Manager)

Production and Design
Production Manager: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Production SM/Board Op: Robyne C. Martinez
Assistant Director: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Costume Designer: Karle J. Meyers
Gore/Prop Designer: Pete Boisvert
Graphic Designer: Pete Boisvert
Lighting Designer: Morgan Zipf-Meister
Sound Designer: Patrick Shearer
Original Music: Larry Lees and Nat Cassidy
Producers: Pete Boisvert, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Roger Nasser, Patrick Shearer

The Brick
579 Metropolitan Ave.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
October 22-November 1
8 PM

Halloween party to follow the 10/31 performance

"The Blood Brothers Present... Bedlam Nightmares, Part Three: Losing Patients"

By Byrne Harrison

The final curtain is drawing closer for the latest Blood Brothers show.  The four-part series ends in October with the much ballyhooed execution of the Blood Brothers.  Will it happen?  Well, Sister Blood doesn't survive episode three, so it appears it could. (If you want some background on the Blood Brothers, see some of the previous posts.)

"Losing Patients" features less gore than previous installments, but more intrigue as the stakes get raised.

As with previous installments of "The Blood Brothers Present... Bedlam Nightmares", "Losing Patients" features some short plays built into the framework of the Blood Brothers' incarceration in a hospital catering to the criminally insane.  The evening begins with an outstanding solo piece by Nat Cassidy (who often appears as a ghoulish troubadour in the Blood Brothers shows).  Directed by Patrick Shearer, "Who's There" features the talented Rebecca Comtois as a cop from a previous installment of the show, who is trapped in an abandoned area of the hospital, wandering through the halls with only her walkie-talkie to connect her with a partner who may or may not be there.  Comtois is a consistently strong actor, and she shines this creepy and claustrophobic piece.

The next short play, "Leslie and Sonia Forever" by Mac Rogers and directed by Pete Boisvert, features Leslie (Ivanna Cullinan), a character who has been integral to the "Bedlam Nightmares" series.  A disturbed woman who cheated on her husband with another woman, Leslie is normally the victim of the sadistic hospital guards.  At the bidding of Doctor Queen (Kristen Vaughan), the equally sadistic supervisor of the hospital, the older Blood Brother (Patrick Shearer) is left on his own to torture Leslie.  In a terrific twist that will clearly play out in the final installment, he breaks through to Leslie, pulling her out of her psychosis.  Troubled Leslie was a victim.  It looks like the new Leslie won't be.

The final play, and the longest of the three, is an outstanding piece full of teen angst, online betrayal and same-sex longing.  Deftly crafted by playwright Mariah MacCarthy, "Incitement" features a young, unpopular girl,  Shannon (Stacey Raymond), with a devastating crush on a popular classmate, Samantha (Sarah Matteucci).  After an initial sleep-over encounter that leads to a brusque rejection, Shannon creates online characters, a hot guy (Colin Waitt) to flirt with Samantha and a CIA agent (Stephanie Cox-Williams) who forces the naive Samantha to continue the relationship, with predictably disastrous consequences.  The play is a nice mix of ripped-from-the-headlines plot with a good eye for using theatricality to enhance a story.

The play that serves as the framework for the evening is "Losing Patients" by Mac Rogers, which features more of the interactions between Doctor Queen and the Blood Brothers (along with another inmate-turned-henchman, who is at Queen's beck and call, played by Roger Nasser).  In this Queen continues to drive a wedge between the once-inseperable brothers, finally winning the more brutal of the two (played by Pete Boisvert) over to her side.  While it is fun to watch Boisvert's usually brutal and thuggish Blood Brother regress into childlike behavior, it's amazing to see how Shearer's normally haughty and humorous Brother is stripped of all his power (and more importantly, his audience).  Watching Shearer play a a clever and desperate serial killer who is being backed into a corner is a delight, and I can't wait to see how the series ends.

Above all else, I hope it's bloody.

"The Blood Brothers Present… Bedlam Nightmares Part Three: Losing Patients"
Written by Nat Cassidy ("Who's There"), Mac Rogers ("Losing Patients" and "Leslie and Sonia Forever"), and Mariah MacCarthy ("Incitement")
Directed by Patrick Shearer ("Who's There") and Pete Boisvert ("Leslie and Sonia Forever" and "Incitement")
Featuring: Rebecca Comtois, Pete Boisvert, Patrick Shearer, Kristen Vaughan, Roger Nasser, Ivanna Cullinan, Stacey Raymond, Sarah Matteucci, Colin Waitt, and Stephanie Cox-Williams

Production Manager: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Production SM/Board Op: Robyne C. Martinez
Assistant Direction: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Fight Choreographer: J. Robert Coppola
Costume Designer: Karle J. Meyers
Gore/Prop Designer: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Graphic Designer: Pete Boisvert
Lighting Designer: Morgan Anne Zipf
Sound Designer: Patrick Shearer
Original Music: Larry Lees and Nat Cassidy
Producers: Pete Boisvert, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Roger Nasser, Patrick Shearer

Review - The Blood Brothers Present . . . The New Guignol (Nosdive Productions)

By Byrne Harrison

Just in time for Halloween, the Blood Brothers are back with a new evening of horror. After their most recent two shows featuring their take on pulp/noir and the works of Stephen King, their 2009 show returns to the Grand Guignol roots of the original 2006 production that started off this series. The New Guignol rips its terror from the headlines and reminds us that the scariest thing that we can encounter is other people, not the supernatural horrors and bogeymen that are the creations of our own imaginations.

Using real stories as their jumping off point, and proving it by showing copies of the newspaper articles from which they are drawn, The New Guignol presents tales of incest, beheadings (two, in fact), obsession, jealousy . . . well, all the things the Blood Brothers thrive on.

Featuring short plays by Danny Bowes, James Comtois, and Mac Rogers, The New Guignol returns to its Grand Guignol roots by focusing on the gore and savagery of the stories. This takes the form of incestuous rape, the aforementioned beheadings, cannibalism, and the usual brain spatters and gory knifings that we've come to expect from these shows. I will admit, though, that despite the subject matter, this year's production seemed rather less bloody than the previous ones. Ghoulish as it sounds, I wanted a lot more blood, not merely for the shock value, but for the opportunity to admire the special effects. That's not to say that Stephanie Cox-Williams skimped in her special effects design work this year (for the record, the effects were very well done - especially a rather gruesome C-section), it's just that there could have been a lot more of it.

The strongest play of the evening is Biological Mother by Mac Rogers. This tight, well-acted play about a young man seeking his birth mother, and the terrible secrets he unearths, is the most solid of the evening's shows. It features taut direction by Pete Boisvert and some strong performances, particularly Cotton Wright, Jessi Gotta and Marsha Martinez. Among the other strong performances are Becky Byers and Robert Leeds in James Comtois' A Room With No View and Jessi Gotta again in Comtois' creepy The Itch.

Overall, some of the best moments of the show (and this is true of the previous Blood Brothers productions, as well) are those featuring Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer as the ghoulish Blood Brothers. Shearer excels as the erudite and well-spoken sociopath, oozing charm and menace. Boisvert's strength is in playing the more bestial brother in a way that inspires both laughs and fear.

As with the best horror, there has to be a little bit of a twist to shake things up a bit. In The New Guignol, the twist involves incorporating the audience into the show. It's not something so mundane as audience interaction; that's not really the Blood Brothers' style. But this clever and chilling "There but for the grace of God go I" moment, ends the evening on a decidedly creepy note.

The Blood Brothers Present . . . The New Guignol
Written by: Danny Bowes (Steve, Nothing We Can Do), James Comtois (A Room With No View, The Itch, Dominique), Mac Rogers (An Introduction to the New Guignol, On This Bus Forever, Biological Mother)
Directed by: Pete Boisvert (An Introduction to the New Guignol, Biological Mother), Patrick Shearer (An Introduction to the New Guignol, Nothing We Can Do, On This Bus Forever), Abe Goldfarb (A Room With No View), Matt Johnston (The Itch), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Steve), Rebecca Comtois (Dominique)
Stage Managers: Stephanie Cox-Williams and Dana Rossi
Costume Designer: Sarah Riffle
Costume Designer (A Room With No View): Madame Rosebud
Lighting Designer: Daniel Winters
Makeup Designer: Leslie Hughes
Scenic Designer: Arnold Bueso
Sound Designer: Patrick Shearer
Special Effects Designer: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Fight Choreography: Stephanie Cox-Williams and Patrick Shearer
Original Music: Larry Lees
Press Agent: James Comtois
Graphic Production: Pete Boisvert
Video Production: Marc Landers
Program Editor: Dana Rossi
Producers: Pete Boisvert, James Comtois, Rebecca Comtois, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Patrick Shearer

Featuring: Ryan Andes (Lee, Young Man), Becky Byers (Elisabeth, Passenger 2), Rebecca Comtois (Joyce, Woman), Jessi Gotta (Gail Woman), Stephen Hesket (Toby, Nurse 1), Robert Leeds (Josef, Voice, Passenger 2), Marsha Martinez (Shannon, Young Woman, Nurse), Ben VandenBoom (Solider, Nurse, Cop), Cotton Wright (Andrea, Doctor)

The Brick Theater
575 Metropolitan Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

October 28-31, 8 PM

Review - "The Blood Brothers Present... Raw Feed"

By Byrne Harrison
Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum

I know Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer, the actors who portray the Blood Brothers in Nosedive Productions' annual gore fest.  I see them at fundraisers and award ceremonies.  We chat about theatre and their upcoming shows.  I run into them at various Off-Off Broadway productions (the OOB community is closely knit, and slightly incestuous). 

The point is, I know them and they are both nice, friendly guys.

And yet, when I see them in their ghoulish Blood Brothers personas, they still freak me the hell out.

Shearer's brother is the intellectual type of killer.  Fond of a little Cryptkeeper humor.  Suave, but menacing.  Boisvert's brother is a thug.  Quiet and angry, he delights in the brutalities of life - blood, mangled limbs, screams.  Together, they are magic.  Bloody, brutal magic.

This year's production, "The Blood Brothers Present... Raw Feed," is full of the usual nasty, pulled-from-the-headlines stories and buckets of blood (thanks to the incomparable Stephanie Cox-Williams, who once again brings on the gore).  But this year, the Blood Brothers are having a bit of an existential crisis - in a world full of people who are willing to do horrible things to one another, is there really any place for a pair of chalk-faced, maniacal ghouls?

Spoiler: Of course there is.  And the way the Blood Brothers work it out, in a series of scenes written by playwright Mac Rogers, is fantastic.

"Raw Feed" features eight short plays (and, of course, Mac Rogers' framing play, also entitled "Raw Feed").  Most of the plays deal with some aspect of fame or the 24/7 plugged in lives that people tend to live today, where privacy is a thing of the past.

Mac Rogers' "Kittens in a Bag," is a story about a gay porn star, Luka (TJ Clark), who would do anything - and does - to get noticed on the web (in a rather inspired bit of theatre, the Internet is portrayed by Emily Hartford).  Whether it's killing kittens on video, or killing a young man, the result is the same in his eyes - more hits, more people talking about him.  Fame or infamy, it doesn't really matter in the end, as long as people know his name.

Jessi Gotta's short piece, "Kitty's Revenge," closes out the evening, and is a comic answer to Rogers play, showing Luka getting his comeuppance.  Brutal, but funny.

The most striking piece of the evening is Nat Cassidy's "TALHOTBLOND," with an internet obsession gone awry.  This dance piece with music is haunting, and the ensemble, Judy Merrick, Stephanie Willing, Gareth Declan and Collin McConnell are outstanding (Nat Cassidy, in full Blood Brother makeup, sings and plays guitar for the piece).  A departure from the typical Blood Brother play, I would love to see more of this in future productions.

Among the other outstanding short plays are James Comtois' look inside the mind of a serial killer (Lowell Byers) is "Bachelor Number One," a story based on a real killer who appeared on "The Dating Game" in the '70s, and Nat Cassidy's amazingly creepy "Joy Junction" featuring a cannibal pedophile (Roger Nasser) from a Christian children's TV show.  Nasser is terrific in this role, as is Stephanie Willing as his new puppet Marigold.  This play also shows of more of Stephanie Cox-Williams' work with some great bloody makeup effects.

Rounding out the show are "I Prefer Limes," about a very, very persistent stalker, "Dark Mirror," a disturbing short piece about rape, and "All of Me," the goriest of the plays.

"Raw Feed" delivers the promised gore, fear, and just enough reality to make you uneasy at the thought of another night alone in your apartment.  And you might want to think twice before picking up that phone call...you never know who's watching.

"The Blood Brothers Present... Raw Feed"

"Raw Feed"
By Mac Rogers
Featuring: Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer

"I Prefer Limes"
By James Comtois
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Leah Carrell (Woman), Gareth Declan (Voice), Alexis Thomason (Friend), Emily Hartford and Collin Mc Connell (Detectives), TJ Clark and Judy Merrick (Police)

"Bachelor Number One"
By James Comtois
Directed by Nat Cassidy
Featuring: C.L. Weatherstone (Host), Lowell Byers (Bachelor #1), TJ Clark (Bachelor #2), Roger Nasser (Bachelor #3), Alexis Thomason (Cheryl), Stephanie Willing (Talia), Leah Carrell (Julie)

"TALHOTBLOND"
By Nat Cassidy
Directed by Patrick Shearer with Stephanie Cox-Williams
Choreography by Stephanie Willing with Judy Merrick
Featuring: Judy Merrick (Mother), Stephanie Willing (Daughter), Gareth Declan (Lover), Collin McConnell (Friend)

"Kittens in a Bag"
By Mac Rogers
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: TJ Clark (Luka), Emily Hartford (The Internet), Collin McConnell (Neal), Gareth Declan (Carlo), Leah Carrell (Clerk)

"Dark Mirror"
By Danny Bowes
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Alexis Thomason (Narrator), C.L. Weatherstone (Hooded Man), Judy Merrick (Old Woman)

"Joy Junction"
By Nat Cassidy
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Roger Nasser (Ronald), Collin McConnell (Marty), Stephanie Willing (Marigold), Judy Merrick (Annabelle), Gareth Declan (Chooch)

"All of Me"
By Stephanie Cox-Williams
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: C.L. Weatherstone (Man), Leah Carrell (Woman), and TJ Clark, Gareth Declan, Emily Hartford, and Collin McConnell (Police)

"Kitty's Revenge"
By Jessi Gotta
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring: TJ Clark (Luka), Roger Nasser (Puppy), Stephanie Willing (Bunny), Emily Hartford (Kitten)

The Brick
579 Metropolitan Avenue

Closes October 13th

Announcement - The Blood Brothers Present: Pulp

The Blood Brothers Present: Pulp

featuring

Gyda Arber, Michael Criscuolo, Jessi Gotta, Anna Kull, Marc Landers, Brian Silliman

Listening To Reason
by James Comtois
Directed by Matt Johnston

Dead Things Kill Nicely
by Qui Nguyen
Directed by Pete Boisvert & Patrick Shearer

Best Served Cold
by Mac Rogers
Directed by Pete Boisvert & Patrick Shearer

The 78th Street Theatre Lab
October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.

“For sheer playful fun, make this gory confection your Halloween treat.” - Time Out New York

“Sheer, merry sadism, sexual savagery, and witty humor.” - The Off-Off-Broadway Review

A deranged psycho killer, deaf to pleas for mercy, tries one last-ditch effort to dodge the cops through the reluctant help of one terrified hostage. Molly, a young teen looking for a quick snog in the woods, now has to cover a zombie hicky. And Brianne has to keep Marybeth from pulling the trigger for just eight more minutes, but learns that, when talking for one’s life, time has a way of slowing down.

This is The Blood Brothers Present: PULP, Nosedive Productions’ follow-up to last year’s Blood Brothers Present: An Evening of Grand Guignol Horror. James Comtois (The Adventures of Nervous-Boy), Qui Nguyen (Men of Steel, Living Dead in Denmark) and Mac Rogers (Universal Robots, Hail Satan), New York indie theatre scene’s hottest — and let’s face it, sickest — playwrights write three original works inspired by the pulp horror comics and short stories of the 1940s and ‘50s.

The Blood Brothers Present: PULP features graphic violence and strong sexual situations and is recommended for adults only.

The Blood Brothers Present will be performed at the 78th Street Theatre Lab (236 West 78th St. at Broadway) October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 (Thursday through Saturday). All shows are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $18. Subway: 1 to 79th Street; A to 81st Street; or 1 2 or 3 to 72nd Street.

For tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit http://www.theatermania.com/.

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

Review - The Little One (Nosedive Productions)

By Byrne Harrison
Headshot photo by Pete Boisvert
Production photo by Daniel Winters

For those of you who believe vampires shouldn't sparkle, there is an alternative to the latest Stephanie Meyer-inspired tween chick flick. James Comtois' The Little One, currently at the Kraine Theatre, is good antidote to the vampire-lite version that is currently gracing local movie theatres. Featuring blood, humor and plenty of death, The Little One is a nice, though somewhat uneven, addition to the vampire canon.

The Little One follows Cynthia (Becky Byers), a newly-turned orphan vampire, who is adopted by Marie (Rebecca Comtois), a powerful, older vampire. After a run-in with the sadistic Gogol (Patrick Shearer), the governor of her group, Cynthia turns her back on her vampire life and tries to live as a human, albeit one who never goes out by day. It is during this period that the play is most effective. How does an immortal maintain relationships with people whose lives are fleeting? And who are ultimately just food? The answer, as Cynthia discovers, is that they don't. After the last of her friends and family pass away, Cynthia returns to Marie, who tries to mold her into her version of a proper immortal.

This leads to an interesting debate concerning the nature of vampirism. To Marie and her friends, immortality offers a chance to better oneself - learning about art, history, languages, etc. One must feed, but there are rules. Others, like the dour Sergei (played marvelously by Christopher Yustin), believe that vampires are animals, created from humans, but not meant to be among them. One should blend in for safety's sake, but a vampire should no more try to be human, than a human should try to be a cow.

This brings up another terrific twist for the vampire lore. After being turned, the new vampire can no longer understand humans (in a sense, they must learn how to hear humans again), or indeed, even perceive them visually in the same way. This production utilizes masks and taped dialogue combined with spoken words to achieve this effect. It's a great idea that works well on stage. Another innovation is acknowledging the fact that language changes over time. As the play progresses 350 years into the future, the slang becomes harder to follow, to the point where the humans are speaking gibberish to vampire ears. It reminds me of what Joss Whedon did to a much lesser extent on his TV series "Firefly," where he created a version of English heavily influenced by Chinese and featuring new slang.

Unfortunately, the finale of The Little One disappoints somewhat. Not for lack of enthusiasm - the amazing fight scene between Gogol and Cynthia features some terrific fight choreography from the consistently strong Qui Nguyen - but because it all revolves around a rather banal power struggle. After some of Comtois' more interesting innovations, I would have liked to have seen a better reason for this final battle between these characters.

The acting in The Little One is generally strong. Byers is outstanding as Cynthia and shines when she first discovers the athletic abilities of her new vampiric body. Though Gogol is a somewhat two-dimensional villain, Shearer brings to him an amped up version of the joyful sadism that he has in the annual Blood Brothers Present... shows in the fall. Shearer makes an outstanding psychopath. Yustin imbues his Sergei with plenty of Russian gloom and stoicism, yet allows him to be charming and self-effacing. Rebecca Comtois' Marie could use a touch more Lucrezia Borgia about her. She and Gogol should be equals in everything but rank; this never comes across in her performance.

Director Pete Boisvert creates a fast-paced show for the most part, and takes full advantage of the special effects (the blood work is especially effective without being cartoonish). While the use of chairs, tables, desks, etc., creates a more realistic set, given the limitations of the stage at the Kraine, set changes take time, and every moment allows the intensity to bleed away.

Overall, this was a good production. While there were flaws, they didn't take away from the enjoyment of the play or diminish the fine additions to vampire lore that James Comtois has given us. The final performance of The Little One is tonight (though I hope there will be future productions), so get your ticket, grab a pair of fangs, and go.

The Little One
By James Comtois
Directed by Pete Boisvert
Fight Choreographer: Qui Nguyen
Stage Manager: Guinevere Pressley
Assistant Stage Manager: Emily Edwards
Production Manager: Stephanie Cox-Williams
Costume Designer: Betsy Strong
Jewelry Designer: Melissa Roth
Lighting Designer: Daniel Winters
Makeup Designers: Leslie E. Hughes & Melissa Roth
Scenic Designer: Tim McMath
Sound Designer: Stephen Heskett
Crew: Doug MacKrell, Devon Riley, Dana Rossi, Ben VandenBoom
Producers: Pete Boisvert, James Comtois, Rebecca Comtois, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Marc Landers, Patrick Shearer, Ben VandenBoom, Christopher Yustin

Featuring: Becky Byers (Cynthia), Rebecca Comtois (Marie), Patrick Shearer (Gogol), Christopher Yustin (Sergei), Ryan Andes (Artemis), Stephen Heskett (Francis), Stephanie Cox-Williams (Flora/Mrs. Walters), Jeremy Goren (Kyle/Jeremy), Melissa Roth (Michelle/Alicia)

The Kraine Theatre
85 E. 4th Street
Thursday - Saturday
June 17 - July 10, 7:30 PM

James Comtois Steps Down as Co-Artistic Director of Nosedive Productions

By Byrne Harrison

It has been announced that James Comtois has stepped down as Co-Artistic Director and Resident Playwright of the indie theatre company Nosedive Productions.

"This wasn't an easy decision, but the time has come for me to move on," said Comtois, who is leaving Nosedive after forming the company 13 years ago with fellow Co-Artistic Director Pete Boisvert. "Doing Nosedive has been an absolute blast, and is something I am and will always be immensely proud of."

"I was definitely saddened to hear James' decision, but I can see that it is the right one for him," Boisvert added. "I want to thank James for his tireless dedication to Nosedive over the years. In addition to being an incredibly talented writer, he has been an amazing collaborator and a true friend, and I would not trade the many years we have worked side by side for anything."

Boisvert, Company Manager Stephanie Cox-Williams and Artistic Associate Patrick Shearer plan to continue producing their horror anthology series, The Blood Brothers Present...

Meanwhile, Comtois plans to form a new creative venture to be announced at a later date.

To celebrate the life of the company under Mr. Comtois’ and Mr. Boisvert’s joint direction, Nosedive plans to throw a gala in September that will be free and open to the public. Details to arrive soon. 

I have been a fan of Nosedive for many years, and am always pleased to see the amazingly creative work that the company has fostered.  That said, I find that I'm excited to see what happens next, both for Nosedive, which has clearly been left in remarkably capable hands, and with Comtois himself.  A talented writer, I imagine there is something grand coming up for him.

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing the Nosedive family at their gala in September.

FringeNYC Encore Series Announces Lineup

FringeNYC Encore Series Announces Lineup of 20 Shows
September 9 - 26

Now in its fifth year, the FringeNYC Encore Series gives theatre
lovers another chance at seeing some of the Festival's favorite shows.
Beginning September 9th, the FringeNYC Encore Series will present
nearly 20 works in rotating repertory at three downtown venues: The
Lucille Lortel Theater (121 Christopher Street between Bleecker anf
Hudson) and The Players Theatre (115 MacDougal, between Houston & West
3rd Street) and Soho Playhouse’s Huron Club (15 Vandam Street between
6th Ave & Varick, off the #1 to Houston Street or C, E to Spring).
Tickets are $18 at 866-468-7619 or www.FringeNYC-EncoreSeries.com.

In 16 days, even the most intrepid theatergoer can only sample a small
fraction of the nearly 200 offerings at the New York International
Fringe Festival. The FringeNYC Encores Series is an annual showcase
some of the critically acclaimed and most crowd-pleasing shows from
the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival. The schedule is as
follows:

AT THE PLAYERS THEATRE:

Getting Even with Shakespeare
Writer: Matt Saldarelli / Director: Laura Konsin
Five tragic heroes walk into a bar...and they're pissed. When not
dying nightly, Macbeth plays paintball, Juliet deals ecstasy and Lear
(unsuccessfully) avoids storms. Enter a lawyer who proves the play is
the thing to catch the Playwright King. 1h 30m.
9/21 @ 8:00, 9/24 @ 9:00, 9/25 @ 7:30, 9/26 @ 4:00

Hearts Full of Blood
The New Colony (Chicago, IL)
Writer: James Asmus / Director: Andrew Hobgood
A horrifying secret forever affects the lives of a couple and their
two single friends. "Quite the riveting show." (Chicago Tribune).
"Gut-wrenchingly tragic and very, very funny." (TimeOut Chicago). 2h.
9/9 @ 9:30, 9/10 @ 7:00, 9/12 @ 3:00, 9/14 @ 8:00

How My Mother Died of Cancer, and Other Bedtime Stories
Robert Intile, Jr. & Alina Gutierrez with The Dreamscape Theatre
Writer: Chris Kelly; Director: Laura Moss
Kate Morgan, 25, copes with her mother's death by writing a comedy
about cancer and its impact on her family. She's also cast her family
and friends as themselves. When they hijack the performance, the
results are disastrous. 1h 30m.
9/9 @ 7:00, 9/11 @ 7:00, 9/12 @ 8:00, 9/13 @ 8:00

Over and Over
No Hope Productions
Writer: Tim Aumiller; Director: Tim Aumiller; In a downtown Manhattan
theatre --where relationships, both real and imagined, are forged and
broken --Mitch and Jimmie meet. Two former Fordham roommates and best
friends, they negotiate the complex and intimate terms of their sexual
history. 1h 15m.
9/18 @ 8:00, 9/22 @ 9:30, 9/24 @ 7:00, 9/25 @ 5:00

PigPen Presents The Nightmare Story
PigPen Theatre Co. (Pittsburgh, PA)
Writer: Alex Falberg, Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Daniel
Weschler, Matt Nuernberger, Ryan Melia
A boy's beloved mother shows symptoms of the mythical "Nightmare
Disease". Now he must journey into the unknown to find a cure...
before it's too late. Actors from Carnegie Mellon University; PigPen
combines storytelling, music, puppetry, and shadow-play. 45m
9/10 @ 9:30, 9/11 @ 5:00, 9/11 @ 9:30, 9/12 @ 6:00

Running
The Journey Company
Writer: Arlene Hutton / Director: Beth Lincks & Lori Wolter
His first Marathon just hours away, Stephen needs a good night's
sleep. Then his wife's attractive former roommate shows up
unexpectedly. Will he be running on empty? A new dark comedy from
the award-winning author of LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC. 1h 30m.
9/16 @ 7:00, 9/18 @ 2:00, 9/19 @ 5:30, 9/20 @ 7:00

Saving Throw Versus Love
Rhetorical Question Players
Writer: Larry Brenner / Director: Dann Fink
Carol thinks her fiancee Sam goes to a weekly poker game. But Sam has
a terrible secret-he’s a seventh level Elven thief. Will Carol be able
to accept Sam’s hobby? And can Grolock the Barbarian slay the evil
Werewolf? 1h 40m
9/20 @ 9:30, 9/22 @ 7:00, 9/25 @ 9:30, 9/26 @ 7:00

South Pathetic
New Conservatory Theatre Center Of San Francisco/Trash de Blanc (New York, NY)
Writer: Jim David; Director: Peter Smith; An unemployed comedian
directs North Carolina's worst community theatre in "Streetcar Named
Desire." Blanche played by "family values" crusader, Stella's a
stripper, Stanley's a porn star. Nominee Outstanding Solo Show, San
Francisco Theatre Critics. "Hilarious." - SF Weekly "Sidesplitting." -
TalkinBroadway.com 1h 15m.
9/15 @ 8:00, 9/17 @ 9:30, 9/18 @ 10:00, 9/19 @ 3:00

The Twentieth-Century Way
The Theatre @ Boston Court (Pasadena, CA)
Writer: Tom Jacobson; Director: Michael Michetti; Based on a
little-known incident in Southern California history, this theatrical
thrill ride explores the collision of reality and fantasy as two
actors juggle various roles to entrap homosexuals for “social
vagrancy” in public restrooms in 1914 Long Beach, California. 1h 40m.
9/16 @ 9:30, 9/17 @ 7:00, 9/18 @ 5:00, 9/19 @ 8:00

AT THE LUCILLE LORTEL THEATER:

Bunked! A New Musical
Writer: Alaina Kunin and Bradford Proctor, Music by Bradford Proctor;
Director: Seth Sikes
Bunked features the exploits of five summer camp counselors as they
embark on their first taste of adulthood. Fatal secrets, impassioned
jealousy and triangular love trysts entangle the counselors as the
bittersweet end of summer approaches. 1h 40m.
9/19 @ 5:00, 9/20 @ 7:00, 9/23 @ 7:00, 9/25 @ 4:00

The Hurricane Katrina Comedy Festival
Writer: Rob Florence / Director: Dann Fink (New Orleans, LA)
The heartbreak. The humanity. The humor. Five true stories. Their own words.
1h 30m
9/11 @ 8:00, 9/12 @ 5:00, 9/15 @ 7:00, 9/19 @ 8:00

Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical
Writer: Emma Barash, Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Steve Wargo;
Director: Marshall Pailet.
Boldly re-imagined and retold from the perspective of the dinosaurs,
Jurassic Parq is an unflinching meditation on gender, sexual, and
racial identity in an evolving landscape destined to stun you with its
importance. And you should probably see it drunk. 1h 20m.
9/9 @ 7:00, 9/11 @ 10:30, 9/17 @ 9:30, 9/18 @ 10:30

Just In Time: The Judy Holliday Story
Writer/Director: Bob Sloan
A fast-paced romp through the life of the Original Dumb Blond and one
of the funniest actresses of all time. Featuring such exalted cohorts
as Orson Welles, Katherine Hepburn, Comden & Green, Gloria Swanson,
and Jimmy Durante.
(90 min)
9/10 @ 9:30, 9/13 @ 7:00, 9/14 @ 7:00, 9/15 @ 3:00

Lost and Found
Rogue Machine Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
Writer: John Pollono; Director: Andrew Block
An embattled Boston cop family. A stranger with a secret. Sit down to
dinner with the Broncatos as they grapple with personal demons and
search for a place at the table in this savagely comic, emotionally
gripping, dysfunctional family portrait. 1h 50m.
9/18 @ 5:00, 9/21 @ 8:00, 9/24 @ 9:30, 8/25 @ 7:00

Made in Taiwan
Writer: Michelle Krusiec/ Director: Andy Belser
"A Chinese American Sandra Bullock" (NY Post). Krusiec's comedy-drama
entwines dysfunctional family, cultural confusion, and suburban
desperation. Pimped out by a Chinese mother, cowed by an American
naval father, this coming of age story is both poignant and hilarious.
1h 20m
9/10 @ 7:00, 9/14 @ 9:30, 9/17 @ 7:00, 9/18 @ 8:00

Pope! An Epic Musical
Writer: Justin Moran, Music by Christopher Pappas, Lyrics by Justin Moran
Director: Greg Moran, Musical Direction by Adam Podd
A popular Pope is framed and exiled from the Vatican, a tyrannical
Archbishop seizes power. People are in unrest, armies of robots stalk
the streets, the world is crying out for a hero… only one Pope can
answer the call! 1h 30m
9/16 @ 9:30, 9/24 @ 7:00, 9/25 @ 10:30, 9/26 @ 4:00

When Last We Flew
DRD Theatricals & Eric Louie
Writer: Harrison David Rivers/ Director: Colette Robert
After stealing his library's only copy of Angels in America, misfit
teenager Paul begins reading and discovers that his dull Midwestern
life is about to take flight. WHEN LAST WE FLEW was developed at
Lincoln Center and Sundance Theater Lab.
2h 0m Local Manhattan, NYC
9/9 @ 9:30, 9/11 @ 5:00, 9/12 @ 8:00, 9/16 @ 7:00

The Secretaries
TOSOS
Writers: The Five Lesbian Brothers (Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy,
Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey and Lisa Kron). Director: Mark Finley
Join this cult of murderous Slim-Fast drinking, high-heel wearing,
big-haired secretaries who work the desks of the Cooney Lumber Mill in
Big Bone, Oregon. It's just like your office, only with chainsaws. 1h
30m.
9/13 @ 10:00, 9/15 @ 9:30, 9/22 @ 9:30, 9/23 @ 10:00

Viva Los Bastarditos!
Writer: Jake Oliver
A sublimely ridiculous and heartfelt tale of love, music and
revolution. When dastardly villains take over a mysterious realm
called Western Massachusetts, three rock heroes emerge to unite The
People against the would-be dictators. Join the revolution! 1h 50m
9/19 @ 2:00, 9/20 @ 9:30, 9/22 @ 7:00, 9/26 @ 7:00

AT SOHO PLAYHOUSE’S HURON CLUB:

Amsterdam Abortion Survivor
Micha Wertheim. (Holland, Netherlands)
His controversial solo performance earned him praise in the
Netherlands and at the 2007/8 Edinburgh festival. Wertheim manages to
shock and charm his audiences at the same time. His US debut promises
hard-hitting cutting edge comedy with an adorable accent. 1h
9/10 @ 9:30, 9/12 @ 8:00, 9/16 @ 10:00, 9/17 @ 8:00, 9/19 @ 8:00

Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories
Writer: Faye Lane / Director: Jay Rogers
She grew up in a Texas Beauty Salon... and lived to tell! Come hear
the glittered up memories of a Green Bean Queen. "They were howling,
crying, falling in love with her." New York Magazine. 55m
9/9 @ 9:30, 9/12 @ 6:00, 9/15 @ 3:00, 9/17 @ 10:00, 9/23 @ 9:30

"Titus Andronicus" - Bloody and Powerful

Review by Judd Hollander and Cynthia Leathers
Photo by Joan Marcus

Titus Andronicus is perhaps the ultimate Shakespeare morality tale – and indeed, the bloodiest and most violent – about the repayment of past actions and the danger of blind obedience, a cautionary warning of how vengeance can destroy a person from inside. And The Public Theater's production of Titus, part of their PublicLab series, is literally steeped in blood by the play's end, with director Michael Sexton leaving no one onstage unspattered.

In ancient Rome, General Titus Andronicus (Jay O. Sanders) returns home after a long and successful military campaign against the Goths. Among his captives is Tamora the Goth Queen (Stephanie Roth Haberle) and several of her sons. As is the custom, Titus prepares to sacrifice Tamora's son Alarbus (Frank Dolce) to honor the memory of the Roman soldiers who have fallen in battle, despite the Queen's tearful pleas to Titus to spare her child.

Titus is so trusted by the people of Rome that he is asked by his brother Marcus (Sherman Howard) to choose between Saturnine (Jacob Fisher) or Bassianus (Daoud Heidami), both sons of the late Emperor, to be the next ruler of the Empire, after Titus turns down the position himself. When he chooses Saturninus, the new sovereign claims Tamora as his wife, a position the former captive gladly accepts; but only after Saturninus first picks and then rejects Titus' daughter Lavinia (Jennifer Ikeda), who has long been in love with Bassianus. But Saturninus' initial choice of Lavinia puts Titus' duty to the Empire at odds with his love for his family.

It quickly becomes clear Tamora has far more in mind than simply becoming Empress. Indeed, she quickly begins to wield her power in order to revenge herself on Titus for the death of Alarbus. Helped by her lover, a Moor named Aaron (in a wonderfully villainous turn by Ron Cephas Jones), Tamora soon orchestrates the death of Bassianus and fixes the blame on two of Titus' sons. With Lavinia being savagely mutilated in the process, the resulting horror of these events seem to push Titus beyond the edge of reason. But hope remains as Lucius (Rob Campbell), Titus' sole remaining son, banished from Rome after his failed attempt to help his brothers, has amassed an army and plans to restore the family honor, and obtain justice for those wronged and vengeance for the dead.

Sanders makes a very good and surprisingly multi-layered Titus. When first seen, Titus seems little more than a loyal soldier. Yet when tragedy strikes, he becomes alternatively filled with rage, anger, pity, hatred, and most of all, sorrow. His reactions when he beholds what his been done to Lavinia are particularly affecting. Also, in a refreshing twist to the Shakespeare disguise ploy, Saunders shows Titus to be far more than the simple fool his enemies ultimately believe him to be.

Haberle turns in a brilliant performance as Tamora, a queen and a mother determined to have vengeance and to solidify her new husband's reign. Her pitiless scorn and disdain when Lavinia pleads for her honor enables Haberle to take her role to almost cinematic heights; Tamora is a being of pure evil, a glutton of glory when seeing her enemies struck down.

Where Tamora is motivated by family and emotion, Aaron is a cold-blooded master of manipulation. Using those around him as little more than pieces on a chessboard to in order to consolidate his own power and make his enemies suffer, Aaron is unapologetic for the horrors he has orchestrated, completely amoral, even when offered the chance of repentance. Jones' Aaron is the serpent in the garden whose whispered ideas are the catalyst to the unspeakable evils that trigger an unstoppable bloodletting that engulfs everyone and everything in the play.

William Jackson Harper and Patrick Carroll effortlessly switch from comic ineptitude to callous predators as Tamora's sons Demetrius and Chiron, thinking they can get away with their crimes because of the power their mother wields. Howard projects the aura of a wise counselor as Marcus, a man who, like his brother, is quite ready to revenge any wrongs done against him or his kin. Campbell is a fine Lucius, the character who matures the most over the course of the story - a somewhat bloodthirsty youth at the beginning, he learns from his harsh experiences thus allowing him to temper his vengeful fury with wisdom. Fishel plays Saturninus as a strutting peacock who is more concerned at having his wishes carried out rather than knowing exactly how they are executed.

But it is Jennifer Ikeda as Lavinia who masterfully delivers the personification of the end result of pure evil on a rampage. At first fresh-faced and innocent, her brutalization at the hands of her attackers is horrifying, and Ikeda's portrayal of Lavinia's attempts to live in the aftermath of an unimaginable violation uncomfortable to watch.

Superb fight choreography by Thomas Schall makes the many violent scenes in Titus utterly believable. Brett J. Banks' scenic design, utilizing a stack of large plywood sheets that are used to simulate everything from coffins to tables, from gallows to indictments of crimes, are a versatile canvas on which the bloody scenes unfold. Mark Barton's lighting is fittingly stark, while the music and sound design by Brandon Wolcott is quite gripping, especially in the attack scene with Lavinia and in the final moments of the play.

Violent to the extreme, this production of Titus Andronicus allows the play's

Titus Andronicus

Featuring: Frank Dolce (a boy, Young Lucius, Mutius, Alarbus), Jacob Fishel (Saturninus), Sherman Howard (Marcus Andronicus), Rob Campbell (Lucius), Patrick Carroll (Quintus, Chiron), William Jackson Harper (Martius, Demetrius), Jennifer Ikeda (Lavinia), Daoud Heidami (Publius, Aemilius, Nurse, Messenger, a Goth), Stephanie Roth Haberle (Tamora), Ron Cephas Jones (Aaron)

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Michael Sexton

Scenery Design: Brett J. Banakis

Costume Design: Cait O'Connor

Lighting Design: Mark Barton

Music and Sound Design: Brandon Wolcott

Fight Director: Thomas Schall

Production Stage Manager: W. William Shiner

Stage Manager; Alaina Taylor

The Public Theater

425 Lafayette Street

Tickets: 212-967-7555 or www.publictheater.org

Running Time: Two Hours, 55 Minutes

Closes: December 18, 2011

Planet Connection Theatre Festivity Awards To Be Held August 1st

By Byrne Harrison

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, New York's premiere eco-friendly/socially-conscious theatre festival, presents The Planet Connections Awards Ceremony, Sunday, August 1st at 7:00pm at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street. The awards will be hosted by Executive Director, Glory Kadigan, and emceed by festivity staff member and participant, Nathaniel Kent.

"We are so proud of the continued fabulous work done by our festivity participants. I am inspired daily by the collaboration of our fine artists with these local charities, all while maintaining a commitment to the environment. It is my pleasure to celebrate them in this manner."
-- Glory Kadigan, Executive Director

Awards and Nominees

Planet Activist Award is given to the group or individual, who goes above and beyond the call of duty working with their charitable institution.

Ashley Marracino, author of Decadent Acts
Andrew Rothkin, author of Danny, and Kim M. Jones, director of Danny
Mark J. Williams, author of Recovery
David Stallings, producer of Good Lonely People
Julia Rand of Sunrise, Sunset Or Breakfast with Julia
Erin Winebark of Are You There Zeus? It's Me, Electra and Mariel Matero of Clandestine

Greener Planet Award is given to the group or individual, who goes above and beyond the call of duty implementing Green aspects into their production.

Jeff Biggers and Stephanie Pistello of 4 ½ Hours
Jeremy Bloom and Brian Rand of The Green Knight
Nadine Friedman and Jonathan Cottle of His Beauty
Melissa F. Moschitto of Another Place
Calla Videt of the The Untitled Project

Congeniality Award

Anne Berlin of Revolution
Sergei Burbank author War Crimes
Jason Grossman, author of Love Me
Duncan Pflaster of The Thyme for the Season
Leah Bonvisutto and Felipe Ossa of Cake
JC Svec and the entire Small Bites team
Michael Roderick of Married Plus One

Outstanding Overall Production of a New Play

11 Seconds of Ecstasy An ETdC Projects' Lab Production benefiting the Children's Aid Society. Created, Written and Directed by: Roi Escudero with the participation of the artists in residence at ETdC Projects' Lab and other guest artists: Roi Escudero, Andy Chmelko, Eddy Rimada, Maria Salzano and Blake Ervin. Dancers & Choreographers: Mika Oyaizu, Alex Orzec-Byrnes & Richard Stevens. Voice Over: Patricia Herrara & Batt Johnson. Video Appearance: Jennifer Loryn, amongst others. Technical Director/Lights: Adam B. Orseck, Stage Manager: Blake Ervin, Sound & Video Board: Joanna DeLeon, Production Assistant & Literary Editor: Andy Chmelko, UFO Atmospheric Geometric Painting in Video: James Ewan, Production Designer, Multimedia Video, Light Design Concept, mise en scène, Costumes, Masks & Puppet-Dolls by Roi Escudero, Original Music & Lyrics: Roi Escudero and La Banda, Argentina: Melody McCluskey, Federico Serravalle & Gustavo Ortiz, Original Music Performed by La Banda Argentina with guests Donald McCluskey, Marcos Eduards & Miguel McCluskey, Original Music, Piano & Keyboard: Pablo Ziegler, Bandoneon: Walther Castro, Tango Music recorded and mixed by Héctor del Curto @ Green Parrot Studios.

The Manhattan Project A Mush-room Theatre Design production benefiting Coalition for the Homeless, Written by Ricardo Garcia, Translated by Adolfo Perez Alvarez, Directed and Designed by Oscar A. Mendoza, Musical Direction: Xavier Paez Haubold, Cast: Jeffery Steven Allen, Paul Daily, Christopher Diaz, Barbara Mundy, Fumi Nakamura and Danielle Patsakos, Music performed by Erika Bracy (based on Doris Day songs), Video Editing by Gabriel Comrie Pepin.

Good Lonely People Produced by MTWorks benefiting PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), Written by Carol Carpenter, Directed by Diánna Martin, Cast: Barrie Kreinik, Robin Madel, Maureen O’Boyle, Trip Plymale, Marvin Starkman, Misti Tindiglia and Susan Wallack, Set Design: Julie Griffith, Costume Design: David Stalling, Lighting Design & Dramaturgy: Cristina Alicea and Sound Design: Martha Goode.

Love Me Produced by Funny....Sheesh Productions benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, Written by Jason S. Grossman, Directed by Daryl Boling,Assistant Director: Phillip Chavira, Stage Manager: Laura Schlachtmeyer, Lighting Designer: Lauren Parrish, Costume Designer: Isabelle Fields, Set Designer: Sheila Phalon, Cast: James Cichewicz, Kaira Klueber, Ridley Parson, Aaron Rossini, Daina Stefanie Schatz, Laura Schwenninger, Victoria Watson and Jeff Wills.

Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical, Play with Music, or Musical Event

BJ: A Musical Romp Musical Produced by Peter and Matt’s Production Company benefiting the Organic Consumers Association, Book & Lyrics by Peter Dagger, Music by Eric Jarboe, Directed by Matt Britten.

Green! Produced by The Mistake and The Icky House Club benefiting Early Stages.

Tess, A New Rock Opera Presented by Big Lady Productions, LLC benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Music, Lyrics and Libretto by Annie Pasqua, Additional Music and Lyrics by Jenna Pasqua.

Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities Produced by Shelby Company benefiting Democracy Now!, written by Ben Forster, Jonathan Goldberg and Dan Moyer. Directed by Jordan Fein.

Outstanding Overall Production of an Entire Evening of One-Acts

Small Bites Produced by Tribe Productions benefiting The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, Written and Directed by J.C. Svec.

Clandestine Produced by NewGround Theatre Collective benefiting Women In Need (WIN), Written by Glory Bowen, Ann Gillespie, Alex Goldberg, Duncan Pflaster, Nandita Shenoy and Jonathan Wallace; Directed by Luke Harlan, Cindy N. Kawasaki, Rachel Klein and Michael Schwartz.

The Riverside Symphony Produced by Ignited States Production Company benefiting The Children's Aid Society, Written by Michael Niederman, Directed by Hondo Weiss-Richmond.

Hourglass and One Hand Clapping Produced by Richard L. Gaw benefiting The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Written by Richard L. Gaw and Adam Satur; Directed by Rose Ginsberg and Adam Satur.

Outstanding Overall Production of a Solo Show

A Brown Monkey Goes to McDonald's A Sahil Farooqi production benefiting Democracy Now!; Directed by Regie Cabico; Written and Performed by Sahil Farooqi.

Dig and Be Dug: The Gospel of Lord Buckley Produced by INTERPROD Theatre benefiting Citymeals-on-Wheels, Written and Performed by Ryan Knowles; Directed by David Kraft; Music Arrangements by Peter Saxe.

Made for Each Other Produced by Monica Bauer; Benefiting Alzheimer's Foundation of America; Written by Monica Bauer; Directed by John FitzGibbon; Performed by John Fico*.

Outstanding Overall Production of a Revival/Adaptation/Sequel (previously published/or adapted script)

Are You There Zeus? It's Me Electra Presented by On The Fritz Productions benefiting The Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation; Written and Directed by Aliza Shane.

The Green Knight A Jeremy Bloom and Brian Rady production benefiting 826NYC, Written by Brian Rady, Directed by Jeremy Bloom.

The Picture of Dorian Gray produced by G-Money Productions benefiting The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Written by Oscar Wilde, Adapted for the Stage and Directed by Glory Bowen.

Thyme of the Season Produced by Cross-Eyed Bear Productions benefiting Planned Parenthood; Written and Directed by Duncan Pflaster.

Outstanding Playwriting for a New Script (readings excluded)

Carol Carpenter for Good Lonely People
John Patrick Bray for Liner Notes
Jason S. Grossman for Love Me
Felipe Ossa for Cake
Lenny Schwartz for The Six Month Cure
Mark J. Williams for Recovery

Outstanding Playwriting for an Adaptation, Revival or Sequel

G. S. Bowen for The Picture of Dorian Gray
Duncan Pflaster for The Thyme of the Season
Brian Rady for The Green Knight
Aliza Shane for Are You There Zeus? It's me, Electra

Outstanding Book, Music and Lyrics

Trevor Bachman, Jonathan A. Goldberg, Dan Moyer and Ben Forster for Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities
Peter Dagger and Eric Jarboe for BJ: A Musical Romp
Annie Pasqua and Jenna Pasqua for Tess, A New Rock Opera
Ken Scudder and Mickey Zetts for Green!

Outstanding Playwriting Short Form (One Act)

Richard L. Gaw for Hourglass and One Hand Clapping - Hourglass
Alex Goldberg for Clandestine - Lying Naked
Duncan Pflaster for Clandestine - The Dark Night of the Russet Rascal
Nandita Shenoy for Clandestine - Rules of Engagement
Michael Niederman for The Riverside Symphony - Pidgeon's Story
Johnathan Wallace for Clandestine - UFO Weather

Outstanding Band, Orchestra and/or Musician (Lounge artists included)

Peter Saxe for Dig and Be Dug
Mickey Zetts and Ryan Cox for Green!
Trevor Bachman for Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities
Adam Kaufman, Jared Scot, Sal Barra, Ray Cetta, Peter Sachon and Chris Pagano, for Tess, A New Rock Opera

Outstanding Direction

Jeremy Bloom for The Green Knight
Leah Bonvissuto for Cake
Roi Escardero for 11 Seconds of Ecstasy
Nadine Friedman for His Beauty
Oscar Mendoza for The Manhattan Project
Aliza Shane for Are You There Zeus? It's Me Electra
Calla Videt for The Untitled Project

Outstanding Costume Design

Mark Richard Casswell for The Thyme of the Season
Deanna Frieman for Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities
Irma Escobar and Christina Hurtado for the Costume/Make-Up Design of The Picture of Dorian Gray
David Moyer for Are You There Zeus? It's Me, Electra
Erin Schultz for The Green Knight

Outstanding Sound Design

Roi Escudero for 11 Seconds of Ectasy
Martha Goode for Liner Notes
Oscar Mendoza for The Manhattan Project
Jacob Subtonik for The Picture of Dorian Gray
Calla Videt for The Untitled Project

Outstanding Scenic Design

Jonathan Cottle for His Beauty
Stephe Dobay for The Riverside Symphony
Starlet Jacobs for Danny
Craig Napolielo for The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Mendoza and Gabrielle Pepin for The Manhattan Project

Outstanding Lighting Design

Johnathan Cottle and Danny Abalos for His Beauty
Jake DeGroot for The Riverside Symphony
Mike Inwood for War Crimes
Stiven Luka and Will Moody for I Don't Want to Hurt Your Feelings
Yuriy Nayer for The Picture of Dorian Gray

Outstanding Use Of Projections, Special Effects, AND/OR Multi-Media Event

Sergei Burbank for War Crimes
Roi Escardero for 11 Seconds of Ecstasy
Ben Evans for 4 1/2 Hours Across the Stones of Fire
David Kraft for Dig and Be Dug
Gabriel Comrie Pepin for The Manhattan Project

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play

Brett Aresco for the role of Gawain in The Green Knight
Adam Barrie for the role of Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray
Andy Chmelko for the role of Chameleon Madagascar in 11 Seconds of Ectasy
Paul Daily for the role of Charles in The Manhattan Project
Jonathan Holtzman for the role of Michael in Recovery
James Pravaslis for the role of Gary in Danny
Aaron Rossini for the role of Charlie in Love Me

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play

Ramona Floyd for the role of Dana Dunnigan in Cake
Kathryn Elizabeth Lawson for the role of Alice in Liner Notes
Stephanie Pistello for the role of Marie in 4 1/2 Hours Across the Stones of Fire
Danielle Patsakos for the role of Margaret in The Manhattan Project
Anna Savant for the role of Dr. Jolene Shatila in Decadent Acts
Misti Tindiglia for the role of Kay in Good Lonely People
Elena Zazanis for the role of Kathleen in Recovery

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical, Play with Music, or Musical Event

Peter Albrink for the role of "Actor" in Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities
Nathaniel Kent for the role of "Actor" in Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities
Keith Panzarella for the role of Angel in Tess, A New Rock Opera
Andrew Redlawsk for the role of BJ in BJ: A Musical Romp
Evan Watkins for the role of "Actor" in Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical, Play with Music, or Musical Event

Kate Bodenheimer for the role of Gabriel in BJ: A Musical Romp
Hadly Cronk for the role of "Actor" in Uncle Shelby's Wunderpanty of Possibilities
Valerie Graham for the role of "Actor" in Uncle Shelby's Wunderpantry of Possibilities
Jenna Pasqua for the role of Tess Durbeyfield in Tess, A New Rock Opera
Tro Shaw for the role of Destiny in BJ: A Musical Romp

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play

Walter Brandes for the role of Lord Henry in The Picture of Dorian Gray
James B. Kennedy for the role of Carl in His Beauty
James David Larson for the role of Aegisthus in Are You There Zeus? It's Me, Electra
Eric Percival for the role of Basil Hallward in The Picture of Dorian Gray
Trip Plymale for the role of Verle in Good Lonely People
Jeff Wills for the role of Charlie's Inner Voice in Love Me

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play

Amanda Anderson for the role of Darcie in Danny
Kerri Ford for the role of Chrysothemis in Are You There Zeus? It's Me, Electra
Rebecca Hirota for the role of Hermia in The Thyme of the Season
Tania Jeudy for the role of Pumpkinseed in The Thyme of the Season
Joyce Miller for the role of Morgan LeFay in The Green Knight
Daina Stefanie Scahtz for the role of Wendy in Love Me
Susan Wallack for the role of Darnelle in Good Lonely People


Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical, Play with Music, or Musical Event

Ryan Cox for the role of Ryan, the Bass Player in Green!
Tramian Montell Ford for the role of Mullins in BJ: A Musical Romp
William Goulet Kean for the role of Jack in BJ: A Musical Romp
Chris Leidenfrost-Wilson for the role of Alec in Tess, A New Rock Opera
Andrew Martin for the role of Harwitz E. Green in Green!

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical, Play with Music, or Musical Event

Fiona Choi for the role of Sienna in Green!
Paula Galloway for the role of The Happy Clown in Green!
Heather Jewels for the role of Retty in Tess, A New Rock Opera
Susan McBrien for the role of Mother in BJ: A Musical Romp
Sarah Shahinian for the role of Woman 2 in Women On Love

Outstanding Overall Production of a Reading

American Cow Girl
Cat Gets Credit Card
In The Wilderness
Laurie Deacon and the Night Caller
Revolution

Outstanding Actor in a Reading

Spiro Galiatsatos for Cat Gets Credit Card
Reed Presscott for Cat Gets Credit Card
Karim Muasher for Another Place
Marek Sapieyevski for Revolution!
Dan Yoerges for In the Wilderness

Outstanding Actress in a Reading

Lauren Albert for American Cow Girl
Brianne Berkson for In The Wilderness
Caryln Connelly for Revolution!
Jillaine Gill for Laurie Deacon and the Night Caller
Bellavia Mauro for Revolution!

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is New York's premiere eco-friendly/socially conscious theatre festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the festival seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere. At the heart of the festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large.