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by The Happiest Medium on May 22, 2012
Benefiting: Adam R. Spector Foundation
Produced by Violet Productions
Music by Joni Ernst
Book by Abigail Taylor
Book, Lyrics, and Music also by Lorelei Mackenzie & Kristen Penner
“At Little Miss Glamour and Glitz – Texas it’s what’s on the OUTSIDE that counts. Join three young aspiring pageant princesses and their off-beat families in their quest for the crown. Witness the magic, the mayhem and of course the glitter in this delightful romp into child pageants.”
Show Times:
- Tues 6/5/12 – 7:00pm
- Sat 6/9/12 – 3:30pm
- Sun 6/10/12 – 1:30pm
- Sat 6/16/12 – 11:00am
- Wed 6/20/12 – 4:30pm
- Sat 6/23/12 – 11:30am
Answers by Kristen Penner (Playwright)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Kristen: We were watching the reality show “Toddlers and Tiaras” and laughing about how funny it would be to have a musical with these nutty parents and kids. Lorelei, a writer and composer, said jokingly, “Yeah, and we could call it Pageant Princess The Musical.” Suddenly we all stopped and stared at each other. And that is how the show, along with the title, came into being.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 22, 2012
Benefiting: Male Survivor
Produced by The Layon Gray Experience & The Black Gents Of Hollywood
Written by Layon Gray
“WEBEIME is a journey, an emotional excursion of one man, dealing with the demons of his past that contributed to his present predicament. The nameless protagonist takes his audience on a path down memory lane, filled with child abuse, mental isolation, domestic violence and becoming a man”
Show Times:
- Thur 6/7/12 – 5:00pm
- Fri 6/8/12 – 8:00pm
- Sun 6/10/12 – 3:30pm
- Fri 6/15/12 – 10:00pm
- Sun 6/17/12 – 12:00pm
- Wed 6/20/12 – 6:30pm
Answers by Layon Gray
(Writer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Layon: I always get asked this question because many people pronounce the title wrong. lol. The correct way to say it is WE – BE – I – ME. I created this to symbolize that although each human being in the world is different we have some kind of common factor. In WEBEIME although the protagonist is an African American male his issues are universal.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 16, 2012
Benefiting: GEMS
Created by Members of Project Girl Performance Collective
Directed by Ashley Marinaccio
Show Times:
- Mon 6/4/12 – 4:00pm
- Fri 6/8/12 – 6:00pm
- Sun 6/10/12 – 5:30pm
- Sat 6/16/12 – 4:30pm
- Thu 6/21/12 – 5:00pm
- Sat 6/23/12 – 1:30pm
Answers by various cast/staff members of TRAFFICKED including
Mildred Jones-Hamm (Performer), Monica Furman (Performer/Creator), Chioneso Bakr (Performer), Ashley Marinaccio (Director)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Ashley Marinaccio: Trafficked tells the story of sex slavery and child exploitation through the eyes of fifteen young women. In an ensemble devised performance constructed by interviews, research and media, the cast puts a name and face to the thousands of undocumented girls and boys who are trafficked into the billion dollar sex industry each year. We chose to call our show Trafficked because it summarizes what our show is about.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 9, 2012
Benefiting: Food Bank for New York City
Produced/Written by Stephen Stocking & Troy Miller
Directed by Troy Miller
Performed by Christopher Bonewitz, Rachel Christopher, Stephen Stocking, Bridget Ori, Tara Carrozza, Leigh Dunham, Michael Levi Harris, Matthew Stapleton
“Who hasn’t had a bad date? No one. Not even your grandma. The Bad Date Project takes two lonely singles on a rocky treasure hunt for love…or fun…or just some kind of connection. Created from true stories, it’s a sexy, hilarious and tragic look at dating in the new millennium.”
Show Times:
- Sat 6/2/12 – 6:00pm
- Thu 6/7/12 – 10:00pm
- Sun 6/10/12 – 2:00pm
- Wed 6/13/12 – 8:00pm
- Mon 6/18/12 – 4:00pm
- Wed 6/20/12 – 9:30pm
- Thu 6/21/12 – 8:00pm
- Sat 6/23/12 – 3:00pm
Answers by Troy Miller
(Co-Creator, Co-Producer, Director)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Troy: As we started talking about writing and developing the play, we didn’t have a name, but the idea was a project of sorts, so as a working title we started calling it THE BAD DATE PROEJCT and it sort of stuck. But it’s also appropriate to what the show is about. It’s a study of dating. It takes work to date and to figure out how to do it well. So the word “project” seemed to have a lot of meaning to us.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 7, 2012
Benefiting: Sanctuary for Families
Produced by The Dirty Blondes
Written by Ashley J. Jacobson
“A sinister tale of a burgeoning friendship in an increasingly sociopathic society hell-bent on making monsters of its men and objects of its women. What would Partick Bateman do?”
Show Times:
- Mon 6/4/12 – 6:00pm
- Thur 6/7/12 – 10:30pm
- Thur 6/14/12 – 4:00pm
- Wed 6/20/12 – 8:30pm
- Fri 6/22/12 – 6:00pm
- Sat 6/23/12 – 6:30pm
Answers by Alexandra Siladi (Director),
Ashley Jacobson (Playwright),
Elizabeth Sarkady (Manager)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Alexandra Siladi: Our show was inspired by American Psycho – playwright Ashley Jacobson decided on this specific title because we also realized this story was a capsule of modern American life. It is about white men, a demographic who not only who founded the country we live in, but continue to decide on the laws & regulations that govern its citizens. We see this play as a comment on American society and how in 20 years since American Psycho was written, not only has the story of Patrick Bateman been embraced by a large majority of those who know it, but it has become an iconic vision of the American male’s greatest concerns: image, sex, power, and money.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 6, 2012
Benefiting: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
Produced by Cross-Eyed Bear Productions
Written/Directed by Duncan Pflaster
“Adrian and Javier are a gay couple who don’t believe in marriage- but everyone assumes they’re married. When they realize they’ve never actually opened up their “open relationship”, they decide to each go out and get laid, with hilarious and erotic results. Featuring an all-male cast of 13 in an epic satire of modern gay society. Warning: Nudity.”
Show Times:
- Fri 6/8/12 – 6:30pm
- Wed 6/13/12 – 10:00pm
- Sat 6/16/12 – 10:00pm
- Mon 6/18/12 – 7:30pm
- Thu 6/21/12 – 10:00pm
- Sat 6/23/12 – 6:30pm
Answers by Duncan Pflaster
(Writer, Director)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Duncan: It actually took a long time and I went through several titles- It began life called Fidelity, was called Sex and Sensibilities for a while, then went through a number of options that weren’t quite right: One Touch of Penis, The Salad of the Bad Young Men, I Am Into Champagne, Wang the Drum Slowly, and then I tentatively settled on the somewhat bland Equality for the first draft and private reading with my playwright group… but then I read an interview with Paul Rudd in US Weekly where he mentioned the awkwardness of doing nude scenes and pitied the poor soundman who had to look at his hairy taint- and BAM, “The Taint of Equality” it was. The pun sounds vaguely dirty and makes people giggle, but the other meaning resonates with the Gay Marriage themes of the play. And the subtitle of course is from the 80s George Michael song- since he’s struggled in his personal life with some of the same fidelity/monogamy issues as my characters (and is mentioned in the play), that just seemed to be appropriate.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 5, 2012
Benefiting: UJA of New York
Produced by Provident Productions
Book, Music & Lyrics by James Behr
Composed & Arranged & Musically Directed by James Behr
“The Count of Monte Cristo, a musical based upon the famed Alexandre Dumas novel, now comes to the Broadway stage! Come see the beloved and thrilling story of love, revenge and redemption in this prize-winning and critically acclaimed new musical.”
Show Times:
- Tue 6/12/12 – 6:30pm
- Sat 6/16/12 – 8:30pm
- Sun 6/17/12 – 4:00pm
- Mon 6/18/12 – 7:00pm
- Thu 6/21/12 – 9:00pm
- Sat 6/23/12 – 3:30pm
Answers by James Behr
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
James: The title is based upon the book, “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas, which the musical is adapted from.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 4, 2012
Benefiting: National Eating Disorders Association
Produced by Ego Actus
Written by Penny Jackson
Directed by Joan Kane
“SAFE is a drama set in Manhattan about two unhappy teenagers, one anorexic and the other overweight, who find themselves in danger when they encounter charming Phillip, an older teacher with a dangerous secret.”
Show Times:
- Fri 6/1/12 – 7:00pm
- Sat 6/2/12 – 3:00pm
- Mon 6/4/12 – 10:00pm
- Wed 6/6/12 – 4:00pm
- Sat 6/9/12 – 8:00pm
- Thu 6/14/12 – 6:00pm
Answers by Penny Jackson
(Playwright)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Penny: As a teacher and parent, I would always hear the term “safe” when discussing children and adolescents. I decided to write about two teenage girls who, although they may be protected by money, find themselves in real danger by their parents’ selfishness and the pressure of today’s world for women to be physically perfect.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 4, 2012
This is your brain on Kimberly Pau. Any Questions?
Benefiting: Brooklyn Public Library
Produced/Written by Kimberly Pau
Directed by Eric Mercado
“I’m having Justin Beiber’s baby. Really. I am. BABY PLAYS THE BANJO explores our love of the mainstream media and how it comforts us.”
Show Times:
- Wed 5/30/12 – 6:00pm
- Sun 6/3/12 – 10:00pm
- Tues 6/5/12 – 9:00pm
- Sun 6/10/12 – 8:00pm
- Sat 6/16/12 – 6:30pm
Answers by Kimberly Pau
(Writer, Producer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Kimberly: It’s about a girl who believes her baby was fathered by Justin Beiber and is thus a musical genius.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on May 2, 2012
In 2010 The Happiest Medium was thrilled to be able to be one of the media sponsors for the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity – “a place that shelters new and experienced artists who want to use their art to make a difference”.
We’re excited to be able to sponsor the festivity once again this year! Planet Connections runs from May 30 – June 24 at The Bleecker Street Theater located at45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY.
The Planet Connections Festivity is New York’s premiere eco-friendly/socially-conscious arts festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the Festivity 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, film, music and art while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large.
In the month leading up to the festivity we’ll be bringing you our fun feature “5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go” – a chance for every one of the shows to give you a taste of what they have in store for you! We’ll also be reviewing a selection of the offerings so check back daily to see what we thought!
Just follow this link to get to the Planet Connections site. There you’ll be able to see all the great things that are being offered … the free staged readings, the full scale productions, the special events … and don’t forget to check out what’s going on in the Festivity Lounge where there will be free entertainment such as singers, comedians, readings and art exhibits benefiting local charities. You can also buy some refreshments! And if you join on FOURSQUARE you may win a prize!
So come be a part of the great work that’s being done by the amazing team at Planet Connections!
We’ll see you there!
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