by Geoffrey Paddy Johnson on May 24, 2012
The first thing you can’t fail to notice upon entering the performance space for Empirical Rogue‘s production of Romeo and Juliet, is the spectacular environment chashama have provided for the company. Formerly a taxi service garage on Jackson Avenue, LIC, the space retains the character of its previous functionalism, but the translation of the environment for its theatrical purpose is all but awe inspiring. This is immersive theatre space at its most captivating. Three very simple arrangements of double rowed seats place the audience right at the edge of the action. Behind them floor to ceiling drapes of canvas enclose the space and focus attention on one corner of the performance area, where a raised office hutch serves as the play’s famous balcony setting. The raw cinder block walls are spectrally painted with fading murals and decorative effects that describe location and contribute atmosphere almost slyly – “Verona” the largest declares boldly, like some pageant-styled vermouth advertisement of the Forties. A raw building scaffold sits easily in the space, spotlights glow in constellation behind canvas walls, and a wide grill metal gate recalls you to the actuality of the location. Before the drama has begun you want to take your hat off to production designer, Dante Olivia Smith, muralist, Adam Fujita, and producer/director, Tim Eliot. This is one of the most intelligent and graceful set designs I have come across.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 23, 2012
Benefiting: Pride For Youth & The Long Island Crisis Center
Produced by Off Sides Entertainment & Marketing, Inc.
Co-Produced by Ann Bass & The Lantern Theatre Co.
Music/Lyrics by William Finn
Book by James Lapine & William Finn
“Marvin wants it all: a loving ex-wife, an adoring son, and a handsome lover- all living together in harmony. Unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want. Add one psychiatrist and a couple of lesbians from next door, shake, and serve alongside a nation turning a blind eye to a spreading plague…”
Show Times:
- Wed 5/30/12 – 8:00pm
- Sat 6/2/12 – 8:30pm
- Sun 6/3/12 – 2:30pm
- Wed 6/6/12 – 6:00pm
- Mon 6/11/12 – 8:30pm
- Fri 6/15/12 – 5:00pm
Answers by Chris Leidenfrost-Wilson
(Co-producer, Assistant Director, Actor)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Chris: Well, I think it has something to do with the “falseness” we put on to exist in a world that constantly turns against us– the way we hide or alter ourselves and live our lives to make us seem the way we want to be perceived – like a singer using their falsetto… That’s my interpretation. If you want the real answer, you’ll have to ask William Finn or James Lapine!
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by The Happiest Medium on May 23, 2012
Deuteranomaly
Benefiting: Adam R. Spector Foundation
Produced by Mind the Gap Theatre
Directed by Paula D’Alessandris
“When the Greenbergs discover that their young son, David, suffers from Deuteranomaly (red-green colorblindness), the couple’s opposing views on love and limitation come to light. Twenty years later, a grown-up David struggles with this legacy in his relationship with Cassandra, a talented painter whose work he can never truly see.”
Show Times:
- Fri 6/1/12 – 5:30pm
- Sat 6/2/12 – 10:00pm
- Thur 6/7/12 – 4:00pm
- Mon 6/11/12 – 6:00pm
- Sun 6/17/12 – 1:00pm
- Fri 6/22/12 – 4:30pm
Answers by Jessica Fleitman (Playwright)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Jessica: Deuteranomaly came from a prompt in a playwriting class, in which the first line of the play had to be a statement of scientific fact. Mine was the following (SPOILER ALERT for the first line in the play!): “One in seven men suffers from some form of color blindness.” I began researching forms of color blindness, and stumbled upon “Deuteranomaly,” which is the term for the inability to differentiate between red and green. I liked the word because it managed to simultaneously sound vaguely biblical and slightly off (which is a good way to describe the entire play, now that I think about it).
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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 21, 2012
Benefitting: Ali Forney Center
Produced by Stephan Davis
Written/Composed by Stephan Davis
“Rylie meets Matthew. Their lives are altered, for better and worse. They love through sickness and health. But when Rylie’s health declines, hospital policy keeps them apart.”
Show Times:
- Fri 6/1/12 – 9:00pm
- Sun 6/3/12 – 8:00pm
- Fri 6/8/12 – 4:00pm
- Sun 6/10/12 – 10:00pm
- Wed 6/13/12 – 5:00pm
- Tues 6/19/12 – 6:00pm
Answers by Stephan Davis
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Stephan: I came up with the title for the show based on a song that the character sings at the end of the show, thanking his partner for the beautiful romance that they have shared and encouraging him to continue to be open to love again.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 21, 2012
Benefiting: WIN [Women in Need]
Produced by Renegade Theatre Troupe
Written by Dana Sumner-Pritchard
Directed by Nick Martin
“A young couple is in the throes of a life changing event that threatens to ruin their relationship. Both heartbreaking and hilarious, “Bed” asks us to examine what exactly would tear us away from the loves of our lives.”
Show Times:
- Sat 6/2/12 – 8:00pm
- Mon 6/4/12 – 9:30pm
- Thur 6/7/12 – 6:00pm
- Wed 6/13/12 – 4:00pm
- Tues 6/19/12 – 6:30pm
- Sat 6/23/12 – 11:00am
Answers by Dana Sumner-Pritchard
(Playwright, Actress)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Dana: The bed is the only set piece in the play. For a couple, there are a lot of implications surrounding their bed–the intimacy level is so high, any changes to routine can make it seem hostile. It made sense in this play about a couple that is desperately trying to stay together.
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by The Happiest Medium on May 21, 2012
Benefiting: RAINN
Produced by Daydream Theatre Company
Written by Lenny Schwartz
“Accidental Incest: Someone for Everyone” is a sick and disturbing comedy about two people who find romance in this crazy world. The problem is that they are indeed brother and sister! So they are left with a question: Be miserable or be with the one person who truly gets who you are.”
Show Times:
- Fri 6/15/12 – 4:00pm
- Sat 6/16/12 – 6:00pm
- Sun 6/17/12 – 8:00pm
Answers by Lenny Schwartz
(Writer/Director)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
How did you come up with the title for your show?
Lenny: My boss, Linda Barone, at Trinity Rep suggested the title “Accidental Incest” and said that I should write a play with that title. I added the “Someone for Everyone.” It seemed like too rich a title to pass up.
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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 Geoffrey Paddy Johnson on May 15, 2012
There’s an undeniable elegance about the Irish singer/performer (composer, orchestrator, producer) Julie Feeney who is appearing for a 10 day booking at the Irish Arts Center on 51st Street. The elegance is there in the assemblage of instruments she has corralled on stage, as well as in the controlled voice, smooth flowing toothy lyrics, and sophisticated orchestral arrangements she deploys. But the elegance really comes about when Feeney emerges into the auditorium, using the regular patrons entrance way, singing in hushed tones the introduction to her song Myth. Leaning over from the aisle, she breathily exchanges some of the words with a surprised, somewhat unnerved audience. She’s sparkling in the reflected stage lights, an ornate crystal gemmed collar on her dress and tiny rhinestones in her hairnet twinkle in the shadows. It’s nothing to get really alarmed about, but that towering beehive coiffure is teased up just that little bit high enough to signal caution; who is this? And the song she is singing keeps dropping into abrupt silences. Before picking up once more and conducting you along a melody that achieves its pop bounce from a delicate arrangement of strings, bowed and pizzicato. She attains the stage and relaxes the audience with a complicit, almost coy smile, while working a silken black balloon dress that is at once sumptuous and brief. It’s a wonderfully poised balancing act between refinement and boldness, and it proves the perfect introduction for what is to follow.
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