Theatre Development Fund - TDF

WATCH: A 'Dark Disabled Stories' TDF Conversation - Playwright-performer Ryan J. Haddad and his costars discuss their new play at The Public Theater

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Playwright-performer Ryan J. Haddad and his costars discuss their new play at The Public Theater

Ryan J. Haddad isn't afraid to go there... or anywhere, really. In no-holds-barred solo shows like Hi, Are You Single?, he's mined his life as a horny gay man with cerebral palsy for entertainment and insight. With Dark Disabled Stories, which is produced by The Bushwick Starr and presented by The Public Theater, he expands his lens, inviting two other performers, Deaf actor Dickie Hearts and disabled actor Alejandra Ospina, to share the spotlight and, at times, their own anecdotes. It's a landmark moment in theatre, both in terms of disability representation on stage and making the show accessible to disabled audiences. ASL interpretation, open captions and audio description are integrated into the production and provided at every performance, and discount tickets are available to members of the Deaf and disabled community with the promo code AccessDDS. We brought these three artists and activists together to talk about the challenges of navigating a world not built for them, what they hope audiences will take away from the show and what they wish every arts organization would do to truly make theatre accessible to all. If you weren't able to tune in live you can watch a recording below. Captions are available.

Watch all of our TDF Conversations

Top image description: Ryan J. Haddad, Dickie Hearts and Alejandra Ospina sit next to each other in the rehearsal room for Dark Disabled Stories against a black background. Ryan is a Lebanese American man with short black hair, brown eyes and round, tortoiseshell glasses. He wears a red, yellow and green plaid flannel shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers. He is softly laughing holding his script, and his walker is in front of him. Dickie Hearts sits next to him. Dickie has olive skin and dark chocolate-colored curly hair. He smiles widely, wearing a yellow and blue plaid flannel shirt, blue jeans and brown and black cowboy boots. He has a music stand in front of him and is communicating in ASL. Alejandra Ospina sits next to Dickie on his right. She is a light-skinned Latina with short dark hair that is slicked back. She wears a grey, wool knit cap, round glasses and a black face mask. She wears a baby blue long-sleeve blouse and is holding her iPad with the script. She sits in her black motorized wheelchair with a grey blanket. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Attending (and Attending and Attending) the Tale of 'Sweeney Todd' - God, that's good! How I fell for my favorite musical

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

God, that's good! How I fell for my favorite musical

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In a youth almost entirely unblemished by voluntary physical exertion, I remember one particular sprint quite vividly. The objective was to get from my matinee seat at the Longacre Theatre, where I was seeing the original Broadway production of Children of a Lesser God, to the TKTS Booth at 47th and Broadway, through the line, up to the window to purchase tickets and back to my seat within the duration of a standard intermission. That I succeeded was a personal best, but little did I know how it would change my life. You see, I came away with tickets to the show that would become, immediately and forever, my favorite musical: Sweeney Todd.

As an avid watcher of the Tony Awards, I had seen a bit of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney televised in 1979, but it had not sent me running to buy the original cast recording. Nonetheless, this tale of a vengeful barber and his resourceful meat pie-baking paramour lodged in my brain as a show to see. So, given the opportunity during spring break with a few high school friends and a teacher who offered to chaperone us on a long day's trip into the heart of darkness that was early '80s Times Square, we resolved to go.

Upon entering the Uris Theatre with the vastness of Eugene Lee's decrepit factory set laid out before us, it was clear this would be quite a different experience from my Broadway shows to date, which numbered less than ten, including Stephen Schwartz's The Magic Show, Jason Robards in A Touch of the Poet and a revival of West Side Story. My assessment was confirmed the moment a live steam whistle (no synthesized sample has ever replicated it) jolted the audience into instant anxiety, all the better to receive Sweeney Todd when he rose from the grave on a hydraulic lift at the end of the opening ballad.

I had never seen anything that induced gasps in so many ways: an array of breathtaking songs, witty verbal wordplay, gallows humor, heart-quickening suspense, a bit of spurting blood and a late-in-the-game surprise of tragic horror. In an era when my entertainment consumption ran heavily to television—years of variety shows, Carol Burnett, All in the Family, The Waltons, Charlie's Angels and Three's Company—Sweeney's impact was seismic.

Like any good thriller, one's introduction to Sweeney Todd can never quite be equaled. Secrets once revealed can never be forgotten. Still, I was excited to see it twice in one year: first at the Uris with George Hearn and Dorothy Loudon in the leads, then again in December when the national tour played Philadelphia where I was a freshman in college. By this point, I had bought the two-disc vinyl original cast recording, which I played incessantly. So, you can imagine how transported I was when I got to see, alongside Hearn once again playing Sweeney, Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. It is one of my great regrets that I never saw Len Cariou in the role he created.

On that second viewing, I already knew practically every word and note. I had been singing along to the album almost nightly for months, annoying first my dad, who couldn't fathom a musical with Sweeney's story of murderous revenge, and then my college roommate. Of the latter, I can say in my defense that the only music he played was the justly forgotten band Kansas, so we were locked in an audio stalemate, each convinced the other had very strange taste.

Such is my love for Sweeney that I make a point to see the musical at every opportunity. My viewings include the first New York City Opera production, once again directed by Hal Prince; The York Theatre Company revival with Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler when it moved to Circle in the Square; the Watermill Theatre production directed by John Doyle when it played London's Trafalgar Studio; Doyle's mounting on Broadway with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris; the immersive bakeshop Sweeney in Greenwich Village; the Chichester Festival Theatre staging with Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball at its first West End preview (with Sondheim right across the aisle from me); and two high school mountings, each of which faced varying degrees of censorship.

The order is imperfect and incomplete, but I think I've made my point. I am endlessly drawn to both the grand and the guignol of Sweeney Todd; it stirs me with its sweep and its audacity. Its familiarity is a pleasure, but because it is never quite the same production, especially after Doyle freed it from the template of the original, there remain surprises, if not of plot, then of interpretation. I may know what's going to happen, but I have learned that I can never know what to expect. In this, I have never been disappointed.

I don't know if I can ever fully express what I feel with Sweeney. Yet, despite being a theatre geek who has now seen quite literally a couple thousand shows, I find it's a vehicle which yields, to quote another Sondheim show, "perpetual anticipation."

Even my father, who for years found my attraction to Sweeney downright ghoulish, eventually came to understand my delight. In the '90s, I worked as the general manager at Goodspeed Opera House and my parents loved traveling to the East Haddam theatre's picture-perfect spot on the Connecticut River to see shows. When we mounted a revival of Sweeney, my mom would not be denied, despite my dad's antipathy to the material. When they emerged at the end, I looked pointedly at my father as I asked them both, "So, did you enjoy it?" And my dad, having been somewhat dragooned into seeing something he'd avoided for about 15 years, replied, "Yes. And now I get it."

He's not the only skeptic whose tune Sweeney changed. At Timberlane Regional High School in New Hampshire, I helped lobby successfully for the restoration of the show to the drama program's schedule after it had been summarily canceled as a result of anonymous complaints about its violence. About a year later I attended the production, and I asked the director if I might say a few words to the cast before the performance. I did not have the hubris to make a speech of my own, but instead read a short message I carried from another, written just for them.

"I've never understood why Sweeney Todd is considered 'controversial,'" I read aloud to dozens of students. "The incidents in the plot may be lurid, but the show's themes are primarily injustice, morality and greed… More important, it's a wonderful, scary story—what Sweeney Todd is really about is having a good time."

When I concluded the letter, I announced its author: Stephen Sondheim. Shrieks, screams, tears, whoops of triumph. Joy and amazement, at a cacophonous pitch, as these young people, "seen" by the genius of Fleet Street himself, fell into one another's arms, giddy. It took a few minutes for their director to quiet them and get them to remember they had a matinee to do. Yet another special thrill from Sweeney Todd and its cocreator that I will carry always.

I have been in perpetual anticipation since the new production with Annaleigh Ashford and Josh Groban was rumored, then announced officially. I'm thrilled it's finally starting previews. As Mrs. Lovett always says, all good things come to those who can wait.

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Howard Sherman is an arts administrator, writer and advocate. Follow him at @hesherman. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in Sweeney Todd on Broadway. Photo by Franz Szony.

How Three Artists Are Honoring Their Ancestors at Atlantic Theater Company - The new play 'Elyria' is an immigrant story and a family affair

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

The new play 'Elyria' is an immigrant story and a family affair

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As a veteran writing teacher and the cofounder of the new play incubator Rising Circle Theater Collective, Deepa Purohit has spent decades nurturing aspiring dramatists of color. Now she's the one in the spotlight with Elyria at Atlantic Theater Company, which marks her Off-Broadway playwriting debut. This world premiere opens with a swirl of Indian music and dance in the title Ohio city as two women unexpectedly reconnect at a cultural celebration. Twenty years earlier in another country, Vasanta (Nilanjana Bose) and Dhatta (Gulshan Mia) had promised to bury an incendiary secret as they went their separate ways. Their surprise meeting in America threatens to dramatically upend their lives.

Although born in the UK, Purohit and her family moved to Elyria, Ohio when she was a child and, in the script, she dedicates the show to "Mom and Dad and all my people who've crossed oceans to get to where they need to be." Considering her parents' immigration journey helped inspire the story, it's fitting the production is a family affair. Purohit's husband, Sanjit De Silva (War Horse on Broadway, Netflix's Inventing Anna) is in the cast and their longtime family friend Awoye Timpo (Wedding Band, Good Grief) directs. The trio talked with TDF Stages about bringing their ancestors into the room, immigrant strivers and taking inspiration from cultural classics.

Gerard Raymond: Deepa, how much did you draw from your parents' lives for Elyria?

Deepa Purohit: I wanted to create characters in a world that embodies the many pathways my parents traveled. Their trajectory really started with my grandparents going from their hometowns in India to Africa. My parents were both born in East African countries; they moved together to London when my dad saw an opportunity to further his studies to become a doctor. Then they migrated to America when new opportunities opened up with the 1965 Immigration Act. My parents eventually settled in Ohio where my dad founded his practice.

Raymond: The Midwest is often mischaracterized as all white. But Elyria, Ohio is quite diverse.

Purohit: The media paints small-town America as monochromatic but immigrants are everywhere across this country, even in very rural places. Elyria definitely had a white majority and was very segregated, but there were a lot of immigrants from South Asia and also Black folks. Because of familiarity with food, religion, customs, language and culture, my family migrated to this specific Gujarati community in the town. It's really like a village within a village. My parents held Gujarati folk dance events, called garbas, every year. This play is about that insular Guajarati world.

Raymond: Sanjit, what's it like performing in a play written by your wife?

Sanjit De Silva: Deepa and I have cowritten plays together but this is the first time that I've acted in a play written solely by her. Even if I wasn't married to her, I would still be fighting to get in the room to be in this play because she has written such amazing roles. The play is very much the story of America—every small city needed an influx of immigrants to help keep it alive. The story of the migrations, in terms of the South Asian diaspora, is also the story of my family. I grew up in Sri Lanka and then we went to Uganda and then Kenya. As a South Asian actor who has been doing this for 20 years, this is only the second time that I've played a South Asian character on stage. It feels very natural to be in this play.

Raymond: What can you tell us about Shiv, the character you play in Elyria?

De Silva: Shiv grew up in Mombasa, Kenya. He's a sort of hustler businessman and married to one of the main characters. He's the kind of person who comes to a new country with this desire to do whatever he can to get ahead. I think about my uncle Frank who had multiple kinds of jobs—maybe some of them were a little sketchy—but he had integrity and principles. He was larger than life, a family man with a huge heart. The immigrant experience is about surviving. You have to pick up your life and move one, two, three, four times and, each time, you have to find yourself again. For me, this character is a homage to that side of my family.

Raymond: Awoye, your friendship with Deepa and Sanjit goes way back and it seems like you are kind of family, too.

Awoye Timpo: It was actually Sanjit who introduced me to Deepa about 10 years ago, and my pathway to Elyria goes back to when we first met. What is so beautiful is there are so many connection points between my story and Deepa's, and it all developed into this incredible friendship that kept colliding with the world of making art together. I had worked at the Atlantic before [The Homecoming Queen] and they were just completely blown away by this incredible piece by Deepa. All these stars started to align.

Purohit: I saw Awoye's production of Carnaval by Nikkole Salter, another friend of all of ours, at the National Black Theatre in 2014 and I looked at Sanjit and said, "I need to meet this director." She has this remarkable vision, an ability to create worlds and amass wonderful creative people on a team. Now I get to experience it firsthand. I started writing Elyria in 2017 and Ma-Yi Theater Company was instrumental in providing a few workshops. But, once the pandemic hit, everything got put on hold. I had just graduated with my MFA in playwrighting from Brooklyn College in 2020 so I was not going to buy into theatre being over. I'd spent two years trying to up my game in middle age, so I kept revising my play. When Awoye asked me for some plays, I was really glad that I had worked on Elyria during that time.

Timpo: We are always learning exciting things about each other. Deepa and I come from families where there are three daughters. My family is from Ghana and they also lived in London for a little bit. We ended up in this small town in the middle of New Jersey. Her dad worked at a hospital in Elyria; my dad worked at a hospital at Princeton. What brings people to a place that is kind of unexpected? How do you raise your children [of color] in an otherwise white suburban town? What do you have to do to ensure they can survive there? When we began our process, Deepa gave us an invitation to bring our ancestors into the room. I think this recent movement to produce plays by artists of color is actually allowing us as artists to honor the people who allowed us to have this life and this possibility.

Raymond: Did this production grow out of the work you've done with your own theatre companies, Deepa with Rising Circle Theater Collective and Awoye with Classix?

Timpo: Over the past decade, we as a trio have been in constant conversation about what we dream about creating in the theatre. The mission with Classix is to explode the classical cannon through an exploration of works by Black writers. I think that connects to the play that we are making together here. It is exciting to think how Deepa drew inspiration for Elyria from The Little Clay Cart [a seminal 5th-century play from India]. The roots of Sanskrit drama are embedded in this contemporary play. So much of the work that we do at Classix is about how we look back in order to move forward. At the end of the day, that's what our work in Elyria is—looking back and getting strength and inspiration from those ancestral voices, and thinking about how to manifest that into the future.

Purohit: I wouldn't have been able to articulate it this way then, but I can say in retrospect that, with Rising Circle, which I started with a friend in 2000, I was interested in taking the whiteness of theatre out of the equation to be able to see what we have. You're left with people from different communities—that you might define as people of color—who are very, very different, and yet bound by some similarities. What if we were to work with each other without navigating the white majority artistic expression? That's a complicated and joyful discovery.

De Silva: I joined Rising Circle because there weren't stories that were being written for us and we had to figure it out ourselves. It is amazing that, 23 years later, Deepa's play about a specific community is being produced at a major Off-Broadway institution and directed by another first-gen immigrant. We are finally manifesting those dreams of telling these stories.

Purohit: It circles back, Gerard, to your first question about my Mom and Dad. They put on an event every year to bring a community of people together to dance. So, even though doing a production like this isn't a garba, it's that essence of building a community of people around artistic expression. I would have never imagined that we'd be doing Gujarati folk dances on a New York stage!

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Elyria. Go here to browse all theatre, dance and music offers.

Gerard Raymond is an arts journalist based in New York City who's a member of the Drama Desk and the American Theatre Critics Association.

Top image: Nilanjana Bose and Gulshan Mia in Elyria. Photo by Ahron R. Foster.

Join TDF for a 'Dark Disabled Stories' TDF Conversation - Playwright-performer Ryan J. Haddad and his costars discuss their new play at The Public Theater

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Playwright-performer Ryan J. Haddad and his costars discuss their new play at The Public Theater

Ryan J. Haddad isn't afraid to go there... or anywhere, really. In no-holds-barred solo shows like Hi, Are You Single?, he's mined his life as a horny gay man with cerebral palsy for entertainment and insight. With Dark Disabled Stories, which is produced by The Bushwick Starr and presented by The Public Theater, he expands his lens, inviting two other performers, Deaf actor Dickie Hearts and disabled actor Alejandra Ospina, to share the spotlight and, at times, their own anecdotes. It's a landmark moment in theatre, both in terms of disability representation on stage and making the show accessible to disabled audiences. ASL interpretation, open captions and audio description are integrated into the production and provided at every performance, and discount tickets are available to members of the Deaf and disabled community with the promo code AccessDDS. Join us on Friday, February 24 at 3 p.m. ET on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel as we bring these three artists and activists together to talk about the challenges of navigating a world not built for them, what they hope audiences will take away from the show and what they wish every arts organization would do to truly make theatre accessible to all. Captions will be available.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend February 24-26 - See Keith David, Obie winner Dael Orlandersmith, the Mint Theater Company and more

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Even though in-person theatre and dance are back in full swing, in the name of accessibility, we're continuing to round up performances to watch online from the comfort of home. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best options to stream this weekend, Friday, February 24 to Sunday, February 26, for free or at low cost.

Until the Flood

Streaming for FREE

All Arts presents Dael Orlandersmith's searing solo show Until the Flood, about the 2014 killing of Black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Inspired by real-life interviews Orlandersmith conducted with people from the community, the show features eight disparate characters struggling to come to terms with what happened and its aftermath. This performance was recorded in 2018 during the play's critically acclaimed run at Rattlestick Theater.

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Theater of War Productions: The Frederick Douglass Project

Streaming for FREE

Earlier this month, Theater of War Productions, a company that uses classical texts to examine contemporary issues, presented Tony-nominated actor Keith David (Jelly's Last Jam, Nope) reading an iconic Frederick Douglass speech from 1883, followed by a guided audience discussion aimed at fostering compassion and action. Now you can watch a recording of this powerful and illuminating experience. David's passion for Douglass—he's given voice to the great emancipator, abolitionist, writer and orator in three different documentaries and starred in a one-man bio show—make this a must-see.

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Mint Theater Company: Philip Goes Forth

Streaming until Sunday, March 18 for FREE
Mint Theater Company, which has been unearthing forgotten plays since 1992, presents a recording of Philip Goes Forth by George Kelly. After winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1926 for Craig's Wife, the playwright-director had a string of flops, but the failure of Philip Goes Forth particularly stung. But when the Mint revived the dramedy in 2013 after 82 years of obscurity, critics hailed it as a misunderstood gem. It's the story of an aspiring playwright who turns his back on his father and the family business to pursue his dream. There's only one problem: he's talentless. Closed captions are available.

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Hamlet Starring Maxine Peake

Streaming for FREE

All Arts presents British stage star Maxine Peake as the morose Danish prince in Hamlet. Produced by the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England and filmed live on stage in 2014, this critically acclaimed and contemporary take on Shakespeare's tragedy was directed by Sarah Frankcom.

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FRIGID Fringe Festival

Select shows live-streaming throughout the weekend at a sliding scale

FRIGID's 17th annual Fringe fest continues with 25 offbeat offerings at two East Village theatres through Sunday, March 5. If you can't make it in person, most of the shows are being live-streamed, including A Scar Is Born (Friday), Running Scared (Friday and Sunday) and As I Eat the World (Saturday and Sunday). It's worth browsing the eclectic lineup to see what piques your interest.

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Keith David, who performs in Theater of War Productions' The Frederick Douglass Project.

13 New Musicals to See Beyond Broadway This Spring - See Michael R. Jackson's new musical satire, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara and more

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

See Michael R. Jackson's new musical satire, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara and more

New York City Center Encores!

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West

Just as it does every spring, Encores! presents three revivals of undersung musicals featuring big stars, barely there sets and a glorious on-stage orchestra. This season's lineup is:

Dear World - March 15-19
Jerry Herman's musicalization of The Madwoman of Chaillot only played six months on Broadway, but it earned Angela Lansbury one of her six Tony Awards. For this mounting, two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy plays outré heroine Countess Aurelia, who works with her neighbors to stop opportunists from destroying their Parisienne community.
Oliver! - May 3-14
It's hard to believe that Lionel Bart's beloved musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist hasn't been seen in NYC in almost four decades! Lear deBessonet, who directed the recent revival of Into the Woods, helms this production, which stars Broadway favorites Lilli Cooper, Raúl Esparza, Tam Mutu, Brad Oscar and Mary Testa.
The Light in the Piazza - June 21-25
Adam Guettel's enthralling musicalization of Elizabeth Spencer's novel won a slew of Tony Awards in 2006. For this mounting, Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles stars as a melancholy American mother in the 1950s, who takes her grown daughter on a life-changing trip to Florence.

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J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company

Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West

Like Encores!, J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company revives rarely performed musicals, though admittedly with smaller budgets. This season's lineup is:

Woman of the Year - April 13-May 23
A hit 40 years ago, John Kander and Fred Ebb's musicalization of the old Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn battle-of-the-sexes romance features the earworms "Sometimes a Day Goes By" and "The Grass Is Always Greener."

Sugar - April 27-May 7
In a brilliant bit of synergy, J2 presents Sugar, aka the original musicalization of the screwball comedy Some Like It Hot written by Funny Girl collaborators Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. A geat way to see how it stacks up against Broadway's current Some Like It Hot.

The Goodbye Girl - May 11-21
Marvin Hamlisch and David Zippel wrote the songs for this musicalization of Neil Simon's movie comedy about the unexpected romance between two unwitting NYC roommates: a single mom and a brash actor who shows up with a key to her apartment.

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Top image: Kelli O'Hara, who's starring in a musical adaptation of Days of Wine and Roses at Atlantic Theater Company.

Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

TDF MEMBERS: Log in to your account to browse all our theatre and dance offers.

After recent mountings in New Jersey and Off-Off Broadway, Eric Bogosian's 1+1 settles in for a four-week run at Soho Playhouse. The one-act centers on a Hollywood starlet who gets seduced by the lucrative world of Internet porn and ends up a pawn between two men. A slippery examination of debauchery and blame.

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Target Margin Theater: Pericles - begins February 25

Target Margin Theater, 232 52nd Street between the Belt Parkway and Second Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn

Begins February 25. Closes March 26.

Proof of vaccination and masks are required.

The always innovative Target Margin Theater presents a rare revival of Pericles, a rollicking adventure by Shakespeare and company—the authorship continues to be in dispute. But there are definitely marks of the Bard in the poetry and this production leans into the fantastical elements of the epic.

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Andrew Block is an Ovation Award-winning director who hails from New Orleans and now works primarily with the vibrant NYC independent theatre community. He also serves as TDF's Manager of Off & Off-Off Broadway Services.

TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.

Top image: Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre presents Audience through February 19 at La MaMa. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend February 10-12 - See dance from New Zealand, 'The Boy with Two Hearts,' Michael Urie and more

How Do You Transform Photos Into a Broadway Play? - Playwright Sharr White on his starry adaptation of Larry Sultan's photo memoir 'Pictures From Home'

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Playwright Sharr White on his starry adaptation of Larry Sultan's photo memoir Pictures From Home

When Sharr White attended a retrospective of Larry Sultan's photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2015, he immediately knew the images needed to be on stage. He was particularly taken with Sultan's critically acclaimed 1992 photo memoir Pictures From Home, a mix of childhood snapshots and a decade of staged photographs of his aging parents exploring suburban domesticity and aspirational living in California's San Fernando Valley.

White was mesmerized by a photo of Sultan's father Irving, sitting on a bed in a blue business suit with a projection of text from the book above it. "It was this really intense discussion between Larry and Irving about ownership of the [photograph]—'Whose truth is it? It's your picture, but my image,'" White recalls. "I just wanted to know everything about their relationship."

White has a knack for attracting celebrated theatre actors for his plays—Laurie Metcalf in The Other Place, Mary-Louise Parker in The Snow Geese, Edie Falco in The True. Pictures From Home continues his streak, with Danny Burstein as shutterbug Larry Sultan, and Nathan Lane and Zoë Wanamaker as Irving and Jean, his parents and muses. The intermissionless, 100-minute drama chronicles the making of the book of the same name, as projections of its brightly colored photographs saturate Michael Yeargan's set, a replica of the Sultans' living room complete with avocado green walls and a palm leaf sofa. The memory play probes the behind-the-scenes tensions as Sultan poses his parents but also candidly captures tender moments of them readying for work or grilling in the backyard.

A photo memoir is certainly unusual source material for a play, and merging the mediums proved challenging. "I knew that somehow this was a play, but I was stuck in the how of it," acknowledges White. To start, White got in touch with Sultan's widow, and over dinner and Negronis, she gave the playwright her blessing to explore her late husband's life and work.

Sultan's Pictures From Home took about 10 years to complete. White's theatricalization of it took the better part of a decade. "There's something incredibly meta about the whole thing," he says with a laugh, describing how he pored over the book, the outtakes, the contact sheets, diary entries and even interviewed Sultan's close friends. The challenges of the project and the pandemic made White contemplate giving up for a bit, but he persevered.

In the play, the character of Larry Sultan admits he isn't sure anyone will publish or buy his photo memoir, but he feels compelled to complete it. White felt similarly about his play. "I was doing it to scratch some itch and I thought, if this gets done anywhere, then I'll be happy."

At that point, White didn't know Pictures From Home would end up on Broadway with such a legendary cast. But once his agent started sending out feelers, it happened remarkably quickly. Lead producer Jeffrey Richards received the script on a Friday and by Monday he was on board and going after Nathan Lane to play Sultan's dad. After a few developmental readings, the show is now having its world premiere at Studio 54 directed by Bartlett Sher.

White credits the cast and Sher for helping him successfully translate the story from the page to the stage. "It's very fluid through space and time and emotion and scenes—and that fluidity is absolutely a challenge," concedes White. But Sher turned every obstacle into an opportunity to investigate. "I think there are a lot of directors who would just say, 'I can't make it work' rather than, 'Let's explore exactly what this means,'" says White, noting that his play is an extension of the book's examination of parent-child relationships, immortality and art. Sultan believed that "staging a photograph can expose the truth, that fiction can expose the truth," says White. "There's something sort of deeply layered about all of us being involved in this process."

The tug-of-war between Larry and Irving about the portrayal of Jean in photographs is especially compelling. "It's an Oedipal struggle between an older male animal and a younger male animal over ownership of the female animal," White explains. "There's a really profound undercurrent of struggle for narrative [in the book], which I think is really animal and really complicated, because they deeply love each other."

The original book was Sultan's attempt to give his parents eternal life, and the play furthers that objective by resurrecting them. "On some magical thinking level, Larry did succeed in stopping time, you know?" says White. "There's a kind of immortality—and now they all get to live again. I think that's super bittersweet."

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Allison Considine is a digital editor at MasterClass. Follow her at @theatric_ally. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Pictures From Home. Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.

Top image: Danny Burstein, Nathan Lane and Zoë Wanamaker in Pictures From Home. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

WATCH: A 'Beautiful Noise' TDF Conversation - Mark Jacoby and Linda Powell on costarring in the Neil Diamond musical on Broadway

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Mark Jacoby and Linda Powell on costarring in the Neil Diamond musical on Broadway

For a musical about a massively popular singer-songwriter, A Beautiful Noise starts with a surprise: silence. It's a striking moment, and Mark Jacoby, who plays Neil Diamond now, and Linda Powell, who portrays his therapist, enjoy setting the tone for this bio show about a music legend looking back on his past while trying to forge a healthier future. We brought these castmates together for an intimate chat about the power of singing along (even from the sidelines), the magic of quick changes and their best Neil Diamond stories. If you weren't able to tune in live you can watch a recording below. Captions are available.

Watch all of our TDF Conversations

A Beautiful Noise tickets are frequently available at our TKTS by TDF Discount Booths.

Top image: Mark Jacoby and Linda Powell.

Join TDF for a 'Beautiful Noise' Conversation - Mark Jacoby and Linda Powell on costarring in the Neil Diamond musical on Broadway

Sun, 05 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Mark Jacoby and Linda Powell on costarring in the Neil Diamond musical on Broadway

For a musical about a massively popular singer-songwriter, A Beautiful Noise starts with a surprise: silence. It's a striking moment, and Mark Jacoby, who plays Neil Diamond now, and Linda Powell, who portrays his therapist, enjoy setting the tone for this bio show about a music legend looking back on his past while trying to forge a healthier future. Join TDF this Wednesday, February 8 at 1 p.m. ET on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel as we bring these castmates together for an intimate chat about the power of singing along (even from the sidelines), the magic of quick changes and their best Neil Diamond stories. Captions will be available.

A Beautiful Noise tickets are frequently available at our TKTS by TDF Discount Booths.

Top image: Mark Jacoby and Linda Powell.

16 Shows to See Off Broadway in February - Catch Oscar Isaac, Parker Posey, Kara Young, a new Suzan-Lori Parks' musical and more

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in the East Village

Previews begin February 28. Opens March 9. Closes March 26.

Masks are required at Tuesday evening and weekend matinee performances only.

Hilarious, no-holds-barred playwright and performer Ryan J. Haddad (Hi, Are You Single?, The Politician on Netflix) is behind Dark Disabled Stories, an autobiographical dark comedy about the crap he's forced to put up with in a world not built for his walker and cerebral palsy. Jordan Fein directs this amusing and infuriating exploration of ableism. Note: If you're feeling lucky, try entering the digital lottery to win free tickets to the first preview on Tuesday, February 28. Details are on The Public's site.

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.

Top image: Kara Young and Christina Sajous in Classical Theatre of Harlem's Twelfth Night, which is having an encore run at NYU Skirball this month. Photo by Richard Termine.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend February 3-5 - See 'Between Riverside and Crazy,' Tony nominee John-Andrew Morrison and more

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Join TDF for a Conversation with Anthony Rapp About 'Without You' - The 'Rent' star discusses his new musical memoir with his longtime musical director

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

The Rent star discusses his new musical memoir with his longtime musical director Daniel A. Weiss

Despite decades of success on stage and screen, Anthony Rapp will always be documentarian Mark Cohen to Rent-heads. And he gets it—Jonathan Larson's rock opera changed the lives of myriad musical theatre-loving youths, including his. In his new solo musical memoir Without You, Rapp recounts his journey with the show and how his breakout role was tempered by loss, including the sudden death of Rent creator Jonathan Larson and the slow demise of his mother. Join TDF this Wednesday, January 25 at 1 p.m. ET on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel as we celebrate the opening night of Without You with a moving conversation between Rapp and his musical director Daniel A. Weiss, who also got his start on Rent. Captions will be available.

Top image: Daniel A. Weiss and Anthony Rapp. Photo courtesy of the artists.

WATCH: A TDF Conversation About 'The Collaboration' - Krysta Rodriguez and Erik Jensen on costarring in this new Broadway play

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 14:23:22 -0500

Krysta Rodriguez and Erik Jensen on costarring in this new Broadway play

The real-life creative relationship between art superstars Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat is the focus of The Collaboration, but playwright Anthony McCarten adds two other pivotal characters to his canvas: famed Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger, who brings the legends together, and Basquiat's girlfriend Maya, who understands the troubled upstart better than anyone. Although the actors playing these parts, Erik Jensen and Krysta Rodriguez, don't share any scenes together, they have a lot in common offstage, including a passion for art, amusing anecdotes about their costars Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope, and harrowing health battles that changed their perspectives as people and performers. We brought these stage veterans together for a candid chat about collaborating on The Collaboration. If you weren't able to tune in live you can watch a recording below. Captions are available.

Watch all of our TDF Conversations

If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets to The Collaboration. The play is also frequently available at our TKTS by TDF Discount Booths.

Top image: Erik Jensen and Krysta Rodriguez.

15 Dance Performances to See This Winter in NYC - Catch New York City Ballet, thrilling companies at the Joyce and more

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Top image: New York City Ballet's Indiana Woodward, Taylor Stanley and company in Justin Peck's Everywhere We Go. Photo by Erin Baiano.

TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend January 20-22 - See the new musical 'Mandela,' Broadway's Jean Louisa Kelly in concert and more

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Even though in-person theatre and dance are back in full swing, in the name of accessibility, we're continuing to round up performances to watch online from the comfort of home. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best options to stream this weekend, Friday, January 20 to Sunday, January 22, for free or at low cost.

Young Vic: Mandela

Live-streaming Friday, January 20 at 2:30 p.m., and Saturday, January 21 at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET for £15, approximately $18.50

London's lauded Young Vic live-streams its current production of Mandela, a new bio-musical about the fearless anti-apartheid activist. Presented in partnership with Mandela's family and infused with South African rhythms, the show chronicles his incredible life as he rallies his countrymen to protest against racial segregation, endures 27 years in prison away from his wife and children, and inspires a global movement. Award-winning director Schele Williams helms the inspiring production. Audio description and captions are available.

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The Fire This Time Festival

Live-streaming Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21 at 7 p.m. ET for a suggested price of $20, but tickets are pay-what-you-wish

Since The Fire This Time Festival's founding in 2009, this annual event has helped launch the careers of a slew of superb Black playwrights, including two-time Tony nominee Dominique Morisseau. The fest's name is a nod to James Baldwin's seminal book The Fire Next Time, and its goal is to support the next generation of Black dramatists as they explore their ever-evolving culture. The signature event is its 10-Minute Annual Play Program featuring seven different shorts performed in person at the Kraine Theater that will also be live-streamed to at-home audiences. Toxic Black masculinity, the dangers of slacktivism and racism in technology are just a few of the subjects examined.

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Jean Louisa Kelly in Concert

Live-streaming Saturday, January 21 at 9:30 p.m. ET for $20

Jean Louisa Kelly may be best known for her work on TV (the sitcom Yes, Dear) and in film (Top Gun: Maverick), but she started her career on stage. In fact, she was in the original Broadway production of Into the Woods as a teen! This Saturday, she makes her New York cabaret debut at The Laurie Beechman Theater in a sold-out, one-night-only performance, but you can watch at home. Kelly will chronicle her life and career, interweaving stories about growing up in New England, starting out in New York and moving to Hollywood with songs from Gypsy, The Fantasticks, Next to Normal, Company and other musicals.

Top image: Norbert Leo Butz, who's starring in the new musical Cornelia Street at Atlantic Theater Company.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend January 13-16 - See live concerts by John Lloyd Young and Ann Hampton Callaway, the musical 'Jekyll & Hyde' and more

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Even though in-person theatre and dance are back in full swing, in the name of accessibility, we're continuing to round up performances to watch online from the comfort of home. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best options to stream this weekend, Friday, January 13 to Monday, January 16, for free or at low cost.

Live from 54 Below: John Lloyd Young: Broadway's Jersey Boy

Live-streaming Saturday, January 14 at 7 p.m. ET for $25

Jersey Boys Tony winner John Lloyd Young returns to 54 Below to croon a diverse array of tunes from the '50s and '60s, including hits by Roy Orbison, The Platters, the Righteous Brothers, Elvis, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney and The Four Seasons (natch). Streaming live from the cabaret club's swanky stage. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

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Live from 54 Below: Ann Hampton Callaway Sings Peggy Lee & the '70s

Live-streaming Sunday, January 15 at 7 p.m. ET for $25

In this intimate concert, Tony nominee Ann Hampton Callaway pays tribute to one of the greatest vocalists of all time: Miss Peggy Lee. The acclaimed jazz singer celebrates this trailblazing artist who gave the world "Fever" throughout her six-decade career, from her Big Band days to her movie performances to her lauded recordings. In addition, Callaway will croon tunes by '70s icons such as Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel and John Lennon. Streaming live from 54 Below's swanky stage. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

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PBS Great Performances: Sutton Foster in Anything Goes

Streaming until Tuesday, January 31 for FREE

PBS Great Performances presents Sutton Foster in P.G. Wodehouse and Cole Porter's effervescent musical comedy Anything Goes, which was recorded live on stage in London in 2021. After winning a 2011 Tony Award for her brassy performance as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney in director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall's critically acclaimed revival of this classic, Foster reprised the role on the West End opposite Tony winner Robert Lindsay, Felicity Kendal and Gary Wilmot. Marshall again oversaw this zany tale of romance and intrigue on the high seas featuring iconic songs including "I Get a Kick Out of You," "You're the Top" and the title tune.

Multiple venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn

January 4-22. At press time, several Under the Radar Festival shows were available. Log in and search for Under the Radar.

Masks and/or proof of vaccination are required for some performances. Check the safety protocols for each venue on The Public Theater's website.

The Public Theater's legendary Under the Radar Festival returns in person for the first time since 2020, and it's bigger and longer than ever: 19 days of performances at six venues featuring artists from nine countries. Of the 14 full productions, we are particularly excited about Yngvild Aspeli's eye-popping adaptation of Moby Dick (January 12-14 at NYU Skirball), featuring live actors alongside 50 puppets, including a massive whale; A Thousand Ways (Part Three): An Assembly (January 4-22 at the NYPL Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library), the final installment of 600 HIGHWAYMEN's interactive triptych, which brings an intimate audience of strangers together to devise a theatrical experience; Field of Mars (January 19-29 at NYU Skirball), a time-hopping new play from groundbreaking experimental theatre auteur Richard Maxwell; seven methods of killing kylie jenner (January 10-22 at The Public Theater), a dark comedy exploring Blackness, queerness and the morass of social media; Obie-winning solo artist Roger Guenveur Smith's new monologue inspired by the life of Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank (January 12-22 at The Public Theater); and Rachel Mars' tantalizingly titled Your Sexts Are Shit: Older Better Letters (January 11-15 at The Public Theater). In addition, there are eight works in progress, a symposium and eclectic performances at Joe's Pub, including Salty Brine's Bigmouth Strikes Again: The Smiths Show (January 12-20), a musical mash-up of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and The Smiths' album The Queen is Dead, and Migguel Anggelo's cabaret of self-acceptance LatinXOXO (January 12-17). Definitely peruse the entire schedule to see what piques your interest—there's a lot to choose from!

See the full Under the Radar Festival lineup.

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The Exponential Festival

Multiple venues in Brooklyn

January 4-February 8

Masks and/or proof of vaccination are required for some performances. Check each theatre's individual safety protocols for more information.

Founded in 2016, The Exponential Festival is, like its home borough of Brooklyn, impressively eclectic. With 19 performances at five brick-and-mortar venues as well as on YouTube, this cornucopia of quirk has an anything-goes vibe that ranges from highbrow (Das Sofortvergnugen (The Instant Pleasure) (January 26-February 4 at Life World), a dance-theatre piece about insatiable desires and instant gratification; Presentation on colonialism (January 26-29 at Brick Aux), which covers 1.3 million years of horrifying history), to whoa-brow (the provocatively titled Mx. Piggy Makes an OnlyFans (February 2-4 at We Are Here) and (untitled human composting play) (January 19-21 at Brick Aux). If you like your weird award-winning, check out Joey Merlo's one-man meditation on camp and identity On Set with Theda Bara (February 1-8 at The Brick), which stars six-time Obie-winning indie theatre darling David Greenspan.

See the full Exponential Festival lineup.

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Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival

Multiple venues in Manhattan

January 9-31

Masks and/or proof of vaccination are required for some performances. Check each theatre's individual safety protocols for more information.

Shows, screenings and special events are all on tap at the 15th annual Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival, which showcases works by contemporary Irish dramatists. Highlights include a new mounting of Samuel Beckett's Endgame (January 25-March 12 at Irish Repertory Theatre) starring Tony winner Bill Irwin and John Douglas Thompson; Frankenstein's Monster is Drunk and the Sheep Have All Jumped the Fences (January 11-28 at 59E59th Theaters), about the creature's unexpected love life; and Kim Kalish's tragicomic solo show The Funny Thing About Death (January 20-29 at The Cell Theatre), which was a hit at last summer's Edinburgh Fringe.

See the full Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival lineup.

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Prototype Festival

Multiple venues in Manhattan

January 15-15

Masks and/or proof of vaccination are required for some performances. Check each theatre's individual safety protocols for more information.

After two years of darkness due to the pandemic, Prototype celebrates its 10th anniversary with seven new operas, none of which you'd catch at the Met (yet), though two previous titles, Angel’s Bone and Prism, did snag the Pulitzer Prize for Music. The themes, music genres and short-attention-span lengths are decidedly contemporary and push the boundaries of the genre. Du Yun (one of the aforementioned Pulitzer winners) returns with In Our Daughter’s Eyes (January 5-15 at Baruch Performing Arts Center), a chamber opera about a new dad created for beloved baritone Nathan Gunn; the harrowing double bill Mary Motorhead, centering on a convicted murderer, and Trade, about a young male hustler (January 3-14 at Abrons Arts Center); [morning//mourning] (January 6-22 at HERE), chronicling the post-human evolution of Earth; and Undine (streaming online January 5-15), about a mermaid with an addiction to plastic. Madama Butterfly who?

See the full Protoype Festival lineup.

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The Fire This Time Festival

The Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue

January 16-29. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets to The Fire This Time Festival's 10-Minute Annual Play Program

Masks are required.

Since The Fire This Time Festival's founding in 2009, this annual event has helped launch the careers of a slew of superb Black playwrights, including Dominique Morisseau, Jocelyn Bioh, Antoinette Nwandu, Roger Q. Mason, C.A. Johnson, Charly Evon Simpson and Marcus Gardley. The fest's name is a nod to James Baldwin's seminal book The Fire Next Time, and its goal is to support the next generation of Black dramatists as they explore their ever-evolving culture. The signature event is its 10-Minute Annual Play Program featuring seven different shorts tackling more hot-button topics than your Twitter feed, including toxic Black masculinity, the dangers of slacktivism and racism in technology. Goldie E. Patrick directs the playlets.

See the full Fire This Time Festival lineup.

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Moby Dick at the Under the Radar Festival. Photo by Christophe Raynaud de Lage.

TDF Members: Go here to browse our latest discounts for theatre, dance and concerts.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend January 6-8 - See Willem Dafoe, James Earl Jones, a new Broadway documentary and more

Why Stephen McKinley Henderson Keeps Returning to 'Between Riverside and Crazy' - The Tony nominee on reprising his performance in the Broadway mounting of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The Tony nominee talks about reprising his award-winning performance in the Broadway mounting of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play

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Considering it's the holidays, it's fitting that Stephen McKinley Henderson calls his role as Pops in Stephen Adly Guirgis' Between Riverside and Crazy one of the best presents he's ever received. "I'm very grateful to Stephen for writing a play that I could start out eating apple pie and drinking bourbon in a wheelchair, you know what I'm saying?" he says with a charming chuckle. "It's quite a gift."

It's also Henderson's first leading role on Broadway after a half century of being a sought-after character actor on stage. Guirgis actually began writing Between Riverside and Crazy with Henderson in mind back in 2011. "Stephen said, 'Man, I got this play for you,'" Henderson, now 73, recalls. "But I had just had one hip replaced. So I said, 'Man, you got to do this quick because I don't know how long I got on stage.' Since then, I've had the other hip replaced and done Broadway a couple of times!"

In 2014, Between Riverside and Crazy had its world premiere at Atlantic Theater Company and received rapturous reviews. The next year the hilarious, profanity-laden and thought-provoking tale had an encore run at Second Stage Theater and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, among other awards. Henderson was a marvel at the center of both productions as a curmudgeonly-cuddly ex-cop widower holding court in his palatial, rent-controlled, Riverside Drive apartment as his ex-con son Junior, Junior's ditzy girlfriend (Rosal Colón), a sultry church lady (Liza Colón-Zayas), his ex-partner (Elizabeth Canavan) and other eclectic characters angle to get what they need from Pops, whether that's love, money, a place to crash or a lawsuit dropped.

Now Between Riverside and Crazy is having its belated Broadway debut at the Hayes Theater courtesy of Second Stage Theater, and the whole cast is back together again under Austin Pendleton's meticulous direction, save for the new addition of rapper-actor Common as Junior. According to Henderson, Common fit right in to this makeshift family. "He's just such a beautiful person," he says. "It was easy to open our arms to him. One prayer circle and we knew he was home."

Henderson did not originally intend to become an actor. He started out studying math and political science at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri before winning a spot in The Juilliard School's inaugural drama group, which included Patti LuPone and Kevin Kline. Ultimately, he finished his BFA in acting at North Carolina School of the Arts. "At first, I was glad to be in the math thing, X equals a number, you know? It was really wonderful to have that kind of purity," he says. "In the arts, things are far more subjective than that. Art, like life, is a lot messier."

While he has performed on stages all over the country and spent 30 years teaching acting at SUNY Buffalo and other institutions, Henderson is best known to theatre lovers as a a superb interpreter of August Wilson's poetic work, appearing in three of his plays on Broadway (King Hedley II, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and his Tony-nominated turn in Fences) and more beyond. Over the past decade, he's become increasingly busy on screen, too, with notable roles such as human computer Thufir Hawat in Dune, an empathetic priest/drama teacher in Lady Bird and Jim Bono in the movie adaptation of Fences opposite his Broadway costars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.

Because of his schedule, Henderson admits he was initially hesitant about returning to Between Riverside and Crazy. "I've got three grandchildren and you have to miss a lot of things being an actor on Broadway," he says. "Also, the play was such a wonderful experience Off Broadway and I didn't want to diminish the memory of it. But both my son and my wife said, 'Nah, nah, you go on and do that.' And I'm glad I did because Stephen wrote such a wonderful play."

It's also a play that has deepened in resonance since its debut, examining issues of racism, police brutality, income inequality, incarceration and addiction in entertaining and enlightening ways. There are even jokes about Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani that land completely differently today, which is why Guirgis expressly sets it in 2014, the year it premiered.

"Stephen didn't update the script in any way except to say it's 2014," says Henderson. "But we all walk around with the knowledge of what we've lived through." Yet, less has changed than we think; unspoken truths have just bubbled to the surface. "You know, that thing in Ferguson, Missouri happened during the first run of the show," notes Henderson, referring to the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teen, by a white police officer, an incident that helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement. "We've always been aware of the profundity of the issues that Stephen has in the play."

As the characters reveal their ulterior motives, you can feel the audience's allegiance shifting. "Stephen massively threads the needle and lets you see the complications involved in the personal stories that we're telling," Henderson says. "Some audiences really want to laugh, but other people really love the drama and conflict. It's masterful."

As of now, Henderson doesn't have any other stage performances planned after Between Riverside and Crazy, though he'll be seen in three movies in 2023, including Dune: Part Two and Beau Is Afraid opposite his Juilliard classmate Patti LuPone. He's also mulling over writing a memoir. "My son tells me, 'Stop talking so much in interviews, Dad! Save some for the book," he says, laughing. "I do want to sit down and go through the boxes in the basement of the things that I've saved. I'll pick up a piece of paper and it reminds me of something, and I'll pick up a program from a regional theatre and remember back in the day, working throughout the country. There're so many people who helped me get to this place"—top billing on Broadway, at long last.

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Between Riverside and Crazy . Go here to browse all theatre, dance and music offers.

Between Riverside and Crazy is also frequently available at the TKTS Booths. It will also be live-streamed from Broadway January 31 to February 12, 2023.

Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Stephen McKinley Henderson in Between Riverside and Crazy on Broadway. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Streaming for $10 indefinitely

In 2020, London's lauded National Theatre launched its own streaming service featuring professional recordings of its stage productions. While you can buy a subscription, shows are also available to rent individually for 72 hours. New to the roster is All of Us, an exploration of the challenges people with disabilities face by Francesca Martinez, who has cerebral palsy. Inspired by real-life stories, the critically acclaimed play centers on Jess (Martinez), a therapist who cares for others, even though she isn't receiving the care she needs in a system with little support. When the life she's painstakingly built is threatened by government cuts, she takes a stand to protect herself and her community. All of Us costs $10 and captions are available. It's just one of many fantastic National Theatre shows you can stream, so be sure to browse the entire list.

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Patti LuPone, who's live-streaming a concert from 54 Below on New Year's Day.

Musical Theatre Was the Best Gift My Mother Ever Gave Me - How a Broadway birthday tradition shaped my life

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

How a Broadway birthday tradition shaped my life

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They say a mother always knows.

Even before a boy comes to realize he is "that way," it will be evident to his mother that he is destined to live his life as part of that special class of humanity: A lover of musical theatre.

My own mother sensed this future for me and, thanks to the theatre gods, did not have to look long for the vehicle to introduce me to the art form. A musical about a boy roughly my age was running on Broadway: the original production of Lionel Bart's Oliver! I had no idea what was in store for me on my 10th birthday. From our perch in the upper balcony, I beheld a panoply of characters, singing and dancing to one of theatre's most tuneful scores, on a wondrous set that was always in motion. I had only a vague sense of the story, but the sounds of laughter and applause were electrifying—I wanted them for myself. After our outing, my parents bought me the original cast album, which I played repeatedly.

The year between birthdays became a bit more bearable knowing I'd be seeing another musical at the end of it. The really popular shows, like Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl and Hello, Dolly!, sold out months in advance, and my mother may have thought I wasn't yet mature enough for "adult" material. But Baker Street was based on the Sherlock Holmes stories and, like Oliver!, had a chorus of ragamuffins: the Baker Street Irregulars. Fritz Weaver as Holmes, Inga Swenson as Irene Adler and Martin Gabel as Professor Moriarty are actors I appreciate now but who were unfamiliar to the 11-year-old me. The score wasn't memorable, nor did the visuals make much of an impression. But my strongest memory of Baker Street is of wanting to go back into the theatre to see it again.

With advance planning, my mother was able to secure tickets to Fiddler for my 12th birthday. She prepared me for the serious aspects of the show, believing I was ready for more advanced themes. But something important had happened the summer before—I had been in a show myself. Initially, I was cast just as one of the ballplayers in my summer camp's production of Damn Yankees, but 10 days before the premiere at parents' weekend, our Mr. Applegate got sick and had to go home. I was promoted from the ranks and delivered the goods, including a showstopping rendition of "Those Were the Good Old Days." Soon I started drama lessons and, as I sat in the audience at Fiddler, I experienced the dual perspective of spectator and player. Not knowing who Herschel Bernardi was, I felt no disappointment when his understudy, Harry Goz, played Tevye for our performance. Since that day, I have tempered my disappointment at not seeing a scheduled performer with the anticipation of seeing someone seize an opportunity, just as I had at summer camp. (I also demanded a crash course in bar mitzvah training, something my agnostic mother hadn't bargained on. My haftorah recitation was another showstopper.)

Man of La Mancha was next. However, my birthday was in October and tickets were not available until February. So began a new tradition: celebrating the milestone on a day other than my actual birth date. My mother could get only one ticket, so I saw the show by myself and discussed it with her afterward. The original Cervantes/Don Quixote, Richard Kiley, had been replaced by such notables as José Ferrer and John Cullum, but by the time I saw the show, David Atkinson was my Knight of the Woeful Countenance opposite Bernice Massi as Aldonza/Dulcinea. Irving Jacobson, the original Sancho Panza, was still in the cast, as was Robert Rounseville as The Padre. It was my first encounter with a thrust stage, and the drawbridge that was lowered and raised was awe-inspiring. What started four years earlier as a trip to the theatre on my birthday had metamorphosed into a communal cultural experience not necessarily tied to a specific date, or even shared simultaneously.

The late 1960s produced several fine musicals, but fewer per season than before, with more flops littering Shubert Alley, providing poster art for the restaurant Joe Allen, the newly opened Theatre District hangout still going strong today. 1968 was an especially good year for Joe Allen. Few musicals from the previous season survived the Actors' Equity strike and the summer doldrums. One that had, Hair, was deemed inappropriate for someone about to turn 14. The solution: a series of three piano recitals by Beveridge Webster commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of French composer Claude Debussy, one of my favorites. This introduced me to the concept of subscriptions, which would swallow a considerable portion of my income for many decades.

The challenge of 1969 was finding a show that neither my mother nor I had already seen. The obvious choice would have been 1776, but my mother (on my advice) had already gone, which freed me up to see it on my own. I had already taken in Hello, Dolly! with its all-Black cast (though without Pearl Bailey), as well as Promises, Promises. But an Off-Broadway musical called Promenade had created such a stir among the critics that we decided it was worth a visit. Written by experimental theatre pioneers María Irene Fornés and Al Carmines, it was a kind of theatre new to us both. However, we attended with open minds and were rewarded with a genuinely fun time, albeit without much comprehension.

If nothing else, Promenade paved the way for me to suspend my expectations about linear storytelling, which has served me well not only in theatre but in dance and the visual arts. I was thrilled to encounter Shannon Bolin, familiar from the original cast recording of Damn Yankees, as well as future favorites Alice Playten and George S. Irving. Madeline Kahn had already left the cast and was replaced by understudy Marie Santell. Unbeknownst to us, my father's brother, my Uncle Reuben, was dating Santell at the time. Tagging along to one of her voice lessons, my uncle met her teacher, Laura Thomas, who soon became my aunt.

I had already begun composing music when Company became my birthday show in 1970. I've previously written about my visceral reaction to this seminal work by Stephen Sondheim. Its form—a series of vignettes rather than a traditional story—grew out of its origin as a group of short plays by George Furth; but its confidence in construction and use of music and lyrics echoed the creativity I had seen in Promenade. With Company, I pivoted from wanting to be in musicals to wanting to write them. Soon I was contributing songs to my college musical revues. I even got as far as membership in the prestigious BMI Musical Theatre Workshop under the tutelage of the legendary Lehman Engel. This might well have been my mother's goal all along, though my life ultimately took a different turn.

My next birthday show had to wait until I returned for my first winter break from college. The opportunity to see a musical by Leonard Bernstein was too good to pass up, so a revival of On the Town was an easy choice. A cast particularly strong among the women—Phyllis Newman, Bernadette Peters and Donna McKechnie—along with Ron Husmann, Remak Ramsay and Jess Richards as the visiting sailors, promised a good time. So why was I so disappointed? Everything felt wrong. I had seen few revivals at that point, but enough to sense a distrust in the material among those responsible for this production. Everyone was working too hard, and the effort showed. To be fair, the world was in a different place than when the show premiered in 1944; a very different war colored our lives. And I was in a different place, too, from the vantage point of what I expected from the theatre. Thanks to the one-two punch of Company and Follies, everything I saw was filtered through the aesthetic of Stephen Sondheim—unfair, albeit understandable for a 17-year-old.

*****

There must have been something my mother felt at the theatre that she wanted me to experience as well. She never said anything specific about it. But after a lifetime of theatregoing, I have a sense of what that feeling might have been.

Born in 1919, a child of New York's Lower East Side tenements, her teenage years were colored by the Great Depression. The options for what she could be and who she could become were limited. She became a wife and mother, as so many women of her generation did, and an interior designer, more than many of her peers achieved.

But I grew to detect an aura of unfulfillment, something she never articulated in words but expressed in her moods. Focused on my own experiences during the birthday performances we attended together, I assumed her reactions were linked with my own. But she mentioned occasions when she and my father had attended the theatre and concerts when they were younger; and she would recall nights with her friend and business partner, Eleanor, when they would second act shows, joining the intermission crowd to sneak into the theatre and (usually) find some vacant seats.

Perhaps she glimpsed, and vicariously experienced, alternate life scenarios sitting in the dark; and perhaps, during our birthday excursions, she was projecting some of them onto me, encouraging me to consider options that had not been available to her.

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After On the Town, our birthday show tradition closed after an eight-year run. On the brink of adulthood, I made choices based on my own priorities, having nothing to do with my birthday or my mother. I did share a few more performances with her, notably A Chorus Line; a touring production of Gypsy with Angela Lansbury that came to Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts the year my parents moved to Virginia; and a riotous evening with The Flying Karamazov Brothers during one of her occasional visits to New York.

Theatre and concerts were rare for my mother in the last years of her life, while for me they became increasingly frequent; she would experience them through my descriptions. While most performances were not birthday celebrations, sharing some of them with her produced echoes of earlier times.

She died in 1991. For the past 30 years, whenever I can, I rekindle her memory by seeing a show on my birthday, and sharing it with her.

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Daniel Guss is a native New Yorker. During his career at RCA, he reissued over 1,000 compact discs, ranging from the recordings of such classical superstars as Arturo Toscanini, Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Rubinstein, Enrico Caruso, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Leontyne Price and James Galway, to classical music compilations and Broadway cast albums. He is now general manager of the Early Music Foundation.

Top image: The author's mother, photo courtesy of Daniel Guss.

TDF Members: Go here to browse our latest discounts for theatre, dance and concerts.

Drew Gehling Has Prepared His Whole Life for 'Almost Famous' - The 'Waitress' star shows off his comedic side as a preening rocker

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The Waitress star shows off his comedic side as a preening rocker

"Let's talk about musical adaptations of movies!" Drew Gehling exclaims, and why not? They have made up most of his recent stage career. In 2016, he originated the role of goofy ob-gyn Dr. Pomatter in Waitress on Broadway, followed by his turn as a reporter romancing a princess in Roman Holiday in San Francisco in 2017. The next year he was an accidental president in Dave in Washington, D.C. and in 2019 in San Diego, he transformed into a hilariously egotistical rocker for Almost Famous, which transferred to Broadway's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre earlier this fall.

After performing in a few musicals that petered out on the way to New York and surviving the 18-month pandemic-induced shutdown, Gehling is giddy to be back on Broadway, especially in a veritable crowd-pleaser. Based on Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical 2000 film and featuring both new and classic rock songs, Almost Famous follows a teenage music journalist (newcomer Casey Likes) as he goes on tour with Stillwater, a fictional up-and-coming band in 1973. Gehling is Jeff Bebe, the narcissistic front man. Considering Gehling was the lead singer of a ska band as a teen in Greensboro, North Carolina and alternated between rocking out and performing in his high school's musicals, you could say he's been preparing for Almost Famous his entire life.

Gehling vividly remembers the first time he saw the movie, when he was working at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2003. "It was the first time I ever heard 'Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,' which is now one of my favorite Elton John songs," he says. "It stuck with me because everything about the film represented the B-sides—songs that you didn't necessarily know immediately, but upon further research you really got to go deep into the essence of these bands."

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Jason Lee played Jeff Bebe in the film, a performance Gehling calls "brilliant... he's able to be such a misanthrope yet also deeply touching and human." However, like all the roles he's played on stage that were originated by other actors on screen, Gehling didn't want to do an impression or parody; he's putting his own stamp on the part. He says the movie "is a beautiful and wonderful thing that people have a lot of attachment to and a lot of love for, but it's not the same thing" as the musical. "They exist in completely different worlds and completely different ways and complement each other."

In both the movie and the musical (which features a book by Crowe and songs by Crowe and Tony winner Tom Kitt), Jeff is resentful that the sexy, brooding guitarist, Russell Hammond (Chris Wood) is becoming the face of the group. But while Lee made Jeff angry, Gehling leans into the lighter side of the character as he "peacocks around the stage like a fool." His '70s rocker look—outrageous outfits designed by David Zinn and a flowing wig created by Luc Verschueren—helped him find Jeff's essence. Gehling even named the wig—she's called Vanessa. "She's very temperamental," he jokes. "I'm jumping and moving constantly, so I spend half the show just pulling her out of my mouth. I put those boots and jeans on, and that wig goes on my head and the entire way I carry myself changes. Jeff is a person who leads with his hips and lets his hair flow in the breeze and is always aware that that's happening."

Even though Jeff and Russell have different goals for the band, they share history and chemistry. That camaraderie carried over to Gehling and Wood's relationship as they made music together in rehearsals. "We effectively existed as a band from the moment we started working," Gehling says, adding that one time, just for fun, they were singing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" (which underscores a scene in the movie), and Crowe liked it so much he put it in the show.

Although there are other classic tunes in the musical, including Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" and Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On," Gehling's favorite number to perform is new: "I Come at Night." It's a comedic scene, with the band acting crazy and cracking each other up. "That's one of those key moments in the show where we get to not only play a song that really kicks, we also get to goof around and be the idiots that we are," he says. Finally in Almost Famous, Gehling has found a character that, like him, is a rocker with a funny side.

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Almost Famous. Go here to browse all theatre, dance and music offers.

Almost Famous is also frequently available at the TKTS Booths.

Linda Buchwald tweets about theatre at @PataphysicalSci. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Drew Gehling.

WATCH: Our Favorite Clips from 'Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration' on ABC - Enjoy "Be Our Guest," "Gaston" and the title tune

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

No one belts like Gaston—at least when played by Broadway favorite Joshua Henry! That was one of our takeaways from watching Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration, which aired on ABC last night. Similar to The Little Mermaid Live! from 2019, this Beauty and the Beast broadcast interwove the classic animated movie with recreations of the film's iconic musical numbers starring real-life performers, including Josh Groban as the Beast, R&B singer H.E.R. as Belle, Martin Short as Lumiere and Henry as Gaston. If you missed it, you can stream it on ABC or Disney+. Or you can just watch clips of the big numbers below—Groban's Beast costume is jaw-dropping.

H.E.R. and Josh Groban as the title characters in Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration on ABC. Photo courtesy of Disney.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend December 16-18 - See Joe Iconis in concert, myriad 'Nutcrackers,' Megan Hilty and more

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

In-person shows have been back for over a year now, but sometimes we want to get our theatre fix at home. Thankfully, there are still wonderful stage performances to watch online. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best performances to stream this weekend, Friday, December 16 to Sunday, December 18, for free or at low cost.

Joe Iconis & Family in Concert

Streaming indefinitely for FREE

Tony-nominated songwriter Joe Iconis and some of talented pals, including Betty Buckley, Annie Golden and Will Roland, perform his pop-Broadway earworms in this rousing concert, which was recorded live at Lincoln Center's The Appel Room in February 2020. Best known for his viral musical Be More Chill and his contributions to the cult TV show Smash, Iconis presents concerts that feel more like music-filled parties, with catchy songs and hilarious stories. Find out why Gen-Z theatre geeks (like my teen) love this guy!

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Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration

Streaming indefinitely on ABC and Disney+

Be their guest at Disney's 30th anniversary Beauty and the Beast celebration. Premiering on ABC on Thursday, December 15 at 8 p.m. ET and available to stream on ABC.com and Disney+ thereafter, the special is similar to The Little Mermaid Live! from 2019, with the broadcast interweaving the classic, Oscar-nominated animated movie with recreations of the film's iconic musical numbers starring real-life performers, including Josh Groban as the Beast, R&B star H.E.R. as Belle, Joshua Henry as Gaston, Martin Short as Lumiere and David Alan Grier as Cogsworth. Rita Moreno hosts the special, which also includes behind-the-scenes stories about the original film's production from the cast, animators and songwriter Alan Menken.

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O Holy Night: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir

Streaming until Tuesday, January 10, 2023 for FREE

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Stephanie Blythe Is Blythely Oratonio in Blythely Ever After

Streaming indefinitely for FREE

Metropolitan Opera star Stephanie Blythe performs as her hilarious alter ago Blythely Oratonio in this playful, hour-long concert. Titled Blythely Ever After, the evening features the lauded mezzo-soprano crooning a wide array of arias, from opera to rock to pop.

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Nutcracker Marathon

Airing on All Arts on Sunday, December 18 at noon ET and also available to stream online for FREE

Starting at noon on All Arts, you can watch 12 hours of variations on The Nutcracker, including Anthony Williams' Urban Nutcacker, Hip Hop Nutcacker, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and Prague National Theatre's traditional ballet. How's that for a holiday treat?

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Megan Hilty, whose concert with The Tabernacle Choir. is streaming through mid-January.

WATCH: Meet Eddie Izzard, Star of 'Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations' - The Tony nominee returns to the New York stage playing 19 different characters

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Happy opening to Eddie Izzard's solo show Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations! A stage adaptation of Dickens' iconic novel written by Izzard's brother Mark, the play features many of the English author's most popular characters—all of whom are portrayed by the celebrated stand-up and Tony nominee. TDF talked to the Izzard siblings and director Selina Cadell about putting a Pip in Izzard's step and transforming a literary classic into theatre.

Top image: Eddie Izzard. Photo by Elyse Orecchio.

What 'Ohio State Murders' Means to Lizan Mitchell - After years of stellar Off-Broadway work, the character actress returns to Broadway

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

After years of stellar Off-Broadway work, the character actress returns to Broadway

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The buzz surrounding Ohio State Murders is palpable. The story of a successful Black woman writer invited to her alma mater where she reveals incendiary truths, the production marks Audra McDonald's big return to Broadway as well as the long overdue Broadway debut of Adrienne Kennedy, a legendary African-American playwright who recently turned 91. And no one is more thrilled about it than cast member Lizan Mitchell, a superb character actress who hasn't been on Broadway in 23 years. "It's going beautifully," she says. "I am astounded by how rapt the audience is. It's pretty amazing in this high-tech time that you can still tell a story and hold people's interest like this."

In a career spanning five decades, Mitchell has performed in scores of plays around New York and beyond, and acted occasionally in films and on TV. She's found herself particularly busy post-shutdown: Over the past 12 months, she's starred in cullud wattah at The Public Theater, On Sugarland at New York Theatre Workshop and Clubbed Thumb's Bodies They Ritual, all new plays written by Black women.

Broadway has only come calling a handful of times, but Mitchell doesn't seem to mind too much. As a Black woman, she's more concerned with what a work says than where it's staged. "A while ago, I made the decision that it was my journey to tell the story of my people," she says. "The joy that I get from telling my own story is just incalculable and, amazingly, it enables me to tell other people's stories better."

Growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, Mitchell worshipped the Black actors who animated New York's stages in the 1960s. "I had this huge poster in my bedroom of James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson and Louis Gossett doing The Blacks, the Jean Genet play," she says, referring to the landmark production that ran Off Broadway in the East Village in 1961. "In the South, we hadn't come to the point where we could manifest a theatre company like that. The preponderance of talent and the level of performance! That's what I was looking at."

But she didn't join the ranks of her idols until years later, and then only by chance. In 1986, she was appearing in So Long on Lonely Street at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, when Cheryl Crawford, "the first female producer with juice," decided to bring the show to Broadway. "And that's how I got here," Mitchell says. "Girl, I felt like I was coming to another country."

Although the production's New York run was brief, it changed the trajectory of Mitchell's life. "I didn't intend to stay—I really didn't, because it was so alien to me," she recalls. "I could not understand how people lived with all this concrete." But she started to see the Big Apple's appeal. "It's such a vibrant city and it's right on the edge of everything. It's just irresistible for anybody in the arts."

The opportunity to connect and collaborate with so many innovative theatre artists, especially Black ones, kept her in NYC. And before long she met Kennedy, whose work Mitchell is currently performing on Broadway eight times a week. "Of course, I'd heard about Funnyhouse of a Negro and what a visionary she was," Mitchell says. "There's this wonderful playwright that used to live here in New York named Bil Wright. Bil's the one who introduced me to Adrienne Kennedy really, because he loved her work so much. He said, 'I'm just going to put together a small festival, and we'll read excerpts from her work.'"

Prophetically, Mitchell was asked to read from Ohio State Murders (which premiered in 1992) at that event. "What struck me is how she says so much in such a lean way; there's no extra anything. And it's a huge story on so many levels but, I think, accessible to the public because it's a familiar kind of path," Mitchell says. "Leaving your hometown, going to college… I think that makes it relatable, so that people can kind of sit back and say, well, I know about this—but you don't really."

As a graduate of an integrated but largely unwelcoming Catholic high school in Greensboro, North Carolina (a city particularly roiled by the upheavals of the Civil Rights Movement), Mitchell identifies strongly with Ohio State Murders' protagonist (played by McDonald), who is one of just a handful of Black students on a racially hostile college campus. "She's stepping out of a bubble into this other environment where there is no one to help," says Mitchell. "And I remember that feeling, because one of the nuns in my school said, 'Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a'" and then she uses a racial epithet before completing the rhyme. "At the same time, we were demonstrating—I went to jail maybe three or four times. They arrested almost my whole town. So many people got arrested that they had to book us in a place the size of the Javits Center. I'm serious! It was 19 of us in a cell meant for two."

Although Mitchell's part in Ohio State Murders is small (it's truly the Audra show), she is thankful to be back on Broadway in a play that not only speaks to her personally, but also allows her to celebrate her longtime hero James Earl Jones, for whom the theatre was recently renamed. "This thing with Mr. George Floyd and COVID has made me feel things that I never even knew were in there to feel," she says. "And I feel like the story that we're telling exposes something that was hidden for so long on so many levels. And for Audra to be the captain of the ship is amazing. I really do believe it is an offering to humanity."

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Ohio State Murders. Go here to browse all theatre, dance and music offers.

Regina Robbins is a writer, director, native New Yorker and Jeopardy! champion. She has worked with several NYC-based theatre companies and is currently a Core Company Member with Everyday Inferno Theatre.

Top image: Lizan Mitchell.

Crystal Lucas-Perry on Her Double Broadway Debut - With back-to-back roles in '1776' and 'Ain't No Mo,' the character actor is showing off her versatility

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

With back-to-back roles in 1776 and Ain't No Mo', the character actor is showing off her versatility

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How's this for a momentous Broadway debut: So far this season, Crystal Lucas-Perry has performed in two different productions playing seven different parts! In September and October, she starred as the feisty John Adams in Roundabout Theatre Company's radical revival of the musical 1776, featuring a diverse cast of women, trans and nonbinary performers portraying our nation's Founding Fathers. By November, she had jumped to Ain't No Mo', a raucous satire of American racism in which she tackles a half dozen disparate parts, including a hardened convict and an irrepressible personification of Blackness. While this may sound like an overnight success story, Lucas-Perry's journey to Broadway has been years in the making—and the pandemic shutdown made it even longer than it should have been.

After graduating with an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and landing a handful of parts Off and Off-Off Broadway, Lucas-Perry made a splash (and won a Lucille Lortel Award) for her blazing, multicharacter turn in the 2019 world premiere of Ain't No Mo' at The Public Theater. Soon after, she was cast in the provocative 1776 revival, which was scheduled to start out at Cambridge's American Repertory Theatre in spring 2020 before transferring to Broadway. Then you-know-what interfered. But her Broadway dream deferred became a double debut. "Who knew that these things were going to happen at the same time?" she marvels.

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It's a testament to Lucas-Perry's talent and versatility that she's been able to pivot so quickly—and convincingly—from the lead role in a nearly three-hour musical to a whirlwind ensemble comedy in which she and her castmates tackle numerous parts. "I am literally jumping from character to character—I'm taking on six different people, and I'm trying to just make sure that they are uniquely dynamic and nuanced," she says. "Though they may share the same skin tone, not one of them has the same mind, the same given circumstances or the same life experience. I've never been able to be so free in a project. I got to throw things up on the wall, fail and fly and fumble and just go in."

That creative freedom was fostered by all her Ain't No Mo' collaborators: director Stevie Walker-Webb, playwright and costar Jordan E. Cooper, and her other castmates (all of whom, save one, appeared in the original production). So, even after learning she would need to leave 1776's Broadway run early in order to reprise her roles in Ain't No Mo', she was determined to make it happen.

"I always want to be back in the room with Stevie and Jordan," she says. "Wherever I lay my hat artistically is kind of similar to where I lay my hat personally. The people around me become my family."

Although Lucas-Perry can't go into the details of how she was able to exit 1776, she insists that she had the support of the producers. "One of the very first shows that I ever did professionally was at Roundabout: Little Children Dream of God. So, knowing that's where my roots were, and them putting me in the lead [of 1776 at ART] and still wanting me to continue on [to Broadway]… it kind of just spoke to their commitment and their understanding that, look, no one's trying to keep Crystal to themselves!" Lucas-Perry says with a laugh. "When Crystal wins, we all win!"

The loosely connected vignettes of Ain't No Mo' dissect several aspects of the contemporary Black experience in alternately hilarious and chilling fashion. The characters Lucas-Perry channels in the play, which also include an elderly church organist and a reality show star, have little in common beyond Blackness. "I was more myself in 1776 than I am in this show," she insists. "In Ain't No Mo', I am literally a vessel, trying to make sure that I am breathing the life of those characters, whereas 1776 was about bringing me into that space, a place where I would never have been."

Yet as different as the shows are, Lucas-Perry feels the two productions have similar artistic and political goals. "Both are disruptions to the norm of what it means to be on a Broadway stage," she says. "Everybody who has seen these shows has said to me, 'I had such great conversations about what happened on that stage.' And through dialogue comes connection, and through connection, I believe, comes understanding and through understanding comes change. To have seen these projects all the way through has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career so far. I'm just so incredibly blessed and thrilled to have been a part of history in this way."

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Ain't No Mo' and 1776. Go here to browse all theatre, dance and music offers.

Top image: Crystal Lucas-Perry in Ain't No Mo' on Broadway. Photos by Joan Marcus.

WATCH: TDF's 'Kimberly Akimbo' Conversation - Stage sisters Alli Mauzey and Bonnie Milligan on starring in this new Broadway musical

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Alli Mauzey and Bonnie Milligan on starring in this bittersweet Broadway musical

As dysfunctional sisters Pattie and Debra in Kimberly Akimbo, Alli Mauzey and Bonnie Milligan are hilarious. But they're also heartbreaking—especially Pattie, a pregnant mom grappling with complicated feelings because her first child was born with a premature aging disease. A moving meditation on mortality, David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori's new Broadway musical is alternately outrageous and affecting, and Mauzey and Milligan love making audiences laugh and cry... and cry with laughter. TDF brought these powerhouse performers together to chat about their funniest onstage mishaps, their favorite moments to perform and how the show has evolved since its premiere at Atlantic Theater Company last year. If you weren't able to tune in live you can watch a recording below. Captions are available.

Watch all of our TDF Conversations

Kimberly Akimbo tickets are frequently available at our TKTS by TDF Discount Booths.

Top image: Kimberly Akimbo stars Alli Mauzey and Bonnie Milligan. Photo by Elyse Orecchio

WATCH: 'Hadestown' Cast Snaps a Selfie with TDF Students - Our Introduction to Theatre program bought a full house of teens to the Tony-winning musical

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

At a recent Wednesday matinee, TDF's Introduction to Theatre program teamed up with the Hadestown Education Initiative to fill an entire house. More than 900 NYC public school students received red carnations (the musical's iconic symbol) to use in a group selfie with the cast post-performance. The eruption of applause from the young audience members proved they loved going way down to Hadestown!

If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets to Hadestown.

Top image: The Hadestown cast takes a selfie with TDF students. Photo courtesy of Hadestown.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend December 9-11 - See André De Shields in concert, a new Idina Menzel documentary and more

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

In-person shows have been back for over a year now, but sometimes we want to get our theatre fix at home. Thankfully, there are still wonderful stage performances to watch online. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best performances to stream this weekend, Friday, December 9 to Sunday, December 11, for free or at low cost.

André De Shields: Old Dawg; New Tricks

Streaming indefinitely for FREE

Hadestown Tony winner André De Shields shows off his powerhouse pipes, flashy moves and fabulous style (there are multiple costume changes!) in this 100-minute concert, which was recorded live at Lincoln Center's The Appel Room in January 2020. Cheekily titled Old Dawg; New Tricks, this autobiographical cabaret traces the evolution of his illustrious career, which includes star turns in the musicals The Full Monty, Ain't Misbehavin' and The Wiz, as he croons an eclectic lineup of classic rock, blues and musical theatre tunes.

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Disney+: Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?

Streaming indefinitely on Disney+

She became a star as the original Maureen in Rent, won a Tony for her soaring turn as Elphaba in Wicked and voiced Elsa in the animated smash Frozen. But Idina Menzel had another dream and she could not let it go: to headline a concert at Madison Square Garden. This new documentary chronicles her 2018 tour as Menzel balances motherhood and divadom in her lead up to her MSG debut.

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PBS Great Performances: Keeping Company with Sondheim

Streaming until Saturday, December 31 for FREE

PBS Great Performances presents Keeping Company with Sondheim, a documentary about director Marianne Elliott's gender-swapped revival of Company, which won the 2022 Tony Award for best musical revival. Filmed over two years, the doc features rehearsal and performance footage from pre- and post-shutdown, plus interviews with Elliott, the late, great Stephen Sondheim, stars Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, and members of the musical's original 1970 cast.

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Yes, you can cram two (or more!) productions into 24 hours, but here's what to know before you go

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It all began with this tweet—that's what inspired my colleague Tyler Riley to invite me on a five-shows-in-one-Saturday adventure that started with Sesame Street the Musical at 11 a.m. and ended with HYPROV at 10 p.m., with performances of The Office! A Musical Parody, Titanique and dance at The Joyce Theater in between.

While five-show days aren't typical (thankfully), lots of theatre lovers see matinee and evening performances in one day. At TDF, we're frequently tagged on social posts thanking us for multiple-show days and weekends made possible by our affordable ticket prices through our membership program and our TKTS Booths.

With the busy holiday theatre season upon us, you may have a few multi-show days on your schedule. I learned a lot during my five-show escapade, so I'm sharing my tips to help get you through!

1. Coffee, yes, but also… - You probably figured that caffeine would make my list, and while coffee and H2O hydration are key, you must be strategic about your bathroom breaks! Especially if adult beverages are also included in your fluid intake. All theatres have bathrooms of course, but if you need to go in between shows and you're in the Times Square area, I recommend the free public ones at Bryant Park (yes, I have a favorite bathroom—it's like a spa), or buying a slice of cheesecake at Junior's (you have two locations to choose from) and running to the restroom.

2. Location, location - When planning your multi-show day, remember to account for the time it takes to travel between venues. I actually proposed a show in Midtown that ended about a half hour before our next one, which was a few stops downtown on the E train. Thankfully, the much more levelheaded Tyler talked me out of that.

3. Walk this way - What, subways unreliable?! 'Fraid so, especially with weekend service changes. Thanks to gridlock, especially around the holidays, cabs may be even worse. We were lucky to have nice weather for our multi-show day, so we walked from Times Square to Chelsea to Union Square. If going afoot isn't an option, build in extra time for trains and traffic.

4. No reservations about reservations - Food, glorious food! You'll definitely want to fill up between shows. While there are myriad restaurants in NYC, if you don't want to wait, make a reservation. Tyler and I had to abandon an eatery with a long line because time was tight. Not sure where to go? The reservation app Open Table lets you search by neighborhood. Still want to wing it? If you're in Times Square, head to Ninth Avenue, which is teeming with restaurants but fewer tourists.

5. Choose your seatmate wisely - A multi-show day means a lot of time making chitchat before the show, during intermission, at meals and while traveling. Luckily, I'm a Tyler fan and he kept me well entertained. If you enlist different companions for different shows, we won't tell—after all, it's your multi-show day.

6. There's theatre beyond Times Square - We love the Great White Way, but there's a wide array of shows Off and Off-Off Broadway, plus dance and concerts, so don't limit yourself! This is an adventure after all.

7. Unlock the Lincoln Center TKTS Booth advantage - Not a planner? No problem. You can still enjoy a multi-show day or weekend by snagging same-day discount tickets at TKTS. While our Times Square TKTS is iconic, our Lincoln Center outpost usually has a shorter line (shhhh) and it's indoors! So you can be toasty while you wait.

8. When it comes to COVID rules, be prepared - While Broadway shows are mostly mask optional these days, the safety protocols at other venues vary. Some mandate masks and a few even require proof of full vaccination. For up-to-date info, check the official website of the show you plan to see.

9. Choose your own emotional adventure - Tyler and I wanted to laugh, so our five-show day included two parodies, improv, jubilant dance and children's theatre. For me, comedy was key to loving the 13-hour trek. If you choose a heavy drama for your multi-show day, consider balancing it with lighter fare.

10. Never pay full price - Since I'm writing this for TDF Stages, I have to plug TDF's prices! TDF members can see multiple shows in one day or weekend without breaking the bank by taking advantage of our rich assortment of low-cost offerings, ranging from $11 for Off-Off Broadway to $57 for a Broadway musical. If you're not yet a member, see if you're eligible to join.

11. Don't forget to document your day - Because if you don't share your multi-show journey on social media, did you even have one?

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Elyse Orecchio is TDF's Digital Content Manager. Follow her on Instagram and on Twitter at @elyseo. Follow TDF on Twitter at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Elyse Orecchio and Tyler Riley taking a selfie during their five-show day. Photo courtesy of the author.

WATCH: A TDF Conversation About Women's Theatre Companies - Reps from WP Theater, New Georges and The Hearth on showcasing gender-marginalized artists

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Reps from WP Theater, New Georges and The Hearth on showcasing gender-marginalized artists

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When Julia Miles founded the Women's Project Theater in 1978 to champion female artists, our understanding of gender was different. Five decades later, the company she started, now called WP Theater, continues to celebrate the work of women in addition to trans, nonbinary and other gender-marginalized artists. While there has been progress in closing the gender gap in the theatre industry in recent years, women are still grossly underrepresented in many areas, especially backstage, with the numbers even worse for trans and gender-nonconforming folks. Meet three NYC-based theatre-makers working to change the stats: director and choreographer Rebecca Martínez, the BOLD associate artistic director of WP Theater; Susan Bernfield, founder and artistic director of New Georges, which has been devoted to women+ artists since 1992; and performer and playwright Julia Greer, the artistic director of The Hearth, founded in 2017 to showcase artists of underrepresented genders. We brought these activist artists together for a passionate discussion moderated by TDF Stages Editor Raven Snook. If you weren't able to tune in live you can watch a recording below. Captions are available.

Watch all of our TDF Conversations

See these theatres in action this December:

The Hearth presents the world premiere of Events, an absurdist new play by Bailey Williams about the impossibility of work-life balance, at The Brick in Brooklyn from December 1 to 18.

New Georges presents Miranda Haymon in bb brech's Holiday Yuletide Spectacular! at Dixon Place on December 14.

Top image: Rebecca Martínez, Julia Greer and Susan Bernfield.

WATCH: Highlights from 'The Nutcracker' Autism Friendly Performance - TDF and New York City Ballet teamed up for this heartwarming holiday performance

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Everything is beautiful at the accessible ballet! On Sunday, November 27, TDF presented our inaugural Autism Friendly Performance of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker® at Lincoln Center. New York City Ballet has been dancing this annual holiday favorite since 1954, but this is the first time a performance was tailored specifically for families with members on the spectrum or with sensory sensitivities. As you can see from the video below, a sweet and magical experience was had by all.

You can also check out photos from the landmark event. Visit tdf.org/autism to learn more about TDF Autism Friendly Performances.

Top image: Two excited AFP Nutcracker attendees. Photo by Joe Orecchio.

Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend December 2-4 - See 'Estella Scrooge,' Jeremy Jordan, 'Hello Again' and more

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

In-person shows have been back for over a year now, but sometimes we want to get our theatre fix at home. Thankfully, there are still wonderful stage performances to watch online. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best performances to stream this weekend, Friday, December 2 to Sunday, December 4, for free or at low cost.

The Green Room 42: Michael Mott & Friends Including Jeremy Jordan

Live-streaming on Sunday, December 3 at 7 p.m. ET for $19

NYC-based songwriter Michael Mott is hosting a holiday cabaret with some of his famous friends, including Broadway favorites Jeremy Jordan (Newsies, Bonnie & Clyde) and Teal Wicks (The Cher Show, Wicked). Enjoy classic seasonal songs along with Mott's original tunes. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Danny Burstein and Betsy Wolfe in Estella Scrooge, which is streaming for the holiday season. Photo courtesy of Tyler Milliron.

Join TDF for a Conversation About Women's Theatre Companies - Reps from WP Theater, New Georges and The Hearth on showcasing gender-marginalized artists

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Reps from WP Theater, New Georges and The Hearth on showcasing gender-marginalized artists

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When Julia Miles founded the Women's Project Theater in 1978 to champion female artists, our understanding of gender was different. Five decades later, the company she started, now called WP Theater, continues to celebrate the work of women in addition to trans, nonbinary and other gender-marginalized artists. While there has been progress in closing the gender gap in the theatre industry in recent years, women are still grossly underrepresented in many areas, especially backstage, with the numbers even worse for trans and gender-nonconforming folks. We sat down with three NYC-based theatre-makers who are working to change the stats: director and choreographer Rebecca Martínez, the BOLD associate artistic director of WP Theater; Susan Bernfield, founder and artistic director of New Georges, which has been devoted to women+ artists since 1992; and performer and playwright Julia Greer, the artistic director of The Hearth, founded in 2017 to showcase artists of underrepresented genders. Tune in this Thursday, December 1 at 1 p.m. ET on TDF's YouTube channel or Facebook page as TDF Stages Editor Raven Snook moderates a passionate and wide-ranging discussion with these activist artists. Captions will be available.

See these theatres in action this December:

The Hearth presents the world premiere of Events, an absurdist new play by Bailey Williams about the impossibility of work-life balance, at The Brick in Brooklyn from December 1 to 18.

New Georges presents Miranda Haymon in bb brech's Holiday Yuletide Spectacular! at Dixon Place on December 14.

Top image: Rebecca Martínez, Julia Greer and Susan Bernfield.