A Time for Singing

On Saturday, I hope you all come to see my play THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS  at the Bad Theater Fest. However, if you're free on Sunday, you might want to head over to the York Theatre for their Musicals in Mufti presentation of A Time for Singing.

Based on Richard Llewellyn's novel How Green Was My Valley, this 1966 musical tells the story of a Welsh coal-mining town that goes through a bitter strike. The first act shows the happy memories of Huw, played as a boy by Dylan Boyd and as an older man by Greg Walter. The wedding that ends the act, however, is interrupted by a whistle signaling a strike. From here on out, the play goes to some very grim places indeed.

The original musical was criticized chiefly for its length. The York has trimmed by the dialogue, but the first act has a total of nineteen different musical numbers! The rather superior second act has a more manageable eight numbers.

Composer John Morris, who later went to Hollywood to work on (among other things) Mel Brooks movies, reportedly couldn't bring himself to trim the show. It's a pity, as this is a case where less really would have been more.

Musicals in Mufti are not full productions, but rehearsed staged readings. Though this is not a full production, it is likely to be one of your few chances of seeing an obscure piece of Broadway history. The performers are all quite game, and their talent shines through even with minimal rehearsal time.

Broadway veteran Gordon Stanley plays the patriarch of the Welsh family in the play. As Dada, he is by turns stubborn and conciliatory. Barbara Marineau (another Broadway veteran) plays his wife, Beth, who is capable of challenging not just him, but even God in her fight for her family.

For more information and for tickets go here:

York Theatre

http://www.yorktheatre.org/mufti-info-a-time-for-singing.html

Last Chance to See "Grass" Menagerie

This Saturday will be your last chance to see THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS at the Bad Theater Fest.

What happens when a cast of actors in Colorado decides to perform Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie while all stoned on pot? Find out at 5:00 this Saturday at the Treehouse Theater, 154 W. 29th Street in Manhattan.

Director Ken Kaissar has assembled a great cast, including Daniil Krimer, Zach McCoy, Doug Rossi, Sandra Maren Schneider, and Alex Sunderhaus. They gave a great performance last week, and I'm looking forward to seeing the show again on Saturday.

Come on out to see not only this short play, but other examples of "Bad" theater, including The History of DNA Exchange, which chronicles the two-billion-year history of sexual reproduction, Nano jardin, which shows life through the eyes of two garden gnomes, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, and a piece called Awkward Fornication Leading to Immaculate Conception.

So if you're looking for a high-class evening of tasteful theater, go someplace else. But if you want to have a good laugh and a good time, head on over to the Treehouse Theater at five this Saturday. For more information and tickets, go here:

Bad Theater Fest

That Poor Dream

Tonight, everyone should be heading out to the Treehouse Theater to see my short play THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS as part of the Bad Theater Fest. However, tomorrow, if you haven't seen it yet, you need to check out The Assembly's production of That Poor Dream, a brilliant new modern adaptation of Great Expectations.

I saw That Poor Dream last night, and I must say, it's one of the best pieces of theater I've seen all year, and it's also one of the most memorable adaptations of a Dickens novel you'll find. It uses much of the original dialogue from Great Expectations, but also tweaks certain details to update the story for the 21st century. Magwitch's sheep herding becomes metaphorical rather than literal, for instance, and the forge becomes Joe Gargery's "Tech Forge" computer shop.

The play takes place on a train on its way from Grand Central to Connecticut. Pip, on a cell phone, explains that his name is Pirrip. "P-I-R-R-, oh, just call me Pip!" The playful opening quickly turns darker, as he is confronted by a stranger, soon revealed to be Magwitch. The rest of the play occurs largely in flashback as Pip explains his tale to this mysterious figure from his past.

Nick Benacerraf designed the magnificent set, which consists of a realistic-looking train car with three windows. Those windows become the home of some spectacular video projections designed by Ray Sun. At times, we see the passing scenery outside the car, at others, close-ups of the actors, at others, background scenery for the flashback scenes. At key moments, the walls of the train car melt away, and we see images of club dancers, wedding guests, or sometimes homeless beggars.

That Poor Dream was developed in part at the New Ohio Theatre's 2013 Ice Factory festival, and it has returned to the New Ohio for this brief run. You can find out more about the production here:

That Poor Dream
http://assemblytheater.org/

I regret that I didn't get to see this earlier in the run so I could tell everyone to go and see it. But I'm telling you now: GO! Unlike Pip, you won't regret it.

A Menagerie of Actors

This Saturday, my short play THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS opens at the Treehouse Theater as part of the Bad Theater Fest. Fortunately, we have a brilliant cast of good actors who can make bad acting absolutely hysterical. I'd like to introduce you to them now.

Daniil Krimer is playing the part of Jim. Daniil a recent graduate of the BFA program at Montclair State University. He is happy to have been given the opportunity to work on this wacky play and sends a shout out to his family for always supporting him... and an apology to Mr. Williams!

As Jim, Daniil plays a very serious actor taking on an important role in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. He plays the role with an almost painful earnestness that contrasts with the rest of the cast. Why? Well, our play takes place in a certain state... where a certain substance has recently become legal....

Zach McCoy plays the role of the Stage Manager in the play. Zach was last seen this summer as David in the off-Broadway revival of Love and Human Remains at The Peter J. Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons.  Other favorite New York credits include Jitter (Arclight Theatre) and The Birthday Boys (Access Theatre).  In Pennsylvania, Zach has performed many times at Millbrook Playhouse in roles such as Bernard in Boeing-Boeing, David in The Foreigner, and Stanley in Run for Your Wife.  Zach has been featured on the AMC original series Film Fakers, and his short film Kidnapping Carl recently premiered at the Manhattan Film Festival.

Doug Rossi, who plays Tom in the play, once won an award for playing Tom in a real production of The Glass Menagerie. His major classical roles include Macbeth, Tartuffe, Orlando, Friar Lawrence, Caliban, Orsino, Launce, Brutus, Ford, and Hamlet. He has appeared in more than 75 NYC productions including FringeNYC, Planet Connections (Winner: Best Featured Actor) and MITF (Nominated: Best Supporting Actor). He also has more than 50 on-camera credits including the title role in the indie feature Recruiter. Currently, he is re-teaming with Empire Tales director David Toth to co-write and star in a thriller entitled Blind Spot.

Sandra Maren Schneider is playing Amanda. Other recent credits include a reading of I Hate You: A Love Story directed by Dev Bondarin (Abingdon Theatre), Blue Moon written and directed by Bryan Quick (Shapiro Theater), Faust - A Tragedy (Staged Reading at the Signature Theatre), Andromache (Winner of NYC Ancient Drama Festival), Tango Fever (Teatro LaTea),  Helen Of Troy (La MaMa), Les Blancs directed by Pat Golden (Staged Reading at the New School), Spoon River Anthology directed by Jimmy Maize (Columbia Stages), Happy End directed by Jérôme Savary & Ulrich Waller (St. Pauli Theater, Germany), and Upon A Time (Workshop of a new musical written by Hayley Annette Green and music by Thomas Auger).

Alex Sunderhaus, who plays Laura, is a Brooklyn-based actress originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. Her BFA  is from Wright State University. Recent stage credits for Alex include: Seminar (Kitchen Theatre Co.), The Lucky Ladies and The Red Cat (The Lark, NYC), and Boeing Boeing (Millbrook Playhouse). Alex has also been a part of several NYC short films and is an improviser at Upright Citizens Brigade.

So there you have it, the amazing cast of THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS. Ken Kaissar is directing and doing a wonderful job. If you want to see the show, it is playing Saturday, October 25th at 5:00 and the following Saturday, November 1st, also at 5:00.

Both shows are at the Treehouse Theater. For more information, go here:

Bad Theater Fest

One Week From Today!

One week from today, my 10-minute play THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS will open as part of the Bad Theater Fest at the Treehouse Theater!

And yes, this is a cringe-inducing satire that hopes to have the distinguished Mr. Williams rolling over in his grave. Fortunately, we have a wonderful cast of good actors who know precisely how brilliant bad acting can be.

Daniil Krimer, Zach McCoy, Doug Rossi, Sandra Maren Schneider, and Alex Sunderhaus star as a troupe of actors desperately trying to put on a production of The Glass Menagerie at a small theater in Colorado in spite of local laws restricting performances. Ken Kaissar directs.

Our opening performance will be at 5:00 on Saturday, October 25th, at the Treehouse Theater, 154 W. 29th Street in Manhattan. There will be a second performance the following week, at 5:00 on Saturday, November 1st.

Go here for tickets:

Bad Theater Fest

Hope to see you there, for a really good bad time!

Coming Next Month...

I am pleased to announce that next month the Treehouse Theater will host the premiere of my short play The State of Colorado v. Tennessee Williams. The play will be performed as a part of the 3rd annual "Bad Theater Fest."

Did you know that the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act bans all smoking--not just real smoking, but also the smoking of fake, non-addictive cigarettes--from ALL public places, including stages? Since the ban took effect in 2006, the de facto consequence has been the banning of any and all classic plays that require onstage smoking. Which includes pretty much the entire canon of Tennessee Williams.

But since January 1st of this year, Colorado has been known for another smoking law... the one that makes it legal to smoke all the marijuana you want (provided you're not onstage, of course.)

The State of Colorado v. Tennessee Williams puts these two real-life facts together and portrays a fictional theater company that decides to put on The Glass Menagerie without the smoking... but only after getting stoned out of their minds backstage first. Needless to say, the results make this play immensely qualified for the "Bad Theater Fest."

Ken Kaissar is directing the production, which will be performed at 5:00 on Saturday, October 25th, and then again at 5:00 on Saturday, November 1st. We hope to announce the cast shortly.

For more information, visit the Bad Theater Fest here:

Bad Theater Fest