Danny and the Deep Blue Sea
| Open: 10/16/06 Close: 10/22/06
The setting is a rundown bar in the Bronx, where two of society's rejects, Danny and Roberta, strike up a halting conversation over their beer. He is a brooding, self-loathing young man who resorts more to violence than reason; she is a divorced, guilt-ridden young woman whose troubled teenage son is now being cared for by her parents. Danny, whose fellow truck drivers call him "the beast," seems incapable of tender emotion, while Roberta, who is still haunted by the memory of an ugly sexual incident involving her father, is distrustful of men in general. And yet, as their initial reserve begins to melt, and they decide to spend the night together, the possibility of a genuine and meaningful relationship begins to emerge—the first for both of them.
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Marriage is Murder
| Open: 03/29/07 Close: 04/08/07
This comedy/thriller, directed by JoAnn Oakes, SSDC - is a killer of a time! Paul and Polly Butler used to be a husband & wife murder-mystery writing team, with a twist; their unique way of testing the realism of their novels was to actually try out the murder methods... on each other. After eighteen months of divorce they reluctantly reunite to write one more book. How real will the murder methods be this time??? Featuring Perry Award winning actress Christie Oakes and WUP's Gregory Cilmi.
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Six Degrees of Separation
| Open: 03/15/07 Close: 03/24/07
Directed By Jon Ciccarelli and Leticia Diaz, Six Degrees of Separation is a witty, biting, yet ultimately sincere commentary on what drives people: the desire for money, fame, social standing, comfort, and, for the lucky, a desire for meaningful human connection. Guare based the premise of his play on an actual incident—a young African-American man gained access to the homes of upper-class New Yorkers by pretending to be the son of actor Sidney Poitier—but the creation of the play is an imaginative tour de force. Guare uses the props of the late twentieth century, such as social issues and art, to create a comprehensive picture of a fragmented society, one in which those simple six degrees that bind people together are overlooked, blatantly ignored, and, very occasionally, celebrated.
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The ME Nobody Knows
| Open: 08/07/08 Close: 08/10/08
Based on the book "THE ME NOBODY KNOWS" - Edited by Stephen M. Joseph"These are children's voices from the ghetto. In their struggle lies their hope, and ours. They are the voices of change." Inspired by the anthologized writings of nearly 200 New York City students, aged 7 through 18 and subtitled "Children's Voices From the Ghetto"; Stephen M. Joseph, a teacher, edited the collection, which the children had written about their feelings and their neighborhoods. According to Mr. Joseph, they wrote "for keeps" and "like it is." At odds with a squalid setting and a cynical, materialistic view of the world, themes of hope and renewal emerged. To guarantee uplift, samples from the students' work were interwoven with a ground-breaking score that combined rock music, classical fugues, early rap and jazz. Critics were overwhelmingly impressed by the vitality, passion, honesty and powers of observation shown by the young writers, as they painted a moving but sometimes ugly picture of inner city life, and there were hit records by The Staple Singers ("This World") and The Fifth Dimension ("Light Sings"). THE ME NOBODY KNOWS Music by: Gary William Friedman Lyrics by: Will Holt Adapted by: Robert H. Livingston and Herb Schapiro Based on the book "THE ME NOBODY KNOWS" - Edited by Stephen M. Joseph Additional Lyrics by Herb Shapiro Arrangements and Orchestration by Gary William Friedman Original New York Production Directed by Robert H. Livingston Originally produced on Broadway by Jeff Britton Directed by Laura Rizzo Co-Directed by Gregory Cilmi Musical Direction by Abigail Lumsden Choreography by Carrie Nagy Produced in part by a grant from Orange Board of Education, Orange, NJ
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