Theatre at St. Clements

A Post-Show Sustainability Talkback by Cecil Scheib, NYU Chief Sustainability Officer and Dr. Michael McDonald, Leading Expert on building Climate-Resilient Infrastructure The World Premiere of Eco Village by Phoebe Nir Monday, February 4, 2019 after the 7pm show at The Theatre at St. Clement's

 

The World Premiere of the new off-Broadway play Eco Village by Phoebe Nir, will include a Post-Show Sustainability Talkback by Cecil Sheib, NYU Chief Sustainability Officer and founder of The Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri, and Michael McDonald, Leading Expert on building Climate-Resilient Infrastructure, following the 7pm performance of Eco Village on Monday, February 4, 2019.

 

Eco Village is currently running at The Theatre at St. Clement's, 423 W. 46th Street, New York, NY 10036 until February 16, 2019. Performances: Monday and Wednesday at 7pm; Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; and Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $35-69 and can be purchased at ecovillagetheplay.com.

 

Dr. Michael McDonald is involved in the development of the Kalinago Institute on Global Resilience and Regeneration. The Kalinago people were the dominant society of the Caribbean Sea, which was named after them. The Kalinago, as advanced practitioners of indigenous permanent agriculture and fisher people, are a resurgent, low carbon, sustainable society of 3,300 living communally in the coastal rainforests of Waitukubuli (Dominica). Ninety-five percent of the houses in the Kalinago Territory were destroyed during Hurricane Maria in 2017.  They have been living without grid electricity for over a year.  Unlike other parts of the Caribbean (e.g. Puerto Rico and other parts of Dominica), no Kalinago died during the hurricane.  They had food security from ground provisions (root vegetables), which they have grown in a similar way for thousands of years, even though there wasn't a leaf left on the entire island after Hurrican Maria.  The Kalinago are now in a recovery process and may be one of the most climate-resilient societies in the world despite being in the hurricane belt.

 

As chief sustainability officer at the largest private university in the United States, Cecil Scheib led NYU's successful effort to reduce carbon emissions 30% over five years. Cecil formerly served as Chief Program Officer at Urban Green Council and was the Managing Director of the NYC Building Resiliency Task Force. As founder and current board member of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, he helps demonstrate that a lifestyle that slashes ecological footprints by 90% can be happy, healthy, and fun. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of New York.

 

Loosely based on the experiences of playwright Phoebe Nir at the Bread and Puppet Theater, Eco Village explores the complexities of community and the boundaries of human behavior. When temporarily homeless Robin hitchhikes her way to an eco-village seen online, all she wants is a warm meal, a place to sleep, and some new friends. Instead, she finds a parallel universe, where survival skills and New Age optimism are blended together. When Robin falls for Jake, a brilliant but tormented handyman, their connection sets off a series of events that reveal the limits of human connection and the costs of utopia.

 

The cast includes Lily Davis (Wicked, Frozen at St. Luke's), Michael Oloyede(SCRAPS, Inanimate at The Flea Theater), Pearl Rhein (Broadway: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), Gregory Isaac Stone (Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike at The Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre, and Cape Cod Playhouse) Arianna Williams (Cookie Heart at the International Filmmaker Festival) and Zoe Wilson (White Effie in Orange is the New Black). 

 

The production team includes Oliver Wason (Lighting Designer), Chloe Treat (Director), Josh Samuels (Sound Designer), Mike Ross (Dramaturg), Meredith Ries (Scenic Designer), Phoebe Nir (Playwright/Producer), R. Christopher Maxwell (Assistant Stage Manager), Kate Lumpkin, CSA (Casting Director), Megan Garner (Properties Designer), Matt Franta (Violence Designer), Jessi Cotter (Production Stage Manager), Blair Bauerschmidt (Costume Designer), Evan Bernardin Productions (General and Production Management), and ABM (Advertising/Marketing). 

 

Please note that the Theatre at St. Clement's is not wheelchair accessible. The theater is located up a flight of stairs.

 

For more information, visit www.ecovillagetheplay.com.

 

PHOEBE NIR (Playwright/Producer) was received by President Obama at the White House as a Presidential Scholar of the Arts in Writing. She is currently developing a graphic novel, "Diana & Navy & The Golden Tooth", with illustrator Steve Buccelatto, as well as a musical by the same name, which has been seen at LaMaMa, Feinstein's/54 Below, Blackbox Theater, and John Jay University. Her short film, "Marcus's Sweater", directed by Chidi Ozieh, was an official selection of the Philadelphia International Film Festival. As a singer/songwriter, she was selected as an official showcase artist at SXSW 2017, where she opened for James Chance & The Contortions and The Modern English. She graduated from Brown University in 2014 with a degree in Writing for Performance, and is currently enrolled at NYU, where she is earning a Master's degree in Drama Therapy. Phoebe is honored to hold space as a yoga teacher and doula, and gratefully thanks her family for their support. 

 

CHLOE TREAT (Director) is a New York based director and choreographer. Born and raised in the great, if not occasionally problematic state of Texas; she directs and choreographs musicals, plays, operas, outdoor dance rituals and feminist westerns. Chloe recently directed productions of Cabaret, James Joyce's The Dead, a new musical The Wave and Spring Awakening. Next she will be directing and choreographing Street Scene at Mannes School of Music

 

MIKE ROSS (Dramaturg) is a New York-based dramaturg, librettist/lyricist, and author for young readers. Recent theatrical credits include Groundhog Day (August Wilson Theatre, dir. Matthew Warchus), His Name's Not Indian Joe (dir. Don Scardino), Afterglow (dir. S. Asher Gelman) and The Bad Years (dir. Stephen Brackett). His first book will be published in spring 2019. @mcrossisnotapun.

 

MEREDITH RIES (Scenic Design). Scenic Design (selected): Sweeney Todd (Curtis Opera), Heartland (Geva Theater Center), Lost Laughs (Merrimack Repertory Theater), Cute Activist (The Bushwick Starr), Once the Musical (Weston Playhouse), The Temple Bombing (The Alliance Theater), Peer Gynt and the Norwegian Hapa Band (Ma-Yi Theater Company/ ARTNY), The Universe is a Small Hat (written and composed by Cesar Alvarez), Hamlet (Yale Repertory Theater).  Associate design with David Zinn The SpongeBob Musical (Broadway), The Waverly Gallery (Broadway, 2018), Amelie the Musical (Broadway, 2014-2017), Soft Power (Center Theater Group, 2018). Meredith is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and the University of Chicago.

 

BLAIR BAUERSCHMIDT (Costume Design) is an artist whose creative designs adorn and enhance performers across all platforms. After graduating from FIT with a degree in accessory design she started her graffiti line of clothing which was sold at Barney's, NY. She has a reputation for being the go-to girl for customization, and Janet Jackson, Weezer, Alicia Keys, and Demi lovato have all sported her gear. She recently designed a custom installation for Beck to promote his new album Colors at Rough Trade in Brooklyn, and she is currently designing theater sets for the Harlem School of the Arts. In February 2019 she is relaunching her new website, stay tuned!

 

OLIVER WASON (Lighting Design) designs lighting for theater, opera, dance, music, or anything in between. New York work includes The Chinese Lady, Among the Dead, House Rules (Ma-Yi); Don Giovanni, Fidelio (Heartbeat Opera); Sagittarius Ponderosa (NAATCO); Wonderland (Atlantic Theater Co. for Kids); Agrippina (Juilliard Opera). Regional credits include Yale Rep, Barrington Stage, Berkeley Rep, Berkshire Theater Festival, Playmakers Rep, Triad Stage, and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center. Faculty: Northeastern University. MFA Yale.

 

JOSH SAMUELS (Sound Design) is an NYC based sound designer. Recent theatre credits include: As a Designer: The Glow Overhead, Tiny Houses (Chautauqua Theatre Company); I and You (Kitchen Theatre Company); Peter and the Starcatcher, When in Carthage, Red (Cider Mill Playhouse). As an Associate: Network (Broadway), Torch Song (Broadway), The Age of Innocence (McCarter Theatre Center), Three Tall Women (Broadway), The Stone Witch (WestSide Theatre Upstairs), Dirty Dancing (National Tour). He is a member of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association and has a degree in theatrical design from Ithaca College. http://jsamuelsdesign.com/

 

MEGAN GARNER (Properties Design) holds a BFA from Purchase College in NY. Over the past ten years she has worked all over the country from Utah Shakespeare Festival to Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Megan's most recent design credits include Spring Awakening, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Suor Angelica. Megan would like to thank her partner James for supporting and encouraging her, as well as her family and friends. She is currently the resident Properties Designer at Manhattan School of Music.

 

MATT FRANTA (Violence Design). Off-Broadway: We Are The Tigers, The Video Games. Other credits include work with the Guthrie Theater, Children's Theatre Company, Marin Shakespeare Company, Long Beach Playhouse, Four Clowns, and the National Theatre for Children. Matt holds a BA in Drama/Speech from Clarke University in Dubuque, IA, and is a graduate of the International Stunt School in Seattle. He currently teaches stage combat at the American Musical and Dramatics Academy in Los Angeles. www.MattFranta.com

 

LILY DAVIS (Sammi) hails from Mercer Island, WA by way of LA, and Pittsburgh, PA. She was last seen down the street at St. Luke's Theatre in Wicked Frozen as Glindanna (yes, Glinda and Anna COMBINED) in NYC. You may also catch her on an episode of Happy! on the SYFY network with Chris Meloni, or on an episode of Bull on CBS. Other credits include: Estella-Great Expectations, Witch 2-Macbeth, Ariel- Footloose, Polly-Crazy For You, Cassie- A Chorus Line, Lady Teazle-The School For Scandal, among others. Lily holds her BFA from Point Park, is an avid yogi, a dedicated Freeman Studio member, and the youngest of four goofy Davis sisters. 

 

MICHAEL OLOYEDE (Jean-Lerois) is a London born, Atlanta raised, New York City based actor. Off Broadway credits include: SCRAPS, Inanimate (The Flea Theater) Black Angels Over Tuskegee (St. Luke's Theater), Bella Napoli (Gallery Players), Chokehold (14 St. Y), Master Harold And The Boys, Their Eyes Were Watching God (Wow Theater). Films and TV credits include Silent Morning, Curtis (SundanceNow), and Brooklyn Blue Sky (BET). Oloyede received training from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City. www.michael-oloyede.com

 

PEARL RHEIN (Ursula) Broadway: "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812". NYC: "Taming of the Shrew" (The Public/Shakespeare in the Park), "The Lucky Ones" (Ars Nova). Regional: "Such Things As Vampires" (People's Light), "Ah, Wilderness!" (Arena Stage), "Cowgirls!" (Alabama Shakes), "Memphis!" (La Jolla Playhouse). TV: HBO's "Succession". Film: Troma's "Gutboy: A Badtime Story". MFA: UC San Diego, BA: Ball State University. Singer-songwriter & composer of TYA solo show about women in S.T.E.M. Proud member Actors Equity & Local 802. pearlrhein.com. @pearlrhein

 

GREGORY ISAAC STONE (Jake) is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory. Regional credits include: "Lord of the Flies" (Jack) at The Denver Center and "Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike" (Spike) at The Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre, and Cape Cod Playhouse. Film: "Write When You Get Work" (Wegs). 

 

ARIANA WILLIAMS (Robin) is a Junior at NYU Tisch. She studied at the Strasberg Institute and the Stonestreet Film Studio. She is thrilled to be making her Off-Broadway debut in Eco Village. Favorite credits: Juror #8 in 12 Angry Men, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Susan Hendrix in Wait Until Dark, and Grace Fryer in Radium Girls. Her recent film Cookie Heart won Best Cinematography at the International Filmmaker Festival of New York. 

 

ZOE WILSON (Casey) (16) is an actress/singer/songwriter & winner of 2017 NYMF Outstanding Individual Performance Award. Select Professional Credits: White Effie in Orange is the New Black, Play Like A Winner @ Playwrights Horizons, Transport Group's Three Days to See @ NYTW, Peter Pan @ The Signature, The Pill @ LaMaMa, and The Opera is Always on the Table @The New Ohio Theatre. NEXT UP 2019 FILM DEBUT: My Dinner With Schwartzey and The Shallow End. Zoe is represented by Lauren Singer Talent and Innovative Artists. Follow @ instagram.com/zoeferdie

 

EDWIN is a unique adventure in music, theater, and history. Edwin Booth was the most famous American actor of the nineteenth century, the Laurence Olivier of his day though his artistic triumphs were marred by public and private tragedy. EDWIN takes us backstage on the night of his courageous return to the stage after his brother assassinated President Lincoln–braving death threats, public outrage, and his own scarred past.

 

About the Company: New York Musical Theater Festival

The New York Musical Theatre Festival, now in its sixth year, has premiered more than 175 new musicals since 2004. The largest musical theatre event in America, NYMF has been hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," and is widely regarded as the key source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2009 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by Back Stage, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, King Displays, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, New World Stages, NASDAQ OMX, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, Queerty.com, Reuters, Sweet Caroline's, Tekserve, TheMenEvent.com, The Tank, and Times Square Squared. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. NYMF's programs are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events are available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org.

BLACK NATIVITY NOW, a holiday gospel pageant featuring an original score and musical direction by Kelvyn Bell, choreography by Tracy Jack and direction by Alfred Preisser, will have a limited 5 week run, Off-Broadway at the Theatre at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46^th Street in New York City.  Performances begin Friday, December 3 and continue through Sunday, January 2, 2011.  Opening night is Thursday, December 9 at 7pm.  

BLACK NATIVITY NOW is produced by Jeffrey Glaser, Christopher McElroen, Alfred Preisser, Dana Watkins, Kingsize-USA & 9One Productions.

Co-writers Alfred Preisser and Tracy Jack have set BLACK NATIVITY NOW, their holiday gospel pageant, in a present day urban setting that could be the city where you live, to tell the story of the birth of Christ from a fresh and wholly original perspective. The contemporary setting provides a heartfelt reference point for an evening of exuberant music and dance that celebrates humanity’s need for hope and grace.

BLACK NATIVITY NOW unfolds within an intimate and passionate church presided over by a pastor, played by Broadway veteran and two-time Emmy Award winner Nikkieli DeMone (“Bad Street”, “In The Eyes Of God”, Miss Saigon, Rent, Ragtime, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sideshow), who is also an ordained Bishop, heavily influenced by Broadway show-biz. Supported by a choir of singers and dancers who perform musical sets infused with gospel, pop, funk, and soul, BLACK NATIVITY NOW is the universal story of mankind’s search for salvation and “peace on earth.” Appropriate for all ages, and perfect for everyone who loves music, dance and the holiday season.

Rollo Romig of The New Yorker writes, “At the beginning of this dazzling show, a musician (Kelvyn Bell, who composed the original score) steps onstage with an electric guitar and describes the church of his youth, built on the muddy ground of Buckwater, Missouri. “I just wanted to share some of the love, and some of the mud,” he explains, launching into the gospel standard “Up Above My Head.” There’s a lot more love and mud to come: for the next eighty minutes, the ensemble just keeps topping itself in a blend of modern-dress nativity story, rousing revival meeting, and, most of all, first-rate soul-gospel revue. Alfred Preisser, director and co-writer (with Tracy Jack), lends wit and vitality to the tropes of each of these forms; it’s a rare pageant that delivers this much warmth, energy, and depth of feeling.”

The BLACK NATIVITY NOW cast also features Jeff Bolding (Chorus Leader, Pastor), Jarvis Manning Jr. (Joseph), Breanna Bartley (Mary) and Naja Jack (Angel). Melanie Charles, Tracy Jack, Vincent Leggett,Brittney Mack, Amma Osei, Stephen Scott Wormley round out the chorus.

BLACK NATIVITY NOW has set design by Evan Collier, costume design by Mia Bienovich, lighting design by Kate Ashton, sound design by Janie Bullard, musical direction and guitar by Kelvyn Bell, David “Red” Harrington on bass, Chris Eddelton on drums, stage management by Katie Hong and press by Lia Chang.

The Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir, winner of the 2010 Best Choir Award at the McDonald's Gospel Fest, will make special guest appearances in BLACK NATIVITY NOW on Saturday December 4th, 11th and 18th at 7pm. The Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir was established by producer Tommy Tomita in 1997 and has performed throughout New York City under the direction of Minister Melody Moore.  

Alfred Preisser is an award winning director, writer and producer of theatre. He has led over forty professional productions in New York and regionally. From 1999 – 2009, Mr. Preisser was the Founding Artistic Director of the Classical Theatre of Harlem, where he created a wide and distinguished body of work noted for its physicality, originality, and use of music and dance. Award-winning highlights include his 2009 production of ARCHIBISHOP SUPREME TARTUFFE starring André De Shields (four Audelcos); Melvin Van Peebles’ Ain’t Supposed To Die a Natural Death (seven Audelcos); and his 2006 production of King Lear with André De Shields which opened the 75th Anniversary season at The Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C. He has created critically acclaimed original adaptations of Medea, The Trojan Women and Electra. Other productions in New York include Macbeth, which toured Germany in 2004, Hamlet, Day of Absence, Dream on Monkey Mountain and Romeo and Juliet. His work has been recognized with the American Theatre Wing Award (Outstanding Artistic Achievement), Drama Desk Award (Artistic Achievement), Edwin Booth Award (Outstanding Contribution to NYC Theater), Lucille Lortel Award (Outstanding Body of Work), two Obie Awards (Sustained Achievement and Excellence in Theatre) and numerous Audelco Awards.

Tracy Jack is a New York based writer, actor and choreographer. Recent acting and choreography credits include include Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Paris, France), André De Shields’ Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory, J Kyle Manzay's claymation television series It's All Elementary,Diane Paulus and Randy Weiner’s Best of Both Worlds (Cambridge MA) and Alfred Preisser’sARCHBISHOP SUPREME TARTUFFE , just to name a few. Ms. Jack is the founding director of The Triple Threat Performing Arts Academy, an arts intensive program designed for teens and young adults who have a strong desire to work in the industry.  She is also currently developing BALAFROHOP, an epic dance performance that tells the story of a young woman caught in the midst of a troubling love triangle. BALAFROHOP is a seamless mixture of contemporary, African and hip hop dance and was successfully debuted at the City Parks Foundation's SummerStage 2010.

Kelvyn Bell is a guitarist, composer and musical director. He has been a contributing innovator to The Association for the Advancement of Creative Music (AACM), Black Artist Group (BAG), m-Base, The Harlem School of the Arts, The St. Louis Jazz Hall of Fame and The Black Rock Coalition (BRC), of which he is a founding member. Mr. Bell has toured internationally and recorded with Arthur Blythe, Lester Bowie, Steve Coleman & Five Elements, James Carter, Maceo Parker and the JB’s, Living Colour, and Joseph Bowie & Defunkt, of which he is a founding member. Mr. Bell has been the resident composer for The Classical Theatre of Harlem since 2002. His theater credits include Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Black Nativity, Trojan Women, Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, and ARCHBISHOP SUPREME TARTUFFE, for which Mr. Bell won the 2009 Audelco Award for Best Musical Direction.
 

Nikkieli DeMone, a two-time Emmy Award winning actor, has appeared on stage in Miss Saigon, Rent, Ragtime, Jesus Christ Superstar, Ain’t Misbehavin, Once On This Island, Crowns, The Best Of Both Worlds, Memphis Soul and Sideshow, among many others. On the screen, Demone has appeared in The Women Of Brewster Place (with Oprah Winfrey), Amen (with Sherman Hemsley and Clifton Davis), Bad Street (Emmy Award: Best Supporting Actor in a Drama), and In The Eyes Of God (Emmy Award: Best Actor in a Documentary Short. Directed by Spike Lee).

In addition to his award-winning career as an actor, Nikkieli DeMone is also an ordained Bishop who attended Union Theological Seminary in NYC, Chicago Theological Seminary and Howard University School of Divinity in Washington D.C. He has been blessed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ all over the world, and has ministered for the likes of Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Bishop Paul Morton, Bishop Charles Blake, Rev. Dr. Floyd Flake, Rev. Dr. Ray Allen Berryhill, Pastor Donnie McClurkin and Bishop Charles Brown. He is currently working on his first CD entitled Sacred Songs.

Jeff Bolding is the Director of “The Inspirational Voices of Abyssinian” of The Abyssinian Baptist Church, Rev. Dr Calvin Otis Butts, III, Pastor, and currently serves as Assistant Choir Director for Bob Telson’s and Lee Breuer’s international sensation The Gospel at Colonus, performed at the Apollo Theatre, Harlem, NYC (20th anniversary production, 2004), The Vienna Arts Festival (2006), The Greek Arts Festival, Athens, Greece (June, 2008), and The Edinburgh Arts Festival, Edinburgh Scotland (August, 2010). Bolding presented for the New York World Science Festival, a collaboration concert, Music and the Brain with internationally renown author, neurologist, and humanitarian Dr. Oliver Sacks (May, 2008), World Science Festival Opening Gala, Lincoln Center, NYC (2009), and has collaborated with Nation to Nation Networking, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting youth and educational programs in the US, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. He traveled to Ethiopia with 165 pilgrims from Abyssinian Baptist Church (commemorating The Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s Millennium celebration and Abyssinian’s 200th anniversary, 2007) where he presented a brief musical program on the history of Gospel music before the Ethiopian government. Bolding received a 2004 AUDELCO Award for his performance in Great Men of Gospel.

BOX OFFICE & PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: www.BlackNativityOffBroadway.com

TICKETS: $47.50 - $67.50 | Student and group rates available For more information call 1-866-811-4111. Theatre at St. Clement’s is located at 423 West 46^th Street between 9^th & 10^th Avenues in New York. Closest subway: A, C, E to 42nd Street. Exit 44th Street. Walk north on 8th Avenue to West 46th Street, then west to the theatre.

Follow BLACK NATIVITY NOW: Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Nativity-Off-Broadway/122905747735693

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BlackNativityOB

Black Planet: http://www.blackplanet.com/Black_Nativity_OB/

           

The Sonnet Repertory Theatre presents William Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST.

Following their sold out run of Richard II, Sonnet Repertory Theatre proudly presents Twelfth Night at The Theatre at St. Clement’s this July. Director Michael Lluberes brings a new vision of Twelfth Night to the Sonnet Rep stage. By turns sad and hilarious, this Twelfth Night is an exploration of love in all its forms: obsessive, beautiful, sexy, manic and mad. 

Featuring: Yaya DaCosta, Jolly Abraham, Nick Choksi, Ted Schneider, Phillip Christian, Lucas Hall, Ian Lowe, Jennifer Lyon, Brynne Morrice, and Paul Whitty.

A tale of enduring passion and hope, The ToyMaker tells the story of Sarah, a young woman who is struggling in her marriage after two failed pregnancies. Rumors of a childless toy maker of the past set her on a desperate search for the last toy made by this man. Thus begins a journey that spans the globe and time itself. Sarah's quest to find the 'childless toy' and solve the mysteries of a village destroyed by war lead her to a destiny of fulfillment she once thought impossible.

“Putnam takes his audience on a journey that transcends time and place, wrestling issues of genocide and parental grief. The music is manipulated through the slightest of tweaks and the subtlest of sounds, demonstrating a thorough understanding of emotion through music…Putnam plucks a town, a culture, a moment from the historic archives and dresses it with bold characters and romantic twists, careful not to exploit the dark truths and the harsh realities beset in the period. " - Daniel Burke, Currents Magazine (The ToyMaker, Original Reading)

The ToyMaker was inspired by the true events of June 10, 1942, when the small mining and farming village of Lidice, Czechoslovakia was destroyed by German forces as a reprisal for the assassination of SS Leader Reinhard Heydrich. One of many 'pawn towns', this peaceful Christian village saw the murder of its men and boys, while the women and children were taken to nearby camps where most of them faced certain death. The town was burned, fields were planted, the river rerouted and the village was then removed from all German maps. Ordered to disappear "into the night and fog", a memorial now stands in remembrance of this once peaceful and joyful town and those who lost their lives. The ToyMaker weaves together this tragic slice of history and the humanity of those who perished, with a contemporary personal journey, creating a deeply moving portrait of love, family, and friendship.

When rebellious blue blood Venetia can't get accepted into the early ‘80s London post-punk music scene, she escapes to Manhattan with American hustler Andy. Together, they reinvent her past as a “Watford slumdog” and launch her into musical stardom. But as things spiral out of control, she risks losing everything
 

Thanksgiving preparations at Gram Schumer's house in rural Arkansas are always a major undertaking, since this peppery Matriarch loves her "Hallmark moments", regardless of the fact that her grandson Junior likes to shoot skeet with her fine china and is barely controllable on his meds, her granddaughter Poo has broken the safety glass in the family Chevy during her many panic attacks, and her son Marcus married a fool.  Granddaughter Greta arrives home from college for the holidays packing her usual smart mouth and intolerance for political correctness, and oldest Granddaughter Lila hurries about like a worried mother hen hoping to keep the combat to minor skirmish level.  Hovering over the action is the spectre of recently deceased Grandpa Henry, and a deep secret that is clamoring to be told now that he's passed on.  It's troubled Poo who brings this murky, shattering secret to light in the wee hours after the china has been put back in the hutch, and the Dining Room is transformed to a killing floor.

Turkey Day has been developed at The Playwrights Platform at Times Square Arts Center, and has been likened by audience members to August Osage County.  It is alternately funny, troubling, devastating and ultimately transformative.

This piece was chosen for the Strawberry One-Act Play Festival, a juried series of plays presented in rounds, voted on by industry professionals and audience members, culminating in a Final Four presentation and announcement of Best Play,  Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director. 

 

 

Inspired by a crime that shocked the nation. Kitty Genovese fights for her life in the dark of the street while thirty-eight neighbors watch from their windows - silent, afraid, paralyzed. Why do decent people look away? THE SCREAMS OF KITTY GENOVESE explores the events of that fateful night.

Inspired by Margeree King Mitchell's award-winning 1993 book. A a new family musical created by David B. Wohl (Composer/Co-lyricist), Kenneth Grimes (Bookwriter, co-lyricist) and Susan Einhorn (Director, co-creator).

Its cast, which contains seven Broadway veterans, is headed by Ken Prymus ("The Wiz" and "Ain't Misbehavin'," seven years as Old Deuteronomy in "Cats") as the title character. Choreography is by Tanya Gibson-Clark.

The musical was inspired by the Coretta Scott King award-winning book by the same name, written by Margaree King Mitchell and illustrated by James Ransome. The musical is steeped in the atmosphere, language and music of the late 1920's through the 1960's, evoking rural Arkansas near the Mississippi Delta.

The book begins in 1928 with Jedediah Johnson, the only black barber in Monroe County Arkansas, dreaming of building his own his own barbershop. Each time he makes headway, something happens, such as the near death of his favorite niece, Sarah Jean, that requires his personal or financial sacrifice. His dream is deferred over and over again until finally, as a much older man, he succeeds after accepting the help of his niece and their community.

In the musical, Sarah Jean (now a 50-year-old woman) returns home from Detroit in the early 1970s in conflict with herself. Her city life and marriage are unfulfilling and she misses the hopeful quest for something "more", which growing up with her great uncle represented. When she inherits her deceased uncle's shop during the early 1970's, it is initially not as meaningful to her as it was to him. Nonetheless, the power of his dream inspires her to fulfill one of her own. She convinces the community to take on the challenge of building a "Center For Dreams" on the same site as the shop. "Uncle Jed's Barbershop" concludes as an exuberant celebration of the human spirit.