Frog & Peach Theatre Company presents their streamlined take on Shakespeare’s celebrated comedy, TWELFTH NIGHT. Now in their 20th year, Frog & Peach creates fast-paced and entertaining productions of Shakespeare's plays that appeal to all audiences, with a special outreach to those who may feel shut out or priced out of the cultural conversation. Set in the seaside kingdom of Illyria, this startlingly modern romp is replete with fiendish pranks, public brawls, and an original rocking score by the band Honey West’s Ted Zurkowski. The production will play a limited engagement from Friday, February 22nd through Sunday, March 17th at The Sheen Center (18 Bleecker Street in NYC).
TWELFTH NIGHT, centered on twins Viola and Sebastian separated by shipwreck, has easily maintained its relevance for over 400 years, with its commentary on gender identity and sexual ambiguity cleverly disguised as a case of mistaken identity. Frog & Peach apply their quick wit and swift cinematic pace to another hilarious evening with the Bard that’s accessible, entertaining, and over before you know it. Co-founder and Artistic Director Lynnea Benson directs. Tickets are $24.95-$29.95 and can be purchased at sheencenter.org/shows/twelfthnight.
The cast of TWELFTH NIGHT includes Martin Bodenheimer, Jamar Brathwaite, Alyssa Diamond, Dani Franco, Daniel Garcia, Shashwat Gupta, Kevin Hauver, Steve Mazzoccone, Karoline Patrick, John L. Payne, Richard James Porter, Blake Kelton Prentiss, Kyle Primack, Amy Frances Quint, Steven Ungar, and Jonathan Reed Wexler. Lighting Design is by three-time tony nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Dennis Parichy. Sets and costumes are by Asa Benally. Choreography is by Geneva Jenkins with fight direction by Marcus Watson. Rafaella Rossi serves as stage manager.
1 hour 50 minutes with one intermission
About the Company: Frog and Peach
THE FROG AND PEACH THEATRE CO. is committed to dispelling the “rocket science” myth of Shakespeare by bringing wildly entertaining productions of Shakespeare’s plays to the people of New York. We don’t dumb down the texts or engage in stunt period stuff (Wild West Winter’s Tale? Not here.) —we painstakingly craft the scripts to appeal to Shakespeare fans and Gen-Y alike. If you’ve ever walked the Upper West Side, you’ll know—it’s become astonishingly bifurcated in terms of income and level of education. As former “troubled kids” themselves, the co-founders strive to engender a love of theatre in those who may not otherwise get an opportunity to see a live show, and to whet young appetites for the classics. 20% of all tickets are FREE to at-risk kids, their families, and the elderly.
Hang A Tale Theater Company (Producers Kim Martin-Cotten, Michael Arden Larson, and Jesse Liebman) will present a special engagement of Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, a solo play inspired by the life of Gordon Hirabayashi, directed by Lisa Rothe (Science Fair: An Opera with Experiments at HERE), at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street), December 3-20 with performances on Mon 12/4, Wed 12/6, Thu 12/7, Fri 12/8, Tue 12/12, Wed 12/13, Thu 12/14, Fri 12/15, Mon 12/18, Tue 12/19, and Wed 12/20 at 7:30pm; Sun 12/3, Sat 12/9, and Sat 12/16 at 2pm & 7:30pm; Sun 12/10 and Sun 12/17 at 2pm. Tickets (20 seats at $29; 50 seats at $49; 10 seats at $59) are available for advance purchase at https://sheencenter.org/shows/holdthesetruths/ or by calling (212) 925-2812. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.
During WWII in Seattle, University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi fights the US government’s orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. As he struggles to reconcile his country’s betrayal with his passionate belief in the US Constitution, Gordon begins a 50-year journey toward a greater understanding of America’s triumphs---and a confrontation with its failures.
Hold These Truths is inspired by this true story from a little-known chapter of American history, when civil liberties were under attack, constitutional rights violated, and issues of race hotly debated by a divided country. Joel de la Fuente* (Inspector Kido on Amazon's The Man in the High Castle) stars as civil rights pioneer and 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Gordon Hirabayashi.
Hold These Truths originally received its New York Premiere with Epic Theatre Ensemble in 2012 and was nominated for the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.
About the Company: Hang a Tale
HANG A TALE is a New York City based, non-profit theater company. Jesse Liebman, Kim Martin-Cotten and Michael Arden Larson have come together to create intimate, actor-driven productions for the Off-Broadway stage.
Our mission is to reexamine, reimagine and reinvigorate stories for the theater. We seek tales of universality, old and new, that transcend the limitations of time. We search for stories that inspire us and start conversations about our lives and the world around us. We do not to limit ourselves to any particular playwright or style. We embrace our diverse, dynamic surroundings and remain open to co-creation and inclusiveness. www.hangatale.org
Voyage Theater Company and Crossroads Theatre Company will present the New York Premiere of Rohina Malik’s THE MECCA TALES, directed by Kareem Fahmy (3/Fifths at 3LD; This Time with Rising Circle Theater Collective), at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street), October 20-November 4 with evening performances on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7pm and matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm (no Saturday matinee on October 21). Tickets ($18 general admission/$15 students & seniors) will go on sale September 1 at https://sheencenter.org/shows/mecca/ or by calling 866-811-4111. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.
THE MECCA TALES tells the story of five Muslim women on the pilgrimage known as the Hajj. When their bus breaks down miles short of their destination, tempers flare and the women are tested in unexpected ways. They share their personal stories with each other in an attempt to move forward in their lives and find meaning in a spiritual journey seemingly gone awry.
THE MECCA TALES had its World Premiere at Chicago Dramatists in March 2015 and was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Play.
The cast will feature Cynthia Bastidas (She She She at The New Ohio), Kimberly S. Fairbanks (I Will Speak for Myself at 59E59; 10 Imaginings of Sarah & Hagar with Mint Theatre), Mariam Habib (Five Historic Children Who Are Not with Target Margin), Gulshan Mia (Acquittal with Pan Asian Rep), Jade Radford (Orange is the New Black on Netflix), and Louis Sallan (The Strangest at NYTW; Drunk Shakespeare). The creative team will include Scenic Design by David Esler (This Time with Rising Circle; Rogerandtom at HERE), Costume Design by Teresa Snider-Stein (The Crusade of Connor Stephens at the Jerry Orbach Theater), Lighting Design by Devorah Kengmana (Beyond the Oak Trees with Crossroads Theatre), and Sound Design by Fan Zhang (A Footnote in History at The New Ohio) with Dramaturg Salma Zohdi (Arab Classic Plays at the Segal Center), Choreographer Theara J. Ward (Dance Theatre of Harlem), and Production Stage Manager Keri Landeiro.
Loveless Texas tells the story of two brothers in 1930s Texas… the elder is King Navarre, responsible oil man and cattle rancher, and the younger is Berowne Navarre, playboy and rascal. With the onset of the Great Depression, King enlists Berowne and his college buddies Duke and Bubba to a contract of three years employment...with the condition of no romance, no drinking, no carousing, no gambling. When four intelligent and beautiful women arrive and demand an audience, all contracts are open for re-negotiation.
Loveless Texas is a traditional book musical, with a score in a variety of traditional Americana styles, encompassing Texas swing, bluegrass, blues, Cajun waltz and two-step, and cowboy yodels. It is a fun, joyous, affirmative celebration of the power of love.
The production features set design by Evan Hill, costume design by Cheryl McCarron, lighting design by Michael O’Connor, sound design by Ian Wehrle. Character movement by Dan Renkin, and Theresa McElwee is the vocal coach.
Loveless Texas plays the following performances through Sunday, September 24th:
Thu, Sept 7th at 8:00 pm
Fri, Sept 8th at 8:00 pm
Saturday, Sept 9th at 8:00 pm
Friday, Sept 10th at 2:30pm and 7:00 pm
Tue, Sept 12th at 8:00 pm
Wed, Sept 13th at 8:00 pm
Thu, Sept 14th at 8:00 pm
Fri, Sept 15th at 8:00 pm
Sat, Sept 16th at 2:30 pm and 8:00 pm
Sun, Sept 17th at 2:30 pm and 7:00 pm
Tue, Sept 19th at 8:00 pm
Wed, Sept 20th at 8:00 pm
Thu, Sept 21th at 8:00 pm
Fri, Sept 22dn at 8:00 pm
Sat, Sept 23rd at 2:30pm and 8:00 pm
Sun, Sept 24th at 2:30pm
Tickets are $32 - $42 (includes $2 facility fee) and are now available online at www.sheencenter.org. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater ½ hour prior to performance.
Running Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission.
Website for Tickets: https://sheencenter.org/shows/loveless/
Company Website: https://www.boomerangtheatre.org/