Artspower's Laura Ingalls Wilder- National Tour
Best of luck and safe travels to my terrific LAURA INGALLS WILDER cast as they head out on a national tour.
It was a pleasure directing and getting to know this very talented group of actors!
Filtering by Tag: Andrew Dawson
Time Out New York Review
TIME OUT NEW YORK
Theater review:
The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey
will surely draw you in
By David Cote
The men onstage know each other intimately but maintain a respectful, almost shy distance. They range from college-aged to senior citizenry. Yet as they trade observations on childhood, first loves and the pains of growing old, little gestures of affection emerge: a reassuring pat on the shoulder, a hand resting innocently on a knee during a juicy bit of gossip. They might be chatty relatives or an odd trio of roommates. In fact, they are phases of Edward Gorey (1925–2000), the genius illustrator and writer who produced nearly a hundred books over 47 years. Each was meticulously drawn in his signature style of dense cross-hatching, depicting Edwardian gentlemen and neurasthenic feather boa’ed society ladies, plus the occasional menacing urn, smug cat or creeping creature. If, in this fictional portrayal, the man who created that tremulous, midnight realm keeps his own self at arm’s length, it makes sense. “Why be one person when you can be…hundreds?” Gorey 1 (Andrew Dawson) queries. Like Whitman, the camp-gothic bard contained multitudes—and was perfectly happy to be lost in the crowd.
Travis Russ’s lovingly crafted 75-minute play is less concerned with the nitty-gritty of Gorey’s publishing career or his approach to drawing (lots of grumbling and self-criticism) and more with his breezy evasions and elliptical musings on an eccentric, solitary life. A dandyish student at Harvard (his roommate was poet Frank O’Hara), Gorey moved to New York in the 1950s, working in advertising while shopping his weird, cryptic portfolio to magazines. His black-and-white world of tweedy figures and sere landscapes, often captioned with nonsense verse, eventually gained a cult following—a fandom that increased when his art was used in the credit sequence for PBS’s
Mystery
.
Never married and self-admittedly asexual, Gorey spent the last 14 years of his life in a rickety ex–sea-captain’s home on Cap Cod. The play, which costars Phil Gillen as a twentyish, moony Gorey and Aidan Sank as the artist in bearded, relatively confident middle years, takes place in an imaginary version of that house, crammed floor to ceiling with all manner of rusty tools or antique toys that Gorey obsessively accumulated. It’s Grey Gardens with a better work ethic. The mood flits gently from whimsical to melancholy and dryly bemused.
For the proud owner of the anthology
Amphigorey
and its sequels,
The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey
is a visit to an old friend who always amuses and sometimes surprises. Newcomers, take care: Gorey’s macabre, intricately detailed universe can addict and overwhelm. The man himself was an object lesson.
Sheen Center (
). Written and directed Travis Russ. With Andrew Dawson, Phil Gillen, Aidan Sank. Running time: 1hr 15mins. No intermission. Through Jan 14. Click
for full ticket and venue information.
Gorey: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey- The New Yorker
The playwright and director Travis Russ has devised a
brilliant solution for dramatizing this contradictory and solitary man: three actors, all of
them excellent and in perfect tune with one another, play the artist simultaneously at three
different ages, delivering a collective autobiographical monologue, sometimes delightedly
affirming each other’s accounts, sometimes gently contradicting them.
Read MoreGOREY- New York Times Review and Critics' Pick!
GOREY- Opening Night !
What a great opening night with this extraordinary group of people that made this show a reality. I am truly awed by everyone's talent! Bravo.
GOREY- First Preview TONIGHT at 8:00
Here we go....
GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey- New York magazine top 25 things to do!
New York Magazine lists GOREY as on of the top 25 things to do this week in NYC! Previews start today...running through January 14th!
GOREY at the Sheen Center- TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Edward Gorey House Retreat- Yarmouth, MA
GOREY returns!
December 2016 through January 2017 at The Sheen Center...
America is Hard to See- Life Jacket Theatre
Honored to be a part of the first, developmental reading of Life Jacket Theatre's new and challenging play AMERICA IS HARD TO SEE...
Based on verbatim interviews and archival research, this ground breaking play investigates the lives in and around Miracle Village, a rural community for sex offenders, buried deep in Florida's sugarcane fields.
This uncomfortable and disruptive play tells tough, thoughtful and real stories about darkness, uncertainty and the painful process of healing in small-town America. Seven actors embody over 50 roles including Miracle Village residents, law officials, clergy, and other figures on opposing sides of this controversial community.
For more information,
click here for Life Jacket's website
...
Closing Night- The Inn at Lake Devine
What a wonderful time I had working on this show! Terrific production team and cast, full house every night...so sorry to see it end. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us!
Opening Night Party- The Inn at Lake Devine
Lovely opening night celebration with the entire cast, production team...not to mention Elinor Lipman, the author of the novel!
The Inn at Lake Devine opens!
Wonderful opening last night after a few previews...come see us if you get the chance!
I
play 'Karl Berry,' a sweet husband and father who loves to forage for mushrooms.
It's a great coming-of-age comedy that touches on more meaningful themes about families, faith, and falling in love. We have 15 more shows, and I would love it if you came to see it!
THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE, adapted by Jake Lipman, based on the novel by Elinor Lipman
Oct. 7-24, 2015 @ 7:30 pm (no shows Mondays, matinee Sunday Oct. 18 @ 2:30 pm)
Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios, 244 West 54th Street, 12th floor
Tickets: $18 @
and 212-868-4444
The Inn at Lake Devine- First Read Through
Off and running with the production of "The Inn at Lake Devine."
Tongue in Cheek's world premiere of the play with music, based on the novel by Elinor Lipman, features 15 actors, directed by Kimberly Faith Hickman and assisted by Molly Ballerstein. Philip Rothman is the music director and sound designer, Lisa Renee Jordan is the costume designer, Tyler M. Perry is the scenic designer, and Richard T. Chamblin III will light the show.
Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios, October 7-24, 2015. Tickets are $18 at
and at 212-868-4444.
New Head Shots 2015
The Inn at Lake Devine- October 7th through 24th
Pleased to have just been cast as Karl Berry in the stage adaptation of THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE. More information below...
October 7-24, 2015
THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE STAGE ADAPTATION PREMIERES OCTOBER 2015 IN NYC;
KIMBERLY FAITH HICKMAN TO HELM ADAPTATION OF ELINOR LIPMAN’S NOVEL
NEW YORK CITY – Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions (Jake Lipman, producing artistic director) will premiere its adaptation of the popular novel,
by
(Vintage Contemporaries) in October 2015. The new play with music will run for 16 performances, October 7-24, 2015, in midtown NYC with Kimberly Faith Hickman directing.
, “in her delightful novel,
The Inn at Lake Devine,
Elinor Lipman waltzes fearlessly though a minefield of identity politics. Anti-Semitism, intermarriage, ethnic cuisine and Anne Frank are some of the unlikely, loaded subjects of this witty romantic comedy.”
The Inn at Lake Devine
begins in 1964. When Natalie Marx’s mother inquires about summer accommodations in Vermont, she gets the following reply: “The Inn at Lake Devine is a family-owned resort, which has been in continuous operation since 1922. Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles.” For twelve-year-old Natalie, who has a stubborn sense of justice, the words are not a rebuff but an infuriating, irresistible challenge, setting in motion events that will change her life.
Director
assistant directed on Broadway with Bruce Norris on
Clybourne Park,
Lynne Meadow on
The Assembled Parties,
and Susan Stroman on
The Scottsboro Boys.
Off-Broadway, Hickman has directed on Theater Row
(The Other Man, Tummy Bubbles, Derivatives)
and terraNOVA Collective; regionally for Williamstown Theatre Festival, Omaha Playhouse
(Enron, Jesus Christ Superstar),
among others.
Elinor Lipman’s books include
(adapted and directed by Helen Hunt into the film by the same name),
,
,
,
and
,
among others. She has been compared to Jane Austen for her cheeky view of romantic relations and smart female leads.
Founded in 2006 by Jake Lipman, Tongue in Cheek Theater’s mission is to produce thought-provoking comedic works. In May 2014, TIC’s company-created comedy
by Adam Harrell was the recipient of a 2014
grant. In 2013, The Huffington Post recognized the company’s tenure, saying, “Tongue in Cheek is an Off-Off-Broadway company celebrating its eighth season, a major achievement in and of itself.”
The Inn at Lake Devine
has been developed over the first half of 2015 for Tongue in Cheek Theater’s 31st production and 10th anniversary season. Producing artistic director
explains, “Although Elinor Lipman and I are not related, I feel a true kinship with her work, and the humor and heart throughout
The Inn at Lake Devine
fits perfectly with TIC’s mission.”
Novelist
shares, “I've always hoped that one of my books could be adapted for the stage, but whom to trust? I found that answer from the first conversation I had with Jake Lipman. Yes, I said; yes! For me, this theater and this book are a match made in adaptation heaven. I'm excited to see my characters—especially these, who are very dear to me—brought to life.”
The play
The Inn at Lake Devine
will run October 7-24, 2015 at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios, 244 West 54 Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY.
.