Theater in the Now

Name: Brandon Haagenson

Hometown: Oswego, IL

Education: BFA: Millikin University in Decatur, IL.

Select Credits: Monty Python's Spamalot (Patsy, NTC); 42nd Street (Billy Lawlor, Ocean State); going on for Lumiere in Disney's Beauty & the Beast (NETworks tour); Shows at FringeNYC, Theatre Row, St. Luke's, Snapple Center.

Why theater?: Doing theater in school was when I found 'my people.' I've met the most interesting people in this business - creative, fun, focused types who challenge me, and they're who keep me coming back.

Who do you play in Afterglow?: Josh

Tell us about Afterglow: Afterglow is a play revolving around a married couple and someone that they become involved with. There's this line that couples teeter on between sex and love when they open up their relationship, and the playwright, Asher Gelman, does a really nice job of exploring all the different things that two people need out of the same relationship.

What is it like being a part of Afterglow?: The process for Afterglow has been incredibly collaborative. When you do published works without the playwright in the room you take for granted what's written and kind of glean your own meaning from it. With this, we really got to sit down with our scripts and ask Asher what's underneath everything that happens in the story. Every scene, every word has something behind it, and it's been really cool to discover that and be given the freedom to add to it throughout this process with such talented actors.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love when theater pulls the audience into the world it's painting. In Afterglow, we put the audience on either side of the action to make them feel like they're in these rooms with us. I'm just very attracted to any theater that breaks the form and invites everyone to live in this world for a couple hours. That's a luxury that film and books don't have.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Ken in Red by John Logan. That play deals so deeply in what making art does to a person and what it ends up meaning to the world.

What’s your favorite showtune?: "Sunday" from Sunday in the Park with George. Not your typical showtune, but always gives me the goosebumps.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Nicky Silver. He writes such compelling, funny characters that are so bent out of shape; I just want to see what building that with him is like.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Jonathan Groff looks right both in the cornfields and in the city, which sums me up pretty much, I guess. "Small Town, Big City.""Lost in Harlem." I hate coming up with titles!

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I would like to see A Chorus Line downtown at The Public in 1975 just to see what the energy in that theater felt like.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: A Doll's House, Part 2.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Kit Kat Bites. How are they better than Kit Kats?

What’s up next?: Hopefully something as exciting and daring as Afterglow.

For more on Brandon, visit www.brandonhaagenson.com

By Ed Malin

The Woman Who Was Me is a solo show written by Peter Grandbois (adapted from his novel), performed by Liz Stanton, directed by Jeremy Williams. After several runs at United Solo Festival, the show is now being presented by Convergences Theatre Collective at TheaterLab.
Lanie is a “woman of a certain age”, an author, wife and mother of a seven-year old son named Noah. The story opens with Lanie waking up, standing up in bed, wearing all white amid the whiteness of TheaterLab. She goes about her life the way she has accepted she must. Her husband’s idea of kissing her is giving her a peck on the cheek. What a surprise when a passing stranger gives Lanie a passionate kiss in her garden. Suddenly, Lanie is fully conscious of her desires, and is ready to use her body to fulfill them. Nina Simone’s song "Wild Is The Wind" plays in the background as Lanie creates a new identity for herself: Elizabeth. Elizabeth hears the thudding noise of her ceiling fan and is moved to go to salsa clubs, where she is taught by and dominated by strange men. Whatever she wants, she pursues. However, she still has writer’s block, for, thinking of her grandmother and the girdle she felt pressured to wear, Lanie is acutely conscious of how society restrains us from living the way we want to live.

photo by Lloyd Mulvey

As sometimes happens in a play centered on the imagination, there are several mythological references. First, after Lanie views the film "Clash of the Titans" with her son, we are reminded that (according to Ovid in his Metamorphoses), Medusa was a beautiful woman, desired of many men, when the god Neptune raped her in the temple of Athena. Athena then punished Medusa by turning her into a dangerous, snake-haired monster. Second, the river nymph Daphne was pursued by the god Apollo as a result of her beauty. She called out to her father, and was turned into a laurel tree. The set (designed by WT McRae) is dominated by a tree-like clothes drying rack. Lanie/Elizabeth fears getting stuck in any normal pattern of life, and shows us her tree-enforced power by changing from her matronly white outfit into tree bark-patterned tights (thanks to Natalie Loveland’s costume design, this metamorphosis was surprising and quite effective). She is full of erotic energy, like water dripping in a cave, but she also has the very real need to take care of her young son.
Her husband initially ignores Lanie’s increased passion. Lanie responds by telling us of rough sex with more strangers. She tries to find satisfaction with her husband, who refuses her, and then is heard muttering in bed “I wish I were alone”. Finally, after Lanie removes her wedding ring and leaves it on her husband’s pillow, she is confronted by that most spineless remark: “You’re not the person I married.” Lanie tells us that she is not the same person she was five minutes ago, let alone whoever she thought she needed to be because of marriage, a contract, “something that creeps between two people” and stops them from being who they are. Lanie tells us that perhaps the kiss was a dream, but her son and her societal role are real. The audience must decide if this is a story of fulfillment (after all, polyamory and other kinds of sex-positivity are more acceptable nowadays) or unfulfilled longing or some mixture of the two. Kate Jaworski’s lighting helps show the dance between complete empowerment and loneliness which Elizabeth Stanton bravely undertakes.
Following the hour-long Act One, we are treated to the forty-minute talkback which is Act Two. The play motivated a lot of people to speak up about empowering themselves. Women’s voices will be heard, most prominently through the hundreds and thousands of women who are now seeking public office. If the current administration does not care what women want, we can clearly see how the sisters of America (and France too, as reported) will be doing it for themselves. Many of the creative people behind this production were in the same graduate program, and very happy to tell us that they share a common theatrical vocabulary: from Grotowski movement training to Roy Hart vocal technique. Jeremy Williams, Artistic Director of Convergences Theatre Collective, has worked closely with Liz Stanton to bring out the mundane and “woke” aspects of her character; the trapped whimper and the primal roar. The results are fascinating.

Name: Patrick Reilly

Hometown: Houston, TX

Education: University of Southern California

Select Credits: Feature Films: “Danny The Manny” (Danny), Dating "My Mother" (Danny, Opposite Kathryn Erbe, Kathy Najimy, and James LeGros); Regional Theatre: American Idiot (Tunny, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts), We Are The Tigers (Clark U/S, Hudson Stage, Los Angeles, Ovation Award for Best Music/Lyrics)

Why theater?: Honestly, observing people has always been my favorite thing to do, so getting to put those observations to good use on stage- that's gold for me.

Who do you play in Afterglow?: Darius

Tell us about Afterglow: It's a story of love and intimacy between three people, the way they confront societal standards, their own personal bias in life, and what they do in regards to that triangular connection.

What is it like being a part of Afterglow?: Amazing. Great cast, amazing production team, and conversation for ages!!!!

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater with complex themes and a POV

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Alan Cumming- and it would be called “My Future”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Constellations, Gypsy with Patti, and The Color Purple- so basically shows that I told myself I'd see but life was like "nah"

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Cereal for daysssss

What’s up next?: Filming two shorts I wrote- "Needy Bitch" and "Mommy"- the former a commentary on white privilege and the latter a horror drama

By Michael Block

The fascination of the human mind is ripe for exploration in art. But how to depict it is the true test. Presented by The Dirty Blondes at the Kraine Theatre, How To Be Safe by Ashley J. Jacobson follows two women struggling to hang on when their paths cross in a time of great need. A psychological drama, this play just scratches the surface of what it can be.
Following the sudden death of her neighbor, Audrey has finally left her apartment. On her journey out of the house, she meets Willow, a young woman with a lust for adventure, on her own journey to recovery. Their chance meeting creates a unique bond that brings them both together only to have their lives come crashing down. Written by Ashley J. Jacobson, How to Be Safe is a showcase of complexity, in character and mind. It is exceptionally difficult to depict mental illness on stage. Jacobson and director Cezar Williams have done a noble job in their attempt. But the script and execution teeter on the line of textbook and presentation with not quite enough theatricality. There’s very much an essence of cinema in Jacobson’s script. Infusing that cinematic feel in a limited fashion is quite difficult. The sound design from Almeda Beynon helped display the chaos in the mind. From the anxiety of the continuity of the time to the excessive loud noises, the sound brought us into Audrey. It was intimate but not intimate enough. Even in the brevity of the piece, Jacobson has much more she can offer. The heart of the play comes when these two individuals connect after their chance meeting. It wants to happen much faster. Playing with structure could easily allow this to happen. How to Be Safe isn’t necessarily a relationship play. The connections aren’t the draw into the piece, and yet we watch what human connection, or lack there of, looks like for these two women. As someone living with great fears, Audrey’s solace of connection comes in the form of her fish, and her love for procedural shows. It’s hard to learn about Audrey’s backstory, hence needing Willow a little sooner. Willow’s connection comes from Scott, a man who wants to help but has a need for a different type of closeness. It’s a strong juxtaposition to Audrey, showing the two individuals and how their illnesses play a factor. But it truly is when we see them together that we learn the most.

photo by Rachael Elana Photography

How to Be Safe isn’t a journey play but a “moment” play. We don’t get the chance to watch Willow and Audrey go on a complete journey but deal with their problems in the here and now. With that in mind, it was important for these women to be presented with integrity and truthfulness. As Audrey, Faith Sandberg played the fear to the max. It was in stark contrast to the intensity from Jenna D’Angelo as Willow. Together, D’Angelo and Sandberg made this wonderfully odd couple that were equal parts engaging and heartbreaking. As the more dominant force, Willow’s control, and subsequent loss of control, allowed D’Angelo to stand out as the central focus. Brandon Ferraro’s sweet Scott was endearing, despite the character’s slightly skewed moral compass.
With the complexity already being a strong factor in this show, director Cezar Williams had a tough road ahead of him. Even in the brevity of the piece, the pacing was sluggish. A leading factor in this was Williams’ transitions. Jacobson’s script called for locale after locale, but on the Kraine Theatre stage, there is simply not enough space. That being said, streamlining would have assisted Williams. He often tried to pair the transitions with an accompanying scene but there was too much commotion, to no fault of the crew. The stage is simply too tiny for it. This production desired sharpness and clarity.
To be fair, the evening I saw the show, there were some technical issues with the lighting. Could it have played a factor on the overall performance? Perhaps a little. But there is more to story. There is something innately promising about How to Be Safe. It might be Ashley J. Jacobson’s daring approach to tell a difficult story.

I got a chance to sit down with Sophie Moshofsky and Kaitlyn Farley to discuss Fight the Good Fight's inaugural production of Elemeno Pea.

To listen to the episode, visit iTunes or SoundCloud.

And visit patreon.com/theaterinthenow to learn about becoming a PATRON of the website!

By Ed Malin

Sometimes it’s not just the words, it’s how they slap you that leaves a lasting impression. The witty and enigmatic Kim Katzberg and Tom X. Chao have a new show entitled Hot For Feminist Theory Professor at The Brick as part of This Is Not Normal: An Arts and Action Festival. The language employed is hell on books like bell hooks. The onstage and video action are indeed hot, the kind of suggestive that you might not expect to find on the campus of the College of Low Hills.

photo by Matthew Kohn

As the 40-minute blitz opens, Professor Losstt-Keyes (Katzberg) is watching her feminist theory students present their thoughts on vaginas, of which we are only fortunate enough to catch one student’s poem on the “aboriginal paintings I found in my cave”. Dennis Quan of the Office of Pedagogy and Learning (Chao) enters, surprised to find that the room has been double-booked for Losstt-Keyes’s and his seminars. From Losstt-Keyes’s crushing handshake, it seems as though she likes Quan. They reminisce about a concert on campus several years ago, during which The Carnivore Killers played and frat boys started beating vegans. After that event, all campus concerts were banned, and it looks like Losstt-Keyes and Quan haven’t had much fun lately. However, Quan’s niceties earn him shoves and the threat of a restraining order from Losstt-Keyes. He only said that her dress reminded him of a spring day, in a painting by Klimt, which he had only seen in reproductions. “Do you get paid by the adjective?” Losstt-Keyes asks him harassingly, after she follows him to the faculty lounge. After much avoidance, she rubs up against his body. What if the Bursar were to walk in?
“Why do you narrate everything?” she asks in the way many scientific-minded men have been upbraided by women.
Ultimately, Quan is invited to Losstt-Keyes’s place, where he meets her cat, Susan B. Anthony Dollar. The two lonely academics share several kinds of intimacy, but I think the emotional kind was the most beautiful and fulfilling.
It is all quite absurd, which is why Quan constantly protests his entrapment by the patriarchy and why Losstt-Keyes takes these apologies as consent to abuse him. I think this is a very entertaining show from artists whose understatement is your gain. Feminism is, of course, vindicated. It’s 2017, for goodness sakes.

By Ed Malin

Grief may push us out of our comfort zone, or intensify our inertia, or make us feel that life is even more meaningless, or drive us to drink, or allow us to see new connections in the universe. Yes, and.
Go Get The Axe is the first full-length play offering from FIG Productions (whose name stands for "Fear Is Good”). Over the past year and a half, James L. Menzies wrote the play, an expansion of several shorter pieces created through the vibrant downtown company Amios’s monthly Shotz! productions. Director Richard C. Aven guides the cast of 12 through their non-linear, perhaps therapeutically circular, adventure in many modes of being. I learned a lot about the genesis of the piece through a recently-posted podcast from several of the creative leads.
I also learned that the title of the piece references a well-known folk song with whimsically random lyrics. But, sometimes, don’t seemingly unrelated things, even loss of loved ones, bring people together? At the top of the show, a member of the Drinkwine family sees several unidentified persons wearing white hospital gowns walking around a room, next to a sliding door. When the door opens, we see a huge ascending staircase and a neon sign which proclaims “Parly Gates”. From this tantalizing bit of information, we jump between the lives of several Drinkwine siblings, who may be estranged from each other or have their own troubles, all for good, realistic reasons, which we may gradually discover from context. Despite the David Lynch-like jumps between stories, and priceless dream statements to the effect that playwright David Mamet wrote a script for “Back to the Future” but it wasn’t as good (as the one we know in this world), the dialogue comes off as quite realistic. If someone knows what they’re talking about, they don’t spend time on exposition. You have to beat it out of them. We do see some characters explaining their behavior, such as Tommy Tanner (Jay Ben Markson) a student being punished for a violent outburst, or Maeve Drinkwine (Lisa Kitchens) an unkempt employee called to the boss’s office to be terminated. In turn, we see the boss, Strother Van Allen (Terrence Montgomery), reveal that his worldly success has made him more sad than anything else. Consciousness of absurdity helps these characters open up. Drew Nungesser’s sound design includes lively soul music (pun intended?) that gives us some knowledge of the characters’ mental states.

photo by Richard C. Aven

Doctor Martin Gaskins (Robert Robinson) who is Tommy’s French teacher, realizes that Tommy is dealing with the loss of someone close to him. However, when Tommy hurls a racial epithet at his teacher and further insults the memory of the teacher’s deceased son, Martin smashes some office furniture with a baseball bat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen onstage. It was preceded by a polite conversation in French (with English supertitles) which was delivered in hostile tones.
Jessica Drinkwine (Leigh Williams) calls her brother Jim (Christopher Halladay) to tell him that his baby sister has died. Jessica leaves multiple voice mails for her estranged brother, who blames Jessica for the death of their mother, Susan. Ian Friedman’s video design fills in some of the chronology such as Jerry Tanner’s (Michael Propster), who is Tommy’s father, beautiful courtship, marriage and loss. In the present, Jerry is not able to say much more than “do you have anything to declare?”
It seems that Jessica is connected to Strother Van Allen, her sister Maeve’s employer. Archie Windows (Eric Michael Gillett) approaches Jessica in a bar and reveals that he knows quite a lot about her. Such happenings help move the play back to Tommy Tanner and a comet which he has claimed is coming to smash the planet. But, to remain expansive and optimistic, I should mention that Archie is not the dissipated alcoholic he might appear to be. He may have bartered for the ability to spend thirty minutes with someone who has died. More beautiful video and music help the Drinkwines and those close to them come to terms with what has happened.
This impressive play isn’t straightforward, but neither are most interesting people. Alcoholism, overcoming fear of blood by painting with one’s own blood, storing a noose in one's office drawer, and other means of avoidance are slowly removed to reveal a multi-faceted picture of a family. It’s the kind of show which doesn’t have a main character, and which calls for great performances from the entire ensemble. I applaud James L. Menzies, Richard C. Aven and the cast for avoiding cliché in their portrayal of young and old characters.

By Ed Malin

Gideon Productions presents God of Obsidian by Mac Rogers as part This Is Not Normal: An Arts and Activism Festival at The Brick Theater. The play stars Mac Rogers and Rebecca Comtois and is directed by Jordana Williams. The long-time collaborators have just taken the show to the Cincinnati Fringe Festival and are back for a few possibly sold-out performances in NYC.
Have you ever heard the mystical Jewish saying “The whole world is a very narrow bridge”? You will see a narrow bridge onstage here. It makes up most of the set, which is designed by Sandy Yaklin. The bridge happens to come between the rest of the world and the snug house owned by Nathan (Rogers), to which he is bringing Alice (Comtois) as our story opens. Some people have f@ck!ng lawns, which they have to mow, but Nathan has this interesting bridge over a chasm. Nathan is a striking dude, who might be the proverbial “most interesting man in the world” if he spent a lot of time in the outside world. His house is his castle, and he is a little protective, like Bluebeard, but he is not that kind of tyrant. He and Alice are beginning a romance. He wants to protect her. He tells her he has just gotten a big chunk of capital, which he wants to share with Alice in honor of her birthday. Would Alice consider quitting her job and taking six months or a year to just take care of herself? It sounds like a sweet deal. He even couches the luxury of this request in terms that Alice may indeed come to believe prove that they thought of this plan together. Have you ever heard of gaslighting? No, it’s not some ancient theatrical technique. There’s someone in the White House who does it a lot. Gaslighting is when one talks to people in a way that makes them doubt their sanity and the truth of their recollections. A manipulative man might then move on to persuade such people that only he has the truth, the plan, the power that will make everything all right.

photo courtesy of The Brick

When she moved in with Nathan, Alice was telling him about her friends, who just started a relationship and left her as a third wheel. Alice would still like to see her friends, and to bring Nathan along. Nathan subtly posits, as he did when talking about Alice’s former career, that some people just want to waste your time, but, if you say no to them and yes to yourself, you can take your life back. Nathan is neutral or smiling when he says such things, so why does Alice look so sick? Why is she trembling? Is she really incapable of crossing the bridge to go shopping? Nathan even convinces her that it’s more efficient to order clothes and send them back until you find the right size than to venture out to a store.
If you have encountered Mac Rogers the stage and podcast writer, you may be surprised at his smooth-talking acting skills. Rebecca Comtois has played a number of heroines opposite Mac Rogers and in Gideon plays in general, but not like this. The power play within the play is at first undetectable, then becomes the basis of an agonizingly good cautionary tale, nicely darkened by Morgan Zipf-Meister's lighting design, Jordana Williams shows yet again that she can bring such characters to a state of crisis in less than an hour if needed. On the way home, I looked over my shoulder to make sure my surveillance-minded ex-girlfriend from Hades wasn’t shadowing me.
In the program notes, the playwright explains the title as a reference to the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca – the god of night winds, discord and obsidian – who entrapped a great crocodile called Cipacti and distorted her body to make the land he walked on. The play will probably make you feel a lot of anguish, or bring up bad memories, or make you want to help people you know are being manipulated. There is also the implication that media manipulation (during our usual sadistic general elections and now, under the current sh!thead of state) is as bad as it is pervasive.
Just for some closure, the full mystical quote from Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) is “The whole world is a very narrow bridge. The important thing is not to be afraid at all.” It may be tempting to let someone else rule your life. It may feel like a security blanket, or a strait jacket.
Alice’s ultimate response to Nathan is so brilliant, so strong and yet so broken, so logically sound and so rich in technology and other things that bullies try to take away from the masses. It is clear to me why this play was acclaimed at the Cincinnati Fringe and offered an encore performance there. Interestingly, the cast declined as they had to escape back to NYC to perform at the Brick. I wonder if a bridge was involved.

By Ed Malin

This Is Normal is Matthew Freeman’s contribution to This Is Not Normal: An Arts and Activism Festival at The Brick Theater. Freeman is a tireless innovator, so perhaps I wasn’t surprised when the festival program described this work as “an opportunity for silent observation of real people in a real place in real time. It is a no-media environment and it’s BYOC (Bring Your Own Context.)” And then I entered the theater and noticed on the program “This Is Normal a play”.
The descriptions are all correct, and the event is beautiful. What follows are only my observations. I saw the show after the Mac Rogers-Rebecca Comtois double-hander God of Obsidian, the context of which is hard to abandon. Given the theme of the festival and the preponderance of xenophobic rhetoric in the brain of one man who lives in a nice house in Washington D.C., I give Freeman credit for putting a diverse group of people on stage. Diversity is normal. Women seem to be leading the resistance, both in "Star Wars" and in the U.S.A. Here in New York, public schools are closed for the Eid holiday for the first time ever. It would be great to remind the world that difference is normal, and that confronting people with people is the real way for us to get to know each other.

photo courtesy of The Brick

Acting is not normal. This is something that the show’s narrator, David DelGrosso, knows a lot about and that I am sure most spectators forget. The only words in the piece were the introductory blurbs about each performer, read off of note cards. Then, the five performers did what they would normally do. What would I do? Maybe turn my back in terror? Perhaps my knowing that Eugene Lee is (or might be) a creative photographer helps me understand his restless stance, his desire to turn his folding chair over and lounge on the ground, and his uncurling his hair. Kieran Baldwin sat patiently and peacefully. Stephanie Daniels, a fundraiser, seemed to radiate a vast knowledge of everything imaginable. Caroline Sharman, a private tutor, wore very nice shoes and leaned confidently against the Brick Theater’s wall, the nice brick texture of which I had ample time to appreciate. Pablo de Rosas, a technology guy, seemed lost in troubling thoughts, a state of mind I would perhaps be shocked to see on the face of a fellow subway passenger. Maybe that’s why confessionals don’t come with spotlights. What other places in the world are safe places?
While watching the event and listening to the sound of air conditioning, I felt somewhat uncomfortable watching people who were uncomfortable. I thought of Yoko Ono’s classic “Cut Piece” (where she sat still as folks in the audience were invited to approach her and snip away pieces of her clothing). When I watch the video of “Cut Piece”, I feel as though the spectators who enjoy objectifying Yoko are being indicted. I didn’t try to interact with the cast of This Is Normal, but by being their audience, I did. With director Freeman’s help, they did not respond with faces they thought I might want to see, or by swapping identities the way Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon are now doing on Broadway in The Little Foxes. No, these five people were giving the audience a chance to really look, if it was not too scary, and to really listen, the way John Cage asked people to do with the silent composition “Four minutes thirty-three seconds”.

By Ed Malin

Joshua Young, President of The Playwriting Collective, is writer and director of the play Father Daughter as part This Is Not Normal: An Arts and Activism Festival at The Brick Theater. The play stars John Carhart and Briana Femia. The play was previously seen last year at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, another forum for socially conscious plays. I had the pleasure of seeing this play on Father’s Day, at the end of a week in which, sadly, gun violence sometimes appeared higher in the headlines than the buffoonery of our commander in chief.
The play opens with a phone call, which is a matter of life and death. A college student daughter is standing on one side of the stage, her hand covering a bleeding wound in her lower abdomen. Her father stands on the other side, so glad to be speaking with his daughter and trying to be optimistic about getting her to safety. She was eating in the school cafeteria when she felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She had been shot, and, now that she recollects, so had her nearby friends. She is calling her father from a quiet closet, where she is taking shelter from the onslaught of the unknown shooters.

Photo courtesy of The Brick

As her father watches on the news, the police have not yet gained access to campus. There indeed seem to be multiple shooters and bombers trying to kill students and prevent anyone from escaping. The father talks his daughter through the best ways to keep herself safe, conscious and, hopefully, alive. While they talk, the daughter asks her father questions that she dared not ask before. What happened when her father rushed to her mother in the hospital as she lay dying? Why didn’t they tell their daughter to jump on a plane and rush home? During the daughter’s childhood, was there something dishonest about the parents’ relationship? Most haunting is the daughter’s insinuation that her father is lying to her now, just to calm her down. However, the heightened tension gives the two the chance to get to know each other as adults.

“Nobody likes who they are at 20,” muses the father, “except assholes.”
“Did you?” asks the daughter.
“I managed to be an asshole and still not like myself,” he quips.

I like the way the father takes charge of the situation. Perhaps he is trying to make up for mistakes made in his marriage. It’s like bootcamp. It is nerve-wracking. There are plenty of reversals. And the play ends before we know the ending, so I am not going to give more away.
Carhart and Femia convincingly show how a father-daughter relationship survives latent periods and re-activates when called for. This was a tense and well-directed story of what is probably every parent’s worst nightmare. Still, I understand that over the weekend, a major network is gave airtime to Alex Jones, someone who believes that the Sandy Hook school shooting never happened and that all related media coverage is a conspiracy to limit gun rights. I am glad we have plays such as Father Daughter to keep our consciences flexed to protect our children.

By Michael Block

As the program notes, Death Comes for the War Poets grapples with the full horror of trench warfare through the eyes, and words, of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. In addition to the Spirit of Death. The piece is also described as a dramatic verse tapestry. These are key bits of information to keep in mind before the lights go down. Playing the Sheen Center, Death Comes for the War Poets by Joseph Pearce can best be described as impenetrable in content but a wonder to the eye.
Performed as a series of poetic movements, Death Comes for the War Poets is very much a language play. Through the perspective of Sassoon and Owen, Joseph Pearce weaves their words, alongside some of the finest Christian voices of the modern era, to depict the reality of war. Death Comes for the War Poets is not an autobiographical piece about Siegfried Sassoon. It’s not a retrospective of his work. Essentially, it’s just an exploration of poetry as performed by a trio of proficient actors curated by the author. There is certainly a strong perspective in the narrative that Pearce weaves, and yet it still feels pigeonholed. Curiously, this is not a play where the sole focus is the words of the two main poets. Pearce intersects their text with some from other related poets. Cameos if you will. Dramaturgically, you have to figure out why as it’s not supported in the text. And if it is? Then it’s deep down there. That being said, if you dissect the piece and look at each movement on their own, you may find some richness in the words.

photo by Michael Abrams

If poetry isn’t your forte, this was an excellent showcase for the trio on stage. Capturing the essence of the poets, each actor brought a variety of emotion and physicality upon the stage. Capturing the hardships of war through the eyes of Sassoon, Nicholas Carriere was a beacon of hope against the backdrop of terror. Carriere gave Sassoon a confidence, which allowed Sassoon to accept his fate each time he was visited by Death. As his comrade Wilfred Owen, Michael Raver’s dynamic performance left you begging for more. Raver has a poise about him that is alluring. Both Carriere and Raver had a basis in which to craft their performance. Sarah Naughton did not. Personifying death can be tricky and yet Naughton, for lack of a better term, slayed. Naughton’s Death was captivating and engaging. She had a mystery about her that, knowing what comes with her presence, was even more enticing. There was a delicacy to her performance as she danced her through the piece. Sassoon and Owen truly did a remarkable job dancing with death.
Throw this script in a small theater with a budget of nothing and it’ll likely suffer. Thankfully, that was not this production. To say the staging was ambitious is an understatement. Director Peter Dobbins played the spectacle card to ensure elation. Along with his design team, Dobbins took some giant risks, not all of which paid off. First and foremost, Dobbins made this an intimate production despite the grandeur. Dobbins placed the audience on two sides of the giant planed cross that stood high above the ground. Flanked by two stone structures, one of which served as the projection surface, Connor W. Munion’s scenic design was certainly brazen. Munion gave Dobbins the tools he would need to stage it but with the inclusion of wondrous projection design by Joey Moro, you often didn’t know what the focus was supposed to be on. The precision to which Moro used Munion’s slate was extraordinary. It elevated the look of the show. But no matter where you were seated, if Dobbins had his players on the opposite side of the stage from the projection, the projections always won out. They just happened to be a tad more interesting to the eye. Yes, there were certainly moments where Dobbins guided the stage picture to appreciate both, but they were few and far between. Costume designer Jennipher Pacheco dressed the gentlemen in period wear but brought her creativity out for Death. Exploring a Black Swan like attire for most of the evening, it paired well with the balletic motion of the character. Kenneth Goodwin’s sound design fit the explosive nature of a battlefield. It almost played like an underscore at times.
Not every piece for the stage has to be a well-structured, plot-driven production. This show certainly isn’t. Had an exceptional cast and a stunningly beautiful design not aided Death Comes for the War Poets, it may have been hard to sit through.

By Ed Malin

Krista Knight and longtime musical collaborator Barry Brinegar (a.k.a. David Spegasus), under the aegis of The Cradle Theatre Company, have put the punk back in myth. Their new show Hissifit is literally an underground sensation.
To see the show, go to the DownUndertheManhattanBridgeOverpass section of Broooklyn, descend into the basement of 65 Pearl Street, and follow an undulating course of glow tape to the music rehearsal space where you will stand, clap and dance during the performance.
Krista Knight, doing an impeccable job of embodying a rainbow, introduces the band Hissifit, which is made up of three gorgon sister riot grrrls: Medusa (Julia Rose Duray), Miku (Andrea Negrete) and Macy (Vanessa Pareda-Felix), who regale us with energetic tachyons, or however the ancients described independent music.
The snake-ish band has their own DIY aesthetic, with paint-on scales (such that the nerd in me would call “Deep Space Nine Fabulous”) and have been known to bite disrespectful fans. These “fem monsters” have no money, so they consider a contract with British sassypants record exec Scott Rodent (Justin Pietropaolo). Suddenly, they are attracting large crowds, even the young-at-heart goddesses Athena (Rachel Caplan) and Aphrodite (Katharine Chin). Knight and Brinegar have really tapped into the power of these myths. Athena and Aphrodite are youngish Olympians (having sprung fully-formed from the testicles of Uranus and the mind of Zeus, respectively) and here are a bunch of screaming, privileged groupies. It’s a good thing that Athena and Aphrodite are waiting outside the band’s dressing room after the show, as the sea god Poseidon (Preston Mulligan) appears, ready to violate the strong, beautiful Medusa. Instead, Athena and Aphrodite repel Poseidon and give Medusa her infamous power to turn those she gazes on to stone. This feminist empowerment straight from Olympus is a welcome update from the story found in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”. Even the young goddesses wander away from Medusa acting “stoned”.
Well, now Hissifit is causing a sensation as Medusa turns various fans to stone. Scott Rodent seeks to diffuse the situation by turning young Perseus (Nicholas Leung) into a hero. Perseus, a mere mortal, son of absentee father Zeus, has no friends, spends his free time playing rock video games, and “is somewhere on the spectrum”. He is probably the youngest character, and he shows it in good and bad ways. Great writing all around!

photo by Krista Knight

Perseus, a wearer of many safety pins, a dude who never looks anyone in the eye and a holder of a reflective shield, gives Medusa sunglasses which will allow her to safely play more concerts. Medusa rescues Miku and Macy from the Humane Society, where the idea of euthanasia hangs over their heads. They are mistaken; the term doers not refer to a band with young fans in Asia.
Eventually, Medusa’s megalomaniac tendencies kick in. She talks to the snakes in her hair (which are sock puppets operated by Andrea Negrete and Vanessa Pareda-Felix) and gradually turns evil. But nothing happens the way you might expect. The performers constantly enter and exit from different corners of the room, and the audience must turn every few minutes to readjust. Barry Brinegar’s video projections add legions of loyal fans, most with snakes in their hair. Pegasus the flying horse also makes an appearance.
Rebecca Etzine's direction brings together a non-stop punk rock show and a multimedia spectacle, circa the year "MCMLXXVI". Brooklyn lives: I'd say that was the most fun I've had in that neighborhood in 15 years. Jenni Oughton costumes the band in green skirts, fishnets and other monstrous effects. Also noteworthy is Poseidon's trident formed out of safety pins on the back of the god's jacket. Julia Rose Duray as Medusa valiantly makes a case for Medusa as an uncompromising, sexually charged woman who deserves the help (not the punishment) of the gods. Her sisters, Andrea Negrete and Vanessa Pereda-Felix, are so full of energy they are the only ones who can get through to her. It's a woman's world, or should be, and it is great that a Juilliard Project Grant contributed to the funding of this show.

Name: Sharon Sachs

Hometown: Rockford, Illinois

Who do you play in Numbers Nerds?: I play Ms. McGery – the former drama teacher now the janitor. Although - once a drama teacher – always a drama teacher! The school was an all-girl Catholic school, but the nuns lost all of their money, so they sold to a Charter school. There is no theatre department in the new school, so McGery was out of a job – but at 55 years old, no one would hire her, so they offered her the job of janitor and she took it. Fun, ha?

Tell us about Numbers Nerds: Numbers Nerds is an important story to be told. It focuses on young women mathematicians and the challenges that high school girls deal with daily. As one supporter said, “Numbers Nerds gives voice to the young women who have struggled to find their place in the world.”

What is it like being a part of Numbers Nerds?: I like being a part a show that has such an important message and it is always exciting to be in a play that features girls or women. That is what draws me to the material. And the show is hysterical and the music is wonderful – very catchy – the audience will walk out singing the songs.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I am inspired by musicals – classic comedy. I love to make people laugh and I love to laugh.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Dolly Levi - is my dream role . She has a fantastic open heart who truly believes she is helping people. At the end of the day, she can say my work is down. She can do anything. Ms Marple – I want to be the female Columbo. I love playing the snoopy, detective.

What’s your favorite showtune?:“Make Your Garden Grow” – from Candide. There is something about the chord arrangement – and the hope and determination. It can send you to another plane. Another is “Sunday” the end of act 1 of Sunday in the Park. It has a similar feeling.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I am excited about working with these young women in Nerds but, present ladies excluded, I want to work with Maggie Smith! Carol Burnett – Norman Lear. All favorites!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself, and what would it be called?: Melissa McCarthy – is hot now and we have a similar sensibility. It would be called “Ms. Whimsy takes a Holiday”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: It would be something in the 1950s – it changed a lot of how we perceived acting – opening night of Gypsy would have been great. It was the end of an era and the beginning of careers. Sondheim was just beginning and Lorentz and Stein. Imagine what it would have been like to have been in that theatre hearing Ethyl Merman belt out that score!

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Dear Evan Hansen– it was amazing. It had a lot to say – or as I said, # DearEvanHankey - it is a story about young people in high school and how important that time in their life is. He put aside his intellect and his own personal agenda to tell a lie to be accepted socially - then he was accepted socially – so he let the lie grow.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Turner Classic Movies – TCM – “Some Like it Hot” is the ultimate - because there is a laugh every 30 seconds.

What’s up next?:“Will and Grace!” That is all I can say……..confidentiality agreements you know……

Name: Carrie Berk

Hometown: NYC

Education: Sophomore in high school next year!

Select Credits: NYMF Camp Rolling Hills; Rockers on Broadway; NY Pops Gala

Why theater?: I love theater because it allows you to take risks without the fear of being judged. You are also part of a family; the cast and crew all bond in such a special way. Finally, there is nothing like the excitement you get preforming in front of a live audience!

Who do you play in Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: The Musical?: I play Kylie Carson based on a character I actually created in my children's book "Peace, Love and Cupcakes." Kylie is different; she's quirky and she doesn't fit in easily in middle school. She loves monster movies and kids call her a freak. She becomes the target of the mean popular clique and has to learn to be true to her self and own her individuality. It's what makes her special.

Tell us about Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: The Musical: Peace, Love and Cupcakes is more than just a musical; we're creating a movement. We are empowering kids to take a stand against bullying. It's the biggest monster kids face today.

What is it like being a part of Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: The Musical?:It's all been so surreal! First the book, now co-writing and acting in the musical in NYMF. I know we can make a huge difference in kids' lives with this show. We're really proud, all of us, to be a part of it.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Lin Manuel-Miranda inspires because he writes and stars in his own shows. And he's also a powerful catalyst for creating theater that empowers people.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Zoey in Dear Evan Hansen. I've been singing a lot of her songs in cabarets. She's a really interesting character to explore mentally and emotionally.

What’s your favorite showtune?: "Dear Theodosia" from Hamilton. The harmonies give me chills every time.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Lin Manuel again. I mean wouldn't a collab with him be a dream come true?

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I'd play myself if I could! It would be called "One Little Voice" since I started out writing when I was only 8 years old!

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: The original cast of Miss Saigon. I loved the revival and wish I could have seen the original with Lea Salonga.

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Dear Evan Hansen. It's brilliant. I'm a fansen.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: binge watching Netflix all day long

What’s up next?: NYMF and then who knows. Hopefully Broadway one day!

For more on Peace, Love, and Cupcakes, visit www.plcmusical.com

By Kelly Kohlman

Great Again is a showcase of two female-penned one-act plays, commissioned by Project Y Theatre Company as part of their second annual Women in Theatre Festival and presented at A.R.T/New York Theatres. Chiori Miyagawa’s In The Line and Crystal Skillman’s The Test both illuminate, with stark presentational differences, some of the various challenges, impressions and impulses facing women and people of color today. The evening’s title, Great Again, a not-so-subtle reference to the rhetoric of our president, is perhaps a little on the nose for this collection of pieces, which explores America’s greatness, or lack thereof, with more nuance and nonjudgmental wisdom.
“In the sense that we’re all in this together, yes, we are together.”
In the Line, directed by Kristin Horton, is a sweetly subversive and dreamlike tumble through the lives of various people as they wait in lines. They search for lost objects, forge relationships with their neighbors, and discover new things about themselves as women, as Asian-Americans, as friends, as food critics, and so on. Audiences follow one woman, Leanne, straightforwardly played by Sol Marina Crespo, who seems to magically find herself appearing in these lines, searching in vain for a lost piece of herself, the details of which morph and evolve with each new experience and discovery she makes.

The exceptional ensemble cast, which includes Christina Liang, Sade Namei, Kristen Kittel, a standout Ashley Jones, Vichet Chum, Daniel Petzold, Patricia Cancio, Kaho Furuta, Norihiro Maruta, Madalyn Pedone, Monica Rounds, and Tomoko Tokugaki, exibits praiseworthy gel and energy. Despite the piece’s focus on lines, Horton seamlessly incorporates a great deal of movement, with some welcome dreamy choreography by Sonoko Kawakara, keeping audiences intrigued.
In The Line is a thoughtful lullaby of optimism, identity, and community. While avoiding any overt political or social statements, In The Line touches on a timely and prescient feeling surely shared by many in our culture in 2017. It is the undercurrent of anticipation, of being on the precipice of a great cultural change for the better, despite condescension and pushback from a privileged few. It is the feeling of finally valuing ourselves and our talents, getting to the front of the line, grabbing our closest girlfriends’ hands and saying “Here we go. We’re going in!”
“When you learn, it hurts.”
Second on the evening’s bill is The Test, directed by Jessi D. Hill. Tensions run high in a high school English classroom when a desk is discovered to have been defiled with a giant swastika. The identity of the vandal is a mystery, but outraged students are quick to suspect a particular student named Milo, played by Eric Weigand with a heartbreaking familiarity.
At the head of the classroom, Ada, played by Mary E. Hodges, tries to get a handle on the controversy while trying to prepare her students for the most important test of their lives, all the while balancing personal and professional challenges. Ms. Hodges’s portrayal of Ada is intense, captivating, and inspiring. “They took their cues from their leader,” Ada warns her colleague Paige, played affably by Taylor Shurte. The notion of the grave responsibility of leadership, from within a high school English classroom or beyond, persists throughout the play, and it is one of the many burdens Ada carries.

Under Hill’s crisp and elegant direction, the play swiftly advances amidst Hallie Zieselman’s sweet and detailed classroom set, perfectly sharp costume design by Becky Bodurta, as well as lights and sound by Christina Watanabe and Mark Bruckner, respectively, that ground the performance in the reality of a 2017 high school.
After Ada’s final great attempt at getting through to her divided, scared, and hostile students, the outspoken and assertive Zarina, played by the vibrant Angel Moore, seems to cross a line, and perhaps learns a difficult lesson, in a thoroughly unexpected and heart-pounding conclusion. The Test is a play about division, fear, resentment, and picking sides, and what it takes in 2017 to overcome it all.

Name: Gemma Kaneko

Hometown: Rochester Hills, MI

Education: NYU, BFA, Tisch School of the Arts.

Favorite Credits: This Must Be the Place (NYU/PHTS); The Goodship Appleship (NYU/PHTS)

Why theater?: Theater is a medium that allows you to communicate immediately with your audience. They’re right there! They change the performance with their reactions and feedback, and it’s inspiring and exciting. Theater also allows us to talk about complex ideas with lots of abstraction -- there’s no pressure to be realistic if you don’t want to be.

What inspired you to create True Right?: Back in 2015, I was really interested in the extremely depressing implosion of Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. He just seemed so sad all the time, and he was supposed to be the smart, politically inclined Bush kid. And yet, his dunderheaded brother stumbled ass-over-teakettle into an eight-year presidency. I really wanted to explore the brother/rival dynamic between Jeb and George, and riffing off True West seemed like the perfect way to do that. And then, after the election, it seemed more essential than ever to explore what the True Right is. When white supremacists are thronging the White House, what is the meaning of the Bush-ian phrase “compassionate conservative”? Is there anything in that term or is it as hollow and heartless as the current regime?

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theater that’s messy and intimate, that reaches out to the audience with both hands. And I like jokes! I think it’s important to make your audience laugh, and to be accessible and warm. Two shows that have stuck with me throughout the years are Whatever, Heaven Allows (Radiohole) and Chautauqua (The National Theater of the United States of America). They both play with traditional forms of narrative and completely eviscerate them. But in a fun way! You know, with jello shots!

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: There are so many people! Bess & George, the company my co-writer and actor Brittany K. Allen and I created, is all about bringing the stories of people who are usually relegated to the “best friend foil” role to the forefront. We want to work with women and people of color all across the theater world.

What shows have you recommended to your friends?: Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, The Hunger Artist

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Ha! Olivia Munn, and “Witch-President.” It’s a comedy. Probably.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Hamilton at the Public, or maybe some performance art? I didn’t stand in line for Marina Abramovic’s The Artist is Present but I probably should have.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?:“The Bachelorette,” but you know what? There should be no guilty pleasures. Only pleasures! I don’t feel bad about liking it!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: I actually have a full time job outside of theater -- I’m a baseball blogger at mlb.com/cutfour. You can even listen to my baseball podcast, the Cut4Cast.

What’s up next?: Who knows? Brittany and I have a lot of different ideas in our back pockets. We’ll see what happens with True Right and go on from there.

Name: Ruby Wolf

Hometown: Harwich, Massachusetts (on Cape Cod)

Education: New York University BFA from Tisch School of the Arts

Who do you play in The Goree All-Girl String Band?: Mozelle McDaniel

Describe your character in three words: Young, determined, resilient

Tell us about The Goree All-Girl String Band: Back in the 1930's, a group of strong women joined forces to create a string band in order to score an appearance on the popular radio program "30 Minutes Behind The Walls", in hopes of receiving a pardon from the governor of Texas. Ultimately, their plan succeeded.

Describe The Goree All-Girl String Band in three words: Adversity, Determination, Redemption

What instruments do you play in the show?: In the show, I play banjo. In life, I also play guitar, violin and a little bit of mandolin.

What's your favorite country song?: "Wildwood Flower" (Originally by the Carter Family but more famously covered by June Carter) or "I Fall To Pieces" (Patsy Cline)

Who's your favorite country artist of all time?: It's hard to pick just one! Probably Patsy Cline but I also love Johnny Cash and The Carter Family and think Dolly Parton is one of the greatest living legends we have left.

What is your favorite moment in The Goree All-Girl String Band?: I think it'll be really exciting for the audience when they finally get to see the Goree Girls play their first big number on the radio at the end of Act I -- it's definitely my favorite moment we've worked on so far.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of the Goree team?: I've legitimately always wanted to be a part of an all female band so it's amazing to be working on a rehearsal process that allows me the opportunity to live out that dream. We're becoming a band in real life while we become one in the show and that's such a lovely experience.

Why is this show important now?: Oh man, there are so many reasons! First and foremost, it's so important to support art that gives a platform for strong women to step into complicated female roles and this piece more than delivers on that front. Second, today there are approximately 2.2 million incarcerated Americans and an additional 4.5 million Americans out on parole or probation. This story shows not only the redemptive capability of art, but also tells the true story of women who were not defined solely by the crimes they committed. I think that, in a country where mass incarceration has become a sort of epidemic, it's important to acknowledge the humanity of individuals whose circumstances put them in situations wherein criminal offense seemed inevitable. This show enables the audience to see past the labels of "convict" or "criminal", into the heart of these individual women, all of whom led complex and fascinating lives independent of their crimes.

Why should we come see The Goree All-Girl String Band?: Come see this show for all the reasons listed above but also -- what's not to like about a bunch of super talented actors who are also extraordinary musicians? That's a real tough act to beat, in my super biased opinion.

For more on Ruby, visit rubymwolf.com

For tickets to The Goree All-Girl String Band, visit OvationTix.

Name: Amber Mak

Hometown: Chicago, IL but born and raised in Kansas

Education: Northwestern University

Favorite Credits: Directing/Choreographing Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Hairspray at the Paramount Theatre outside of Chicago. Founding FWD Theatre Project. Working with Susan Stroman, Andrew Lippa and John August on Big Fish Chicago Production and Broadway.

Why theater?: Theatre is one of the most collaborative art forms and for me, personally, it was so inclusive growing up. Theatre ignites imagination and has the ability to cross over so many cultural boundaries that exist in this world.

Tell us about Numbers Nerds: Numbers Nerds is about what it means to go after something you believe in even when it isn't necessary the "cool" thing to do. It is about owning who you are, friendship and the reward in working together as a team. I don't believe there is anyone who hasn't felt like the outsider before in life. The word "nerds" is not usually associated with a positive connotation, and this show aims to change how perceive "nerd."

What inspired you direct and choreograph Numbers Nerds?: The fact that this is a show about empowering young woman is something that is very dear to my heart. It is a show written with women in mind and there simply isn't enough shows being written with that as a focus. Being a female director/choreographer, I often find myself the only women in a room and I know that that is certainly true in fields that are math and science related.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theatre with heart, passion and a good story. I don't need anything fancy, but I want it to all be genuine. I think the works that have always amazed and inspired me have been ones that have a very ensemble feel to them, and actually tend to be simple in convention of storytelling, which is ironic, because I am mostly offered to direct large-scale, very commercial spectacles. However, what I love to watch and hope one day to be on the team of is an organic, ensemble piece.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Good question. I guess I don't really think in that way, except there are some unknown artists and colleagues that I find immensely talented, but our paths haven't crossed in collaboration yet.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Recently I saw Come From Away. I highly recommend it.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I feel like there might be some similarities with Reese Witherspoon as far as personality- so if I could choose, I would choose her and title- "Working for Crumbs," the story of a jack of all trades who perseveres to make her dreams a reality.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Bob Fosse's Dancin' -- I have a lot of mentors and colleagues that I know who were in this show and my parent's had the poster of it in our basement growing up. I was so intrigued by it and so wish I could see it.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: "The Great British Baking Show." I love it. I just had my daughter in February and as I was on maternity leave, I found it on Netflix and was completely hooked.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: My husband says an attorney. I think I would be an event planner. They basically organize productions but for corporations, and I am sure get paid better.

What’s up next?: Directing Elf at the Paramount Theatre and being a mom to my beautiful, 4 month old daughter.

Name: Nattalyee Randall

Hometown: Springfield, IL

Education: Western Illinois University - Bachelors in Music and English Education

Who do you play in The Goree All-Girl String Band?: Hattie Ellis

Describe your character in three words: Bright, Empowered, Talented

Describe The Goree All-Girl String Band in three words: All Girl Power

What instruments do you play in the show?: Tambourine

What's your favorite country song?:"Boondocks" by Little Big Town and Stay by Sugarland

Who's your favorite country artist of all time?: BLAKE SHELTON and Sugarland

What is your favorite moment in The Goree All-Girl String Band?: When Hattie gets her overdue moment to shine.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of the Goree team?: Watching the cast come together when learning a new song. It's amazing how quick everyone can put together a song.

Why is this show important now?: There are still some issues that America is facing today that are talked about in this show.

Why should we come see The Goree All-Girl String Band?: It is a high energy musical that shows amazing musicianship by everyone in the show. Also, if you love country music...this show is especially for you!

For more on Nattalyee, visit Nattalyee.com

Name: Jessica Tyler Wright

Hometown: Green Bay, WI (And I'm a SERIOUS Packers fan, going so far as being a season ticket holder AND an owner/shareholder.)

Education: BFA in Musical Theatre and a BM in Violin Performance from Millikin University
Select Credits: Broadway - 2005 Sweeney Todd, 2006 Company, LoveMusik, War Horse. NYCO - Candide (Paquette) both 2008 and 2017. Classic Stage Company - Allegro (Lortel Nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.)

Why theater?: I was cast as Annie in a local production when I was 11 and instantly fell in love. (And, I'll be honest - I was also the kid who passionately sang cereal commercials around the house at the top of my lungs, much to the dismay of my entire family.) But what REALLY sealed the deal was hearing the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack as a teenager. Oh, I was HOOKED.

Who do you play in Play Like a Winner?: I play Kathy who is mother to Jenna, a tweenager who is entering the highly competitive world of girls soccer.

Tell us about Play Like a Winner:Play Like a Winner is a wildly entertaining comedy, but it also explores two very relevant themes: How far one is willing to go in order to achieve success, and how do you raise a young girl to be have self confidence, self awareness and an inner strength without crossing the paper thin line into being bossy or a bully.

What is it like being a part of Play Like a Winner?: I honestly LOVE going to rehearsals, and the reason is threefold. For one, it is always very exciting and fulfilling to be involved with the development of a brand new work. The second is that Erik Johnke (book and lyrics), David Wolfson (Music) and Kevin Connors (Director) have created a wonderfully fun and collaborative environment, and they are always open to hearing thoughts and suggestions that my help further strengthen and develop not only the human side of these comical characters but the general storytelling as well. The third reason I absolutely love rehearsals is that it is simply a great piece. They've assembled a phenomenal cast of actors with killer voices to sing some truly beautiful and exciting new music. These are songs I guarantee will be hummed and sung long after the curtain has come down.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: There isn't any specific genre of theatre that speaks to me. The kind of theatre that inspires me is the kind that successfully tells a story. It doesn't matter if it is in a black box with a minimal set or if it is in a grand opera hall with a stunningly high production value. As long as the production remembers the point to doing a show, which is to tell a good story and to tell it honestly, then I'm hooked.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: That's a question I'm often asked, only it's usually worded, "what's your dream role?" I realized that when it's posed that way, my answer is Annie. Seriously! Like I mentioned above, I had the good fortune to play that character at the ripe old age of 11 back in Wisconsin. To date, I still get a lump in my throat when I hear the song "Tomorrow" or when I see another young actress who, like myself, is fully committed to the honesty of telling Annie's story. It would be a dream to relive that moment and explore the role of Annie now, after years of study. But, as that is something only possible in my dreams, in the world of reality, I would love to play Mother in Ragtime, Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, and pretty much any leading lady soprano from the classic musical theatre genre.

What’s your favorite show tune?: To be honest, I'm currently in LOVE with a brand new song written for Play Like a Winner called "You're the Only One." It is GORGEOUS. Otherwise, I have to say I always have such a difficult time picking favorites because there is a WEALTH of fantastic musical theatre tunes out there. I can say with certainty, pretty much ANYTHING written by Stephen Sondheim is a win for me. Also anything written by Jason Robert Brown, Maltby and Shire, classics by Rogers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Leonard Bernstein... I could go on and on.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I don't think anyone should ever stop learning and fine tuning their craft. People I admire, could learn a great deal from and would honestly be starstruck by are actors like Judy Dench, Tom Hanks, Sally Fields, Sir Ian McKellen, Meryl Streep and Angela Lansbury. And while gone, I would have loved to have met and worked with Alan Rickman and Robin Williams. Can you just imagine the wealth of showbiz knowledge between all of these legends? Not to mention the stories!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Oh wow, this one is tough. I think that either Jodie Foster or Katherine Heigl would be good choices in casting. Both not only for their acting, but also because I've been told those are my celebrity look-alikes. Funny side story - When Facebook announced "doppelgänger week", I posted a picture of Jodie Foster as my profile picture. I had at least a dozen friends tell me they liked my new headshot. And, close friends too! As far as a title, I've never boasted myself to be clever in this department so if I really had to, I'd outsource this responsibility. But for the sake of answering your question, I'd like it to have the idea of "Never give in" or "Just Keep Believing". This career can test your resolve and mine has been tested a few times over. I never give in, never give up, and I never stop believing in myself.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: There are many, but a standout is the original A Chorus Line. The show was born from the experiences of people just like me and I would love to have seen the original actors who were most directly connected to the character's stories perform those roles. As I understand, the song "What I Did For Love" isn't a love story between two people, but rather a performer's reflection on what we do for the love of our career. That resonates quite deeply with me, so it'd be thrilling to see the original company sing their anthem. And, I have the very good fortune to call Donna McKechnie my dear friend, and I'm certain it would have been thrilling to have seen her dance and sing "The Music and the Mirror" live.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: If I have a friend who hasn't seen it yet, then Phantom of the Opera will always be a top pick for me. I was the high schooler with a Michael Crawford poster on my wall, both the film and stage masks hanging above it, the cd on 24/7... it was the show that solidified my love affair for musical theatre and I am STILL taken under its spell with goosebumps when I hear that very first pipe organ chord.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I don't have a lot of free time these days, so when I DO have a moment, I seriously have no guilt catching up on my DVR. Either that or curling up with a really good book.

What’s up next?: I recently sang in a developmental premiere of a wonderful new opera by Ted Rosenthal called Dear Eric, so I look forward to seeing where that may lead. And there are other performance opportunities simmering "on the back burner", but I'll keep my website up to date with any further developments on those projects.

For more, visit www.jessicatylerwright.com

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