I started this blog with one daughter, kept it up with the other, to spend time together doing something we enjoyed.
However, things change and people evolve. My daughters are older, busier, and not as interested in writing.
From now on this blog will be mostly mom with occasional contributions from my daughters and maybe even my husband.
Nothing else will change. We'll still focus on sharing fun places to go, fun things to do, and more, and we would  still love to hear your views too

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Sunday Scoop Week of 7/28 - What's Happening This Week or Coming Up Soon

In This Week's Scoop

1) Pop Sensation & Hamilton Alum Ari Afsar Performs Songs From Her New Musical Jeanette
2) YIVO to Present Rediscovered Play Breach of Promise
3) Franklin Square Foundation Show Schedule of Events
4) Upcoming at State Theatre
    Free Summer Movie, Mary Poppins Returns
5) 8th Annual Long Beach International Film Festival (LBIFF) July 31st - August 3rd 
6) Upcoming at Broadway Workshop
    College Audition Workshop

PR Firm Roundup


7) News from Andrea Alton PR

    Comedy Cellino vs. Barnes at the Bell House
8) News from BroadwayCon
    BroadwayCon Announces New Guests for 2020
9) News from DDPR

    Sea Level Rise: A Dystopian Comedy To Make World Premiere at The Broadway Bound Festival  
10) News from DKC/O&M
      10A)Beautiful: The Carole King Musical to End Run
      10B) Tickets Now on Sale for Betrayal on Broadway
      10C) Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Extends Run
      10D)Sea Wall/A Life Begins Performances
11) News from JT Public Relations
      Dog Man the Musical Extends Run
12) News from Polk and Co.
      Make Believe Begins Previews July 30
13) News from Richard Hillman PR
      The Drama League Launches "First Stage Festival" July 29 - August 9
14) News from Spin Cycle NYC
      Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec Extends Run Through September 4

1) ARI AFSAR 
Performs Songs From 
Her New Musical JEANNETTE

Pop sensation and Hamilton alum Ari Afsar will present a live demo concert of her new musical Jeannette at SubCulture (45 Bleecker St) on Monday, July 29 at 7:30pm.  Afsar will be joined by special guests Joshua Henry (HamiltonCarousel), Lexi Lawson (HamiltonIn the Heights), and Jessica Vosk (WickedFiddler on the Roof).  An epic pop musical based on the true story of America’s first congresswoman, Jeannette electrifies the life and history of suffrage activist Jeannette Rankin who was elected to Congress in 1916—three years before women were granted the right to vote.

 With a book by America’s most produced playwright, Lauren M. Gunderson, and music and lyrics from AfsarJeannette heralds one person’s radical voice in America’s ongoing journey toward equal rights for all.  Smart as a whip, with a Montanan’s penchant for big dreams and a politician's penchant for getting what she wants, Congresswoman Rankin boldly paved the way for resistance through law and government.  She was not only the first woman to win a place in American federal congress, but the first woman in the democratic Western world to be voted into national office.

Tickets for the concert are $55 for reserved seating and $45 for general admission seating. Doors open at 6:30pm, the concert begins at 7:30pm. Tickets are available at bit.ly/JeannetteTix.  For more information on  Jeannette, visit JeannetteMusical.com.
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2) ONE-NIGHT-ONLY PRESENTATION
OF THE REDISCOVERED 1912 PLAY
B R E A C H   O F   P R O M I S E
ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY ALLEN LEWIS RICKMAN
SET FOR JULY 31 
AT YIVO INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH RESEARCH

Leon Kobrin’s rediscovered 1912 play BREACH OF PROMISEa darkly comic slice of tenement life in New York City, will be presented next Wednesday, July 31st at 7 pm at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in a newly commissioned English translation (from the original Yiddish) by writer/director Allen Lewis Rickman.
Kobrin's play follows Katie Tsimbel, an unmarried 28-year-old, who has gotten herself “in trouble.” At her mother’s urging, she tries to force Bertshik, a Jewish ex-soldier in the Tsar’s army whose fiancée is shortly expected to arrive in America, to marry her by framing him with a Breach of Promise charge.

YIVO’s collections are the primary source of the documentary history of East European Jewry and the surviving record of millions of lives of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The Library of the YIVO Institute is proud to possess one of the world’s largest collections of Yiddish theater works from 1850 to 1950, the period that coincided with the flourishing of Jewish theater in Europe and the United States.
Admission to BREACH OF PROMISE is $15 ($10 for YIVO members & students) and tickets are available at www.yivo.org/Breach-of-Promise. This special event will be a benefit for the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which is located at 15 West 16 Street (between Fifth & Sixth Ave.)
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3) Franklin Square Fountain Show Events
6th and Race Sts.
Philadelphia, PA

The 180-year-old, historic Franklin Square Fountain will dance along to popular music choreographed to songs by Boyz II Men, Katy Perry, Louis Armstrong, and more. Enjoy free intimate daytime and evening performances, with synchronized colored illuminations after dusk. Daytime performances, with alternating songs, run every 30 minutes from 12 - 2 pm daily. Evening performances begin at 6 pm daily and run every 30 minutes until closing.\

FRANKLIN SQUARE’S 13TH BIRTHDAY SPLASH
Daytime Celebration presented by PECO: The new Franklin Square Fountain Show debuts with an opening day celebration on the 13th birthday of the renovated Franklin Square.
Wednesday, July 31, 11 - 1 pm: The first daytime Fountain Show performance at 12 pm will be followed by free birthday cupcakes with Benjamin Franklin and the Phillie Phanatic, and free carousel rides. Cultural and neighborhood attractions help celebrate the day with family activities.

Nighttime Celebration: The first nighttime Fountain Show performance debuts at 8:30 pm. Throughout the evening, enjoy music, Colonial lawn games, inaugural competitions of B-E-N-G-O and Deborah Franklin Quizzo all while enjoying a relaxing cocktail in the pop-up Oasis Cocktail Garden.
Wednesday, July 31, 2019, 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm: First nighttime performance at 8:30 pm.

SUMMER SPLASH IN THE SQUARE: To celebrate the new Fountain Show, Historic Philadelphia will present Summer Splash in the Square for the month of August. Swing along with the sights and sounds of the new Franklin Square Fountain Show, while enjoying festive theme days and nights including free dance parties, movie nights, game nights, puppet shows, and yoga. Visitors will also be able to enjoy a relaxing cocktail in the pop-up Oasis Cocktail Garden (Garden is Thursdays – Saturdays). All events are free!       
August 1 – September 1, Thursdays - Saturdays, 5 - 10 pm with first nightly performance at 6 pm, Sundays 11 am – 6 pm, with first performance at 12 noon

Free Summer Splash Events:
Throwback Thursdays with DJ Robert Drake – 5 - 10 pmFREE
Dance and sing along to classic tunes as DJ Robert Drake fills the Square with the biggest hits of the decade, celebrating a different musical era each week. The new Franklin Square Show soundtrack highlights songs from each of these decades, alternating for each performance. Decade dress is encouraged.
August 1 – 60s
August 8 – 70s
August 15 – 80s
August 22 – 90s
August 29 – 2000s

Franklin Fridays – 5 - 10 pm, FREE
Channel your inner Ben and bring your wit and wisdom for Franklin Square’s weekly game nights, featuring B-E-N-G-O hosted by Benjamin Franklin with prizes, Deborah Franklin Quizzo, Colonial games such as Graces and Hoops, and more.


Super Movie Saturdays – 5 - 10 pm, FREE
Outdoor movies will be SUPER with five weeks of superhero blockbusters. Screenings begin at approximately 8:30 pm.
August 3 – Superman (1978)
August 10 – Shazam! (2019)
August 17 – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
August 24 – The Incredibles (2004)

August 31 – Wonder Woman (2017)

Fun in the Sun-days – 11 am - 6 pm, FREE
Franklin Square becomes a summer oasis without the shore traffic as lawn games, musical chairs, bocce, and volleyball fill the Great Lawn with fun for all ages and prizes. Join in for yoga at 11 am, Once Upon A Nation’s Colonial Kids’ Quest puppet show from 12:15-12:45 pm, and the daytime Fountain performances from noon to 2 pm. 
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4) Upcoming at State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ

Free Summer Movie
Mary Poppins Returns

Tuesday July 30, 10:30 AM & 7:00 PM

For more information or to reserve free tickets, visit www.stnj.org/event/mary-poppins-returns
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5) 8th Annual Long Beach International Film Festival (LBIFF) July 31st - August 3rd 
Free Films, Foodie Events & More

The Long Beach International Film Festival (LBIFF) will celebrate its eighth anniversary with an action-packed line up of independent and studio films from around the globe. Scheduled to take place from July 31st through August 3rd on Long Island, the Festival will screen an international slate of over 50 films, including feature-length narratives, documentaries, shorts and animated films that will compete for a series Festival Honors and Audience Awards. 

During its four-day run, the Festival will feature an array of daily and nightly special events, including red carpet premieres, gala celebrations, filmmaker receptions, compelling filmmaker Q & As, international spotlights, industry seminars and musical performances. 

Special Programs planned for LBIFF 2019 include:

·         Opening Night & Taste on the Plaza, Wednesday, July 31: Celebrate Opening Night of the Eighth Annual Long Beach International Film Festival Presented by SVS Fine Jewelry Featuring Forevermark. The Opening Night Film (to be announced) will screen at the Regal Lynbrook 13 Theater at 5 p.m., immediately followed by Taste on the Plaza. This red-carpet event will feature interview opportunities accompanied by the "Tastes" of over 30 Restaurants, Wines, Beers and Spirits on Long Beach Plaza with Live Musical Performances celebrating filmmakers and artists.  The event will take place at Long Beach Kennedy Plaza, 1 West Chester Street, Long Beach. Tickets start at $50 and are available here.

·         Chefs & Shorts, Thursday, August 1:  Enjoy Free Films All Day Long at the Long Beach Library from 12pm-6pm, followed by renowned foodie event, Chefs & Shorts, at 6:30pm. Back by popular demand, the Long Beach International Film Festival is partnering with Devour! to present a unique dining experience, pairing gastronomy and short films at the chic beach-front Allegria Hotel.  Guests will enjoy a five-course meal with wine pairings, each course inspired by a short film. Chefs & Shorts will be hosted in the Allegria Hotel Ballroom, 80 W Broadway, Long Beach. Tickets start at $99.99 and are available here.

·         FREE DAY, Friday August 2: Free Films showing at the Long Beach Library 12pm-6pm, followed by Free Evening Films at the Lynbrook Theater 6pm-8pm. Guests are invited to watch the best film shorts from around the world at the custom-built BEACH THEATRE in Long Beach. There will be Free Concerts from 6pm- 9pm on the Beach, culminating in the popular Free Shorts on the Beach beginning from 9pm-11pm. Reserve your FREE tickets here.
This year’s feature-length film line-up is a unique combination of both narratives and documentaries by directors from all around the world.  Highlights include:
  • Andy Irons: Kissed by God, Directed by Todd and Steve Jones: A film about bipolar disorder and opioid addiction as seen through the life of three-time world champion surfer Andy Irons.
  • Bozkir Look at the Birds, Directed by Mehmet Tanrisever: Abdullah and Cripple Ziya, the gun dealers in the Bozkir district of Konya, Turkey, have to pay the price in honor and dignity exam.  LBIFF will be the NY premiere for this film.
  • The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, Directed by Alison Reid: Author, feminist, scientist and the world's first giraffeologist, Dr. Anne Innis Dagg retraces her ground-breaking journey to Africa to study giraffes.  The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
Feature-length films making their Long island Premiere include:
  • Dennis and Lois, Directed by Chris Cassidy: Dennis and Lois have devoted the last 40 years traveling the world pursuing the thrill of live music and supporting the rock bands they love.  But as age and illness threaten to end their lifelong tour, they are relying on the friends they’ve collected along the way and the music that energizes them to keep it going. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
  • Girl on Wave, Directed by Steven Esparza: “Girl on Wave” introduces professional windsurfer Sarah Hauser and documents her journey as a New-Caledonian athlete competing on the American stage of windsurfing.  The film includes interviews with world-class athletes, windsurfing champions and others who have inspired Sarah on her path to winning the American Windsurfing Tour title. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
  • Julia Blue, Directed by Roxy Toporowych: As a young woman comes into her own in war-torn Ukraine, she finds her path towards independence and a brighter future challenged by an unexpected love. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
In addition to the feature-length film lineup, LBIFF will showcase an array of short films divided into five programs throughout the festival: comedies, dramas, animation, documentaries, and foreign. Short films being screened include:
  • Bodega, Directed by Rebecca Halfon: A Syrian deli owner and two teen girls with a fake ID find common ground on one winter night in Brooklyn.
  • Suicide Files, Directed by Marc Brissett: This is an inspirational account of inner city youth and their passion to play the game of basketball.  Most are searching for a way out of the environments that taught them the game they love. They learn that hard work and dedication are the keys to unlock the door to success but success is not always professional basketball.
  • Stumped, Directed by Christina Farman: An overweight corgi can't bring his owner the morning newspaper so he turns to aerobics as a last ditch effort.
  • Las Del Diente (Spain), Directed by Ana Perez Lopez: Three women discuss the social pressure of having kids while celebrating the uniqueness of their bodies.
  • Cold Storage, Directed by Thomas Freundlich: On a desolate arctic shore, a lonely fisherman discovers his prehistoric counterpart frozen in the ice, and thaws him out as his newfound soul brother.

For more information about LBIFF please visit: http://www.longbeachfilm.com/
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6) Upcoming at Broadway Workshop

College Audition Workshop


Ages: Open to High School Juniors and Seniors


Dates: Saturday, August 3rd - Sunday, August 4th
Times: 10:00am - 6:00pm 
Location: Ripley Grier Studios - 305 W. 38th Street (Between 8th and 9th Ave)
Tuition: $445  

ContemporaryMusicalTheatre.com and Broadway Workshop are joining forces to bring their unique take on preparing for college musical theatre auditions. Over the course of two days, the authors of Mastering College Musical Theatre Auditions - teaching artists David Sisco(voice teacher and musical director) and Laura Josepher (director and audition coach),will lead students through the audition process, from cutting and preparing audition material to covering everything they need to know about "the room where it happens" (i.e. - talking to the pianist, slating, and interview questions).

Each student will receive individual coaching in a masterclass setting in both acting and singing, feedback on two mock auditions, and share a session with their parents on how to all be on the same page during the busy audition season. Each student will receive their own copy of David and Laura's book Mastering College Musical Theatre Auditions: Sound Advice for the Student, Teacher, and Parent in advance of this workshop. This workshop is only opened to 16 total students. 

For more information or to register, visit 
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PR Firm Roundup

7) News from Andrea Alton


A new comedy loosely based on the true-life breakup of famous injury attorneys 
Ross Cellino and Steve Barnes.

 Cellino v. Barnes

One Night Only! Saturday, August 3 @ 7:30 pm 
at The Bell House in Brooklyn
After sold-out runs at Union Hall (Brooklyn), the Alleyway Theater (Buffalo), and at UCB Sunset (LA), the new comedy Cellino v. Barnes is set to play The Bell House in Brooklyn for one night only on August 3 at 7:30 pm.

Created by Michael Breen (Ross Cellino) and David Rafailedes (Steve Barnes), the play was inspired by the highly publicized break-up of longtime law partners and personal injury lawyers, Cellino & Barnes, who are well known for their commercials that feature the jingle “888-8888.” The production is directed by Hayley Huntley of Comedy Central’s REVIEW and TVLand's LOPEZ.

Ross Cellino wants to end his longtime partnership with Steve Barnes, but Steve isn’t letting Ross go without a fight. Together they built an empire, but now they are ready to tear it all down. What the fuzz happened to those two? Weren't they, like, best friends? Let’s go back to where it all began, the beginning.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 the day of the show and are available at www.thebellhouseny.com/e/cellino-v-barnes-62583355501. Ages 21 and over, doors open at 7 pm. This event will be mixed seating (seated/standing). Please arrive early for best seat selection. Performance takes place at The Bell House, 149 7th Street (between 2nd & 3rd avenue), Brooklyn, NY, 11215. Subways: F/G/R to 9th Street & 4th Avenue. Running time: 60 minutes
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8) News from BroadwayCon


BROADWAYCON 2020 ANNOUNCES NEW GUESTS:
Alex Boniello, Caitlin Kinnunen, Sharon Wheatley, 
Christopher Sieber, and Patrick Hinds

BroadwayCon announced today that five new guests, Alex Boniello, Caitlin Kinnunen, Sharon Wheatley, Christopher Sieber, and Patrick Hinds, have joined the special guest lineup for BroadwayCon 2020. BroadwayCon celebrates its fifth year in 2020, returning to the New York Hilton Midtown on Friday, January 24 through Sunday, January 26. Tickets are on sale now at BroadwayCon.com/register.
Additional BroadwayCon 2020 guests include co-creator Anthony Rapp, George Salazar, Judy Kuhn, Kristolyn Lloyd, Donna Murphy, and Heidi Blickenstaff. Other announced guests include Tommy Bracco, Andrew Kober, Beth Malone, Brad Oscar, Gillian Pensavalle, Erin Quill, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, and Fredi Walker-Browne. Additional guests will be announced at a later date.
In addition, BroadwayCon Industry Day, curated by Situation, will return for its third year on January 24, 2019. Tickets for BroadwayCon Industry Day include access to all Industry Day and BroadwayCon programming on Friday, January 24. 
For more information, please visit www.BroadwayCon.com.
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9) News from DDPR

SEA LEVEL RISE: A DYSTOPIAN COMEDY 
TO RUN AS AN OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE 
BROADWAY BOUND THEATER FESTIVAL

 
THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY! 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 AT 
8PM
FRIDAY, AUGUST 2 AT 5PM 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 AT 
2PM

AT THEATER ROW 


Just as Summer 2019 is predicted to become one of the hottest on recordSEA LEVEL RISE: A DYSTOPIAN COMEDY has been chosen as one of the official selections of the 2019 Broadway Bound Theatre Festival. Intended to spearhead theater’s entry into the climate change conversation, the new comedy written by Henry Feldman and directed by Ted Thompson will have a strictly limited engagement – playing just three performances only: Wednesday, July 31 at 8pm; Friday, August 2 at 5pm and Saturday, August 3 at 2pm in the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row. 


Welcome to South Florida of the future!  Have a drink and pull up a beach chair. Oh, and never mind that silly little two feet of sea level rise… you're in Paradise, after all! Set in South Florida where the citizens are so deep in denial they'll boil like the proverbial frog before giving up their Maseratis, septic tanks are (quite grossly) being pushed out of the ground. Enter an alcoholic climate researcher, absentee Russian condo owners and a homeless wandering gun nut. 


All of South Florida's drinking water comes from an aquifer that starts just a few feet below the surface. Because South Florida sits on porous limestone, no wall can hold back the sea level rise. Also because of the porous rock, distance from the coast doesn't help. (Some of the most vulnerable communities, like Sweetwater in the play, are a dozen miles inland). The Everglades are only 3 feet above sea level. Salt water is already killing many trees by drowning their roots!


And the Hudson River isn't immune! As far North as Troy will see the same kind of sea level rise as on the coast. New York City could see double the rate of global sea level rise because of the slowing of Atlantic ocean circulation patterns.


Performances of SEA LEVEL RISE: A DYSTOPIAN COMEDY are on Wednesday, July 31 at 8pm; Friday, August 2 at 5pm and Saturday, August 3 at 2pm. 


Tickets are $27.25 and can be purchased online through the play’s website https://www.sealevelriseplay.com/

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10)News from DKC/O&M

10A) BEAUTIFUL -

THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL
WILL END ITS BROADWAY RUN

AFTER NEARLY SIX SMASH-HIT, RECORD-BREAKING 

YEARS

FINAL PERFORMANCE OCTOBER 27, 2019

On October 27, 2019, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical will end its smash-hit, record-breaking run after nearly six years on Broadway, producers Paul Blake and Mike Bosner announced this evening. By the time the production takes its final bow, it will have played 60 preview and 2,418 regular performances, surpassing the original production of Annie and the landmark 1998 revival of Cabaret to become the 27th longest-running musical (and the 2nd longest running “bio-musical”) in Broadway history. With a book by Tony® and Academy® Award nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni, and choreography by Josh PrinceBeautiful features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil.

For more information or to purchase tickets before the show closes, visit www.beautifulonbroadway.com

**

10B) TICKETS NOW ON SALE
TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
FOR BROADWAY’S
BETRAYAL

Tickets are now on sale to the general public for Jamie Lloyd’s smash-hit production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal; available by visiting www.Telecharge.com or by calling 800-447-7400. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Box Office (242 West 45th Street) beginning Monday, July 22nd. For more information, please visit https://betrayalonbroadway.com.

As previously announced, The Jamie Lloyd Company, the successful partnership between Ambassador Theatre Group and Artistic Director Jamie Lloyd, brings their production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal to Broadway following its smash-hit, extended run in London’s West End. Directed by Mr. Lloyd, Betrayal stars Golden Globe, Olivier, and Evening Standard Award winnerTom HiddlestonZawe Ashton, and Charlie Cox, all making their Broadway debuts as Robert, Jerry, and Emma. They will be joined by Eddie Arnold as the Waiter. The strictly limited 17-week engagement will begin performances Wednesday, August 14 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street), with an official opening night on Thursday, September 5 at 6:30pm.

With poetic precision, rich humor, and an extraordinary emotional force, Betrayal charts a compelling seven-year romance, thrillingly captured in reverse chronological order. 

For more information, please visit www.BetrayalOnBroadway.com 


**
10C) MCC THEATER

EXTENDS


NEW YORK PREMIERE OF

MOSCOW MOSCOW MOSCOW MOSCOW MOSCOW MOSCOW

BY POPULAR DEMAND

BY HALLEY FEIFFER

DIRECTED BY TRIP CULLMAN

NOW PLAYING THROUGH AUGUST 17

SPECIAL PANEL DISCUSSION

TO BE HELD ON JULY 27

MCC Theater (Bob LuPoneBernie TelseyWill Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) is pleased to announce the extension of the New York Premiere production of Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow by Halley Feiffer and directed by Trip Cullman. Previously scheduled for a limited run through August 3, Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow will now play through Saturday, August 17 at the Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space (511 West 52nd Street). For tickets and additional information, please visit www.mcctheater.org 

As part of MCC Theater’s “Let’s Talk” series, there will be a moderated panel entitled “Inspired By… a conversation about the CLASSICS that SPARK the PLAYWRIGHTS OF TODAY”on Saturday, July 27 at 5pm at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. The conversation will feature Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow playwright Halley Feiffer, who will be joined by fellow playwright panelists Jordan E. Cooper (Ain’t No Mo’), Kate Hamill (Pride and PrejudiceLittle Women), and Lucas Hnath (A Doll’s House Part 2). The conversation will be moderated by director and playwright Robert O’Hara, who directed MCC Theater’s last production BLKS. For more information, please visit http://mcc.theater/inspired-by

As part of MCC Theater’s “Let’s Talk” series, there will be a moderated panel entitled “Inspired By… a conversation about the CLASSICS that SPARK the PLAYWRIGHTS OF TODAY”on Saturday, July 27 at 5pm at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. The conversation will feature Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow playwright Halley Feiffer, who will be joined by fellow playwright panelists Jordan E. Cooper (Ain’t No Mo’), Kate Hamill (Pride and PrejudiceLittle Women), and Lucas Hnath (A Doll’s House Part 2). The conversation will be moderated by director and playwright Robert O’Hara, who directed MCC Theater’s last production BLKS. For more information, please visit http://mcc.theater/inspired-by


**
10D) JAKE GYLLENHAAL

&

TOM STURRIDGE

RETURN TO BROADWAY IN 


SEA WALL / A LIFE


PREVIEWING NOW

 

EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL RUSH POLICY IN PARTNERSHIP 


WITH TODAYTIX ANNOUNCED


Academy Award® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Tony Award® nominee Tom Sturridge, two of the finest actors of their generation, return to Broadway inSea Wall / A Life, which begins previews tomorrow, Friday, July 26 at Hudson Theatre (141 West 44th Street). The show will open officially on Thursday, August 8 and will play a strictly limited nine-week engagement.

The producers of Sea Wall / A Life announced today that the show will partner exclusively with TodayTix to offer $35 mobile Rush Tickets beginning at 10am each performance day. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis exclusively through the TodayTix app. For more info, visit: https://b.todaytix.com/seawallrush

In addition, Sea Wall / A Life will offer a select number of $45 Rush Tickets in person.  Tickets for these seats are available for each performance on a first-come, first-served basis and must be purchased in person on the day of the performance only at Hudson Theatre’s box office from 10am.  

Meet Alex, a photographer on a holiday with his family in the south of France. Meet Abe, a music producer with a baby on the way. Two men – both fathers, husbands, and sons – take us on a journey you will never forget.

Tickets for Sea Wall / A Life are on sale now by visiting www.seawallalife.comwww.hudsonbroadway.com, or by calling 855-801-5876.  
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11) News from JT Public Relations

TheaterWorksUSA'a Dog Man The Musical Extends Run - now playing through 
Aug 11, 2019

New York: TheaterWorksUSA (Barbara Pasternack, Artistic Director; Michael Harrington, Managing Director) is proud to announce that the New York Times Critic’s Pick Dog Man: The Musical will extend its run through August 11, 2019, with an updated schedule at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street). This extension will allow TheaterWorksUSA’s Family Summer Theater program to accommodate an additional 1,200 young people, on top of the over 4,000 free or highly subsidized tickets already offered for schools, camps, youth groups and active military and veteran families. Tickets are available by visiting twusa.org/DogMan or by calling (866) 811-4111.  

Based on the worldwide bestselling hit series by Dav Pilkey, Dog Man: The Musical is a hilarious and heartwarming new production following the chronicles of Dog Man, who with the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings? Can he catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat, who has cloned himself to exact revenge on the doggy do-gooder? And will George and Harold finish their show before lunchtime?? Find out in this epic musical adventure featuring the hilarity and heart of beloved characters from Dav Pilkey, the creator of Captain Underpants.
Dog Man: The Musical began performances on June 28 and opened on July 8, 2019, and has received praise from audiences and critics alike
Performance Schedule through August 4, 2019 
Saturdays at 11 am / 2 pm / 5 pm; Sundays at 12 pm / 3 pm
UPDATED SCHEDULE August 6 – 11, 2019 
Thursday, August 8 at 7 pm; Friday, August 9 at 7 pm
Saturday, August 10 at 2 pm and 7 pm 
Sunday, August 11 at 3 pm 
Purchase Tickets 
RESERVED TICKETS ARE $35 - $85 (Premium)
Purchased online at twusa.org/DogMan or call (866) 811-4111
WEEKDAY VIP TICKETS 
Contact TWUSA’s Box Office at (800) 497-5007 for details
$20 RUSH TICKETS
(*Based on availability at the Box Office, 30 minutes before curtain.)
Tuesday – Friday at 10:30 am; Saturdays at 11 am / 2 pm / 5 pm; Sundays at 12 pm / 3 pm
Lucille Lortel Theatre is located at 121 Christopher Street)
For full performance schedule, please visit twusa.org/DogMan
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12) News from Polk and Co.

Make Believe
New York Premiere Production
Previews Begin July 30, 2019
Opening Night August 15, 2019

MAKE BELIEVE will begin previews at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theater (305 West 43rd Street) on July 30, 2019, with an opening night set for August 15, 2019.  MAKE BELIEVE is the final production of Second Stage’s 40th Anniversary Season. 

When does real life collide with make believe? For the four Conlee kids, ages 5 to 10, playing house is no longer a game when their parents inexplicably disappear. Thirty-two years later, their search for answers continues. Bess Wohl returns to Second Stage after her funny and poignant play, American Hero, with a look inside the minds of children, their parents and the mysteries of childhood that haunt us forever.  

MAKE BELIEVE tickets are now available by calling the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422, visiting the company’s website, www.2ST.com or at the Tony Kiser Theater Box Office (305 West 43rd Street). A limited number of $30 Under 30 tickets are available in advance to those ages 30 and under with proper identification.

The evening performance on Sunday, August 25, 2019 will have 40 seats for $40 in celebration of the Company’s 40th anniversary. Tickets can be purchased with code 40for40.  
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13)News from Richard Hillman


THE DRAMA LEAGUE 
PRESENTS 
FIRST STAGE FESTIVAL
TAKING THE FIRST STEP 
10 DIRECTORS. 10 HOURS. 10 NEW WORKS. 
AT THE DRAMA LEAGUE CENTER 
JULY 29 – AUGUST 9, 2019
FEATURED DIRECTORS INCLUDE JACLYN BISKUP, NATHANIEL P. CLARIDAD,
TOM COSTELLO, PETE DANELSKI, MELODY ERFANI, ALISHA ESPINOSA,
SARAH HUGHES, RACHEL KARP, ASH MARINACCIO, EMMA ROSA WENT
FEATURED NEW WORKS BY ALISHA ESPINOSA, CARL HOLDER, LILY HOUGHTON,
RACHEL KARP AND JOSEPH AMODEI, ASH MARINACCIO AND DOMINQUE FISHBACK,
WITH DEVISED PIECES BASED ON WORKS BY BECKETT, CHEKHOV AND SHAKESPEARE
The Drama League (Artistic Director, Gabriel Stelian-Shanks) has announced an inaugural event: _First Stage Festiva_l, where new works take their first steps, featuring 10 resident directors who will have 10 hours to focus and manifest a particular moment or element of 10 new works, giving a glimpse into the future of the American Theater. FREE and open to the public, tickets/RSVPs are required and available on a first-come, first-served basis. All performances begin at 8:00 p.m. The Festival officially launches on Monday, July 29, 2019 and continues through Friday, August 9, 2019 at The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas). Festival programming, tickets and additional details are available at www.dramaleague.org, or by calling (212) 244-9494.
FIRST STAGE FESTIVAL
July 29 - August 9, 2019
at The Drama League Center

(32 Avenue of the Americas)
Tickets Available at www.dramaleague.org
All performances begin at 8:00 p.m. FREE and open to the public.
Tickets/RSVPs are required and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
MONDAY, JULY 29 AT 8:00 P.M.
Heedless Hungry Lovesick
(Devised Piece)
Directed by Jaclyn Biskup
Heedless Hungry Lovesick is a romantic epic charting 11 years in the lives of 9 characters, as they journey through young adulthood, in an unstable country headed towards revolution. The play explores how youthful passion survives—if at all—the trials of growing up in a perilous world. Heedless Hungry Lovesick is a play meant to showcase the desire and enthusiasm of young performers and places it in a political context.
Jaclyn Biskup is a director and producer working in theatre, television, and film. She is the recipient of an Emmy and Peabody nomination for her work on the digital series "The Secret Life Of Muslims," and currently works as an associate producer at New Ohio Theatre. She assisted Tony Award-winning director Anna Shapiro on the Broadway debut of Straight White Men by Young Jean Lee (Second Stage at the Helen Hayes). Her work in the theatre spans nearly two decades. As the founding artistic director of The Mill, she has directed and produced over 20 productions including the Chicago premieres of Venus by Suzan-Lori Parks and The Private Lives Of Eskimos (Or 16 Words For Snow) by Ken Urban. In NYC, work directed includes Worse Than Tigers by Mark Christler, Nicholas, Maeve, Marianne by Matthew Stephen Smith (one of Indie Theatre Now's 20 Best of NYC Fringe), Hot Steams by Zach Wegner, It's Just Weird Now by Halley Feiffer, and Days Of Rage by Hyeyoung Kim and Shoshana Greenberg. Her work has been seen at New Ohio Theatre, MCC, Rattlestick, Dixon Place, Town Stages, and the NYC International Fringe. She has assisted on productions at Steppenwolf, The Public, and The American Musical Theatre Workshop. She has worked on digital projects for PBS NOVA, Delta Air Lines, Caltech, Harvard, and others, and holds a BA in Theater from Northern Illinois University and an MFA in Directing and Theatrical Production from Northwestern University.
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TUESDAY, JULY 30 AT 8:00 PM
The Untitled Filipino-American Project
(Devised Piece)
Directed by Nathaniel P. Claridad
Collaborators: Marissa Carpio, Jasmin Malave
The Untitled Filipino-American Project explores what identity means to the Filipino-American. Caught between the Philippines, a country with rich indigenous history (as well as a history of colonialization) and the United States of America, a country that, for many Filipinos offered a promise of a better future in exchange for assimilation, where do Filipinos find themselves in this tapestry of history and country? By using interviews, found text, song and dance, The Untitled Filipino-American Project seeks to unveil what it means to be the children of immigrants from a country that is as beautiful as it is complicated.
Nathaniel Claridad. NYC: The Trojan Women (Oppressed in Heels), July House (NYC Fringe 2015), Man.Kind (Working Theater), The Breasts of Tiresias (Peculiar Works Project); work with The One Minute Play Festival and ShakesBEER; with Wagon Wheel Arts: Triassic Parq, Dustin Lance Black's "8" featuring Jose Llana and Gavin Creel (Co-producer/A.D., PlayMakers Repertory Company, UNC - Chapel Hill); the annual benefit event Broadway Twisted (Co-producer/Director). Regionally: Our Town (A.D., Two River Theatre), It's A Wonderful Life (A.D., PlayMakers Repertory Company). For UNC: Eurydice, Tender NapalmShakespeare's R & J. As actor highlights include: Here Lies Love (The Public Theater), Taylor Mac's 24 Hour Decade History of Popular MusicThe Awesome 80’s Prom; with regional work at The Kennedy Center, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Folger Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Cape Fear, Imagination Stage, Hangar Theatre, Barrington Stage, Florida Studio Theatre. Other: The Civilians Field and Research Team and Drama League Residency, 2016; MFA: UNC, Chapel Hill.
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 AT 8:00 PM
My Brother's Better At Love Than Me
By Lily Houghton
Directed by Tom Costello
Collaborators: Lily Houghton, playwright, Henry Houghton, actor.
My Brother's Better At Love Than Me: The relationship between a woman and her autistic brother are told through the parallel stories of each of their romantic lives. A look at how someone on the autism spectrum, who is ostensibly "bad at empathy," can be better at love than someone more neuro-typical.
Tom Costello is a New York-based director from Ithaca, NY. He is the Associate Artistic Director of Pipeline Theatre Company and administers its PlayLab, a residency for new work of unbridled imagination. He is an Associate Artist at the Flea Theater where he directed the world premieres of Smoke by Kim Davies and The Wundelsteipen (and other difficult roles for young people) by Nick Jones. He is the Artistic Director of the Atlantic Acting School's alumni program, where he is also a faculty member. Tom is a proud graduate of the BFA program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a 2017 Drama League Directing Fellow.
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 1 AT 8:00 PM
EveryHour/Chekhov in 8
(Devised from the words of Anton Chekhov)
Directed by Pete Danelski
Collaborators: McLean Fletcher, actor, Andrew Goebel, actor.
Over a nine-year span, Anton Chekhov found a humiliating start as a playwright, lived in a penal colony, and watched his brother succumb to tuberculosis—all in the shadow of his own fatal disease. Personal correspondences from these years open a window into Chekhov’s own positive life view and its inextricable relationship with death and creativity. Part verbatim play. Part experiment. EveryHour/Chekhov in 8 uses Chekhov’s words to displace his identity and ideas. What does the title “creative genius” really mean during the 20th century?
Pete Danelski is a DC-based theatre maker, director and writer. He has performed and directed at theatres across Philadelphia, New York and Washington, DC. Recent directing credits include Folger Theatre, Post Shift, Rorschach and Theatre J. Pete’s research and writing has been shared internationally, most recently published in Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare Association. He has written and developed several new plays with his writing partner Megan Diehl, including an adaptation of the Karel and Josef Čapek’s Adam the Creator, which will receive a reading at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in spring 2019. Additionally, Pete serves as Operations and Business Associate with CulturalDC, managing Source Theatre in Washington, DC. Pete holds degrees from DeSales University and Trinity College Dublin. www.petedanelski.com
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 2 AT 8:00 PM
The Fossett Family (working title)
(Devised Piece)
Directed by Melody Erfani
Collaborators: Andrea Bellamore, Gerrard James, Kevin Cauvun, Melissa Mowry, Nathaniel Johnson, Sasha Hawkins, Sean Michael Welch, Suzanne Darrell
The Fossett Family (working title) is based on the true story of Joseph and Edith Fossett's life. Following Thomas Jefferson's death in 1826, Joseph Fossett became a free man, one of five persons freed from slavery by the terms of Jefferson's will. However, his wife Edith and their 10 children were put up for sale with the rest of Jefferson's "belongings" to pay off his sizable debt. The play follows their journey that tests their strength of will, family bond, and what they will risk to reunite.
Melody Erfani is a NYC-based theatre director specializing in creating, new works, and classical adaptations. Originally from Dallas, Texas, raised in an Iranian-American family within a diverse community, her fascination with other people’s cultures and customs was sparked from birth. She founded Lower East Side Shakespeare Co., a non-profit theatre company, in 2014 and has been Artistic Director there for five years. She has an M.F.A in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School and a participant in the 2013 Lincoln Center Director's Lab. She graduated with a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts during which she procured an internship with Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Favorite credits: Bee (Creator and Director), Antigone, R+J (LES Shakespeare), 97 Orchard St.(Creator/Director), All an Act (The Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Dying City, Raised in Captivity (ASDS Repertory), Our Town, The Importance of Being Earnest (Stagedoor Manor, NY).
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MONDAY, AUGUST 5 AT 8:00 PM
Prison Tongues
By Alisha Espinosa
Directed by Alisha Espinosa
Principal Collaborator: Nathaniel P. Claridad
Prison Tongues is a feminist, contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothingand Hamlet. Both plays are juxtaposed with contemporary characters in order to expose and reclaim the "minor" female characters, namely Hero and Ophelia. The play circumvents traditional structure by weaving contemporary adaptations with a secondary storyline about how actresses in Shakespeare companies grapple with the baggage of these iconic characters while staying true to themselves and their womanhood.
Alisha Espinosa is an Afro-Boricua storyteller, who specializes in acting and playwriting, and an aerialist in training at The Muse Brooklyn. She recently participated in New York Shakespeare Exchange’s inaugural Diversity Cohort and her pieces have been produced by Step1 Theater Project (NYC). Recent Acting Credits include American Tales (Stage One), Hamlet (KY Shakespeare), Shakespeare: The Remix (Capital Rep), Much Ado About Nothing (KY Shakespeare).
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 6 AT 8:00PM
Share Location
By Carl Holder
Directed by Sarah Hughes
Collaborators: Carl Holder, Playwright
Share Location uses the language of texts, tweets, status updates, listicles, news videos, clickbait vlogs, app notifications, blog posts, voicemails, emails, phone calls, and chat threads all across many platforms and timelines to create a tapestry of online content quilted together to show the story of a group of people play out over time. The characters' online footprints are never spoken aloud, but they all are speaking from somewhere where they feel alone, reaching out into a void, hoping to connect.
Sarah Hughes is a director and producer of theater and new media. She’s developed new plays, devised works, and immersive installations with Eliza Bent, MJ Kaufman, Julia May Jonas, McFeely Sam Goodman, Sibyl Kempson, Graham Sack, Geoff Sobelle and others. Sarah worked with Elevator Repair Service from 2007-14, assistant directing Gatz, The Select, Arguendo, Shuffle, and Fondly, Collette Richland Off-Broadway and on tour, and was Co-Artistic Producer of Target Margin Theater from 2015-17. Visiting Lecturer at Dartmouth College, New Georges 2018 Audrey Resident, 2016-17 Civilians R&D Lab, 2017-18 Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellow, 2018-2020 WP Theater Directors Lab.
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7 AT 8:00PM
Packing and Cracking
By Rachel Karp and Joseph Amodei
Directed by Rachel Karp
Collaborator: Joseph Amodei
Should voters choose their politicians, or should politicians choose their voters? Packing and Cracking is a multimedia mapmaking event that exposes the ubiquity of the latter: politicians using their power to draw district lines in their favor, through a widespread process known as gerrymandering. Set on a theater-sized map of one gerrymandered state with the audience arranged across it, Packing and Cracking draws and redraws maps around audience members in real time, utilizing the software most often used to gerrymander, showing how easy gerrymandering is, and asking what, if anything, we should do about it.
Rachel Karp makes work about politics and public policy. She has developed and directed new work through Ars Nova, Mabou Mines, Incubator Arts Project, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Flea, IRT, Dixon Place, Women Center Stage, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Barn Arts, the Powerhouse and Samuel French Festivals, and Columbia University's graduate and undergraduate schools. Rachel has been a Resident Artist at Mabou Mines, a Resident Director at The Flea, a Directing Intern at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Currently at Carnegie Mellon University, Rachel is a John Wells Directing Fellow, MFA expected 2019, and a Milton and Cynthia Friedman Fellow, through which she spent Summer 2018 working at a policy research institute in Washington, DC. www.rachelkarp.com
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 8 AT 8:00PM
Antigone (en la frontera)
By Ash Marinaccio and Dominque Fishback
Directed by Ash Marinaccio
Principal Collaborators: Dominique Fishback, actor, Maria Litvan, dramaturg
Antigone (en la frontera) is a one-woman production of Antigone set in a jail cell on the U.S./Mexican border. While arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents for "harboring undocumented immigrants" after leaving water out in the desert for migrants, an activist channels the spirit and strength of Antigone from her jail cell while facing felony charges.
Ashley "Ash" Marinaccio is a theatre artist and scholar who is dedicated to documenting the socio-political issues that define our times by creating work that challenges the status quo and transforms the way we see the world. Her theatrical work has been seen Off-Broadway (Primary Stages, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, HERE, Joe's Pub, Culture Project), at TED conferences, The White House, The Apollo, United Nations and on tour throughout the United States, Middle East, and Europe. Her work has received critical acclaim from The NY Times, New Yorker, Huffington Post, Ms. Magazine, Ebony, NY Press, Time Out NY, Backstage, and Show Businessand has been featured in segments on Buzzfeed, NBC, BBC, Al Jazeera, MTV, VH1, and NY1.
Ash is a Level II Ph.D. student in Theatre and Performance at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her research interests include exploring theatre practices in war zones, applications of theatre in social justice movements, politics and performance in times of crisis, community-based theatre, intersections between anthropology and theatre, and documentary theatre.
She is a League of Professional Theatre Women Lucille Lortel Visionary Award recipient for her artistic direction of Girl Be Heard, an UN-recognized NGO theatre company that brings global issues affecting girls center stage by empowering young women to tell their stories. She is also a co-founder of Co-Op Theatre East. Ash is a TED speaker. In 2018, she was listed as one of Culture Trip's "25 Women in Theatre You Should Know." She's a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, AEA, SAG/AFTRA and alumna of Hemispheric Institute's EMERGENYC and American Theatre Wing's Springboard programs. Currently, Ashley is a 2019-2020 NY Public Humanities Fellow. For more information visit ashley-marinaccio.com.
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 AT 8:00PM
The Same Shirt Show Part 2, Beckett Without Beckett: 'An Exploration of Masculinity and Existentialism Inspired by the Themes and Works of Beckett, but Containing No Actual Beckett, We Swear'
(Devised Piece)
Directed by Emma Rosa Went
Collaborators: Emma Rosa Went, Julia Larsen, and Olivia Rose Barresi
The Same Shirt Show Part 2, Beckett Without Beckett: 'An Exploration of Masculinity and Existentialism Inspired by the Themes and Works of Beckett, but Containing No Actual Beckett, We Swear' is part vaudevillian, part existential cry for help, and part genuine exploration of gender, camaraderie, and loneliness. Sequel to The Same Shirt Show: 'An Exploration of Masculinity in the Western Canon, As Performed by Two Women Wearing the Same Shirt,' Beckett Without Beckett is devised by Emma Rosa Went, Julia Larsen, and Olivia Rose Barresi.
Emma Rosa Went is a New-York based theatre director who has developed and presented work at The Tank, The Brick, Playwrights Realm, Dixon Place, Theater Row, the Access Theatre, LPAC Lab, Center at West Park, Trans Lab @ WP, and many other venues. Regional credit include: Scranton Shakespeare Festival, Boise Contemporary Theatre, Barn Arts Collective. Co-founder of The Renovationists, for whom she has directed Old Names for Wildflowers, Three Seconds, Boxcar, and other projects. Co-founder of Easy Leap Theatre Company, for whom she directed Much Ado About Nothing, The Changeling, Hearts of Gold, Othello, and Love's Labors Lost. Off-Broadway and regional assisting includes TFANA, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Atlantic, Rattlestick, Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Emma is an alumna of the OSF FAIR Program and the SDCF Observership Program. SDC Associate Member. Upcoming in 2019: Courage! To the Field!(The Tank); Initiative (Ink'd Festival, Playwrights Realm); Richard III (Scranton Shakespeare Festival). www.emmawent.com
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14) News from Spin Cycle NYC

Site-Specific Look Back at Legendary Artist
Announces 2nd Extension 

UNMAKING TOULOUSE-LAUTREC
Now through September 4 at Madame X

Bated Breath Theatre Company announces a second extension of their acclaimed immersive, environmental production UNMAKING TOULOUSE-LAUTREC. Performances will now continue through September 4 at Madame X in Manhattan’s historic Greenwich Village, where performances began on May 8.
 
UNMAKING TOULOUSE-LAUTREC invites you to rediscover the bohemian world of the Belle Epoque with legendary artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and the women he immortalized. Dive into the underbelly of old Paris and rub shoulders with the dancers, prostitutes and outcasts that inspired the most enticing, elegant and provocative art ever to launch a thousand refrigerator magnets. Through imagery, text and dance UNMAKING TOULOUSE-LAUTREC explores the ecstasy of creativity against the agony of the body in the sexiest art history lesson you'll ever have.

UNMAKING TOULOUSE-LAUTREC runs through September 4, Wednesdays at 7pm & 9pm. Running time is 60 minutes. Madame X is located at 94 West Houston Street, between LaGuardia Place and Thompson Street -- accessible from the B,D,F,M trains at Broadway/Lafayette. Tickets are $35, available at www.unmakinglautrecplay.com.
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And that's the scoop. Tune in tomorrow for this month's Monthly Mashup.

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