Off Broadway
Delejos (from afar) Jumps Emotionally from Real to Virtual, Hoping to Win through Connection
Delejos (from afar) is in a theatrical world all to itself, and in this neverending lockdown reality, this is high praise. In simplistic terms, this Zoomed production is a one-woman, immersive, multi-media, live play unearthing and unpacking themes surrounding grief, connection, virtual reality, love, creativity, and Latinx identity. In more complex terms, the production is a powerful examination of ‘magical’ and emotional thinking, coupled with symbolic significances that emanate from deep inside an overpowering sense of grief and loss. But instead of discarding or disowning it, as most might want to do, the intelligent and daring NYC-based artist Julie Piñero embraces and believes in all of its transforming beauty and engagement. And that only sorta gets to the core of what’s being done here.
The play is an outpouring of creative engineering and energy, created, written, and performed by Piñero as a way to unleash, through investigation, the pain that fills her up when her newly discovered lover and partner Jose Zambrano suddenly dies after becoming the victim of random street violence in NYC. Heartbreakingly tender and intricate, Piñero tells us the sad tale, transforming and expanding her painful emotional landscape by weaving together stand-up comedy, live music and VR. It’s quite the intoxicating delivery, especially in its wild abandonment of standardized form and structure. She does this, she tells us, because these were the mediums she and Zambrano pursued together. In essence, this is her way of continuing their journey together and hopefully finding peace and salvation. The emotionally heightened product turns that magic and hurt into something unbelievably connecting, thought-provoking, and thoroughly engaging, discovering a new way to uplift the emotional landscape “with the gusto of a game designer.“
It’s grief poetry wrapped in performance art, begging to be explored and known by one and all. The piece takes me back to those wonderful East Village nights when we would gather together in a dim lit East Village bar to listen to a friend of a friend’s written word art born out of personal heartache and love. It rings with that complicated but simple artistic beauty, as Piñero, through the examination of Zambrano’s unfinished passion project, the virtual reality game named “Delejos“, nimbly finds her way through the complicated landscape of love, loss, and (de)attachment. She unpacks her new painridden existence at the bedside of a comatose Jose, while finding alignment and solidarity with Jose (and family) in a remarkably similar way to what Zambrano had planned for his players to do. He had miraculously envisioned his virtual game as an explorative pathway through an array of fascinatingly created realities, inspired by his own forced immigration from Venezuela (which, to be honest, feels more like fleeing). The players must find a way to win the fever-dream game by coming together and building a bridge of love and connection. It’s a beautiful concoction, what Zambrano had planned, and Piñero uplifts this modality into her Zoomed theatrical pursuit of FLOW. She searches for her own true self, “like a lost pair of keys“, using his idea of adventures to build (or rebuild) our sense of home and find the energy to bridge the distance between people, cultures, communities and language.
Piñero discovers utter uniqueness in her approach, utilizing the platform of streamed theatre in a remarkably straightforward but novel way that is both interactive and compellingly original. It feels obvious but alarmingly different and creative, as we watch her struggle to make sense of loss, within the context of today’s COVID world, funneling her curiosity into the question: “do we lose something simply because we’re far from it?” It’s a captivatingly intimate Alchemist harnessing of destruction and creation that isn’t quite translatable. Leaving Piñero to ask the impossible question: “Why? Why?” Why are there no answers to the Bitter End?
With eyes wide shut for moments at a time, the intersection of romantic heartfelt love and creative communal partnership found inside of grief and love is communicated with intense ease layering in a vulnerable intimate edge that registers far more than you ever see coming. It’s impossible not to fall for the wide eyed beauty of Jose, especially through Piñero’s eyes. But why would you fight this beauty, even as sadness overwhelms during all those moments of honesty and clarity.
“Before this project, I would always doubt my own work. It’s why I’ve dabbled in so many mediums: too scared to hear my own voice within one, I jump to the next.” says Piñero. She states that she has “impostor syndrome” when performing, but somewhere inside this tender creation, one that she feels has been spiritually “Written by Julie Piñero and Jose Zambrano”, the promise and the realization of “I love you” (at 9% power) wins in the end. She has something important to say, and she has learned to just say it with passion and creativity. For that, we can only melt into her arms, feeling more alive for the experience, and thankful for our introduction into Delejos (from afar).
Produced by Caitlin Stone, Delejos (from afar) streams live via Zoom in a limited weekly run until May 1. Runtime is 2 hours with a 5 minute intermission, and the Zoom invite is sent via email day-of performance. The show is FREE, and tickets are available by clicking here. Please reserve one ticket per computer screen, even if multiple people will be in attendance. If you need to cancel, please do so via Eventbrite. Those involved are working hard to keep tickets free, but donations will be gratefully accepted to help with their production costs, please venmo @julie-pinero .
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Pulse Theatre will be presenting Chasing Happy a new comedy by Michel Wallerstein (Flight, Five Women Waiting, Off Hand). Directed by Pulse Theatre co-Founder Alexa Kelly (Strings Attached).
Video by Magda Katz
The company of Chasing Happy features Spencer Aste (Wake Up, Axis Theatre), Jenny Bennett (City of Ladies, Pulse Theatre), Schyler Conaway in his Off-Broadway debut, Christopher James Murray (The Falling Season, Theatre Row), and Elizabeth Shepherd (Relatively Speaking and Conduct Unbecoming on Broadway; War and Peace and Inherit the Wind in London’s West End).
T2C talked to Michel Wallerstein and Spencer Aste to learn more.
Chasing Happy is a modern comedy about personal identity, love, acceptance …and the elusive pursuit of happiness. Nick is in love with another man’s boyfriend. (Oops.) Nick’s mother says George Clooney wants to date her (Really?). Nick’s ex-wife says she has to have surgery.( Now?) …It’s a laugh a minute on an unexpected merry-go-round when you’re chasing happy.
The limited engagement will play a five-week limited engagement, October 11 through November 11, at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, NYC). Opening night is Thursday, October 19 at 7PM. Tickets are now on sale at TheatreRow.org or by calling the box office, 212-714-2442 ext. 45.
For more information visit www.ChasingHappyOffBroadway.com.
By Dennis White
The theater is filled with eerie almost tribal music with birds chirping as the audience finds their seats for Primary Stages’ production of DIG at 59E59 Theaters. It’s a new play written by Theresa Rebeck (Bernhardt/Hamlet) who also directs and as the name implies, DIG is not going to let us just see what’s on the surface. This story wants us to DIG to find out what we don’t see going on underground. The play’s setting is a garden shop that we’re told is failing but is filled with what looks like thriving plants.
David Mason in Primary Stages’ DIG at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by James Leynse.
Roger, the owner, played with elegant restraint by Jeffery Bean (Broadway’s Amadeus, Bells Are Ringing) seems content with keeping his shop even though developers are buying up the neighborhood. But Roger is unaware of how his complacent life is going to change thanks to his longtime friend Lou played by Triney Sandoval (Broadway’s Bernhardt/Hamlet), a man who reluctantly has his tormented daughter Megan come live with him. Megan deftly played by Andrea Syglowski (Broadway’s Pass Over) is a woman lost but even though it seems futile, she has not given up – completely. Entering the shop Megan takes a seat in the corner facing the wall attempting to camouflage herself in greenery covering her face with a hoodie.
She has committed an unforgivable act that has made national headlines. After a failed suicide her father agrees to supervise his daughter’s release even though he cannot forgive her. Megan reaches through her pain and within minutes she offers to repot a plant hoping to convince Roger he needs her help and she’ll work for free. You can feel how Syglowski’s Megan feels caught like the plant’s bound roots pushing against the sides of the pot, trapped and in pain. But she sees hope in the garden shop and Roger. The relationship between Roger and Megan is tenuous at first but the actors reel in the audience. The garden shop is coming alive as a place where they can both grow but it’s not as easy as they find out.
The rest of the cast is vital as they build the grotesque puzzle pieces of Megan’s horrifying past with pros like Mary Bacon (Public’s Coal Country) as Molly. Bacon does a good job as the judgmental nosy customer who turns into a helping hand. Stoner Everett aptly played in what can be described as a life lived in a pot cloud haze by Greg Keller (Playwrights Horizons’ The Thanksgiving Play) seems like a comical diversion but there’s a darker side coming. A surprising element is the appearance of Adam, Megan’s ex-husband, played with the intensity of a caged animal by David Mason (Broadway’s Pictures from Home) who makes the most of this small part. You can feel the audience cringing through the entire scene as writer/ director Theresa Rebeck finally gets her chance to see her play fully realized as she saw it in her mind, line by line.
DIG takes us to places we could not imagine when we first meet the characters. She builds relationships, tears them down, and then gives them some hope by the end. The play’s surprising revelation leaves the audience stunned, gasping at the turn of events and the secrets revealed. Rebeck’s direction seems effortless, moving her actors in the garden shop through this story of realization, forgiveness, and redemption. The scenic design by Christopher and Justin Swader (Off-Broadway’s The Boy Who Danced On Air) fill the garden shop with life, growing and changing reflecting the events of the play. Lighting by Mary Ellen Stebbins (MCC’s Space Dogs) helps set the mood with deep shadows and the original music and sound design by Fitz Patton (Broadway’s Choir Boy) give us an ominous melody to add to the tension, giving DIG a chance to get a lot of it right. The cast led by Syglowski and Bean hit all the right notes as they travel through tormented waters, some raging, while others swirl below the surface. Rebeck’s play with its unexpected twists and turns wrenches our guts and we follow gladly to the end.
For more information and tickets, visit primarystages.org/.
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, is now playing at New World Stage, 340 West 50th Street, until January 7, 2024 or beyond.
In this caricature you will find James Daly’s Dracula and clockwise: Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Arnie Burton, Ellen Harvey and Jordan Boatman who make up this amazingly talented cast.
You can read T2C’s mouth watering review here.
Broadway’s blockbuster Wicked, in partnership with National Day Calendar, has announced that October 30 will officially become National Wicked Day, in honor of the hit Broadway musical’s debut at the Gershwin Theatre (245 West 51st Street) on October 30, 2003.
This marks the first time that a Broadway show will have its own official day in the National Day Calendar. With this inclusion, Wicked joins some of the most recognizable National Day celebrations, including National Barbie Day, National Star Trek Day, National Scrabble Day, National Winnie the Pooh Day, and National Teacher Appreciate Day, among others.
Read the official announcement HERE.
Currently Wicked 4th longest-running show in Broadway history, and will celebrate its 20th Anniversary on Broadway this October 30th.
The Broadway production of Wicked currently features Alyssa Fox as Elphaba, McKenzie Kurtz as Glinda, John Dossett as The Wizard, Michele Pawk as Madame Morrible, Jordan Litz as Fiyero, Jake Pedersen as Boq, Kimber Elayne Sprawl as Nessarose, and William Youmans as Doctor Dillamond.
Adam Blackstone
Emmy Award®-winning music director and Grammy Award®-winning writer, Adam Blackstone, joins the creative team as Dance Music Arranger for the revival of The Wiz. The Wiz will launch a national tour on September 23, 2023 in Baltimore, MD before returning to Broadway for a limited engagement in the 2023/24 season.
Adam Blackstone
“Joining The Wiz’s creative team has been a very surreal moment. I remember watching the film on VHS daily for years, wondering how it sounded so incredible, how MJ transformed into the Scarecrow, and the score and orchestrations truly told a story all of its own. Fast forward to today, I get to musically partner with Terence Vaughn and reunite with my brother, super choreographer and creative director JaQuel Knight, and explore our own interpretation for a revival of this masterpiece. I am excited and look forward to this body of work changing lives, just like it did for me in the 80’s!” stated Adam Blackstone.
The cast will include previously announced Wayne Brady to lead the production as the Wiz on Broadway in Spring of 2024, San Francisco (January 16 – February 11, 2024) at the Golden Gate Theatre, and Los Angeles (February 13 – March 3, 2024) at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. Alan Mingo Jr. will star in the role of the Wiz in the following cities of The Wiz National Tour this fall, kicking off with the tour launch in Baltimore, including Cleveland, OH, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, PA, Charlotte, NC, Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC, Chicago, IL, Des Moines, IA, Tempe, AZ and San Diego, CA.
The cast will also feature Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Deborah Cox as Glinda and Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em and Evillene, Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tinman, and Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow. The Wiz ensemble includes Maya Bowles, Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Jay Copeland, Allyson Kaye Daniel, Judith Franklin, George, Collin Heyward, Amber Jackson, Jackson, Jones, Jones, Kindle, Mariah Lyttle, Kareem Marsh, Anthony Murphy, Rae, Matthew Sims Jr, Avilon Trust Tate, Keenan D. Washington, and Timothy Wilson.
The production will include ‘Everybody Rejoice’ music and lyrics by Luther Vandross, as well as the ‘Emerald City Ballet’ with music by Timothy Graphenreed.
The McKittrick Hotel (530 West 27th Street, NYC), home of Sleep No More, announced the opening of Hypnotique – A Late Night Sultry Spectacle. Performances have been extended on Friday and Saturday nights through October 14, 2023. The all-new Hypnotique revue offers a unique after-dark experience that envelops you. Audiences are captivated by spontaneous performances and mesmerizing dancers, accompanied by daring sonic soundscapes in a surreal ambiance in The Club Car.
The cast features Chloé Lexia Worthington, Courtney Sauls, Fabricio Seraphin, Haley Bjorn, Jacob Nahor, Jesseca Scott, Maurice Ivy, Maya Kitayama, Samantha Greenlund, Victoria Edwards, and swings Alex Sturtevant, Cameron Arnold, Kennedy Adams, and Stacey Badgett Jr..
Cocktails inspired by the experience, including the signature Hypnotonique (an electrifying punch made with cucumber-infused vodka, elderflower liqueur, and grapefruit juice), are available from The Club Car’s bar.
Performances are offered on Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30PM. General Admission tickets with standing room are currently priced from $65 per person.
Kevin Del Aguila and the cast Photos by Marc J. Franklin
Two industry readings for Female Troubles, an original musical comedy, will happen next week at Open Jar Studios. Female Troubles is a completely original musical comedy featuring lyrics by two-time Tony Award nominated and Grammy Award nominated songwriter Amanda Green (Mr. Saturday Night, Hands On A Hardbody, Bring It On), music by three-time Emmy Award nominee Curtis Moore (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), book by Emmy Award-winning writers Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden (“Veep,” “Arrested Development,” “Seinfeld,” “The Simpsons,” “HouseBroken”) and directed by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (Disney’s Newsies, My Fair Lady, “Schmigadoon,” “Schmicago”).
Lesli Margherita
The cast for the readings will includeKrystina Alabado, Kevin Del Aguila, Amanda Green, Lilli Cooper, Lillias White, Lesli Margherita, Ryann Redmond, Kate Rockwell, Matt Saldivar, Alanna Saunders, Trent Saunders, Jake Swain, Sav Souza, Rachel Stern and Frank Viveros. In Female Troubles, Elinor Benton finds herself surprisingly and undeniably “knocked up” — and, since she’s unmarried and this is 19th century England, she has a very big dilemma. Facing ruin, she and her girlfriends embark on a raucous journey to find the one notorious woman who can help them with their “female troubles.” Their misadventures change the course of each of their lives. This uproarious musical comedy asks the trenchant question “Can you believe this sh*t is still happening in 1810?”
I attended the reading of Love In The Time Of Crazy withbook and lyrics by Peter Kellogg (Outer Critics Winner for Desperate Measures), music by Stephen Weiner (two-time Richard Rodgers Award winner) and David Hancock Turner (orchestrator for Desperate Measures and Penelope), directed by Lauren Molina (Desperate Measures ). The cast stared Philippe Arroyo, Stephen DeRosa, Robin Dunavant, David Merino, Josh Lamon, Roe Hartrampf and Alexis Cofield .
Look for more from this tuneful musical that actually has you leaving humming the songs. The cast was terrific, the direction sublime and the show ready to move.
Love in the Time of Crazy is a riot, but, you know, in a good way.
Gingold Theatrical Group next show is a new production of George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man.
Shanel Baile
The cast of Arms and the Man will feature Shanel Bailey (“Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies”)
Delphi Borich
Delphi Borich (Camelot)
Ben Davis
Ben Davis (New York New York)
Keshav Moodliar
Keshav Moodliar (Queen)
Thomas Jay Ryan (Uncle Vanya)
Evan Zes
Evan Zes (The Kite Runner),
Karen Ziemba
Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba (Prince of Broadway).
Keshav Moodliar, Delphi Borich, Shanel Bailey, Thomas Jay Ryan, Karen Ziemba, Evan Zes and Ben Davis
Understudies for this production are Mazvita Chanakira (Gap Year)
René Thornton Jr (The Tempest)
Matthew Zimmerman
and Matthew Zimmerman (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
David Staller
Arms and the Man will be directed by David Staller.
Lindsay Genevieve Fuori (Set Designer)
Lindsay Genevieve Fuori
The production will feature set design by Lindsay Genevieve Fuori
Jamie Roderick (Lighting Designer)
lighting design by Jamie Roderick
Ariel Kregal (Assistnat Costume Designer), Cassie Williams (Hair and Makeup Designer), Tracy Christensen (Costume Designer) and Karine Ivey (Wardrobe Supervisor)
costume design by Tracy Christensen
Julian Evans (Sound Designer)
and sound design by Julian Evans. Prop design is by Emmarose Campbell.
Allie Posner (Production Manager)
Production management is by Allie Posner. Hair design is by Cassie Williams, and Stephanie Yankwitt of tbd Casting Co. is the Casting Director.
Logan Gabrielle Schulman (Assistant to the Director)
Logan Gabrielle Schulman is the Assistant to the Director and Ariel Kregard is the Assistant to the Costume Designer.
April Ann Kline (Production Stage Manager) and Jade Doina (Assistant Stage Manager)
The production stage manager is April Ann Kline and Jade Doina will serve as assistant stage manager.
Pamela Singleton (Gingold Board Chair), David Staller, Greg Santos (Managing Producer) and Sean Bertrand (Managing Producer Associate)
Natalie Kane (Administrative Assistant)
Arms and the Man is one of Shaw’s most popular comedies. The plot follows a hunted soldier who, seeking refuge in a young lady’s boudoir, starts in motion a series of highly engaging and unlikely comedic events. His unusual philosophies about love, war and life in general open up a world of thought she’d never previously entertained–certainly not with her dashing war-hero fiancée who also arrives unexpectedly. This early work of Shaw’s is remarkably pithy.
Fareeda Ahmed, Ethan E. Litwin and Pamela Singleton
The play’s title, Arms and the Man, references the first line of the epic Virgil poem, The Aeneid, in which we’re reminded of how foolish humans can be by fighting each other and struggling against the best of human nature: “Arms and the man I sing, who, forced by fate / And haughty Juno’s unrelenting hate, / Expelled and exiled, left the Trojan shore.”
Arms and the Man will play Theater Two at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036) from October 17 through November 18, 2023. Opening night is set for October 26. The performance schedule is Tuesday–Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. Cast and guest-moderated talkbacks will take place after each Sunday performance.
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