Eric Paterniani as Launce and Chewy as Crab (Launce’s ornery hound) in “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” 2015. Photo by Rosalie Baijer.

By Drew Valins

A couple of weeks ago I received a text: “Shakespeare’s Bday #459. We’re doing a sort of Greatest Hits thing. Are you in?” It was the Bat Signal from our own Hamilton Clancy, the Artistic Director of the Drilling Company. He was planning a sort of Shakespeare variety show. Although the run would be brief (May 25 only), it would be auspicious as the first production of the 2023 New York outdoor Shakespeare season.

We call our company the Drill for short. We are the Drillers. Every summer we do a Shakespeare play or five, and we split them between a parking lot on the Lower East Side and Bryant Park. This evening would be a lookback on our ten years of presenting Shakespeare in Bryant Park.

Of course I was in. This had become a ritual, something we previously did in Bryant Park to celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday in April. Each year held different surprises. One time we gathered about 30 actors and did a flash mob choreographed for optimal surprise. I decided to become a “drunk” Hamlet with brown bag and bottle in hand, ranting about how much of an asshole I was next to a garbage can: “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” Another time we celebrated The Immortal Bard with a full brass band doing a New Orleans style serenade of Shakespeare’s songs to accompany our scenes and monologues.

It would be fun. It would be loose. It would be rollicking. It would be like getting the band together again to do our songs. Who doesn’t like rock and roll?

Our company is no stranger to Bryant Park. We know the drill. We gathered at the Upper Terrace, some of us early to rehearse a bit and grease the wheels, others showing up at the last minute due to…well, life.

I recall one time we lost a key cast member who was stuck on the F train somewhere between “who knows where and who cares, you’re late!” We knew our #1 Drilling Company Rule: “Show up before your entrance or we skip forward”.  It’s outdoor theater and the show would go on.

We set up our tent for changing and got our costumes and props in order. We did sound checks with the friendly Bryant Park staff and ran through the running order so that we’d know who to hand off our mics to and when.

It was a beautiful crisp evening in Bryant Park. The stage was set, the chairs were out, the audience was ready. I breathed in, closed my eyes, and let the sun wash over me. Ahhh. Outdoor theater. This is what summer means to me in NYC.

Audience at “A Celebration of 10 years.” Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Doing outdoor Shakespeare in Bryant Park is like being the center act in a ten ring circus. You have the biggest audience you can ever dream of. I recall our “Romeo and Juliet” had upwards of 700 people. And at the same time you are in fact in the dead center of Manhattan, contending with a kind of manic energy all around you. I’ll tell you one thing I know. The Bryant Park Grill Happy Hour crowd may be the loudest din a theater company ever had to overcome. And yet it’s a beautiful thing to embrace for both performer and audience. The audience has so much to look at and that’s a big reason they come. You catch our show but you also get to look around and see all the teeming life of the city. For me, Shakespeare’s prose scenes, which tend to be comic in nature, adapt very well to this ambience. As Autolycus from The Winter’s Tale, I had the chance to grab the audience’s attention by shuffling through the aisles, offering folks free T shirts, Covid Tests and Toilet Paper. People laughed and as a performer, that’s food for my soul.

The Drilling Company in “A Celebration of 10 Years” at Bryant Park May 25, 2023. The Winter’s Tale (2022) Autolycus performed by Drew Valins. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

“Why do we do this stuff?” one of my fellow actors asked me once while we were waiting to go on. Before I had a chance to open my mouth he answered his own question: “Because we are addicts. We just love this shit. We need this shit.”

There is no backstage in Bryant Park. You don’t hide and enter on your cue. You are already there. The line between audience and performer is playful.

When we did Much Ado About Nothing set in the post WW1 Suffragette period, the men entered the scene from way way back behind the audience singing.  Weaving our way through the yoga mats and picnic mats, the children doing hula hoops, and the lovers smooching on blankets, we sang our wartime song and it was awesome to hear our voices echoing through the entire park.

Come chaos! We are ready for you. Performing outdoors requires flexibility, to put it delicately. Among the many instances of chaos, I recall a few. In Two Gentlemen of Verona, the clown Launce had a real dog with him which, of course stole the show especially when it didn’t listen. An acting teacher once told me: “Never act alongside a dog or a baby. You’ll lose every time.”

In Much Ado, during the b allroom dance scene, a drunk dude (probably from Bryant Park Grill) wandered on stage thinking it was a real event and started dancing with us. We looked at each other and under our breath we said: “just keep going!”. When he realized that there were a lot of people sitting in chairs watching him, he found his inner superstar and started putting on a show. Eventually he wandered off to his next adventure.

Three Witches kicked off our 2023 production with their cauldron scene in Mackers (you don’t say Macbeth in a theater) and they did it half in English and half in Gaelic. It was dynamite and set the ritual of the evening in motion.

The Drilling Company in “A Celebration of 10 years” at Bryant Park May 25, 2023 — MacBeth (2018) The Witches performed by Una Clancy, Kathleen Simmonds, Karla Hendrick. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Next up was an audience fave: Act 1, Scene 2 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or “Meet the Mechanicals.” The only problem was that our Quince was off in Atlantic City doing bawdy Spiegelworld stuff. So I was tasked with jumping in. No problem. I had a week to learn it, and I realized it would be perfect because Quince has a clipboard and so if I needed a line, I’d just look down at my clipboard, perfectly in character!

We had Hamlet trying to get a grip, Juliet lamenting her lost love, Gertrude in grief, Jacques dancing with his many truths, and Polonia, a female Polonius which Hamilton Clancy notes “is a character that should always be played by a woman because it’s better that way.”

The Drilling Company in “A Celebration of 10 Years” at Bryant Park May 25, 2023. Hamlet (2019) Polonia
performed by Elowyn Castle. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

And while Lady M bemoaned her husband’s weakness, I glanced over at the pastry shop called Lady M on 40th street.

As for two person scenes, we pulled from Othello and Taming of the Shrew. It was delightful to watch Alessandro Colla and Evangeline Fontaine, a real life married couple who met in the Drilling Company, bicker and bluster and love their way through the scene as Kate and Petruchio.

The Drilling Company in “A Celebration of 10 Years” at Bryant Park May 25, 2023. Taming of the Shrew (2015) Kate and Petruchio performed by Evangeline Fontaine and Alessandro Colla. Photo by Jonathann Slaff.

Autolycus made an appearance from Winter’s Tale.

We had one original piece called Dueling Dr. Caiuses, written by myself and Remy Souchon. We both played Dr. Cauis in former Drilling productions of Merry Wives of Windsor and in this comic scene the two of us competed to find out who was the “Real” Dr. Caius. In the end of course we both died and so neither of us got the part.

The Drilling Company in “A Celebration of 10 Years” at Bryant Park May 25, 2023. The Merry Wives of Windsor (2016) Dueling Doctor Caius performed by Remy Souchon & Drew Valins. Both Mr. Souchon and Mr. Valins have assayed the role of Dr. Caius for The Drilling Company Shakespeare: Mr. Valins in the Parking Lot and Mr. Souchon in Bryant Park. But who has the better French accent? Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

And gracefully running through all the acts was the music. Original songs written and performed by Natalie Smith. The sweet song “Springtime” from our production of “As You Like It” was the closer. The whole company gathered on stage and sang together as a goodbye to this spring evening and a hearty hello to Summer.

The Drilling Company in “A Celebration of 10 Years” at Bryant Park May 25, 2023. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Drew Valins is an actor and playwright and proud 15 year member of the Drilling Company. (www.drewvalins.com)

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (Tisa Chang, Founding Artistic Producing Director) presents NuWorks 2023, the annual experimental series of self-created work from innovative and diverse artists exploring an eclectic range of genres and techniques using poetry, text, dance, and music. Featuring new works by diverse artists Sora Baek, Jan Barry & Jenny Pacanowski, AJ Layague, Sanhawich Meateanuwat, Lyra Nalan, Sai Somboon, Cody LeRoy Wilson, Mandarin Wu & Da Xu.

Performances begin in repertory Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 7:00PM and will conclude on Sunday afternoon June 11, 2023, at 3:00PM at Theatre 1 at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).

General Admission tickets are priced at $27.50 and available at https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/nuworks-2023/ For additional information, please email info@panasianrep.org or visit the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre website at https://www.panasianrep.org/nuworks2023.

NuWORKS 2023
Schedule of Events

PROGRAM A
Premieres Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 7:00PM
Second performance Friday, June 9, 2022 at 7:00PM

Dream Reunion
Written by Lyra Nalan
Starring Genevive Shi and Stephanie Gong
Directed by Nina Lam

Ting, a Chinese woman living in America, runs over various possibilities of her reunion with her mother back home, hoping to find the right words that lead to a perfect scenario.

Lyra Nalan is a bilingual Chinese writer based in New York. She is the Judith Royer Award-winning playwright for the play Paper Dream and has been nominated for the Susan Blackburn Smith Prize and the Smith Prize for Political Theatre. Her work has been showcased at the Kennedy Center, Cherry Lane Theatre, Round House Theatre, Spooky Action Theatre, Miranda Theatre, Avant Bard Theatre, Tradewind Arts Asian American Artists, Strand Theatre, Three Cats Productions, and Adventure Theatre MTC. Lyra is currently working on a commission for Silk Road Rising theatre. She’s very honored and thrilled to be a part of Pan Asian Rep’s NuWork Festival! EDUCATION: Northwestern University: MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage. WEBSITE: Lyranalan.com.

✶

SELL ME: I Am From North Korea
Written and performed by Sora Baek

On her 15th birthday, a North Korean girl, Jisun makes the heart-wrenching decision to sell herself to an old Chinese man to make money for ger dying mother’s medications. However, after risking everything by crossing the Tumen River into China, she learns that she is not-sellable and finds herself on the streets.

Sora Baek (Writer/Performer) is grateful to Pan Asian Rep and Tisa for this wonderful opportunity to share her work. Sora is a New York-based actor and playwright from South Korea. She has been featured on News 12 NJ and the international Radio Show, Voice of America. Select theater credits include: SELL ME: I am from North Korea (International Human Rights Festival, Emerson Theater Collaborative, Jersey City Theater Center), The Storm, A Christmas Carol, 400 Parts Per Million, and Sworn Virgin (NYC and International Tour) with Blessed Unrest, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Calaveras Repertory Theatre). Sora won Best Actress at the Epidemic Film Festival in San Francisco. She also won Best Lead Performer at the U.K’s Scene Saver and her play was nominated for Best Play. She works with Only Make Believe where she performs interactive theater with children in hospitals and is an associate member of an internationally acclaimed theater company, Blessed Unrest. www.sorabaek.com

✶✶✶

PROGRAM B
Premieres Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3:00PM
Second performance Tuesday, June 8, 2023 at 7:00PM

A Sisyphean Dream
Written and Devised in Collaboration with Heen Sasithorn,
Vin Kridakorn and Pacha Chantri
Directed by Sanhawich Meateanuwat

A group of immigrant actors meets in a dream space to discuss their dreams as immigrant actors. Through challenges., self-doubts, and homesickness, they wonder if they made the RIGHT choice to travel across the world to pursue their dreams.

Sanhawich Meateanuwat (Playwright) recently moved to New York after graduating from the MFA Directing Program at Illinois State University. In Thailand, they worked as an instructor and resident director at Bangkok University, where they directed, adapted, and translated numerous plays. In 2022, they received the National SDC Directing Fellowship Award at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. They worked as a Directing Fellow at the National Playwrights Conference 2022 at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. This year, they have been selected to be the part of The Drama League’s Directors Project as Directing Assistantships cohort and the KCACTF/LORT ASPIRE Arts Leadership fellows. Website: Sanhawich.com

✶

Bridge Back Home From War
A Conversion through Poetry About the Impact of War
By Jan Barry and Jenny Pacanowski

After returning from the wars overseas, follow two veterans from different eras, different wars, navigate their experiences through an interactive writing workshop with the audience.

Jan Barry is a poet and author whose books include A Citizen’s Guide to Grassroots Campaigns,Earth Songs, Life after War & Other Poems and (co-editor) Winning Hearts & Minds: War Poems byVietnam Veterans. A U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam, he coordinates Warrior Writers workshops forveterans and family members in New Jersey. For more information: www.janbarry.net

Jenny Pacanowski served in the Iraq war in 2004 as a combat medic in the Army. Her military service led her back to the arts, which includes writing and facilitating workshops for veterans, their families and providing guidance on how their communities can support them through theatre. Jenny and her organization, Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving do their best to assist veterans to reintegrate and thrive.

✶✶✶

PROGRAM C
Premieres Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 7:00PM
Second performance Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 7:00PM

Cowgirl Katarungan Is Fixin’ to Fight
Written by AJ Layague

Cowgirl Katarungan is a Filipinx-American truthteller/detective who recounts – and dismantles – four historical vignettes where racism, misogyny, and the eugenics movement took center stage. And she does it in verse.

AJ Layague – she/her (Playwright) immerses into stylized historical worlds which typically center the non-binary and/or people of color, instead of relegating them to side characters or ancillary roles. They steer their narratives and their movement in their worlds, even when these narratives and worlds are bleak and not completely within their control. And as an ethnomusicologist – I lived and studied music in Southeast Asia – I am most interested in how music-cultures and cultures can evolve, respond, and even thrive during colonization. And how they sound and re-sound post-colonization.

✶

Extraordinary Alien
Written and performed by Sai Somboon
Directed by Nana Dakin

A solo show based on Sai’s lived experience expressed through movement/dance, comedy, monologues, and video projections. A reflection on their intersectional identities as a gay, cisgender Thai man, a recently naturalized citizen of the United States, and an actor/dancer navigating the audition and performance landscape in New York.

Sai Samboon (Writer/Performer) is a comedian, actor and dancer from Bangkok, Thailand. Based out of New York City, Sai has performed in Sleep No More at the McKittrick Hotel, FringeNYC, Astoria Performing Arts Center, Fulton Theatre, Maltz Jupiter, Dallas Musicals, North Shore Music Theatre and Daegu Opera House in Daegu, South Korea. Sai holds a Bachelor of Art in Anthropology from Franklin & Marshall College, and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from The Ohio State University and he is finishing up the Master of Education program at Harvard University.

PROGRAM D
Premieres Wenesday, June 7, 2023 at 7:00PM
Second performance Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 3:00PM

Period.
Written and by Mandarin Wu and Da Xu
Performed by Mandarin Wu
Sound Design by Da Xu

A tragicomedy starring Handy Mandy, as she tap dances through the conflicts of being an aging Asian-American modern woman and actor, navigating through current social climate and regularly incapcitated by the periods in her life.

Mandarin Wu (Playwright/Performer) is a theatre performer singer/dancer/actor/choreographer/ director. Selective credits: “PLEASED” (Pan Asian Rep 2022 NuWorks), A Dream of Red Pavilions (Pan Asian Rep), Follies (APAC), Orfeo ed Euridice(Met Opera). Choreography for Theatre: Skin (Rattlestick), Romance of the Western Chamber(Wildly Productive), Eastbound (NYTB), Legally Blonde_ (National ChiaYi University of Taiwan). NYU Tisch Dance MFA, UC Irvine Dance BA. Musical Theatre faculty at Marymount Manhattan College.

Xa Du (Playwright/Sound Design) Credits: “PLEASED” (Pan Asian Rep 2022 NuWorks), The Brothers Paranormal (East WestPlayers), Uncovered(UCLA). With Los Angeles Movement Arts: Momentum, Catalyst (co-curator), and audio/visual movement works for LACMA’s Art Walk. Live Visuals: Alienware Computers, LuLuLemon. Toured extensively with the seminal Chinese rock band 舌头(SheTou) as photographer and live visual collaborator. 2021 Westben International Performer-Composer Residency participant.

✶

Did My Grandfather Kill My Grandfather?
Written and performed by Cody LeRoy Wilson

A journey to find out what it means to be Asian-American, the piece follows Cody’s mother’s immigration story. Cody investigates their family’s story and gain new perspectives on the meaning of family roots and their Asian Decent.

Cody LeRoy Wilson (Playwright/Performer) makes his Pan Asian Rep debut at Theatre Row and he is beyond grateful for the opportunity. Other NYC credits include Off Broadway: Handbagged (59E59), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus with NYSX and Prisoners of Qual Dong at Prism Stage. Regional: Book of Will, Handbagged, and Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time at Roundhouse Theater, As You Like It at The Folger, Measure For Measure, As You Like It, So Please You at Hudson Valley Shakespeare, and Miss Saigon at Missouri Playhouse. TV/Film: “Russian Doll,” “Impractical Jokers,” “Hello Tomorrow!,” and Money Monster.

For additional information, please visit the website at http://www.panasianrep.org/nuworks-2023.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, celebrating its 46th Milestone Season, is the most veteran Asian American theatre company on the East Coast. Tisa Chang founded Pan Asian Rep in 1977 at Ellen Stewart’s La Mama ETC with the vision to promote equity and access that Asian Americans artists can equally follow, focusing on stories of probing social justice issues with distinctive Off-Broadway Productions, Tours, National Outreach, and Community Service. Mel Gussow of The New York Times described it as “A Stage for All the World of Asian–Americans” and wrote that “Before Pan Asian Rep, Asian Americans had severely limited opportunities in the theater….” The company has nurtured thousands of artists and is a “who-is-who” of Asian American theatre history, with notable alumni/ae: Ako, Ernest Abuba, Tina Chen, Philip Gotanda, Wai Ching Ho, David Henry Hwang, Daniel Dae Kim, Lucy Liu, Ron Nakahara, R.A. Shiomi, Lauren Yee, and Henry Yuk.

Pan Asian Rep Programs are made possible, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; and major support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mary Li Hsu Charitable Trust, NY Community Trust, Shubert Foundation, Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels, Lucille Lortel Foundations; and many generous individuals.

www.panasianrep.org
info@panasianrep.org
Twitter & Instagram: @PanAsianRep
www.facebook.com/panasianrep/

The 2023 67th Drama Desk Awards, honoring artistic excellence on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, will take place on June 6 at Sardi’s Restaurant. Today the winners were announced.

Outstanding Play: “Leopoldstadt,” by Tom Stoppard

Outstanding Musical: “Some Like it Hot”

Outstanding Revival of a Play: “The Piano Lesson”

Outstanding Revival of a Musical: “Parade”

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play: Jessica Chastain, “A Doll’s House” and Sean Hayes, “Good Night, Oscar”

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical: Annaleigh Ashford, “Sweeney Todd”
and J. Harrison Ghee, “Some Like it Hot”

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play: Miriam Silverman, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” Brooklyn Academy of Music and Brandon Uranowitz, “Leopoldstadt”

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical: Kevin Del Aguila, “Some Like it Hot” and Alex Newell, “Shucked”

Outstanding Direction of a Play: Max Webster, “Life of Pi”

Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Thomas Kail, “Sweeney Todd”

Outstanding Choreography: Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like it Hot”

Outstanding Music: Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, “Shucked”

Outstanding Lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, “Some Like it Hot”

Outstanding Book of a Musical: Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, “Some Like it Hot”

Outstanding Orchestrations: Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, “Some Like it Hot”

Outstanding Music in a Play: Suzan-Lori Parks, “Plays for the Plague Year,” The Public Theater

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play: Tim Hatley, “Life of Pi”

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical: Beowulf Boritt, “New York, New York”

Outstanding Costume Design of a Play: Emilio Sosa, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, “Some Like it Hot”

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play: Natasha Chivers and Willie Williams (video), “Prima Facie”

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical: Natasha Katz, “Sweeney Todd”

Outstanding Projection and Video Design: Andrzej Goulding, “Life of Pi”

Outstanding Sound Design of a Play: Ben & Max Ringham, “A Doll’s House”

Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical: Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann, “Into the Woods”

Outstanding Wig and Hair: Mia M. Neal, “Ain’t No Mo’”

Outstanding Solo Performance: Jodie Comer, “Prima Facie”

Unique Theatrical Experience: “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”

Outstanding Fight Choreography: B.H. Barry, “Camelot”

Outstanding Adaptation: “A Doll’s House,” by Amy Herzog

Outstanding Puppetry: Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, “Life of Pi”

Shows with multiple wins

Some Like It Hot: 8

Life of Pi: 4

A Doll’s House: 3

Sweeney Todd: 3

Ain’t No Mo’: 2

Leopoldstadt: 2

Prima Facie: 2

Shucked: 2

Special Awards

Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award

Stephen McKinley Henderson has been bringing in-depth, gripping portrayals of memorable characters to the stage for over four decades. With his return to Broadway this season as Pops in “Between Riverside and Crazy,” which the Drama Desk previously nominated in 2015, this year’s Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award marks Henderson’s role in this powerful production as a celebration of his brilliant career.

Ensemble Award

The cast of Soho Rep’s “Public Obscenities” – Tashnuva Anan, Abrar Haque, Golam Sarwar Harun, Gargi Mukherjee, NaFis, Jakeem Dante Powell, and Debashis Roy Chowdhury – embodied the transnational world of Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s bilingual play with memorable authenticity, remarkable specificity, and extraordinary warmth.

Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award

From his standout performance in american (tele)visions, to writing and performing the autobiographical “Dark Disabled Stories,” Ryan J. Haddad’s work this season has expanded on and interrogated what the idea of “accessibility” really means. Whether riding a shopping cart like a throne, or relating his experiences on a “gay, pink bus,” Haddad shared with audiences an unabashed queer fabulosity that was both unforgettable and deeply human.

The 72^nd Annual Awards honoring achievements in the 2022-2023 Broadway and Off-Broadway season were presented on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at the Bruno Walter Auditorium, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Executive Producer Lauren Yager, did a marvelous job and the event was enjoyed by all.

Here are highlights from the show.

President of the Outer Critics Circle David Gordon and Vice President Richard Ridge welcomed everyone.

Presenter Lea Solonga presented Outstanding Director of a Musical to Michael Arden – Parade

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play Sean Hayes – Good Night, Oscar was hysterical and the highlight of the afternoon.

Outstanding Solo Performance Jodie Comer – Prima Facie

T2C had a chance to talk to Lea beforehand

John Gassner Award for New American Play (Preferably by a New Playwright): Fat Ham by James Ijames

Outstanding Book of a Musical: Robert Horn – Shucked

We talked to Robert prior to his speech.

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play: K. Todd Freeman – Downstate

Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical:Lindsay Mendez – Merrily We Roll Along

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical: The Harder They Come and Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway):Topdog/Underdog Suzan Lori Parks

More tomorrow.

New York Classical Theatre (Stephen Burdman, Founding Artistic Director, Matthieu Chapman, Literary Director) is thrilled to announce the all-female, gender-fluid, and disability-forward cast for Shakespeare’s Richard III. The production, directed by Burdman, will play in Central Park from June 13 to June 25; in Brooklyn Commons at Metrotech from June 27 to July 2; and in Carl Schurz Park from July 4 to July 9. All performances are free and open to the public.

The production stars Delaney Feener (Single (SXSW), Oregon Shakespeare Festival)–a performer with a limb difference–as Richard, Kristen Calgaro(NYCT’s The Importance of Being Earnest, The Rivals, HBO’s “Exeunt”) as Queen Elizabeth/Richmond, Connie Castanzo (NYCT’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo & Juliet) as Lady Anne/Prince Edward/Rivers/Tyrell, Briana Gibson Reeves (Off-Broadway’s Made By God, American Shakespeare Center) as King Edward/Catesby/Archbishop, Lucy Lavely (Off-Broadway’s Arthur & Esther, Self-Help In the Anthropocene, Knots) as Buckingham/Clarence, Rami Margron (La Jolla Playhouse’s As You Like It, Hulu’s “Wedding Season,” HBO’s “That Damn Michael Che”) as Hastings/Ratcliffe, and Pamela Sabaugh (Off-Broadway’s Molly Sweeney, The Healing) as Duchess of York/Stanley.

Richard III may be Shakespeare’s most evil character. See an ensemble of seven women and gender-fluid performers tackle his rise to power in a story filled with familial manipulation, egregious murder, and political deceit.

Richard III features production design by Sabrinna Fabi (NYCT’s Cymbeline, King Lear; Broadway’s Moulin Rouge!), voice and speech coaching by Nora Leonhardt (NYCT’s King Lear, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), fight direction by Sean Michael Chin (NYCT’s Cymbeline, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, Greek National Opera’s Medea), production stage management by Madison Lane (NYCT’s King Lear), assistant stage management by Miriam Hyfler (NYCT’s Henry V), production supervision by Yetti Steinman (New York Classical Theatre), wardrobe supervision by Zola Gray, and casting by Stephanie Klapper.

All performances run from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. New York Classical Theatre requests that all planning to attend make a free reservation for access to the Digital Playbill and for inclement weather updates. Walk-up participants are welcome on a first-come, first-serve basis on the day of the performance based on the size of the park lawn. Free reservations, performance details, and weather updates can be found at nyclassical.org/richardiii.

Kristen Calgaro (Queen Elizabeth/Richmond)
(she/her)
New York Classical Theatre: Cymbeline, It Can’t Happen Here (reading), Three Sisters (reading), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), The Rivals, Malvolio’s Revenge (workshop), Playing Moliere, Much Ado About Nothing. New York: Mourning Becomes Electra (Target Margin Theater), Brigadoon (Broadway workshop). National Tour: Dr. Doolittle with Tommy Tune. Selected Regional: Dancing at Lughnasa (Barnstormers), Boeing-Boeing (Totem Pole Playhouse), The Understudy (Cape May Stage), And The Curtain Rises (Signature Theatre), Broadway: 3 Generations (The Kennedy Center), The Glass Menagerie (Bay Theatre). Film: Kumare (SXSW Audience Award), Exeunt (HBO’s NYFF). Directing: AMiOS, New York Theater Fesitval, The Tank. BA Religious Studies/Spanish, University of Virginia. Kristencalgaro.com. 

Connie Costanzo (Lady Anne/Prince Edward/Rivers/Tyrell)
(she/her)
New York Classical Theatre: King Lear (2021, 2020 Zoom workshop), Three Sisters (reading), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), Romeo & Juliet, The Rivals, As You Like It. NYC: Gigi (Storm Theatre); Diaspora (Gym at Judson); Time Stands Still (Theatre of the New City); City Girls & Desperadoes (The Secret Theatre). Regional: The Wolves (BCT); Lost Boy Found in Wholefoods (Pittsburgh REP); Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley (Capital REP). Winner of “Best Actress in a Play” in BroadwayWorld 2019 Regional Awards. Connie was born and raised in Scranton, PA and she received her BFA in Acting from Point Park Conservatory of Performing Arts. Connie is also an animation voice over artist and postpartum doula. New York Classical has always been another home for her–she is so proud & honored to represent as an Artistic Associate.

Delaney Feener (Richard)
(she/her)
New York Classical Theatre debut. Regional: Bring Down the House, Midsummer (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Othello, Twelfth Night (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). TV/Film: Single (SXSW), Come as Your Are. BFA from the Theatre School at DePaul University. Current acting company member at The Mercury Store. @delaneyfeener

Briana Gibson Reeves (King Edward/Catesby/Archbishop)
(she/her)
New York Classical Theatre debut. Off-Broadway: Made By God (Irish Repertory Theatre). National Tours: Amazing Grace (Troika Productions). Selected Regional Theatre: Flyin’ West (Everyman Theatre); Stick Fly(Meadow Brook Theatre); As You Like It, Richard III, Emma, Man of La Mode (American Shakespeare Center); Midsummer, Coriolanus (Shakespeare Center); Don Juan (Taffety Punk); Amen Corner, Fabulation (On Q Productions); Funnyhouse (JCSU Light Factory).

Lucy Lavely (Clarence/Buckingham)
(she/her)
New York Classical Theatre debut. Off-Broadway: Arthur & Esther, Self-Help In the Anthropocene (New Light Theatre Project); Knots (Players Theatre). Regional: Macbeth (Orlando Shakes); Macbeth (Theater at Monmouth); Grapes of Wrath (Asolo Rep); One Man Two Guvnors (Pioneer Theatre Co.); The White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage); The Last Match (Florida Studio Theatre). BA from University of Notre Dame, MFA from FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Proud Member of SAG/AFTRA/AEA. Thanks to mom and dad, Vern, Stephen, cast, crew and YOU for joining us tonight!

Rami Margron (Hastings/Ratcliffe)
(they/them)
New York Classical Theatre debut. Off-Broadway: Angry Young Man. Selected Regional Theatre: Hurricane Diane (Old Globe Theatre); Pride and Prejudice (Long Wharf); Angels in America (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Three Sisters (Two River Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Much Ado (Cal Shakes); Macbeth, Pericles (Berkeley Rep); Moll Flanders, The Clean House (Pac Rep); Antigonick, Dog Act, Precious Little (Shotgun Players); The Lily’s Revenge (Magic Theatre); Around the World in 80 Days (Marin Theatre Co.); The Listener (Crowded Fire). TV/Film: Alberto and the Concrete Jungle, Burn Country, Messina High, Love AnyWay, “Wedding Season” (Hulu), “New Amsterdam” (NBC), “The Damn Michael Che” (HBO), “Law & Order” (NBC), “Manifest” (Netflix). 

Pamela Sabaugh (Duchess of York/Stanley)
(she/her)
New York Classical Theatre debut. Pamela has worked extensively on stage from Regional to Off-Broadway, including at The Attic Theatre (Detroit), The Court Theatre of Chicago, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and Amaryllis Theater. She is a long time company member of the critically acclaimed Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB), and has performed with them in numerous Off-Broadway productions–most recently as Portia in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice at Theater Row on 42nd Street. Pamela has had recurring feature roles on the daytime dramas “One Life To Live” and “Guiding Light.” Pamela is a co-founder of WoodwardAvenue Productions which produced her first play, Woman In The Animal Kingdom, in the 2000 New York International Fringe Festival-for which she received the award for Outstanding Performance. Her solo cabaret, Immaculate Degeneration was first workshopped at the 6th International Blind In Theatre (BIT) Festival in Zagreb, Croatia. She returned to Zagreb in October 2011 to perform an expanded version. And in August 2012 WoodwardAvenue Productions premiered Immaculate Degeneration at the New York International Fringe Festival. 

Stephen Burdman (Director/Artistic Director). New York Classical Theatre: The Rewards of Being Frank (also at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company), Cymbeline, King Lear (2021, 2020 Zoom workshop, 2009); The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), 2019 Best Show TheatreScene.net), Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth (2017, 2008, 2001), The Rivals, The Winter’s Tale (2016, 2004), Measure for Measure, As You Like It (2014, 2005), The Seagull, Malvolio’s Revenge (workshop), A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night (2012, 2002), Playing Moliere, Henry V (New York Times Critic’s Pick), The School for Husbands, Much Ado About Nothing (2010, 2003), Hamlet, Misalliance, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Comedy of Errors, Mary Stuart, Scapin, The Feigned Courtesans, The Triumph of Love, The Taming of the Shrew, King Ubu, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Producer: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, The Rover, Richard III, Cymbeline, The Recruiting Officer, All’s Well That Ends Well. Selected productions: Cymbeline (NYU), The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Waiting for Godot, Hamlet (Outstanding Production 1994 Season, Los Angeles Times), Three Sisters. MFA from the University of California, Irvine and graduate of the National Theater Institute. Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994. Recipient of 2022 Sidney Berger award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding talent and commitment to the works of William Shakespeare. All my love to Adena (my wife) and son, Zeke, who are the guiding stars of my life.