MAD MEN Features New York's Own Hare Krishna's

This week's episode of MAD MEN featured a trip to the Hare Krishna's hangout on Second Avenue in the East Village.  The formerly kinda cute Paul (who I wrote about here a couple years ago) had shaved his head and started chanting with other hippies seeking enlightenment and love.

Over on The Bowery Boys website, their weekly MAD MEN-related history lesson provides some great background on all this.  The Krishna movement got its start in New York in 1966 when A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a Hindu teacher and proponent of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, arrived from India and started gathering followers who believed in leaving their earthly possessions behind. One of their most famous early followers?  None other than Beat poet Allan Ginsberg.

The Krishnas hit the mainstream two years later in 1968 when they were featured in a number from the Broadway musical HAIR. Below is a clip of that number from the film version directed by Milos Forman that was released in 1979. I look forward to some reference to HAIR in the next season of MAD MEN.  OMG--Maybe Megan will audition for the show's off-bway version?!

Dinner & Great Theatre At THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF HEDDA GABLER

Last night, I was invited to a unique theatrical event.  The company Exit Pursued By A Bear (a reference to Shakespeare's A WINTER'S TALE) kicked off their second season with a production of Jeff Whitty's play THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF HEDDA GABLER.  The play, starring Whitty in a transformative turn as the titular character, takes place in a nether world where fictional characters live on for eternity.  Gabler meets up with Mammy from GONE WITH THE WIND, played with heart and searing soul by Billy Porter, as well as a host of other notable characters who are too delicious to reveal as they all try to find their way out of immortality and into real life.

The play was wonderfully acted and sharply written, funny as well as thought provoking. But what was really so lovely about this production was the presentation, taking place in a converted industrial style loft on the far west side of Hells Kitchen with seating on raised platforms covered in cozy pillows and blankets.  It was theatre as a true communal experience as the audience numbered maybe 30 people and the actors were only a few feet away.  At intermission, a dinner of fresh baked beer bread and a vegetarian stew was served, along with wine, beer and soda that audience members had brought to share.

The whole experienced made me think of what it must have been like being in NYC during the experimental theatre scene as it blossomed in the late 60's and early 70's.  There were other theatre artists in the crowd and after the show, there was a nice hour or so of socializing over dessert as people discussed the play and got to meet and chat with the actors, some of whom were helping clean up from dinner!

If you're interested in something unusual and unusually well-done, I would encourage you to check out this show. The cost for tickets is a suggestion donation of $20, which is well worth it and helps support this new non-profit theatre. The show has been extended through the end of this month and limited tickets available on their website.

The Window Is Ready For WTC VIEW's First Performance

This is a picture from our set for WTC VIEW. This is the window which features the said view in the show.  I shot this yesterday after our final dress rehearsal. It's not, however, one of our actors but Brian Prather, our set designer who put the whole thing together along with his students up at Ithaca College. It has all turned out beautifully.

Today is our first public performance of the show up at 59E59 Theaters, with showtime at 7:30pm.  It's very exciting after 7 years to have reached this point of the show's off-Broadway premiere.  Everyone on this production has worked so hard to make it all come together, namely our director Andrew Volkoff and the incredibly talented cast of actors who are bringing new life to this show.

Our official press opening night is Tuesday May 24th. To those in the NYC area, I hope you can come see the show. It is truly something special.  Tickets are still available at www.59e59.org for our 3 week run, though we have a couple nights that are already sold it. I will be attending all the shows this weekend and our opening on the 24th. We also have talkbacks with me and Andrew after the shows on the 25th and 1st.  Hope to see you there!

WTC VIEW in the NY TIMES Sunday Arts Section

I meant to put this up yesterday but got distracted by the exciting news in Ireland.  Anyway, over the weekend, WTC VIEW made the NY TIMES Sunday Arts section as part of a roundup of hot summer theatre happening across the country this year.  If you click here, just scroll down to the section about New York City and we got a nice mention.

In other WTC news, we got our poster/postcard art last week which looks great.  Tickets are now on sale for the run of the show....there are only 16 performances and seating in the theatre is limited (see "off-Broadway"). So if you're interested, I would encourage you to purchase your tickets soon at 59E59's website.  We will have a bunch of press coming out next week so this way you can avoid the rush!

Rehearsals for the show are continuing "every amazing day" (as Alex says) over in Long Island City while our set is being built upstate.  So it's all coming together!  Look forward to seeing it....and YOU at the theatre later this month  :)

Tickets On Sale Today For WTC VIEW's Off-Bway Premiere

Tickets are on sale today for the return of WTC VIEW to the stage!  The show will open on May 19th at 59E59 Theaters as part of their 5th Annual Americas Festival.  This is a grouping of 7 plays that are original works by new American playwrights...like me! :)

WTC VIEW will be running from May 19-June 5 for a total of 16 performances. Tickets at $18 each and are available through 59E59's website.  You can also purchase seats at TicketCenter.  For more details on the show, please check out our Facebook page and LIKE it as well.  And, of course, we are still in the midst of our big fundraising drive for the show.

We have only 17 days left to raise about 20K....the key to crowd-sourcing is that everyone gives a little instead of a few fat cats giving a lot.  This is a non-profit production at a non-profit theatre and this is the only way we can make this show happen...other than winning the lottery. So please donate if you can and help us bring this show to audiences here in New York this spring.

Additional Shows For WTC VIEW Off-Bway

Big news today--we have 10 additional shows that have been added to our four-week run off-Broadway this spring at 59E59 (pictured here).  The dates remain the same, May 19-June 12, but now we have additional shows on weekends as well as shows on Tues/Wed night too! Tickets go on sale next week at their website above.

This is very exciting news for us because, the first time this was staged WTC VIEW in the Fringe, it was an extremely limited run.  We had a total of 9 scheduled performances but then we lost 2 of those to the famous Blackout of 2003.  Good timing right--a show about disaster gets its own unique utility disaster mid-run!  Oy.  Anyway, with just 7 shows that first time out we had great audience response to the show but, by the time word of mouth and reviews got out, it was over.  We had the chance to add some shows at the end that the Fringe provided but our cast, being so talented, were booked for other gigs and we had to end the run prematurely.

Anyway, now we will have a total 26 shows at 59E59 Theaters which will give audiences and reviewers plenty of time to find us this time out.  We just started our casting process this week so stay tuned for news on that front.  And if you have donated to our IndieGoGo crowd-sourcing campaign, do so TODAY....give what you can, or give what you can't :) It's the only way this show is going to happen. Thanks so much! 

"WTC View" Gets Its Off-Broadway Premiere This Spring

I have some exciting news to report today....my first full-length play, "WTC View" is getting it's off-Broadway premiere this coming May at the prestigious 59E59 Theaters.  The show will have a four week run as part of the theater's 5th Annual Americas Festival, a celebration of new work by American playwrights.  Yes...that would be me! :)  The show will be directed by my good friend and artistic collaborator on this project Andrew Volkoff, who directed the original production in 2003.

For those who don't know, "WTC View" was inspired by my true 9/11 story....which actually happened on 9/10.  The last thing I did before going to bed that night was place a roommate ad online for my apartment downtown.  Though I left for the safer confines of my boyfriend's place in Brooklyn the next day, strangely enough, people actually responded to the ad on September 12th! When I got back to the apartment a week later, there were multiple messages responding to my ad. Fortunately, I saved many of those messages and, in my journal, kept copious notes about what life was like living downtown in the weeks and months following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. And then, in March of 2002, thought this might be an interesting way to dramatize what life was like in NYC during those strange days of September 2001.

The show was originally done in the NY Intl. Fringe Festival in 2003.  With only 6 performances, the show made its mark critically and with audiences as well, who responded strongly to the piece.  A few years later, a filmed adaptation came out starring our original cast (including Michael Urie, from UGLY BETTY).  And now, nearly 10 years after 9/11, the show will get its first full production here in New York.  I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have this opportunity to get the show onstage here.  Anyway, there will be more news about all this in the coming months.  For now, you can check out the show's Facebook page for more info, pictures and updates as they become available. And make sure to LIKE us and/or become a fan too. Thanks for your support!