the week of october 15 - 21, 2022
oh, say do you see what i see (a 1776 hot take cottage industry)
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in-person theatre
Martyna Majok’s Sanctuary City starts previews October 21 at Arena Stage. The 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about two teenage children of undocumented immigrants is directed by David Mendizábal, with associate/transfer direction by Cara Hinh.
Measure for Measure runs October 21 - November 27 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Henry Godinez directs the 90-minute adaptation set “amidst the glamour, music, and sensuality of 1950s Cuba, just before Fidel Castro seizes power.”
A reading of Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel’s Flying Bird Diary runs October 22-23 at Long Wharf. Madeline Sayet directs the new drama about “a great Mohegan heroine that almost nobody knows: the woman who saved Connecticut's original language, and with it, a more connected way of seeing our world.”
Will Arbery’s Evanston Salt Costs Climbing starts previews October 26th at The New Group. The dark climate change comedy about two salt-truck drivers in suburban Chicago is directed by Danya Taymor.
Bess Wohl’s Camp Siegfried starts performances October 26th at Second Stage. David Cromer directs the World War II-set “boy-meets girl-meets-cautionary tale about the seductive nature of fascism”, which premiered last year at the Old Vic in London.
The world premiere of Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton’s Plumshuga: The Rise of Lauren Anderson is now playing at Stages in Houston. The “innovative new work blending spoken word, dance, music, and theater for a vivid and intimate look into the rise of one of the first Black principal ballerinas of a major ballet company” is co-directed by Mouton and Eboni Bell Darcy, in collaboration with artists from the Houston Ballet and Urban Souls Dance Company.
Thomas Ostermeier’s Hamlet runs October 27 - November 5 as part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival. The German director’s acclaimed production, internationally heralded as one of the great interpretations of Shakespeare, features “an unforgettable, no-holds-barred performance from cult Shakespearean star Lars Eidinger [with] pop music, drag shows, and courtly duels coexisting in riotous harmony.”
Sarah Ruhl’s Becky Nurse of Salem starts previews October 27th at Lincoln Center Theater. Rebecca Taichman directs the dark comedy starring Deirdre O’Connell as “a modern-day descendent of accused witch Rebecca Nurse in Salem.”
Jordan Harrison’s Maple & Vine is now playing through October 23rd at Spooky Action. Stevie Zimmerman directs the dark comedy about two burned-out New Yorkers who join a community of 1950s re-enactors.
Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain't No Mo' runs October 27 - November 20 at Baltimore Center Stage. Lili-Anne Brown directs the “vibrant, no-holds-barred comedy examining the lives of Black Americans in the aftermath of the election of a Black president – and hurtling toward the point of no return.”
that 1776 interview
Last Friday, Vulture published an interview with 1776 actor Sara Porkalob. The Seattle-based artist is currently playing Edward Rutledge in the Broadway revival, which features a racially diverse cast of women, nonbinary, and transgender actors. In the viral Q&A, Porkalob critiqued multiple artistic choices, including the production’s under-baked analysis of race, gender, and sexuality.
Michael Paulson and Jennifer Schuessler of The New York Times wrote an overview of Porkalob’s comments and the ensuing criticism, including a now-deleted Facebook post from the production’s co-director Jeffrey L. Page. (The NYT link is gifted, so you shouldn’t hit the paywall, but Playbill also has a comprehensive write-up.)
Online commentary ranged from skewed outrage at Porkalob’s frank ambition, the widely-quoted admission that she’s giving 75% of herself to her performance, and concerns about how her public dissent of the directorial vision would impact the 1776 company. Porkalob clarified her comments in a tweet thread and also emailed the full 1776 team, writing:
“I see how my opinions and the tone of the article have hurt, offended and upset some of the folks internal to this process…My intention was to share an important moment of learning I had in the piece, specifically how I was proud to be a part of an ensemble that was able to deftly handle these complex issues, rather than not saying anything and pretending things didn’t happen. But it is clear that the impact was me breaking the [community agreement of “what happens in the room stays in the room”] and I’m sorry.”
