the week of october 25 - 29, 2021
all treats, selective tricks
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Identity Design: Elizabeth Haley Morton || Editorial Support: Rebecca Adelsheim
digital theatre
Zakiyyah Alexander’s How to Raise a Freeman streams November 3rd at 7:30 PM. Directed by Reginald L. Douglas, the dark comedy “asks how a middle-class, African-American family can keep their son alive in a world where every 28 hours a black man is killed by law enforcement.” It is part of Paula Vogel’s Bard at the Gate curated virtual reading series, which provides “a widely accessible platform for powerful, overlooked plays by BIPOC, women, LGBTQ, and disabled artists.”
The nine-episode audio thriller Pleasure Machine premieres November 2nd from Colt Coeur. The narrative podcast “tells the story of one artist’s attempt to cultivate authentic experiences of pleasure inside the cacophonous pressures of capitalism.” The sonic journey — which will coincide with live, multi-sensory release parties around New York — is conceived by director Tara Elliott and writers Diane Exavier, May Treuhaft-Ali, and Phaedra Michelle Scott, in collaboration with creative producer Emma Orme.
Wise Children’s Wuthering Heights will be live streamed from Bristol November 4-6. The theatrical spin on Emily Brontë’s classic novel is adapted and directed by Emma Rice.
in-person theatre
The world premiere of Need Your Love starts performances October 30th at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Written and directed by KJ Sanchez, the play recounts the meteoric rise and turbulent life of R&B singer Little Willie John.
Will Eno’s Gnit resumes performances at Theatre for a New Audience on October 30th. The reimagining of Peer Gynt, directed by Oliver Butler, closed three days after opening in March 2020 due to the pandemic. I like how the organization’s copy addresses the delay: “The play is performed with a 19-month break, filled with real-life tales of isolation, loss, courage, and love, and a 15-minute intermission.”
The pop-up theatre company The Pool will present three plays in rep November 1 - 20 at the New Ohio. The projects are Kate Cortesi’s Is Edward Snowden Single? (directed by Kate Bergstrom); Brenda Withers’ The Ding Dongs, or What is the Penalty in Portugal? (directed by Daisy Walker); and Emily Zemba’s Superstitions (directed by Jenna Worsham). Similar to other artist-led producing collectives 13P and The Welders, the playwrights of The Pool will pass the company onto another cohort of writers next year.
The world premiere of Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s cullud wattah begins November 2nd at The Public. The Afro-surrealist play about three generations of Black women living through the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan is directed by Candis C. Jones.
Mansa Ra’s In the Southern Breeze starts performances November 3rd at Rattlestick. The world premiere “autobiographical fever dream…on the social, racial, and generational struggles and injustices that black men face while also creating a space for discourse about and healing from these experiences” is directed by Christopher Betts.
while you were partying starts November 3rd at Soho Rep. The story by Peter Mills Weiss and Julia Mounsey with Brian Fiddyment was previously described as “a bombastic, comedic, and fantastical exploration of impotence, trauma, and the true cost of healing.”
The world premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s Kimberly Akimbo begins performances November 5th at the Atlantic. The new musical, adapted from Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play, is directed by Jessica Stone.
assorted news
The Broadway productions of Is This a Room and Dana H. will close two months early on November 14th. Producers cited the current “challenging landscape for live performance.”
Liliana Blain-Cruz and Jackie Sibblies Drury will adapt Raven Leilani’s novel Luster into an HBO series. Luster is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year — unruly, sharp, equal parts funny and aching — and don’t get me wrong, Tessa Thompson’s involvement is exciting, but I feel like Deadline buried the lede because the real exciting part is Liliana and Jackie.
awards
Ryan J. Haddad is the winner of the Vineyard Theatre’s 2021 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. The residency-based award is given each year to an emerging writer of exceptional promise, and comes with a cash prize and artistic development support. (For all of my fellow DC readers: Ryan’s solo show, Hi, Are You Single? will be at Woolly Mammoth next year.)
Liliana Blain-Cruz and Teo Castellanos are the 2021 Doris Duke Award recipients for Theatre. The award consists of $250,000 in unrestricted funding and an additional $25,000 dedicated to encouraging savings for retirement.
that’s not a living wage
Here are this week’s featured underpaid job listings, paired with the living wage for a 40-hour work week for one adult with no children in that area. (You can read more about the methodology here.)
Special Events and Corporate Relations Assistant, Roundabout Theatre Company: $42,000
Living Wage for NYC: $51,323