SEASON 24

CROWNS

Written and Directed by Regina Taylor

Based on the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry

Choreography by Ronald K. Brown 

With Lawrence Clayton, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Harriet D. Foy, Lynda Gravatt, Janet Hubert, Ebony Jo-Ann, Lillias White

Scenic Design by Riccardo Hernandez
Costume Design by Emilio Sosa
Lighting Design by Robert Perry
Sound Design by Darron L. West
Music Direction and Arrangements by Linda Twine
Additional Arrangements by David Pleasant and Carl Maultsby, DFA
Production Stage Manager Alison Cote
Stage Manager Amy Patricia Stern
Press Representative Richard Kornberg & Associates 
Casting Tara Rubin Casting

"Hats off to Crowns! A delightfully celebratory new show with an ensemble as warm, vibrant and winning as any you can name. A show that seems to arise out of spontaneous combustion." - Bruce Weber, The New York Times

"Dazzling! Now hat's entertainment!" - Donald Lyons, New York Post

"Spectacular! This beautiful, gospel-filled musical is a joy!" - Robert Dominguez, Daily News

"Soul-stirring! Brimming with joy and vitality, Crowns is delightful." - Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger

 

LITTLE FISH

By Michael John LaChiusa

Suggested by Short Stories by Deborah Eisenberg

Directed and Choreographed by Graciela Daniele

With Lea DeLaria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Marcy Harriell, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Ken Marks, Hugh Panaro, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Eric Jordan Young 

Scenic Design by Riccardo Hernandez
Costume Design by Toni-Leslie James
Lighting Design by Peggy Eisenhauer
Sound Design by Scott Lehrer
Orchestrations Bruce Coughlin
Music Director Dan Lipton
Music Coordinator Seymour Red Press
Associate Choreographer Maddie Ehlert
Production Stage Manager Lisa Iacucci
Stage Manager Thomas Borchard 
Press Representative Richard Kornberg & Associates 
Casting Tara Rubin Casting

"A LATTER DAY ANSWER TO COMPANY! Adapted from two stories by Deborah Eisenberg, this stylish new musical has the jazzy, noirish feel of what is conventionally called the symphony of the city. As the wistful Charlotte, Jennifer Laura Thompson is charming. Her burnished voice lopes with bluesy suppleness through Mr. LaChiusa's swirling melodies." — Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger

"WONDERFUL WRITING AND WONDERFUL PERFORMING! LACHIUSA COMES EQUIPPED WITH TREMENDOUS TALENTS, WHICH FLOW FREELY HERE: His lyrics are wittily pointed and elegantly formed; his music inventively bends standard melodic patterns into unexpected shapes; he is sharp with observation, generous with compassion, and able to evoke volumes of experience in the flick of a single phrase."
"Director Graciela Daniele has given Little Fish a cleanly sculpted shape and a jittery post 9/11 atmosphere that are emphatically right for it."
"YOU COULDN'T FIND A MORE ENGAGING CAST! Thompson and Harriell are charming; DeLaria brings the monster roommate appalling conviction; and the supporting roles feature distinctive performers like Hugh Panaro, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Eric Jordan Young, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ken Marks." — Michael Feingold, The Village Voice

"New York can be angst-inducing, especially for single women looking for love, trying to get in shape and giving up smoking all at the same time. Little Fish, the endearing new musical by Michael John LaChiusa at Second Stage Theatre, tells the story of Charlotte (Jennifer Laura Thompson), a young woman from upstate trying to find herself in the big city. Along the way, she tries to forget her evil ex-boyfriend and sleeps with her best friend's man. See it with a group of girlfriends." — Daily News

THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DIVINCI

Adapted and Directed by Mary Zimmerman

With Anjali Bhimani, Lucia Brawley, Lizzy Cooper Davis, Christopher Donahue, Kyle Hall, Doug Hara, Louise Lamson, Mariann Mayberry, Paul Oakley Stovall

Scenic Design by Scott Bradley
Costume Design by Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting Design by TJ Gerckens
Sound Design by Michael Bodeen
Original Music by Miriam Sturn and Michael Bodeen
Production Stage Manager Cynthia Cahill
Stage Manager Bethany Ford
Press Representative Richard Kornberg & Associates 

"Take the writings of a leading Renaissance man. Sprinkle with Surrealist uncanniness and other entrancing visual effects. Simmer in the juices of 1960's avant-garde dance and 70's performance art and garnish with eight talented, attractive, gymnastically inclined actors. The result is A SHOW WORTHY OF DA VINCI!" - Roberta Smith, The New York Times

"... an engaging and deeply moving show." - The Wall Street Journal / Zagat Theater Survey

"Mary Zimmerman's gift is original and her visual imagination captivating. From the set to the carefully gymnastic teamwork of the ensemble, the show fairly reeks of ingenuity!" - Bruce Weber, The New York Times

"BRILLIANT! Viewers should collect Zimmerman productions like pieces of art - for that's what they are!" - Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger

"MAGICAL! This clever Notebook is filled with wonders. Mary Zimmerman is a smart and graceful synthesizer!" - Linda Winer, Newsday

"Notebooks is above all a testimony to the insatiable acuity of the artist's eye, always on the move, always looking, questioning and learning, and pulling the mind along with it. It pulls our eyes as well toward sudden moments of visual clarity. Leonardo's thoughts on shadow are illustrated with startling simplicity when one actor sits in the doorway of a darkened house, one side of his face drenched in light. At the same time, another actor underscores Leonardo's love of beauty by admonishing the reader to take special care when depicting young faces. The artist's dense writing on perspective is made riveting by a model of one-point perspective. A LEONARDO SAMPLER WORTHY OF DA VINCI!" - Roberta Smith, The New York Times

"FASCINATING! The Notebooks gives a vivid sense of Leonardo da Vinci's incredibly restless brain!" - Robert Feldberg, The Record