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All the world’s a stage — but thanks to The Brooklyn Paper, an acclaimed Shakespeare troupe now has one that it can call its own.
After getting priced out of Manhattan, the Genesis Repertory Ensemble — a celebrated company known for setting the Bard’s works in different historical periods — struggled to find a permanent home in Bay Ridge.
But a Brooklyn Paper article about the 25-person company’s plight helped the thespians find a home on Bay 44th Street in Bensonhurst.
“This would not have been possible without [The Brooklyn Paper],” said Genesis Board of Directors chairman Jay Michaels, whose troupe recently inked a deal that will allow the company to stage shows at a 350-seat theater in the Block Institute — a school for individuals with special needs.
“Our first conversation with the Institute started after they read the article and wanted to show us the space,” Michaels said.
The actors are already planning their first shows in their new home, which include a rendition of the original stage version of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” set in Brooklyn where the star-crossed lovers are Jewish and Palestinian.
As a part of the deal, Genesis Repertory Ensemble actors will teach classes and develop programming for Block Institute students.
“It’s wonderful to be able to bring theater to people who might not normally have the chance to get it,” said Michaels. “It’s absolutely marvelous, it’s a miracle.”
©2009 Community Newspaper Group
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