The Gallery Players, Brooklyn’s premier Off-Off Broadway theater and Manhattan’s Engine37 Theater Company co-produce two new full-length plays to perform in repertory, June 6-21.
The world premiere of “The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots” by Nat Cassidy and the New York premiere of “Hope’s Arbor” by Rich Espey will play June 6-15 at The Gallery Players in Brooklyn as part of the theater’s 11th Annual “Black Box New Play Festival,” and June 17-21 at Manhattan Theatre Source at Washington Square Park.
This production will mark the 11th consecutive year that The Gallery Players has devoted a slot in its season to new and un-produced work. Never before, however, has the theater partnered with another company to transfer a production to a Manhattan venue, nor presented two full-length works in repertory.
“The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots” by Nat Cassidy is a fiery, impassioned, hallucinatory, comedic, and ultimately poignant exploration of the art of writing, what it is that calls an author to a particular subject, and the dangers that lie in the obsessions of a creative mind. As Christopher Marlowe lies bleeding to death from a fatal knife-wound to the face, his life flashes before his eyes (or, rather, eye). His host for this journey is his own personal Mephistopheles, a character about whom he never got the chance to write: the infamous Roman emperor, Caligula.
“Hope’s Arbor” by Rich Espey is a fast-paced comedy that tells the story of Hope Horrishall’s attempted escape from the rigors of prestigious Thwaite Academy, the oldest continuously operating girls’ boarding school southwest of the Connecticut River. Rejecting the life that has been meticulously planned out for her by her parents and school, Hope’s journey through on-line and real-life relationships leads her to a surprising discovery about what, and whom, she really wants.
The companies will also offer a staged reading of Jacob M. Appel’s “The Resurrection of Dismas & Gestas” June 19-21 at The Gallery Players, directed by Angela Astle. The play is a comedic exploration of the fear of dying and the joy of finding meaning in both life and art.
“Hope’s Arbor” opens June 6 at The Gallery Players, and transfers to Manhattan Theatre Source on June 18. “The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots” opens June 7 at 8 p.m. at The Gallery Players and transfers to Manhattan Theatre Source on June 17. Both shows close June 21. A full performance schedule is available at galleryplayers.com and engine37.org.
Tickets for “Hope’s Arbor” and “The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots” are $18; $14 for seniors and children 12 and under; visit www.galleryplayers.com or www.engine37.org or call TheaterMania at 212-352-3101. The purchase of a full price ticket for either play allows the buyer to purchase a ticket for the second play for $10. Tickets for “The Resurrection of Dismas & Gestas” are $5 and are available only at the door.
The Gallery Players is at 199 14th Street, between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Manhattan Theatre Source is at 177 MacDougal Street between West Eighth and Waverly, on the west side of the street.
For more, call 718-595-0547 or visit www.galleryplayers.com.
