Arts Independent

Sometimes even when a show is clearly born out of a specific moment in time, a specific movement in the collective culture, the themes it touches on remain eternally relevant. Until Dark is such a piece. While clearly rooted in time in the midst of the Me Too movement, specifically dated as taking place in 2017, its discussions around yes sexual assault and consent but also past trauma and how it continues to impact our lives and how much it shapes our actions and how we take accountability for them is are bigger than one movement.

The script by Federica Borlenghi focuses on three sisters; Cass, Jackie, and Lisa. When one of Cass’ students from the yoga classes she teaches presses criminal charges against her following an incident, Jackie steps forward to act as her attorney. Most of the action takes place in the time leading up to Cass’ trial, an with all three sisters staying in Cass’ apartment, it becomes a breeding ground for tensions and unspoken resentments.

It’s a tightly written show with a fairly short run time that still manages to give a good idea of who these three people are and deliver a lot of information without it ever feeling rushed or cramped. Since much of the show is conversations between characters about past or off stage events, the script ran a risk of falling into telling too much and showing too little. Whether because of Borglenghi’s writing, her staging in her role as the show’s director, compelling performances by the cast, or a combination of the three, watching it never feels like it’s not showing you enough. The descriptions of specific events are appropriately evocative without needing to be overly detailed. The personalities and relationships of these sisters are clear and present.

            As the youngest sister, Lisa, Luísa Galatti brings a frenetic energy that fits the youngest sibling role perfectly. She is caring and hopeful, almost naively so. Giorgia Valenti plays a Jackie who is so used to being the caregiver, the problem solver, and is feeling the weight of years of trying to handle everyone else’s problems. It’s clear that she cares, but it’s also easy to see her exasperation and exhaustion. Rounding out the cast is Maria Müller as Cass. Her performance is incredibly powerful, and she manages to capture a lot of complexity. All three shine in their respective roles.

            The show features set and props by Andrés López-Alicea. For a simple space, López-Alicea added a lot of detail to really create a detailed and fleshed out design that made for a lived-in world. The sound design by Stephanie L. Carlin was simple in that the show had simple needs when it came to diegetic sound, but her music composed for the show to underscore transitions and similar moments added a perfect amount of unease. Adrian Yuen’s lighting design was instrumental in helping shape the space and complimented the set perfectly. The whole design team (including costumes also by Borglenghi) did a great job creating a full and beautiful piece that filled but never felt too large for the venue.

            A complex piece that handles difficult subject matter skillfully and delicately, talking about explanations for behavior without ever making excuses, Until Dark is a powerful show. And it manages to be on in a way that doesn’t lecture the audience or try and hit them over the head with a message. It simply presents three people amid a difficult situation without judgement. That sort of presentation is the best way to create a full picture of a complicated subject. For its compact run time, Until Dark manages to do that quite well.

The most famous [deceased] First Ladies are having a hard time accepting the Trump presidency.

Why should they be any different than the rest of us?

But what can they do about it?

After all, they’re dead!

If you think that world affairs stop being important after you shake off this mortal coil, you would be wrong. Janine Sternlieb and Lennie Dean masterfully tell us otherwise with their new play, First Ladies and the Big White Lie.

The disturbing and unprecedented events unfolding in DC, in Charlottesville, and at the border, have reached the great beyond and now the spirits of the powers behind the American “throne” must confront the secrets and deceptions that have hindered America’s march toward a truly democratic society.

This intriguing new play — directed by stage artist and political commentator, Marcello Rollando — will have a special industry presentation, March 7 @ 2:00 p.m. and March 8 @ 6:00 p.m. at one of New York’s arts epicenters, Open Jar Studios, 1601 Broadway 11th floor, New York City. Contact info@jaymichaelsarts.com for reservations or further info.

We had our own “congressional hearing” with the authors of this envelope pushing piece to learn more about them and their work.

Janine Sternlieb has been an assistant director in Bay Area productions at theatres such as San Francisco Playhouse, Main Stage West, and Santa Rosa Jr. College.  Previous writing work includes The Four Sisters or Time’s Up!:  a Chekhovian Guide to Climate Change. When Covid closed the theatres, she began to imagine what the Founding Families would think of the Trump administration. So here she is! Lennie Dean, after receiving her MFA in Acting from the Temple University Advanced Actor Training Program in Philadelphia, taught, acted, directed, worked as dramaturge and produced for several theater companies and schools in New York, San Francisco and Sonoma County for over forty years. She is authorized by master acting teacher Eric Morris to teach his technique, The Eric Morris System. She is working to form Vintage Voices, a “scripts onstage” acting group with actors 55+ years.  

What inspired you to write this play? 

Janine:  When white supremacists descended on Charlottesville, I wondered what the previous residents of that town (the Hemings and Jefferson families) would think.  What might Mary Lincoln, who sacrificed so much for the Union, think about protests over protecting a monument to Robert E. Lee–in 2017!  And what has happened to the party of Lincoln?

Do you enjoy using fantastical elements like you have here? 

Lennie Dean:  Magical realism is my favorite kind of theatre.  It isn’t an intellectual experience.  It calls upon different parts of our brain to react to what is seemingly untethered from reality.  In First Ladies, the characters have a hard time accepting that the God-like Jefferson enslaved his own children.  So the cold hard facts, in the form of a biography of the Hemings family, drops from the sky and lights up on the shelf.  The old adage that we, who refuse to learn our history are doomed to repeat it, takes physical form. 

The theatre has the power to educate and elucidate… Do you agree and if so, what do you hope the audience takes away from seeing your play? 

Janine:  Theatre is uniquely positioned to illuminate history, create characters that audiences relate to, and create a space for empathy.  By creating dialogue for 9 historical women, who continue to “live” on into our own time, we show that our history is a living and breathing phenomenon.  It’s not an artifact and it’s not set in stone.  Our understanding of history necessarily changes as we see it from a variety of perspectives, wrestle with it, and engage it.  There is nothing that can’t be discussed, especially the horrors and injustices of slavery.  We hope that the audience will be inspired to take action so that “All men are created equal” is a reality, not just a promise.

What have you learned about yourself from this work? 

Janine:  I was terribly naive about what it would take to write a full-length play about 9 historical women (one needs to read a LOT of books). I also realized that America is filled with interesting historical characters, so my dance card is full for decades!

What’s next?

Janine:  A play about James Henry Hammond, a governor of South Carolina in the 1840s.  It’s a play–surprise!– about race and gender.  I’m also writing a dystopian play about librarians set in New York City. 

“It was a long time ago, nobody cares anymore,” is the last thing that all those who have died so far said when the JFK artifact came into their possession. Airline pilot, Hank Larson’s brother Benjamin said the same thing. Now Hank is out to clear his brother’s name of a double homicide. Up to now, Hank couldn’t give two spits about who killed Kennedy. But the powerful merchants of death who are after the item will stop at nothing; they’ve already blown through multiple murders like a speed bump. Can Hank, and the innocent woman who only wanted to help him, avoid becoming just two more mysterious and untimely deaths, and derail their plans to stage a coup again? The action never stops, and the danger never lessens as Hank realizes, too late, that the best way to stay alive is to Ask Not!

Avitabile’s latest is a tome tearing into what arguably is the most pivotal moment of the 20th century — the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Of course, he would… Tom Avitabile is a renowned writer, director, and producer with numerous film and television credits who seems to specialize in thrilling us.  It’s not enough that he wrote a taut adventure about Kennedy but he now travels the podcast-sphere sharing his take on the actual event and the conspiracy around it. His extensive background in computers and engineering led him to work with the House Committee on Science Space and Technology.  Tom’s powerful imagination, fed from his experiences in Washington, allowed him to conjure up not only possible security threats, but also real-life scenarios relating to how the government and individuals would respond to the high-tech assaults that are featured prominently in his three book “thrillogy.” These novels chronicle the exploits of Science Advisor to the President, “Wild” Bill Hiccock. The first techno-thriller of this series, The Eighth Day, became a Barnes and Noble #1 bestseller. In his next thriller, The Devil’s Quota, Avitabile departs from the high-tech genre and sheds daylight on an evil international syndicate, a story of sexual deviation, greed, human trafficking, and corruption.

We met with Tom to get a glimpse of the might of a thrill-writer.

What led you to become a writer?

In school, I was classified as functionally illiterate. I didn’t read much. I hated writing. I freaked out over a 200-word composition, I’d break out in a cold sweat. So, naturally, I became an author. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate writing, but I love authoring. So, I am not a writer, I am an author. Lots of people write but only those who know how to author make more publishable manuscripts. How do I know this? I’ve been called the Accidental Author, and rightly so because I’m the last guy on the planet who should ever have a book published, much less 8 and 4 #1 bestsellers. But I sold the first manuscript I ever wrote, pretty much by accident, and it became a number one bestseller. Because I didn’t just write it, I authored it. So, I never became a writer in the traditional sense of being a lover of words, or having taken creative writing courses, being well-read, or even a lover of literature. Instead, I authored to entertain, engage, and then, and only then, Enlighten.  I ride and write in the caboose of the literary train, you know, commercial fiction.

What’s your creative process?

Two avenues. One: three of my number-one bestsellers were first screenplays. This is one of the best outlines you can have. I consider a script a skeleton to which I add bones, and sinew and flesh out all the plot points and character nuance. Then two: there’s getting that idea. The one that nags you. Knocks on the door to your brain at all odd hours and never lets you sleep until you commit it to a canvas. Most of the time that’s my inciting instance which I wrap the rest of my story around.

 Do you know what’s going to happen all the way through before you sit down to write, or does it happen organically? 

If I am not following a screenplay, at first, I am a ‘pantster’ (organic) for around the first half of the manuscript. Then I outline, mostly because I forgot what I wrote but also to make sure the course I lay out goes by all the pretty things and highlights all the human things and goes thrillingly close to the scary stuff.  After all that, it is polish time, where I tweak with little dabs of color and brushstrokes to feather out the hard edge or sharpen the blunts.

What is your philosophy on the spoken word vs the written word?

There must be a strong delineation and specific voice(s) differentiating the narrative, in whichever POV the narrator assumes, and each character. “Regular type people just don’t talk right, no how… no ways…ya know what I…” Whereas a well-executed narrative is always correct, fluid, and strives for understandability. It is composed in complete sentences and is a the mortar that holds the story together.   In short, characters can be sloppy grammarians and linguistical nightmares, but narration must be beyond reproach – within its tone and voice.

On that note, how much do you take into account the possibility of a stage play or film of your work when you write? 

The first novel I ever wrote was the first novel I ever sold and my first #1 Bestseller. When the CEO of the publishing company read it. He called me and asked if I ever thought of making it a movie. He said this because he confessed to me that he could see the movie as he was reading my book. (BTW This review would be a death knell to true literary snobs, but it is a money machine in the commercial fiction world) It wasn’t until we had signed the deal, and I cashed the rather large check that I told him I had written it from a screenplay.  (Like 2 of my other #1s.) 

I write in a style that lends itself to visualization from having cut my teeth in “long form” writing on screenplays. Screenplays, by the way, are as many million miles away from a literary document as an artist’s rendering of a building is to the blueprints of its steel infrastructure.  So, my experience as a film director and screenwriter, and what that taught me about cascading action and the intimate relationship between plot and character, drives me to a writing style that manifests imagery and engagement…just like a movie.

What’s the next project? 

I have two just out of the oven. “Wife and Death” is a thriller where one mistake by a 20-year-old, threatens her family 20 years later, puts her grandchildren in harm’s way 40 years later, and her entire world 50 years later.  But she finds the strength, tenacity, and wisdom to outsmart the good guys, who are just as bad as the drug cartel bad guys, leaving her alone to protect her family with just her wits…and a gun…and 250 million in diamonds and… Well, you’ll have to read the book.

The other manuscript sitting on the cooling rack is a sci-fi thriller that is really more science ‘faction’ than fiction. It’s about, for lack of a better word, Mermaids. Well, no fins or gills, just super-oxygenated blood. (Try holding your breath for 3 hours.) It’s easy when your blood holds a whopping amount of oxygen due to a genetic anomaly among a certain group of South Pacific people – who are useful, in many ways. Like if you wanted to create a Navy SEAL team that took to the water like… like, mermaids, only with MP5 machine guns, explosive ordinance, and an ability not to have to come up for air for quite a while.  I call that one, “Aquasapiens” – The First SEAL Team Zero Adventure. 

The one currently in the oven…Mmm can you smell that? Is a sequel to my #1 Bestseller, The Devil’s Quota. Working title, “Stand So Tall.”

Maybe Broadway has SIX Queens but Off-Broadway has EIGHT First Ladies!

Janine Sternlieb and Lennie Dean’s new play, FIRST LADIES AND THE BIG WHITE LIE, directed by Marcello Rollando comes to New York for a special industry presentation on March 7 @ 2:00 p.m. and March 8 @ 6:00 p.m. at OPEN JAR STUDIOS, 1601 Broadway 11th floor, New York City. Contact Matt at info@jaymichaelsarts.com for further details. 

The most famous deceased First Ladies are having a hard time accepting the Trump presidency. But what can they do about it? After all, they’re dead! 

Disturbing and unprecedented events are unfolding in DC, in Charlottesville, and at the border, and their predictable “existence” is thrown into chaos. They must confront the secrets and deceptions that have hindered America’s march toward a truly democratic society.

A rousing new musical brings the 1920s into the 2020s

The famed Don’t Tell Mama Theater is host to Fifth Avenue, a Jazz Musical Comedy, a tune-filled time portal to a revered chapter of American history.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Dan Lane Williams/DLW PHOTOGRAPHY)

It’s 1928, and the economy is booming (for the moment). With Prohibition still a thing, entrepreneurs are finding ways to be creative, clever, and compensated.

Buddies and business partners Maxwell (Christopher Sutton) and Willy (Joseph Peterson) have a plan to open a nightclub, The Crescent Moon, in the largely overlooked west 40s of Manhattan—essentially bringing the east 50s vibe to Hell’s Kitchen. (It’s important to note that this is their 11^th business venture in 10 years.) They get the cash from Tommy Grace (Beau Allen) and the three mark the occasion by singing that they’re “All-In.”  

But this being America in 1928, the club must be dry. “Anti-saloon league says enforce laws on the book. Round up all the bootleggers and jail all the crooks,” proclaim the lawmakers of the day, as related by Willy, Grace, and newsboy Neal (James Lynch) in “That’s the News.”

“A saloon-less nation will live longer, they say,” they sing. “But it’s the price of liquor that will kill you today!”

Meanwhile, Maxwell’s 22-year-old daughter Rachel (Adriana Vicinanzo) has returned from Europe. She shows off her new-found woman-of-the-worldness to her friend-zoned childhood pal Neal in “The Grand Tour.” Rachel later meets for lunch with shady suitor Donald P. Brentwood the 4^th (Kevin Arnold), a lawyer with lofty real-estate aspirations that he lays out in the bouncy, future-predicting “Fifth Avenue.”

“Corporate heads will be the ruling class,” he says with a smile, threatening to turn “every street into Fifth Avenue.” There won’t be much left that’s fun to do,” warns Rachel.  “What about all those who can’t afford Fifth Avenue?”

“Let them move to the Bronx!” snarks Donald.

The club opens on New Year’s Eve, appearing to serve nothing stronger than ginger ale. But Grace has more sinister plans for the “operation”, and despite Willy and Maxwell’s desire to be legit, their grand plan is nearly over before it begins.

As the Crescent Moon rises, nightclub singer Gloria (played by Eurovision finalist Davinia) gives a powerhouse performance of “Life Is Fine”. The mood soon changes for “Shana Madela,” a gorgeous lullaby sung by Rachel and Maxwell after the latter gets into accidental but inevitable booze-related legal trouble. Our “spirited” heroes resolve to rally to keep their respective versions of the American Dream alive.

The music by Daniel Seidman (with lyrics by Seidman and Librettist Susan Crawford)

is a perfect blend of Broadway elegance and 1920s cool. Each number is a catchy and melodic plot-mover that will get you swaying and singing along. (“Shana Madela” is a songwriting contribution from Seidman’s father Murray). 

The songs are delivered magnificently by the entire talented cast. Claire Cooper (Music Director), also in period dress, provides deft accompaniment on the piano. The production is expertly directed and choreographed by Andrea Andresakis, and the gorgeous and authentic costumes of the era are designed by Yuka Silvera.

From beginning to end (fittingly as the calendar turns to 1929), Fifth Avenue is a must-see delightful tribute to a halcyon age. The show is so charming, and the actors so engaging, you’ll wish it would never end (and that the current 20s would roar as hard as the previous ones!).

Fifth Avenue, a Jazz Musical Comedy is playing at Don’t Tell Mama on Mondays at 7 pm through February 12, 2024. For more information (and a song medley!) visit fifthavenuemusical.com/.

Et Alia Theater is proud to present Until Dark by Federica Borlenghi, a new play that reflects consent and the intricacies of sisterhood, while testing its ties and boundaries.

When Cass is accused of a heinous crime, her sister Jackie – a promising criminal defense attorney – decides to take over the case. But when Lisa, their othersister, shows up in town for solidarity, she realizes there is more to theallegations than what she was told.

Thursday, February 15 · 7:00 pm EST; Friday, February 16 @ 7:00pm; Saturday, February, 17 @ 7:00pm; Sunday, February 18 @ 7:00pm; Thursday, February 22 @ 7:00pm; Friday, February 23 @ 7:00pm; Saturday, February, 24 @ 7:00pm; Sunday, February 25 @ 3:00 pm; Thursday, February 29 · 7:00pm; Friday, March 1 @ 7:00pm; Saturday, March 2 @ 7:00pm; Sunday, February 3 @ 3:00 pm
Out of the Box Theatrics, 154 Christopher Street #1E New York City

TICKETS

Cast features
Maria Müller as Cass; Giorgia Valenti as Jackie; and Luísa Galatti as Lisa (Covi Loveridge Brannan and Ana Moioli, alternates)
Production written and directed by Federica Borlenghi
(winner, Et Alia Theater Lab, 2023)
Produced by Et Alia Theater
Co-Produced by Mo Shah & Kavita Shah
Dramaturg: Covi Loveridge Brannan
Stage Manager: Skye Pallo Ross
Set & Properties Designer: Andrés López-Alicea
Lighting Designer: Adrian Yuen
Costume Designer: Federica Borlenghi
Graphic Designer: Marieli Pereira

Founded by international women in New York, Et Alia Theater champions multicultural, women-centered storytelling in the performing arts and fosters a community of mutual support. By providing performance programs and artistic opportunities that welcome, support, and showcase international women artists in New York, Et Alia offers an empathetic creative space for people adapting to a new social environment.