Broadway Stars Join 3rd Annual Earth Day Benefit Concert

Broadway Stars Join 3rd Annual Earth Day Benefit Concert
BROADWAY RECYCLED
Sunday, April 22 at Joe's Pub

AT HAND THEATRE COMPANY's 3rd annual Earth Day concert, BROADWAY RECYCLED,will take place on Sunday, April 22nd at 7pm at Joe's Pub. The concert of songs cut from musicals – songs that shouldn't go to waste - benefits the Broadway Green Alliance and At Hand Theatre Company. The concert will be directed by Jennifer Ashley Tepper with musical direction by Julie McBride.

This year's BROADWAY RECYCLED concert will feature performances by Alexis Field (Angelina Ballerina, 4th Wall's Spitfire Grill), J. Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Saved), Annie Golden (The Full Monty, Xanadu), Randy Graff (City of Angels, A Class Act), Curt Hansen (Next To Normal, Hairspray), Jessica Kent (The Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular), Kait Kerrigan (The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, Henry and Mudge), Nikka Lanzarone (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Chicago), Jeremy Morse (Bloodsong of Love, Engeman's A Wonderful Life), Jacey Powers (Our Town, The Shanghai Gesture), Krysta Rodriguez (The Addams Family, In The Heights), Jason Tam (A Chorus Line, Lysistrata Jones), Marty Thomas (Xanadu, Wicked), Kate Wetherhead (Legally Blonde, Ordinary Days), Jason SweetTooth Williams (Bloodsong of Love, Things To Ruin), and Alex Wyse (Lysistrata Jones, Academy).

Concertgoers at BROADWAY RECYCLED can expect to hear songs cut from Anyone Can Whistle, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Cabaret, Carrie, Elegies: A Song Cycle, Follies, The Full Monty, Hair, The Last 5 Years, Legally Blonde, Little Shop of Horrors, The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, Vanities, and Working.

At Hand Theatre Company (Dan Horrigan, Artistic Director; Justin Scribner, Executive Director) was founded in 2007 with a mission to produce new plays using environmentally conscious means. They explore creative, eco-friendly solutions that engage the imagination of the audience. Past productions include the World Premieres of As Wide As I Can See and Lila Cante by Mark Snyder, Anton Dudley's Letters to the End of the World, Dan Horrigan's My AiDS, Brian Dykstra’s Silence!, Andrea Lepcio’s One Nation Under, Jono Hustis’ Cake and Plays... But Without the Cake, and the New York Premiere of Trickster at the Gate by John Patrick Bray. For more information visit www.athandtheatre.com

BROADWAY RECYCLED will be presented Sunday, April 22nd at 7pm. Joe's Pub is located in The Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place -- accessible from the N/R trains at 8th Street or the #6 train at Astor Place. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door (subject to availability); a limited number of $75 tickets, which include preferred table seating and a poster autographed by the cast. For tickets call 212-967-7555 or visit www.joespub.com.

As Wide As I Can See: It is Wonderful!

As Wide As I Can See @ Here Arts Center

As Wide As I Can See, at the Here Arts Center, is one of those rare shows that force one to move from a critic to an evangelist. Go see it right now; it will not disappoint.

As Wide As I Can See takes place entirely in an Ohio backyard.  Set in suburban Youngstown, the town has been hit by the recession and is slowly contracting; involuntarily downsizing the hopes and aspirations of its citizens.  In a nice little yard, Dean, an out-of-work journalist, is preparing a bar-b-que with his buddy, Tyler.  Tyler is an old high-school friend, now living with his young family in a trailer parked out back.

The bar-b-que is to introduce Dean’s girlfriend, Jessica - who owns the house, to Dean’s friends.  Despite their obvious affection, Jessica and Dean’s relationship is strained by Dean’s recent unemployment and the continuing occupation of the yard by Tyler and his brood.  But for this one evening, everyone is trying hard to get along.

Cast of As Wide As I Can See at Here Arts Center
Conan McCarty, Melisa Breiner-Sanders, Ryan Barry, Julie Leedes, Joshua Levine & Kay Capasso

A wildcard gets thrown into the mix when Jessica invites an old acquaintance, Charlotte, to the party.  Charlotte brings up memories that neither Tyler nor Dean want to revisit.

The beauty of As Wide As I Can See, is that this set-up feels natural.  Writer Mark Snyder brings a realistic voice to these characters, a voice that never feels forced or un-natural.  Dean, an excellent Ryan Barry, is a little lost and bitter, but obviously in love and a very likeable character.  As the more uptight Jessica, Julie Leedes, brings a warmth and insecurity that helps explain Jessica’s desire for order.  Their affection is believable, walking the tightrope between reminding versus nagging while still being supportive.  Ryan Berry’s Dean is confronting the little and big questions of life. And the introduction of Charlotte intensifies the questions.

Julie Leedes and Ryan Barry

As Tyler and Nan, the couple in the trailer our back, Joshua Levine and Kay Capasso are wonderful.  They question life less and enjoy it more than the complex couple in the house.  Tyler and Nan enjoy the simple pleasures of life, but without ever being “simple”.  The final couple is Charlotte and Walt, played Melisa Breiner-Sanders and Conan McCarty.  Both of these actors do a great job of bringing difficult characters to life.  Conan McCarty,in particular, layers his performance as the supportive Walt.

Director Dan Horrigan does a great job with a wonderful script.  He has given the characters the time and space to grow over the course of the show.  There is a point, late in the show, when Jessica is sitting on the stoop, smoking.  The slouch of Ms. Leedes’ carriage, the simple act of smoking – not over-the-top puffing and exhaling, coupled with the time Mr. Horrigan allows for the scene to linger, give rise to a sense of fragility bordering on exhaustion. And it is gone the second someone else enters the scene, as Jessica wouldn’t allow herself to be seen in a moment of self-pity.  It is simple touches like that which makes As Wide As I Can See such a fantastic piece of theater.

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As Wide As I Can See at Here Arts Center

Playwright: Mark Snyder

Director: Dan Horrigan

Cast: Ryan Barry, Melisa Breiner-Sanders, Kay Capasso, Julie Leedes, Joshua Levine, Conan McCarty

Runs Through: March 10th