Psychiatrist Richard Brockman Set for 'Sessions' Talkback

On Thursday, July 26, 2007, prominent Manhattan psychiatrist Richard Brockman, M.D. will host a special audience talk-back immediately following the 8 p.m. performance of the Off-Broadway musical Sessions. Tickets are $50 and are available through TicketCentral.com at 212-279-4200.

Richard Brockman is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons and Associate Attending at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, where he teaches courses on brain biology, psychotherapy and neurobiology.

In addition to his psychiatric work, Brockman's screenplay Good Behavior has won recognition from The New York Foundation for the Arts, and is scheduled to begin filming in May 2008, directed by Mirra Bank and produced by Becker Entertainment. Brockman's plays include Angels Don't Dance, Five O'Clock, The Interrogation of a Well Dressed Lady, Change of Heart, The Black Devil, Unprotected Sex, Little Caesar, A Soldier's Diary, Informed Consent, Voice of America and Good People, which is in development.  His plays have been produced in New York, London and Chicago, as well as at various other venues nationally and internationally.

Brockman received grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts and ahs been included in the Samuel French Best Short Play Festivals of 2001 and 2005, among other awards. His book A Map of the Mind was published by International Universities Press and has been reviewed widely. He has written over 40 articles which have appeared in professional journals as well as Atlantic Monthly, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and Reader's Digest.

He is a member of the Actors Studio Playwright-Directors Unit, the WorkShop Theater Company and the Dramatist Guild, as well as the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and the New York Academy of Sciences. 

Now through Saturday, August 25, Algonquin Theater Productions and Ten Grand Productions, Inc. present the world-premiere production of Sessions, a new musical by Albert Tapper, at Off-Broadway's Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 W. 42nd St.) on Theatre Row. Directed by Steven Petrillo (Route 66), the show officially opened on Sunday, June 10, 2007.

Dr. Peter Peterson listens, advises and tests his patients. What good therapist wouldn't? At once a drama and a comedy with poignant and hilarious moments alike, Sessions is a new musical for a modern generation. After all, couldn't we all use a little therapy?," state press materials.  "With songs such as 'I'm Only Human,' 'The Sun Shines In,' 'I've Become My Father,' 'Feels Like Home' and 'You Should Dance,' Sessions offers a humorous, poignant and relatable look into the familiar worlds of self-help, personal growth and those long hours that many have spent on a therapist's couch.

The production features book, music and lyrics by Albert Tapper, best known within the theatre industry as the producer of Rick McKay's acclaimed 2004 documentary Broadway: The Golden Age. Tapper also penned two other Off-Broadway musicals in recent years: Imperfect Chemistry (Minetta Lane Theatre, 2000) and From Where I Stand (Laurie Beechman Theatre, 2003).

The musical stars Bertilla Baker (Titanic) as Mrs. Murphy, Amy Bodnar (Oklahoma!) as Leila, Al Bundonis (Ragtime, Nat'l Tour) as Baxter, David Patrick Ford (The Full Monty, Nat'l Tour) as Dylan, Scott Richard Foster (Brooklyn the Musical) as Preston, Jim Madden (Hello, Dolly!) as Mr. Murphy, Kelli Maguire (A Wonderful Life) as Sunshine, Trisha Rapier (The Boy from Oz) as Mary, Matthew Shepard (Beauty and the Beast) as Dr. Peter Peterson and Ed Reynolds Young (Chapter Two) as The Voice.

The show features musical arrangement, orchestrations and musical supervision by Steven Gross (Pirates of Penzance), scenic and costume design by Peter J. Barbieri Jr., lighting design by Deborah E. Constantine and sound design by Wallace J. Flores.

Tickets are $50 each and are now available by calling TicketCentral.com at 212-279-4200.  Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater box office (416 W. 42nd St.).  Box office hours are noon to 8 p.m. daily.  For more information, visit www.sessionsthemusical.com.

Photo by Joan Marcus - Matthew Shepard and Amy Bodnar