What We Wanted Photos - Off-Broadway

I first discovered the Dollface Dames troupe of high-class, Burlesque entertainers in 2017 and have enjoyed their show-stopping style of entertainment at several venues around town since then. But 2020 brought on major changes for all in-person entertainment, so how have the Dollface Dames been keeping their unique brand of Burlesque available to audiences during the shutdown and what's next for them? To find out, I spoke with Lola Boutée who founded the group in 2008.

There is tremendous support in our audience for bringing younger people into the theatre, and we're having some success in that regard. I'm positive, but I'm also unsure of where we are headed with digital technologies and what they mean for our industry and the larger culture. Our challenge, I suppose, is to be adaptive to what comes along without giving up the wisdom and glories of the past.

Told entirely from the perspective of a dog, The Noises is a visceral new play about fear, courage, the nature of violence and what we're prepared to do for the ones we love. This new show, longlisted for the 2017 Bruntwood Prize for Playwrighting, will receive its world premiere at The Old Red Lion this April, starring Amy McAllister (Call the Midwife, Scorch). The Noises is a mother and daughter collaboration between TS Eliot Award shortlisted poet and playwright Jacqueline Saphra and director-dramaturg Tamar Saphra, and is a poetic and sensory piece with sound design from Tom Parkinson (I'm A Phoenix, Bitch; Super Duper Close Up). The sound is another character in the play, and the audience hear the world as Luna hears it.

Philadelphia Theatre Company follows The Bridges of Madison County with the Philadelphia premiere of a new work from Christina Anderson. In a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage, PTC introduces local audiences to the talents of rising star Christina Anderson and her stunning new play How To Catch Creation, Philadelphia Theatre Company's pick from the 2017 Kilroys List. The "List" was created to give theatre producers a choice of underproduced works by women, with a recent focus on trans, and non-binary writers.  Producing Artistic Director Paige Price has tapped Nataki Garrett, former Associate Artistic Director of Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theater Company (DCPA), to direct this production. How To Catch Creation features a cast of local talent and actors with an impressive range of Netflix, television, and regional theatre credits.  The play runs March 22-April 14, with Opening Night on Wednesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Single tickets and subscriptions are on sale now and available at the box office, online at philatheatreco.org or by phone at 215-985-0420. Tickets cost $10-$69.

Told entirely from the perspective of a dog, The Noises is a visceral new play about fear, courage, the nature of violence and what we're prepared to do for the ones we love. This new show, longlisted for the 2017 Bruntwood Prize for Playwrighting, will receive its world premiere at The Old Red Lion this April, starring Amy McAllister (Call the Midwife, Scorch). The Noises is a mother and daughter collaboration between TS Eliot Award shortlisted poet and playwright Jacqueline Saphra and director-dramaturg Tamar Saphra, and is a poetic and sensory piece with sound design from Tom Parkinson (I'm A Phoenix, Bitch; Super Duper Close Up). The sound is another character in the play, and the audience hear the world as Luna hears it.

Director Chris Hamby summarized what he wanted to bring to Frankenstein in one word: verisimilitude. He directed the cast and crew to create a production that was above all else, believable - no camp, no 'steampunk,' he wanted this Frankenstein to feel real.

The Neo-Futurists present Ensemble Member Dan Kerr-Hobert's The Food Show, partnering with Metropolitan Brewing's new Avondale, location venue: 3031 N. Rockwell, July 27 - September 2. Previews are Thursday, July 27 - Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m., with opening night Monday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices for previews and Thursdays are pay what you can; for the regular run, tickets are $10-25. Tickets and information are available at neofuturists.org or 773.275.5255.

The Neo-Futurists present Ensemble Member Dan Kerr-Hobert's The Food Show, partnering with Metropolitan Brewing to bring the site-specific world premiere to the brewery's new Avondale location, 3057 N. Rockwell, July 27 - September 2. Previews are Thursday, July 27 - Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m., with opening night Monday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices for previews and Thursdays are pay what you can; for the regular run, tickets are $10-25. Tickets and information are available at neofuturists.org or 773.275.5255.

Santa Monica Playhouse presents the funny, touching, and just a little bit racy, world premiere comedy, Albert James Kallis's A DeLUSIONAL Affair which will make you question everything you ever thought you knew about love, marriage, fantasy and reality, leaving you with a new perspective on it all. The play centers around a married couple celebrating their 25th Anniversary, with a husband eager to celebrate with his wife while she is so engrossed writing a book that she cannot be bothered to pay much attention to him, other than on the fantasy pages of her book. But what happens when that fantasy becomes reality?

I am most concerned with what the audience sees, as they are the viewers/hearers of our story, so what they gather from our performance must be paramount. I come in with a strong image of what I want the show to look like. I then block the show right away to get it on its feet. I call this building the skeleton. The rest of the rehearsal process is about fleshing out that skeleton. I do not have the actors wander the stage looking for what feels right for them. It may end up being more “true to life” by letting two people do what comes naturally, but that does not make for a good presentational performance. I block to keep things visually interesting and I work to use the entire stage.

What We Wanted, a new play written by David Harms, is currently enjoying its premiere at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Directed by Drew Foster, What We Wanted is set for a limited engagement from January 3 to January 15, 2017, with opening night set for Thursday, January 5, 2017.

Molly is fierce. She's a brassy know-it-all, but she's always fighting for the greater good. She lost a parental figure at a very young age, and it's shaped her into a different person than she might have been otherwise. She's also at a turning point in her life during the course of this play. She's learning about what it means to be an adult, and to make the difficult decisions, even if you don't feel ready to. She has some of the wittiest lines in the show, and gets to be unapologetically confident. Especially when it comes to putting boys in their place.