JOHN & JEN Comes to Blackfriars Theatre This Month

Join Blackfriars Theatre (795 East Main Street) for John & Jen, running October 26th through November 5th. Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald's two-person musical offers a look at the complexities of familial relationships, loss, and forgiveness. 

John & Jen tells the story of two siblings growing up in a tumultuous time. As the country becomes divided over the war in Vietnam, so does their family, and battle lines are drawn between the once-close siblings. As the story unfolds, John and Jen are left to pick up the pieces of their fractured relationships while learning to let go of the past that haunts them. It is a truly original piece that honors family bonds while exploring the healing of the human heart. Set against the background of a changing America between 1950 and 1990, John & Jen is a gem of a show, brimming with intelligence, wit and heart-rending melodies.

Director, Scott Scaffidi, a newcomer to directing at Blackfriars, believes this musical will hit close to home with Blackfriars audiences:  “John and Jen is a show almost anyone can identify with and that's why it's so beloved in the musical theater canon. It's not produced very often because it doesn't have that big name recognition–it's not a "showy" show with big dance numbers and fancy set pieces. Instead, it has a big heart and is a tour-de-force for two brilliant actors. In the intimacy that Blackfriars provides, this show has the power to change hearts and minds and remind us of those relationships that are the most important."

Blackfriars' Artistic Director, Brynn Tyszka (Jen) is thrilled to be sharing this experience with her former co-star, now director: "This production is a long time coming--not just because Blackfriars has had John & Jen on its short list for several years, but also because Scott and I have been dying to put it in front of a Rochester audience ever since doing it in New York in 2010. There is over a decade worth of passion in this project, and we know that our love for the piece will translate to our audience in a profound way!"

In addition to the personal connection the team hopes to make, the production's reach into the community has been just as impactful. In partnering with the Rochester Veterans' Outreach Center, Blackfriars hopes to call attention to the organization's 50-year anniversary this November. "We're so fortunate to have the Veterans' Outreach Center as our community partner on John & Jen," says executive director, Mary Tiballi Hoffman. "They have been an invaluable resource to our creative team, connecting us to veterans in the Rochester community who can share their lived experiences with our artists, which makes for more authentic, powerful storytelling. We do theatre to build bridges of empathy. Thanks to this collaboration with VOC, I think that Rochester's audiences will walk away from John & Jen with a profound understanding of the sacrifices our veterans - and their families - endure on our behalf."

As VOC is an organization that was founded 50 years ago to assist vets returning home from the Vietnam War, John & Jen provides an ideal partnership between these two beloved Rochester institutions.

The John and Jen cast includes Philip Detrick (John) and Brynn Tyszka (Jen). The show is directed by Scott Scaffidi,  and musically directed by Andy Pratt.

 

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