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The american vicarious will present the world premiere of Jonathan Leaf's Pushkin. This limited Off-Broadway engagement will begin performances on July 25th and continue through August 25th only, at at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street). Opening Night is scheduled for August 5th. The performance runs 90 minutes with no intermission.
Pushkin will feature choreography by Bruce Heath. Pushkin will have scenic design by Troy Hourie; costume design by Elivia Bovenzi; lighting design by Zack Weeks; and sound design by Andy Evan Cohen; and properties design by Leila Ben-Abdallah Casting is by Stephanie Klapper.
Pushkin, a new verse play written by Jonathan Leaf, weaves the passionate story of art, politics, love and betrayal that consumed the life of Russia's most enduring poet, Alexander Pushkin. Exiled by Alexander I and censored by Nicholas I, Pushkin chronicles the final two years of an artist of mixed race, the confrontation between his exceptional talent and a flawed society, and the painful choice between duty and personal happiness. In his struggles to end serfdom and reform his homeland, Pushkin, Russia's first literary superstar, raised his voice above exile and censorship to turn his art into a substitute for politics poetically declaring, "Autocratic miscreant, Thee, thy throne I detest."
Just since March of last year, Jonathan Leaf has had five new plays premiere. This will be his third new production in New York in the last sixteen months. These go along with recent productions this year in Paris and San Francisco. In past seasons, he was nominated for "Best Play" and "Best Production" in the IT awards, received a "Best Play" award from the Playwright-Directors' Unit of The Actors Studio and was called one of America's up-and-coming playwrights by Time Out New York. As a journalist, he has written for The New Yorker, The Weekly Standard, National Review, City Journal, The New York Post, The Daily Beast, The Daily News and The New Criterion, among other publications. He graduated from Yale.Christopher McElroen is the Artistic Director of the american vicarious. Most recently, Christopher developed and directed Piedmont Blues: A Search for Salvation in collaboration with four-time Grammy Award nominee, Gerald Clayton. Piedmont Blues,which premiered at Duke Performances in December 2016, tours internationally through 2018. Christopher received a 2012 Jeff Award nomination and a 2013 Helen Hayes Award for his direction of the world premiere stage adaptation of Ralph Ellison's iconic novelInvisible Man. With visual artist Paul Chan and Creative Time, Christopher co-produced and directed Waiting for Godot in New Orleans, a community development through the arts initiative that staged Samuel Beckett's classic outdoors in the Lower Ninth Ward and Gentilly communities of post-Katrina New Orleans. The New York Times named the project as one of the top ten national art events of 2007. The archives from the production have been acquired for the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Christopher had the honor of directing the world-premiere of 51st (dream) State, the final work of poet, musician, and activist Sekou Sundiata. a multimedia exploration of American empire that premiered at The Brooklyn Academy Of Music's Next Wave Festival before touring internationally. Christopher co-founded the acclaimed Classical Theatre of Harlem. His work has been recognized with the American Theatre Wing Award (Outstanding Artistic Achievement), Drama Desk Award (Artistic Achievement), Edwin Booth Award (Outstanding Contribution to NYC Theater), Lucille Lortel Award (Outstanding Body of Work), two Obie Awards (Sustained Achievement and Excellence in Theatre), and a Helen Hayes Award (Outstanding Direction).
Performances for Pushkin will be Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 7PM, with matinees on Sundays at 2PM.
Tickets for Pushkin are $57.00 (including $2 facility fee) and can be purchased online atsheencenter.org, by phone toll free at 866-811-4111 or in person at the Sheen Center Box Office. (Box Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11am-5pm and one hour before performances on show days).
