H*TLER'S TASTERS to Have Off-Broadway Engagement in April

H*tler's Tasters, a new play by award-winning playwright Michelle Kholos Brooks (War Words, Kalamazoo) and directed by Sarah Norris (Everything is Super Great, This Wrestling Place), will play a four-week Off-Broadway engagement, April 14 through May 7, at Theatre Row, Theatre One (410 West 42nd Street, NYC). Opening night is Tuesday, May 3 at 7PM. H*tler's Tasters is presented by New Light Theater Project (Artistic Director Sarah Norris, Producing Director Michael Aguirre) in association with NewYorkRep (Founding Executive Director Gayle Damiano Waxenberg, Artistic Director Justin Reinsilber) and Josh Gladstone. Tickets are now on sale at Telecharge.com, (212) 239-6200.

Three times a day, every day, a group of young women have the opportunity to die for their country. Inspired by true events, H*tler's Tasters is a dark comedy about the young women who have the "honor" of being Adolf Hitler's food tasters. And what do girls discuss as they wait to see if they will live through another meal? Like all girls, throughout time, they gossip and dream, they question and dance. Using an anachronistic retelling of an historical footnote, H*tler's Tasters explores the way girls navigate sexuality, friendship, patriotism, and poison during the Third Reich.

H*tler's Tasters features an all-female-identifying company and creative team. The cast features Hallie Griffin as Liesel, MaryKathryn Kopp as Hilda, Kaitlin Paige Longoria as Anna, and Hannah Mae Sturges as Margot. H*tler's Tasters has choreography by Ashlee Wasmund, scenic design by An-lin Dauber, costume design by Ashleigh Poteat, lighting design by Christina Tang, and sound design by Carsen Joenk.

New Light Theater Project's production of H*tler's Tasters premiered in 2018 at New York's IRT Theater (3B Residency), following the world premiere staging at Centenary Stage, Hackettstown, NJ, earlier that year. Subsequent engagements include a sold out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; New York's 59E59 Theaters East to Edinburgh Festival; Chicago's North Shore Center for the Performing Arts; Los Angeles' The Electric Lodge; Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY; and Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, Adirondacks, NY; and an upcoming two-week engagement at Calliope Stage in Sylva, NC. H*tler's Tasters was the recipient of the 2017 Women Playwrights Series, Susan Glaspell Award; was named Best of Fringe by The Stage; and was included on The Kilroys 2020 Lists honoring new plays by women, trans, and non-binary writers of the American theatre which were derailed by COVID-19.

"H*tler's Tasters is a play about the dangers of complacency, and sadly feels more relevant today than when I conceived of it a few years ago. Recent events in The Ukraine only remind us those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it," says playwright Michelle Kholos Brooks. "The girls in this play are from the families that looked the other way when the 'others' lost their lives. Madmen first come for the 'others," but when there is no one left, they turn on their own. At this very minute, bad actors in government are working to undermine this country. They are once again trying to control the ability for women to have autonomy over their bodies. They are surgically and deftly slicing away at our democracy with tiny, barely noticeable cuts. These small fissures create a chasm into which we're all in danger of falling. I didn't want these characters to be sepia-toned people in history, I wanted them to feel very, very present. The young women of H*tler's Tasters are powerful reminders of what can happen when a society indulges in complacency."

Michelle Kholos Brooks is the new Playwright-in Residence at NewYorkRep.

The Stage wrote "first and foremost, H*tler's Tasters is raucously entertaining. Michelle Kholos Brooks expertly treads the line of good taste. She is whip-crack witty. Every laugh is well placed and brilliantly managed. Brooks' script is impeccable. It is thoughtful, funny and poignant. One of the hits of the season...nothing could be more relevant or more perfectly presented." BBC calls H*tler's Tasters a "compelling play that packs lots of punches [with] brilliant ensemble work," while American Theatre described it as "a great essay on the banality of evil and how people sign up to do evil as long as it serves their purpose. ...And I also found myself to be extremely entertained." The Los Angeles Times wrote "Michelle Kholos Brooks dark comedy [is] a must watch," and Chicago Splash Magazine wrote "the story has packed a wallop [with] characters rich enough to haunt the audience long after the show is over." Among the plays admirers, Tony Award winning director-choreographer Susan Stroman calls H*tler's Taster's "one of the best evenings I've spent in the theater in a long time. It was interesting, entertaining, upsetting and made you think," while Olivier and Emmy Award-nominated actor Michael Sheen praised "funny, disturbing, great performances all around."

Performance Details:

H*tler's Tasters will play a four-week Off-Broadway engagement, April 14 through May 7, at Theatre Row, Theatre One (410 West 42nd Street, NYC). Opening night is Tuesday, May 3 at 7PM. Performances are Thursday at 7PM, Friday & Saturday at 8PM, with matinees Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 3PM. Tickets are $45 - $55. Premium seating is available. Tickets are now on sale at Telecharge.com, (212) 239-6200. For further information visit NewLightTheaterProject.com.

Photo credit: Burdette Parks