New Play DENNIS by Jon Spano to Begin Performances in March

Playwright Jon Spano explores one man's personal struggle to reinvent his identity in the face of mortality in his new play Dennis. Directed by Aaron Salazar and starring Patrick Boyd, with original music by Manuel Pelayo and Giancarlo Bonfanti, this contemporary story about finding connection through self-discovery will play Theatre 54 at Shetler Studios & Theatres (244 West 54th Street), for a limited engagement from March 26 through April 5. Opening is set for March 29. Tickets, priced at $35, are available online at tiny.cc/dennistheplay. For more information, please visit dennistheplay.com.

The cast of Dennis stars Patrick Boyd (Gypsy, The Producers, Grease!) in the title role, with Spencer Aste (Axis Company's Seven in One Blow, Blacklist -NBC); Bonnie Black (Brighton Beach Memoirs & Broadway Bound at The Old Globe, Mr. Robot-USA) and Max Meyers (Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Lolita My Love). Aaron Salazar (Poseidon Theatre Company) directs the new play from Jon Spano (Sebastian, Joey Variations). Costumes are by Samantha Lacey Johnson; hair and makeup design are by Jeremy Gatzert.

Enticed by the seemingly never-ending supply of fleeting encounters available through hookup apps, middle-aged Dennis has no intention of settling down, that is, until his doctor delivers a life-threatening diagnosis. Confronted with mortality, Dennis is forced to reevaluate his identity while clinging to the independence and sexual stamina of his youth. Among the few of his generation to survive the AIDS epidemic, Dennis must come to terms with aging, grief, and the intimacy of a much younger man that challenges his entire ideology. Award winning director Aaron Salazar's (recently featured in the New York Times) stripped down production fuses an original score, movement, and heightened lighting design in this heartfelt examination of what it means to face a life-altering event while navigating one's way through the human condition and searching for true connection.

The playing schedule for Dennis is as follows, Thursday, 3/26 and Friday 3/27 at 7pm; Saturday 3/28 at 2pm & 7pm; and Sunday 3/29 at 3pm, Monday, March 30th, Wednesday, 4/1, Thursday, 4/2, Friday, 4/3 at 7pm and Saturday, 4/4 at 2 & 7pm. The final performance on Sunday, April 5 will begin at 2pm. Previews begin Thursday, March 26 and opening is set for Sunday, March 29. Tickets are $35 general admission and can be purchased online at tiny.cc/dennistheplay.

Photo by Russ Rowland