Immersive Experience IN THE WAKE OF LIFE to Premiere in New York

This November, New York audiences can step into one of the city’s most unexpected performance venues: Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel (1076 Madison Avenue).

On Thursday, November 6, 2025, Grief Dialogues with Elizabeth Coplan, Dani Davis, and Merrie L. Davis, will premiere In the Wake of Life: An Immersive Experience, an innovative theatrical event about loss, love, and what it means to be human. The shows are at 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Tickets are free, but very limited. Reservations by request: elizabethcoplan@gmail.com.

Staged throughout the chapel’s historic rooms, In the Wake of Life guides audiences through a constellation of short plays, live vignettes, and interactive art installations. Each room becomes its own act—a poetic encounter with memory, mourning, and meaning. Licensed grief professionals are present throughout, ensuring a supportive environment for all attendees.

"This is not grief as tragedy — it’s grief as transformation," said playwright/producer Elizabeth Coplan, founder of Grief Dialogues. "By bringing theatre into a funeral home, we reclaim the language of loss and invite audiences to recognize themselves in it—through story, humor, and shared humanity."

"Few productions balance artistry and emotional authenticity like In the Wake of Life," adds Creative Director Dani Davis (Emmy Award–winning writer, Tony-nominated producer). "It’s theatre that heals while it entertains—exactly the work our field needs right now."

The immersive production's ensemble includes Clara Francesca, Cindy Kaplan, Jeffrey Doornbos, Amber Walker, Frank Williams, Jeffrey Grover, Indiana Robinson-Dawes, Jeremiah Porter, and Izaak van der Wende.

The creative team includes Dani Davis (Emmy Award–winning writer, Tony-nominated producer) as director, Merrie L. Davis (Tony & Olivier Winning Producer) as associate director. The production is in partnership with Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel, led by William Villanova, President.

The playwrights and poets are Leilani Squire, Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich, Daniel Guyton, Amy Judith Reuben, Donna Hoke, Elizabeth Coplan, Paul Atreides, Louisa Vilardi, and Poet Jenny Coates.