MY DINNER WITH ANDRE Comes to the East Village Basement
The piece chronicles a simmering debate between two old friends about the life of an artist and the art of making a living.
By: Stephi Wild Dec. 04, 2025
The Harbor Stage Company, Cape Cod's acclaimed artist-run ensemble, will head south this winter with their celebrated adapation of the iconic indie film My Dinner with André. The Elliot Norton Award-nominated production will run in a limited engagement, January 16 - February 1, 2026 at New York's intimate East Village Basement.
Based on the film Roger Ebert dubbed a work "entirely devoid of clichés", the piece chronicles a simmering debate between two old friends about the life of an artist and the art of making a living. Harbor co-founders Jonathan Fielding and Robert Kropf will reprise their performances in the roles made famous by the movie's creators, Wallace Shawn and André Gregory.
Originally presented at the company's seaside theater in Wellfleet, MA, the Harbor's production marks the first time the text has been adapted for the American stage. Critics lauded the ensemble's live interpretation as "a precisely calibrated lesson in the power of subtlety and nuance" (The Boston Globe) and a "super-daring" (ptownie) "reason to rejoice" (Provincetown Magazine). Returning for the remount will be resident lighting designer John Malinowski and associate scenic designer Justin Lahue. Harbor co-founders Stacy Fischer and Brenda Withers will produce.
The HARBOR STAGE COMPANY is an artist-run professional ensemble dedicated to presenting challenging, meaningful performance. Over the course of a dozen seasons, the company has transformed its iconic seaside theater into a haven for innovative artistry and expansive practice. Our work has been lauded by critics as "superb" (WBUR), "arrestingly idiosyncratic" (Boston Globe) "intelligent entertainment" (NYTimes). The Harbor's artists double as its administrators, ensuring an operation that prioritizes the artistic process. We do great plays at fair prices for the right reasons.
Jonathan Fielding is an actor originally from Texas. He has been part of the Broadway productions of Pygmalion, The Seagull, Noises Off, and most recently The Play that Goes Wrong. Other NYC and Regional credits include The Park Avenue Armory, The Old Globe, Agnes Table, Penguin Rep, Ford's Theatre in DC, Ivoryton Playhouse, The Public Theatre of Maine, and Amphibian Stage. Jonathan holds a BFA from Texas Christian University and an MFA from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts. Select Harbor Credits: The Seagull (Trigorin), A Doll's House (Torvald), Northside Hollow (Playwright), Miss Julie (John), The Kritik (Volya), The Ballad of Bobby Botswain (Middy/Playwright), Frozen (Director), The Bohemian (Nils).
Stacy Fischer is a co-founder of Harbor Stage Company where select acting credits include Death of a Salesman (Linda Loman) A Doll's House (Nora), Three Sisters (Masha), The Weir (Valerie), Fool for Love (May), The Thin Place (Hilda), Frozen (Agnetha), and The Kritik (Alexandra). She has worked extensively in the Boston theater scene, including work with The Huntington Theatre, Speakeasy Stage, The Lyric Stage, and Central Square Theater (Elliot Norton Award, Best Actress). Other producing credits include Uncle Vanya, On an Average Day, Northside Hollow (Harbor Stage) and Liv At Sea. Recently, she co-produced and acted in the film "Dindin" with Harbor Pictures, distributed by Good Deed Entertainment. Stacy is a graduate of Emerson College.
ROBERT KROPF is the Artistic Director of Harbor Stage Company. As an actor he has worked with The American Repertory Theatre (Robert Brustein), Yale Summer Cabaret, Illinois Shakespeare Festival; he produced Waiting For Godot and On An Average Day at the Boston Center for the Arts. Robert has written & directed new versions of Hedda Gabler, A Doll's House, The Seagull, Three Sisters, Miss Julie, and Ingmar Bergman's Persona. Select Harbor credits include Death of a Salesman (Director), [the play and the film] Dindin (Pierre), The River (Man), Glengarry Glen Ross (Roma), The Weir (Director), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (George), Stand Up If you're Here Tonight (Man), and Frozen (Ralph). Robert is a graduate of the ART Institute at Harvard.
Brenda Withers is a writer, actor, and co-founder of the Harbor Stage. Onstage credits include roles at Berkeley Rep, the Guthrie, A.R.T., Actors Theatre of Louisville, Hartford Stage, and the McCarter. Her plays (The Ding Dongs, Westminster, Off Peak, The Kritik) have been produced by places like Portland Stage, 59e59, Urbanite Theatre, Two River, and Northern Stage. Brenda is a lyricist with the BMI musical theatre workshop, a Huntington Playwriting Fellow, and a Leo. Select Harbor credits: Hedda Gabler (Hedda), Artist Descending a Staircase (Sofie), Northside Hollow (Playwright), The River (Woman), Bread & Butter (Playwright/Mac), Dindin (Playwright/Darlene), Betrayal (Emma), and The Bohemian (Clara).
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