OPEN THROAT Comes to Little Island Next Month

Little Island has announced Open Throat, a theatrical adaptation of the acclaimed and award-winning novella of the same name by Henry Hoke, will star Chris Perfetti, the actor from the Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning “Abbott Elementary” as ‘Jacob,’ and Lortel Award nominee Jo Lampert. The production will be adapted by Hoke and directed by Caitlin Ryan O’Connell, which will begin performances on Wednesday, July 10, with the official opening set for Thursday, July 11. Performances of Open Throat will run on Little Island through Sunday, July 14.

Open Throat tells the story of a queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion living in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. Feral and vulnerable, profound and playful, Open Throat explores identity, inequality, and our most predatory impulses.  

“It’s been such a joy to watch readers embrace Open Throat over this past year, and to hear how a queer mountain lion speaks to people’s very human curiosities, fears, and desires,” said Hoke. “I’m so excited for the book to be given new voice onstage by this company of artists, lending their phenomenal talents to help my wild animal get to New York City.” 

At each performance, Perfetti and Lampert will split the role of the mountain lion, along with the previously announced Calvin Leon Smith. The trio will be joined by Marinda Anderson, Alex Hernandez, Layla Khoshnoudi, Ryan King, Susannah Perkins, and Steven Wendt.

Working alongside Hoke and O’Connell on the creative team are two-time Tony-nominee Isabella Byrd; sound designer and composer Michael Castogliola; Obie Award-winning scenic, props and masks designer Noah Mease; choreographer Lisa Fagan; and shadow puppet designer Steven Wendt.

To download headshots, please click here.

Open Throat runs July 10-14 at Little Island’s Amph.

Little Island recently announced that an annual, four-month-long summer season of world premieres, which kicked off on June 1, will feature a total of nine newly commissioned pieces. Little Island’s new arts program moves towards the future with a commitment to a multi-year roster of original work, all commissioned by and developed at Little Island. Bookended by the premiere of choreographer Twyla Tharp’s newest work How Long Blues and a 90-minute remix of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in which outré opera diva Anthony Roth Costanzo sings every leading role, the season will offer premieres of varying scales across all areas of performance – including music, dance, theater, opera, comedy, jazz, pop, and funk, all outdoors and directly sited on the Hudson River at 14th Street in New York City. The Amph, the park’s 700-seat amphitheater, will house larger scale performances at a $25 ticket price, while The Glade, the park’s 200-seat venue, will be home to more intimate works, all of which will be completely free to the public.

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