The Stolen Chair Theatre Company's THE BACHELORS’ TEA PARTY Closes 12/23
By: Kelsey Denette
The Stolen Chair Theatre Company announces extended performances of The Bachelors' Tea Party, a surreal society comedy performed by two actors and four dolls alongside an exquisite 5-course classic tea service, which has been performing to sold out houses every Sunday afternoon at 5pm at Lady Mendl's Tea Salon (56 Irving Place between 17th and 18th Street) since April.
This unique theatrical experience was written by Stolen Chair's resident playwright Kiran Rikhye (Kinderspiel; Kill Me Like You Mean It; Theatre is Dead and So Are You) and will be directed by Stolen Chair's Artistic Director, Jon Stancato (named "one of the most daring and imaginative directors of his generation" by Martin Denton of nytheatre.com) with Dramaturgy by Emily Otto, Props & Historical Research by Aviva Meyer, and Costume Design by Julie Schworm. Sunday, December 2 & 9 will feature Liz Eckert* (Stage Kiss; Kinderspiel) as Bessie Marbury and Jody Flader* (The Vineyard Theater's Slug Bearers of Kayroi Island) as Elsie de Wolfe. Sunday, December 16 & 23 will feature Natalie Hegg* (Rock 'N' Roll at American Conservatory Theater) as Else de Wolfe and Amanda Sykes* (Circle Mirror Transformation with George Street Playhouse) as Bessie Marbury. The show will officially close on Sunday, December 23 after a successful 8 month run.
*Actor appears courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association
The Bachelors' Tea Party is an absurd and absurdly intimate new comedy inspired by the relationships of Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl) and Bessie Marbury, who referred to themselves as "The Bachelors," after they took up joint residence sans men in the first years of the 20th century. Before she invented the profession of interior decorator, de Wolfe was a struggling Broadway performer, known more for her costumes than her acting, and her partner Bessie Marbury, legendary agent and broker, was introducing America to Oscar Wilde and discovering Cole Porter. In a playfully perverse take on a young girl's imaginary tea party, de Wolfe and Marbury will delight and torment each other and entertain a coterie of special guests, "performed" by dolls assembled around the table, with audience members seated only inches away.
The show will play every Sunday at 5pm, December 2, 9, 16, and 23 at Lady Mendl's Tea Salon (56 Irving Place between 17th and 18th Street). Tickets ($55, including a 5-course tea service) may be purchased online at www.stolenchair.org or by calling 212-410-2830. Capacity is extremely limited, reservations are strongly recommended.
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