Tad Cooley News

Candid, uninhibited and visceral. A Deaf couple's relationship is revealed through their lovemaking in a startlingly intimate portrait of a marriage - made even more intense by Deaf West Theatre's signature performance style combining American Sign Language with spoken English. Deaf West Theatre presents the American premiere of The Solid Life of Sugar Water by Tony Award-winning playwright Jack Thorne(Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). Randee Trabitz directs for a Sept. 12 opening at Inner-City Arts in downtown L.A., where performances will continue through Oct 13. Previews take place Sept. 5 through Sept. 8.

Deaf West's THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER features Sandra Mae Frank (the extraordinary deaf actor who starred as Wendla in all three of their Spring Awakening productions at Inner-City Arts, at the Wallis and on Broadway) as Alice, who uses ASL to communicate along with deaf actor Tad Cooley who portrays Phil, although his character was not written as hearing-impaired in the script. Speaking actors Natalie Camunas and Nick Apostolina give voice to Alice and Phil's most private thoughts, both in and out of bed, by shadowing the actors and often portraying other characters being described during Alice and Phil's ASL conversations, with the quartet's true partnership presenting both characters visually and verbally to perfection.

Deaf West's production of The Solid Life of Sugar Water recently opened and critics were in attendance. Find out what they had to say!

Candid, uninhibited and visceral. A Deaf couple's relationship is revealed through their lovemaking in a startlingly intimate portrait of a marriage — made even more intense by Deaf West Theatre's signature performance style combining American Sign Language with spoken English. Deaf West Theatre presents the American premiere of The Solid Life of Sugar Water by Tony Award-winning playwright Jack Thorne(Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). Randee Trabitz directs for a Sept. 12 opening at Inner-City Arts in downtown L.A., where performances will continue through Oct 13. Previews take place Sept. 5 through Sept. 8.

Deaf West Theatre presents the American premiere of The Solid Life of Sugar Water by Tony Award-winning playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child).

The press script provided to critics reviewing Craig Lucas' somber and overstuffed drama, I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU, specifies that the play 'was created to be performed by Deaf and hearing actors for Deaf and hearing audiences' and that all productions 'must provide full access for hearing and Deaf audiences at all performances.'

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director Tim Sanford, Managing Director Leslie Marcus)kicks off its 2018-2019 season of "topicality and risk" (The New York Times) with the New York premiere of three-time Tony Award nominee Craig Lucas' I Was Most Alive with You, August 31 - October 14in the Mainstage Theater at Playwrights Horizons (416 West 42nd Street). Inspired by the Book of Job,Lucas' play begins at an often-humorously fraught Thanksgiving dinner and explodes onto emotionally and philosophically expansive terrain, as one character attempts to grasp the narratives of his and his loved ones' lives while they slip far beyond anyone's control. Director Tyne Rafaeli (The Rape of the Sabine Women by Grace B. Matthias, Actually) and Director of Artistic Sign Language Sabrina Dennison (Santa Sangre, the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You) stage this production that features two casts simultaneously speaking and signing. Subtitles and intermittent spoken interpretation are included, making I Was Most Alive with You a rare example of a work that is equally accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences.

Playwrights Horizons will, from today, August 20, through August 22, accept entries for the Live for Five online lottery, giving out $5 tickets to the New York premiere production of Craig Lucas' I Was Most Alive with You. Directed by Tyne Rafaeli with Director of Artistic Sign Language Sabrina Dennison, the production begins performances September 1, and runs through October 14.

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director Tim Sanford, Managing Director Leslie Marcus)kicks off its 2018-2019 season of "topicality and risk" (The New York Times) with the New York premiere of three-time Tony Award nominee Craig Lucas' I Was Most Alive with You, August 31 - October 14in the Mainstage Theater at Playwrights Horizons (416 West 42nd Street). Inspired by the Book of Job,Lucas' play begins at an often-humorously fraught Thanksgiving dinner and explodes onto emotionally and philosophically expansive terrain, as one character attempts to grasp the narratives of his and his loved ones' lives while they slip far beyond anyone's control. Director Tyne Rafaeli (The Rape of the Sabine Women by Grace B. Matthias, Actually) and Director of Artistic Sign Language Sabrina Dennison (Santa Sangre, the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You) stage this production that features two casts simultaneously speaking and signing. Subtitles and intermittent spoken interpretation are included, making I Was Most Alive with You a rare example of a work that is equally accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences.

Playwrights Horizons begins accepting entries today for the Live for Five online lottery for $5 tickets to the world premiere of LOG CABIN

Previews begin this Friday, June 1 for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) world premiere production of LOG CABIN, a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime, Maple and Vine, Doris to Darlene at Playwrights; "Orange Is the New Black").  Directed by Tony Award and Obie Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park, The Qualms at Playwrights; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Parisian Woman), LOG CABIN is the sixth and final production of the theater company's current 2017/2018 Season.  

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced details for its 2018 Online Auction. Bidding for the auction, which features an eclectic array of items, getaways, theater tickets, sports items, celebrity meet and greets, celebrity experiences, and unique opportunities, begins today, Wednesday, May 23

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced a third and final extension for their acclaimed world premiere production of DANCE NATION, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning new play by Obie Award winner Clare Barron (You Got Older, I'll Never Love Again). Directed and choreographed by Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans (Caught, D Deb Debbie Deborah, A Beautiful Day in November…, [Porto]), the play is the fifth production of the theater company's 2017/2018 Season.

Playwrights Horizons begins accepting entries today for the Live for Five online lottery for $5 tickets to the world premiere of LOG CABIN

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced a second extension for their acclaimed world premiere production of DANCE NATION, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning new play by Obie Award winner Clare Barron (You Got Older, I'll Never Love Again). Directed and choreographed by Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans (Caught, D Deb Debbie Deborah, A Beautiful Day in November…, [Porto]), the play is the fifth production of the theater company's 2017/2018 Season.

Tickets go on sale to the general public starting today, Wednesday, May 9, for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) world premiere production of LOG CABIN, a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime, Maple and Vine, Doris to Darlene at Playwrights; "Orange Is the New Black"). Directed by Tony Award and Obie Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park, The Qualms at Playwrights; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Parisian Woman), LOG CABIN is the sixth and final production of the theater company's current 2017/2018 Season.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced complete casting for LOG CABIN, the world premiere of a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime, Maple and Vine, Doris to Darlene at Playwrights; "Orange Is the New Black"). Directed by Tony Award and Obie Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park, The Qualms at Playwrights; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Parisian Woman), LOG CABIN will be the sixth and final production of the theater company's current 2017/2018 Season.

Previews begin this Friday, April 13 for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) world premiere production of DANCE NATION, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning new play by Obie Award winner Clare Barron (You Got Older, I'll Never Love Again). Directed and choreographed by Obie Award winner Lee SundayEvans (Caught, D Deb Debbie Deborah, A Beautiful Day in November..., [Porto]), the play is the fifth production of the theater company's 2017/2018 Season.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) begins accepting entries today, Monday, April 2, for the Live for Five online lottery for $5 tickets to the world premiere of DANCE NATION, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning new play by Obie Award winner Clare Barron (You Got Older, I'll Never Love Again).  Directed and choreographed by Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans (Caught, D Deb Debbie Deborah, A Beautiful Day in November…, [Porto]), the play is the fifth production of the theater company's 2017/2018 Season.  

Previews begin this Friday, March 16 for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) world premiere production of THIS FLAT EARTH, a new play by Lindsey Ferrentino (Ugly Lies the Bone, the current Amy and the Orphans).  Directed by Tony Award winner Rebecca Taichman (Familiar, Stage Kiss, Milk Like Sugar at Playwrights; Indecent), the play is the fourth production of the theater company's 2017/2018 Season.