Foolish Mortals

Oscar At The Crown

May 16, 2019 by Foolish Mortals

Oscar At The Crown is a new immersive nightclub musical which opened to RAVE REVIEWS:

“The Best Money You Can Spend on Fun This Summer.” MetroSource
“A K-Pop/J-Pop/Scissor Sisters-on-speed electronic dance party euphoria.” Them
“As dystopian futures go, this one is, well, kinda great.” Gothamist
“Blends the future and the past with pop culture obsessions and hot dance moves.” Brooklyn Paper

Oscar at The Crown is about Oscar Wilde and is set in a dystopian bunker, where hunted queer outcasts gather to celebrate pop culture and the life and death of Victorian playwright Oscar Wilde.

The immersive drama/dance/satire/party is a fetish fashion parade. It’s a kinky comedy involving The Real Housewives, the work of Oscar Wilde and set in a post-apocalyptic near future.

Oscar at the Crown promises is a deep dive into fantasy and performance that invites audience to tumble down into a rabbit hole of elaborate construction and meticulous execution.

Performances at 3 Dollar Bill 260 Meserole Street between Bushwick Pl. & Waterbury St., Bushwick, Brooklyn. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.

Beetlejuice

April 26, 2019 by Foolish Mortals

Beetlejuice is a new musical based on the fan-favorite film of the same name. The show received 3 awards!

BEETLEJUICE RECEIVED A DRAMA DESK AWARD FOR: Outstanding Set Design for a Musical: David Korins

BEETLEJUICE RECEIVED A DRAMA LEAGUE AWARD: Founders Award for Excellence in Directing: Alex Timbers

BEETLEJUICE RECEIVED AN OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR: Outstanding Scenic Design: David Korins

The musical adaptation of Beetlejuice, made its Broadway debut to WONDERFUL reviews:

A JAW DROPPING FUN HOUSE.”
The New York Times
“SCREAMINGLY GOOD FUN, WITH OFF-THE-WALL HUMOR AND ENDLESS VISUAL DELIGHTS.”
Variety
“STRIPES AND SPIRALS AND SANDWORMS, OH MY! BEETLEJUICE IS BRAZEN, BAWDY AND GLEEFULLY IRREVERENT.” New York Magazine
“RIOTOUS! A SPECTACULAR PRODUCTION.” The Hollywood Reporter
“BEETLEJUICE COMES TO BROADWAY WITH A FUN JAUNT THROUGH THE NETHERWORLD.” Entertainment Weekly
“A ROLLICKING PIECE OF FUN.” Daily Beast
“BROADWAY ADAPTATION IS A GIDDY NIGHT OUT.” The Guardian

*Wendy Federman and the star of “Beetlejuice” Alex Brightman*

Directed by Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge!), BEETLEJUICE tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole “being dead thing.” Lucky for Lydia, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple and a degenerate demon who happens to have a thing for stripes. When Lydia calls on this ghost-with-the-most to scare away her insufferable parents, Beetlejuice comes up with the perfect plan, which involves exorcism, arranged marriages and an adorable girl scout who gets scared out of her wits.

Performances at the Winter Garden Theatre, 1634 Broadway, NYC. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

April 11, 2019 by Foolish Mortals

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune opened on Broadway to RAVE REVIEWS:

New York Times Critic’s Pick

“Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon star in a touching revival of Terrence McNally’s play about first and last chances.” The New York Times
“Audra McDonald proves again why she is her generation’s finest actors.” The Wrap
“Superb. As hilarious as it is touching.” The Hollywood Reporter
“A deeply moving tapestry of comic fluster, raw hurt and pulsing erotic heat.” Observer
“Audra McDonald & Michael Shannon’s chemistry burns up the stage.” The Daily Beast

Four-time Tony winner Terrence McNally’s acclaimed two-hander Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is returning to Broadway. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald will star alongside Tony nominee Michael Shannon in the new production directed by Obie winner Arin Arbus in her Broadway debut.

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune centers on a lonely waitress (McDonald) and a short order cook (Shannon) whose first date turns into a one-night stand. As the evening unfolds, they begin to slowly reveal themselves and take steps toward the start of a new relationship.

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune first appeared off-Broadway in a 1987 production directed by Paul Benedict and starring F. Murray Abraham and Kathy Bates. A 2002 Broadway premiere, helmed by Joe Mantello, starred Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco. Garry Marshall directed a 1991 film adaptation titled Frankie and Johnny, featuring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The new production will feature scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Natasha Katz and sound design by Nevin Steinberg. It is slated to play a 16-week limited engagement.

Preview performances will begin on May 4, 2019, and an official opening night on May 30, 2019 at The Broadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th Street, NYC. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.

King Lear

March 12, 2019 by Foolish Mortals

Glenda Jackson, the Tony winner and two-time Academy Award winner stars in King Lear, which opened on Broadway to RAVE REVIEWS:

“GLENDA JACKSON RULES. There’s a great actress on stage at The Cort Theatre. The only truly contemporary interpretation of Lear I’ve ever seen.” The New York Times
“GLENDA JACKSON IS EVERY INCH A KING.” The Guardian
“LONG LIVE THIS KING.” The Star Ledger
“GLENDA JACKSON IS THE KING OF BROADWAY.” Theatermania
“GLENDA JACKSON COMMANDS THE STAGE better than Lear commands his kingdom.” Newsweek
“KING LEAR” IS A KNOCK-OUT.” Deadline
“GLENDA JACKSON IS A LIVING LEGEND.” Newsday
“MALE OR FEMALE, GLENDA JACKSON IS THE BEST LEAR YOU’LL EVER SEE.” NY1
“GRADE A. THIS ‘KING LEAR’ IS A MASTER CLASS IN ACTING.” Entertainment
“GLENDA JACKSON SEEMS ALMOST SUPERHUMAN. She is a sight to behold.” The Daily News
“GLENDA JACKSON HITS THE BROADWAY AUDIENCE IN THE SOLAR PLEXUS, IN A PERFORMANCE OF SCALDING, RELENTLESS FORCE.” The Telegraph

King Lear on Broadway, Glenda Jackson, Wendy Federman Broadway Producer, Foolish Mortals Productions — *Glenda Jackson*

In William Shakespeare’s royal-family tragedy, the aging King Lear divides his estate between his three daughters, ultimately refusing his youngest and favorite her share because she won’t publicly admit her love for him. The decision leads to chaos and treachery within the kingdom and madness for its monarch.

“Glenda Jackson is the mightiest of them all,” says Ben Brantley of The New York Times. Don’t miss her in the mightiest role of all time – King Lear.

The Tony® and two-time Academy Award® winner plays Lear for 19 weeks only leading a cast that includes Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell (The Humans), Elizabeth Marvel (Other Desert Cities), Aisling O’Sullivan (Raw), Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones), John Douglas Thompson (Jitney), and Golden Globe winner Ruth Wilson (The Affair). King Lear will feature an original score by the legendary composer Philip Glass.

Performances at The Cort Theatre, 138 West 48th Street, NYC. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus

March 1, 2019 by Foolish Mortals

Nathan Lane, Gary on Broadway, Wendy Federman Broadway Producer, Foolish Mortals Productions

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus is Taylor Mac’s new play where carnage and camp coexist — if not exactly in peace, then in a constructive dialectic. The comedy received one award!

GARY: A SEQUEL TO TITUS ANDRONICUS RECEIVED A DRAMA LEAGUE AWARD FOR:
Unique Contribution to the Theatre: Taylor Mac

In Gary, Taylor Mac’s singular world view intersects with Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus Andronicus. In Mac’s extraordinary new play, set during the fall of the Roman Empire, the years of bloody battles are over. The civil war has ended. The country has been stolen by madmen, and there are casualties everywhere. And two very lowly servants – Lane and Martin – are charged with cleaning up the bodies. It’s the year 400 – but it feels like the end of the world.

Taylor Mac, (who uses “judy,” lowercase sic, not as a name but as a gender pronoun) is one of the most exciting theater artists of our time. Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus marks Mac’s highly anticipated Broadway debut. Mac is the conceiver/author/star of one of the most decorated and talked-about American cultural events in recent memory, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, as well as the author of the acclaimed play, Hir, and a MacArthur Fellow.

*Wendy Federman with Multi-Tony Award Winner Nathan Lane.*

The creative team includes four-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto (Scenic Design), Tony and Academy Award winner Ann Roth (Costume Design), and nine-time Tony Award winner Jules Fisher & three-time Tony Award winner Peggy Eisenhauer (Lighting Design).

Performances have concluded.

Kelptocracy

January 22, 2019 by Foolish Mortals

“Kleptocracy is the most dangerous play at Arena Stage this season,” shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. “Dangerous because playwright Kenneth Lin has taken us right into the heart of greed, manipulation and the rise of the wealthy and Putin in Russia in the ’90s and ’00s. It’s a fascinating prism through which to examine our relationship with Russia in the United States right now.”

Making their Arena Stage debuts, Max Woertendyke (Broadway’s A View From the Bridge, The Public Theatre’s Illyria) portrays Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the leader of the Oligarchs, and Christopher Geary (Geffen Playhouse’s These Paper Bullets!) plays a young, ladder-climbing Vladimir Putin.

“As a child growing up during the last of the Cold War, Russia, ever-present in our national consciousness, was always the ultimate, dangerous other – the funhouse reflection of everything that happens if you don’t buy into standard Western mores of politics, economics and philosophy. But, what you see in the funhouse mirror is still your own reflection,” explains Lin. “A work of fiction inspired by actual events, Kleptocracy tells the tragedy of how the West and Eurasia were nearly reconciled in the 1990s and the early aughts, but ultimately failed. The wake of that tragedy is the world in which we currently reside.”

He continues, “I cannot think of a theater and a city that are better to receive the first incarnation of this play than Arena Stage and Washington, D.C. Politics has been a central character in so much of my creative life. I am thrilled that it’s all finally coming together in Kleptocracy.”

Kleptocracy runs January 18 – February 24, 2019 in the Kreeger Theater, Washington, DC. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.