Thinking Theater NYC

  Photo courtesy of Kampfire PR The New Place Players ’ The Masque of Night , a cabaret of contemporary and Elizabethan songs intermixed with, as Stephanie Pietros put it, " Romeo and Juliet ’s most iconic set-pieces" returns in June for performances in New Jersey and New York City. (you can read Stephanie's review of an earlier NYC performance here ).  The Masque of Night comes first to ​Princeton, NJ on June 7th and 8th, featuring Actors Studio lifetime member Clara Tristan as Juliet and recent Actors Studio MFA graduate Jorge Carrion Alvarez as Romeo. The performances will take place at the enchanting Hopewell Mountain Christian Church, near Princeton, New Jersey, a beautifully preserved wooden structure dating back to 1844. The Masque of Night  offers a unique and intimate experience for theater enthusiasts. The venue's interior balcony, grand piano, original bell, and seating for forty guests create an enchanting atmosphere that complements the magic of Shakespea...

  The Masque of Night: A Romeo and Juliet Cabaret Music Direction by Flavio Gaete  Directed by Janina Picard and Craig Bacon Presented by New Place Players at Casa Clara 218 East 25th Street, Manhattan, NYC March 8-10, 2024 Front left: Libby Lindsey and Maximilian Macdonald. Photo courtesy of Kampfire PR How to infuse the most well-known of well-known Shakespeare plays with new energy, making the age-old story of star-crossed lovers as fresh and captivating as it was when the audience first encountered it (probably in high school)? The New Place Players’ The M asque of Night , a cabaret of songs (some Elizabethan, mostly contemporary) interspersed with Romeo and Juliet’s most iconic set-pieces, does just that. Running a little over an hour, the production draws on its multi-talented cast to deliver some of the play’s titular characters’ most memorable lines as well as sing, dance, and play instruments. Maximilian Macdonald’s Romeo was the star of the show, embodying the youth...

Othello Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Makenna Masenheimer Presented by the New Place Players  at Casa Clara 218 E. 25 th St, Manhattan, NYC February 4-March 25, 2023 Alanah Allen and Eliott Johnson. Photo by Carol Rosegg New Place Players’ production of Othello feels both historically sensitive and modern at the same time. The proximity of actors to audience as a result of the small, intimate Casa Clara space; minimal set; lavish costumes; and well-integrated musicians reinforce much of what we teach students about the public theater of late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England. On the other hand, many of the production’s choices, particularly around the characters of Othello and, surprisingly, Bianca, make it even more compelling for a modern audience. As the director’s program notes detail, the production did not seek to soften the racism that explicitly or implicitly fuels the major characters’ behavior. Instead, it seems, in the production’s q...