Thinking Theater NYC

Retrospective Written by T.J. Elliott Directed by Gifford Elliott Presented by Knowledge Workings Theater at AMT Theater 354 W 45th St., Manhattan, NYC August 13-16, 2025 Clint consoling Rory.  L to R: Jeremiah Alexander, Mark Thomas McKenna, Adara Totino, Jasmine Dorothy Haefner. Photo by Marjorie Phillips Elliott Thinking about the afterlife of art is not so unusual, but Retrospective , written and directed by father and son team T.J. Elliott and Gifford Elliott, respectively, instead focuses on the afterlife of the artist. For the play's Rory McGrory ( Mark Thomas McKenna ), the titular retrospective involves taking a new look at his relationship not only to his work as a painter but also to significant others (in both senses of the term) from his past and to his sense of self–and ultimately, to reconsider what really matters. Retrospective is making its New York debut along with four new musicals and seven other original plays as part of Broadway Bound Theatre Festival's...

The Jester's Wife Written and directed by T. J. Elliott Presented by Knowledge Workings Theater LLC at the 36th Street Theatre 312 W 36th St., 3rd. Fl. September 21-October 8, 2023 Jester (Steve Weatherbee) entreats Wife (Emma Taylor Miller) to join his scheme while Stranger (Xander Jackson) observes. Photo by Marjorie P. Elliott When we tell stories, what forces shape not only which stories we choose to tell but also who the protagonists are and who ends up relegated to the margins? The Jester's Wife , written and directed by T. J. Elliott and billed as a Dark Ages comedy, raises such questions by, in a Stoppard-esque move, approaching the story of medieval Irish martyr St. Dymphna by decentering Dymphna herself in favor of those who would normally play at best supporting roles in the tale. This shift foregrounds reflections on gender, religion, power, and art, all wrapped in a hilarious production that would make the titular jester–and his wife–proud. Wife (Emma Taylor Mille...