Thinking Theater NYC

The Unseen World  Created by Ira Marlowe Episodes released January-March 2023 Available at the Unseen World Musical website Get Ready to Cry When I finally reached the ninth episode of The Unseen World , in which the cast belts out the titular final song, I was in tears. Good, deep, soul-sourced tears. But I was also loading the dishwasher. My partner entered the kitchen about this time and asked if I was crying. Indeed, yes, I was. He asked what was wrong, and I gulped out the words, “It’s so good!” I had been listening to the new podcast musical by Ira Marlowe over the past couple days during runs, commutes, and other daily activities like doing dishes. It certainly had the feeling of something I had done many times during the pandemic—elevate routine daily tasks with a bit of wonder and hope. In fact, the musical’s move to podcast was necessitated by the pandemic. Originally, The Unseen World was meant to be performed in Marlowe’s small performance space in Berkeley, CA, but th...

Loveville High: A Prom in Nine Musical Podcasts , in association with the Broadway Podcast Network, has announced that a re-release of the remastered audio musical plus songs from the podcast will be available free on streaming services. With book and lyrics by David Zellnik (Drama Desk-nominated Yank! ) and music by Eric Svejcar (Disney’s Peter Pan Jr. with Zellnik),  Loveville High  takes place on prom night in the fictional town of Loveville, Ohio. Each ten-minute episode tells a love story – new love, old love, romantic love, friend love, gay and straight, cis and genderqueer; each is a self-contained musical while also connecting with the other episodes to form a glimpse into the biggest night in the lives of one high school class. The first five remastered episodes and a special bonus episode were released together, with the final four remastered episodes released weekly on subsequent Wednesdays. Episodes are available exclusively from the Broadway Podcast Network ...

  Image courtesy Dumb Industries Keith Malley and Chemda, hosts of the long-running Keith and The Girl comedy podcast, have announced the details of tonight's June 19 Silent Trailers livestream, the increasingly popular online game show which  The New York Times recently named  “the ultimate guessing game.” Competing as a team against Malley will be Liz Miele ( Conan ), Maddy Smith ( Wild ‘n Out ), Shane Mauss ( Conan ), and more. Tickets are on sale now for $10 , with the option to obtain a $30 “backstage pass,” which will allow fans to virtually hang out with all the performers as they prepare to compete on the show. Silent Trailers pits Malley against the aforementioned panel of comedians, who will attempt to decipher Chemda's descriptions of movie trailers. The catch? Chemda has virtually no celebrity knowledge, and Keith has seen every movie ever made. Literally. So while Chemda might be describing “that movie with Tom Hanks where he’s stuck in a time loop,” ...

Penny Slots Written and directed by Kim Hlavac Presented by the Open-Door Playhouse Premieres May 26, 2021, after which it is available permanently on www.opendoorplayhouse.org Image from opendoorplayhouse.com In the first verse of "Fly Me to the Moon," part of which plays to open Kim Hlavac's new short audio play Penny Slots , the speaker expresses a desire to experience new places, and for New Yorkers like Penny Slots ' Helen (Goreti da Silva), moving to Florida might indeed seem like relocating to Jupiter or Mars. Helen seems to be the most recent transplant among the trio of friends and former NYC residents. Early in the play, Helen's friends Kay (Carol Goldman) and Marie (Marla Cotovsky) chat about a man they know who gave up a rent-controlled apartment to decamp to L.A., a juxtaposition to their own move that also highlights that while you can take the New Yorker out of the City, you can't take the obsession with rent prices out of the New Yorker. A plan...

  Photo credit: Phil Provencio Legendary Queens-based podcasting duo Keith and The Girl will be holding their annual 24-hour comedy marathon beginning Saturday, January 30 @ 3pm EST, as more than 50 of their fans’ favorite guests will make appearances to celebrate their 16th year of podcasting. The entire program will be conducted remotely, with hosts Keith Malley and Chemda broadcasting from their homes. Viewers around the world can tune in for free on the Keith and The Girl YouTube channel . Keith and The Girl (KATG) is a fast-paced comedy podcast that records five days a week in New York City. The show takes the form of a daily conversation about relationships, comedy, current events and more. Keith and The Girl began in March 2005, making it one of the longest-running podcasts in existence. “You guys got me started to begin with,” praises WTF host Marc Maron. “You were the original podcast people.” Keith and The Girl has an expansive and loyal audience, and Keith and The ...

  The next RISK! Live Online Show will take place on Friday, October 9 at 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT  Kevin Allison ( The State ) and a fantastic crew of storytellers will come together for RISK! 's latest live online show. This show will be broadcast via a webinar format on Zoom, and will feature incredible true stories from Jamie J. Brunson, Alex Edelman, Jessieca McNabb and M.J. Kang. The price: $15, and only 100 tickets are available. Ticket link: https://zoom.us/webinar/ register/3315984743950/WN_ NJDspE02Qr6PmaDe9RSWPA Coming up later in the month, the Halloween RISK ! livestream happens on Friday, October 23 at 10pm ET / 7pm PT. This will be the show's annual Halloween show, and a special celebrity guest will be guest-hosting on this night, to be announced shortly! Listen to RISK! on your favorite podcast player . Visit RISK!’s website . Follow RISK! on Facebook . Follow RISK! on Twitter . Follow RISK! on Instagram .

The Broadway Podcast Network , Tony award-winner Dori Berinstein and Alan Seales, in association with Kent Nicholson, Katie Rosin, and Steve Saporito and the distributor, Ditto Music , have released the  Bleeding Love, Songs from the Podcast   album  (music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon, lyrics by Harris Doran) for FREE download on all streaming sites. The album is the music from the podcast, Bleeding Love , with book and story by Jason Schafer, music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon, lyrics by Harris Doran, and directed and edited by Doran. Bleeding Love  takes place in a world where it is too dangerous to go outside, and where a starry-eyed teen cellist risks leaving her apartment to win the love of the rebel punk next door. A twisted musical with a good, pure heart, which you can listen to exclusively on the Broadway Podcast Network , and anywhere you listen to podcasts (you can read our review here ). “I loved writing these songs for the characters in Bleeding Love ,” says ...

Image courtesy Kampfire PR The Broadway Podcast Network  (Tony award-winner Dori Berinstein and Alan Seales, in association with Kent Nicholson, Katie Rosin, and Steve Saporito) and the distributor  Ditto Music  are releasing, for FREE download, the songs from the podcast Bleeding Love   (book and story by Jason Schafer, suggested by Oscar Wilde’s “The Nightingale and the Rose; music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon; lyrics by Harris Doran; directed and edited by Doran). The Bleeding Love, Songs from the Podcast album will launch on Friday, June 26th with the release of the single “ It’s Just A Street ,” sung by Tony award-nominee Sarah Stiles. It will be followed by the release of “ Is This Summer ,” sung also by Stiles and The Voice ’s Tony Vincent, on Friday, July 10. The final single from the album will be the title track “ Bleeding Love ,” also sung by Vincent and out on Friday, July 24. The entire album will be available to download at no cost on iTunes, Spotify, You...

Image courtesy Kampfire PR The Parsnip Ship  is a podcast play company that amplifies bold artists for audiences who crave accessible stories and storytellers. Its eclectic live events and audio podcasts work to create communities in person and digitally.  The Parsnip Ship (Artistic Director: Iyvon Edebiri), in partnership with the Broadway Podcast Network (BPN), is hosting a Parsnip Happy Hour on Wednesday, June 24th at 6:00 pm EST at www.BPN.FM/TPSLive (and streaming on BPN’s Facebook and YouTube ). Joining host Parsnip Ship’s Artistic Associate, Al Parker (producer, arts administrator, and stage manager), are Amara Brady (generative artist & cultural dramaturg) and Bruce Jones (actor, writer, filmmaker) in a discussion on Queer artistic spaces. It is integral to Parsnip Ship’s mission to highlight voices that have been systematically under-produced and under-presented. The Parsnip Happy Hour offers a safe space for artists to show work, reflect on the moment, and sha...

Bleeding Love Book by Jason Schafer Music by Arthur LaFrentz Bacon Lyrics by Harris Doran Directed and edited by Harris Doran Presented by Dori Berinstein, Alan Seales, and the Broadway Podcast Network, in association with Kent Nicholson, Katie Rosin, and Steve Saporito Available wherever podcasts are found, including Broadway Podcast Network , Apple Podcasts , and Spotify Image courtesy Kampfire PR Quarantined listening to a musical about quarantine would seem like the last thing our frayed nerves need right now. However, my little, frayed nerves really did need this musical. Bleeding Love , the creative child of Jason Schafer (book), Arthur LaFrentz Bacon (music), and Harris Doran (lyrics, editing, and direction), premiered in 2015 in Denmark and has come to us in our quarantined state as a podcast. You can access for it free from wherever you get your podcasts. Set “in a world where people are cloistered inside, because it’s too dangerous to go out,” Bleeding Love tells the story ...

Image courtesy Dumb Productions, Inc. Tickets for  Keith and The Girl 's Silent Trailers show with SNL 's Bowen Yang, The State 's Kevin Allison and NPR's Ophira Eisenberg on Saturday, June 6 @ 8pm ET / 5pm PT are going fast. Silent Trailers pits host Keith Malley against the aforementioned comedians as they try to decipher co-host Chemda's descriptions of movie trailers. The catch? Chemda has zero celebrity knowledge, and Keith has seen every movie ever made. Tickets are on sale now for just $10 . Pandemic be damned, KATG have been releasing some great content lately, with guests like The Sopranos ' Steve Schirripa (who apparently isn't a huge fan of Robert DeNiro, nor Ellen Degeneres) and Summer House 's Hannah Berner , plus the VIP-exclusive podcast Daddy Issues , which chronicle's Keith's relationship with his very weird dad. Chemda will also begin leading group sessions for OMAT  (One Minute ata Time) starting June 1, a program that she ...

Image courtesy Dumb Productions, Inc. The Goddamn Dave Hill Show , a live call-in radio show hosted by comedian Dave Hill that took a hiatus from WFMU over a year ago, will be returning temporarily as a weekly livestream due to a mild demand some have described as indifference. The show will return Monday, May 25 at 9pm EDT. Monster Magnet’s Dave Wyndorf will be the show’s first guest. In order to ensure that the show does not accidentally spin out of control and expand much beyond its cult following, fans can tune into the livestream only on the show’s original and, as of late, mostly dormant Facebook page and Twitch , where Dave hopes to find a new audience among gamers who have suddenly lost interest in games. As usual, Hill will interview guests and take both video and audio-only calls from listeners around the world who somehow haven’t found anything better to do despite there being all sorts of Zoom shows and stuff now. Joining Hill, or “Dave” as he is also known, will be l...

Risk! May 1, 2020 Screenshot. Courtesy Dumb Productions, Inc. This Saturday's RISK! livestream will be moving to a "pay-what-you-wish" model, allowing anyone from around the world to tune in and pay whatever they can afford. This gives fans who may be struggling financially to be able to join in on the critically-acclaimed live storytelling show that has been featured in The New York Times and Forbes , as well as reviewed here on Thinking Theater NYC . Tickets for the Saturday, May 23 @ 8pm EDT / 5pm PDT show can be purchased here , with a suggested donation of $12. After registering, attendees are asked to donate money for their ticket via PayPal , as every dollar really helps RISK! in this uncertain time. This Saturday's show will feature Kevin Allison (MTV's The State ) hosting unbelievable true stories from Ophira Eisenberg (NPR's Ask Me Another ), Jiji Lee ( The New York Times , The New Yorker ), Katie Featherston ( Paranormal Activity ), and William ...

Risk! Hosted by Kevin Allison May 1, 2020 Upcoming shows May 8, 16, and 23 Social distancing has turned us all to our screens for socializing, constantly checking when this will end, and endless movies and series that we would never have watched in “normal” times. Some previously live shows are now seeing that the only way to move forward is holding their events online, and this is what Risk! , a live show with an associated podcast, has done. I joined in for the series of stories and was surprised at the possibilities for storytelling that exist right now for our diminished social lives. The show begins with Kevin Allison , creator of the show, doing a bit of intro and selling Risk! to the audience. We are all now familiar with this sort of killing time for the first few minutes of Zoom calls while everyone joins a meeting. Allison’s brand is filthy humor and taboo. So, he, of course, talks about his adventures as a BDSM educator and stories of sticking cucumbers and corn ...

Image courtesy Dumb Productions, Inc. With all live entertainment moving exclusively online over the past month, RISK! , the live show and podcast where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to share, has been producing a series of critically-acclaimed livestream events. The next RISK! livestream goes down this Saturday, April 25 at 8pm EDT / 5pm PDT. Tickets are on sale for just $12. March's inaugural livestream RISK! show, hosted by Kevin Allison (MTV’s The State ) was unanimously praised by fans and press, with Forbes describing it as, “[having] a beautiful intimate feel that you wouldn’t get from watching it on stage,” and Bello Collective saying , “at the end of the evening, I felt close to everyone, no matter how far apart we all were." Anyone can register for and watch this show from anywhere in the world. Please spread the word to all your friends around the world who might want to come. This show will be broadcast via a webinar format on ...

Lisa Levy. Courtesy Dumb Productions Since 2015, Lisa Levy, the Brooklyn-based painter, conceptual artist, and comedian has been the host of Dr. Lisa Gives A Sh*t , a weekly radio show that broadcasts live from nonprofit freeform radio station Radio Free Brooklyn every Thursday from 2-3pm EDT. On the show, Levy portrays Dr. Lisa, S.P. (self-proclaimed), who has psychoanalyzed many comedians from the NYC comedy scene, plus celebrities like Joseph Gordon Levitt and Michael Musto during live performances. However, like many in the entertainment industry at the moment, the recent COVID-19 outbreak has caused Levy to pivot her celebration, and production of the show entirely. “I switched to recording on Zoom and using it to pre-record for my regular slot,” explains Levy. “The dynamic works well and the shows have been great. I’m looking forward to returning to live broadcasts in the studio when we are past all this, though.” Levy, who made a memorable appearance on a “Stupid Pet Tr...

Image courtesy Kampfire PR The Broadway Podcast Network, Tony award-winner Dori Berinstein and Alan Seales, in association with Steve Saporito, Kent Nicholson, and Katie Rosin, have announced the world premiere of the podcast version of  post-apocalyptic musical Bleeding Love (book by Jason Schafer, music by Arthur LaFrentz Bacon, lyrics by Harris Doran, and directed and edited by Harris Doran).  Bleeding Love is based on a story by Jason Schafer that was suggested by Oscar Wilde's “The Nightingale and the Rose,” and it stars Annie Golden, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Marc Kudisch, Sarah Stiles (the voice of Spinel in Steven Universe: The Movie , whom these editors were lucky enough to see at NY Comic-Con last fall), Taylor Trensch, and Tony Vincent Bleeding Love is being recorded for a release later next month, and it takes place in a world that is too dangerous to go outside, where a starry-eyed teen cellist risks leaving her apartment to win the...

Kevin Allison. Photo by Mindy Tucker RISK! Live Where: Caveat (21 A Clinton Street, New York NY) (212) 228-2100 When: Thursday, October 24, 2019  Doors @ 9pm, Show @ 9:30pm Price: $15 Link for tickets This may not technically be theater, but as long-time fans of The State , how could we not post about it? RISK! , the popular weekly true storytelling podcast and award-winning live show hosted by writer and actor Kevin Allison (from MTV’s The State ), is coming live to Caveat (21 A Clinton Street, New York NY) on Thursday, October 24 at 9:30pm. On the show, people from all walks of life tell true stories that they never thought they'd dare to share in public. The podcast just celebrated its 10th Anniversary and has released a  retrospective . This month’s show will feature jaw-dropping stories from Molly Cameron, Michael C. Bryan, Julia Whitehouse, and Anita Flores.  Tickets are on sale now .