Tony Award winner John Rubinstein stars as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground, a new American play by Richard Hellesen and directed by Peter Ellenstein. This work is a candid and fascinating fictional eavesdropping on President Dwight D. Eisenhower at his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania farm. "Enhanced by projections of historical photographs that give the production the feel of an illustrated biography, Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground proves both a compelling solo drama and a welcome reminder that there was once a time when moderation did indeed play a vital role in national politics." —Frank Scheck, New York Stage Review. Photo: Maria Baranova
Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites begins in the spring of 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution. The opera tells the story of Blanche de la Force, a young noblewoman torn apart by fear. She leaves her father and brother for the perceived safety of the convent, becoming a Carmelite nun. The Reign of Terror in 1794 forces the nuns to choose between their vows and conformity—unwilling to renounce their religious life, they ultimately choose martyrdom. Poulenc’s desire was to see Carmelites performed in the vernacular of its local audience. Honoring that desire, Bronx Opera presents this towering masterpiece in English.
Experienced as a Black debutante ball in a large American city in real time—and featuring an all-Black-women company and creative team, down to its three-piece band—
Colette Robert'sThe Cotillion interrogates the complexities of Black debutante ball culture and finds that beneath all the respectability politics lies contradictions even high-quality makeup can’t cover. This play with music, presented by The Movement Theatre Company and New Georges, asks how we choose to uplift young Black women in a world that seeks to diminish them. Helen Shaw of The New Yorker calls it a "blistering, all-caps discussion…the world glitches & stutters like a horror film.” Photo: Loreto Jamling
Heartbeat Opera weaves fragments of Shakespeare’s text and a new electronics-infused orchestration into a distinctly American adaptation of Verdi’s Macbeth that centers Lady M and recasts Verdi’s chorus of witches as a trio of virtuosic soloists. Oblivious to the witches who toil constantly at the borders of her privileged life, Lady M chases the ascent that will destroy her marriage, her sleep, and her sanity. "Flat-out brilliant."—Oussama Zahr, The New York Times. Photo: Russ Rowland
This new production of Tosca translates Puccini's masterpiece from Rome's 1800 police state to the contemporary world. This co-adaptation by Iranian-American director Shadi G. and Heartbeat Opera Artistic Director Jacob Ashworth focuses on a troupe of singer-activists living in an oppressive dictatorship who risk everything to perform the uncensored Tosca. This radical adaptation asks what it means to make art where freedom of expression does not exist—where even love is banned from the stage. Tony Marinelli of Theater Scene comments: "Reid Thompson’s scenic design is a triumph [...] It was startling to watch Ms. Avetisyan singlehandedly destroy the second act scene to make room for the roof." Photo: Russ Rowland
Vanities–The Musical is a heartfelt and humorous chronicle of the lives of three women. Based on the successful play of the same name by Jack Heifner (who also wrote the book for the musical), the action takes us through three decades in three women’s lives from 1963 to 1990. Starting as small-town cheerleaders and best friends in high school, they travel unique journeys that will ultimately bring them back together. Featuring a score by David Kirshenbaum that playfully echoes the genres of music from the three decades contained within the play, Vanities—The Musical celebrates the power of women and their unique bonds of friendship. "Not only diverting but endearing,"— Elysa Gardner, New York Stage Review. Photo: Carol Rosegg
Becomes A Woman is an award-winning play about a 19-year-old girl living with her family in Brooklyn who learns the hardest lessons a girl can face on her way to becoming a woman. The New Yorker’s Ken Marks writes: “It’s a rare play that can inspire applause from a line of dialogue and cheers as the lights go down on the final act, odder still for one getting its world première nearly a century after it was written. But that’s what’s happening at the Mint’s production of this remarkable 1931 drama by Betty Smith, the author of the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, directed by Britt Berke.” Photo: Todd Cerveris
The Bronx Opera Company is proud to present the landmark 1941 musical Lady In the Dark, with music and lyrics by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, and book by Moss Hart. Liza Elliott is the editor of a fashion magazine and has several suitors vying for her affections. Yet despite her apparent success, she's miserable. Her psychiatrist delves into her dreams, in which she is forced to defend herself against the charge that she refuses to make up her mind. "Designer [Matt] Imhoff came up with a series of fabulous Allure covers which were projected two stories high behind the set."—Victor Gluck, Theater Scene. Photo: Steven Pisano
Based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name and backed by a 5-piece rock band, Anthony Rapp shares his life during the early years of RENT. Featuring beloved Jonathan Larson songs from RENT alongside Rapp’s original music, Without You asks us the universal question of how to crack our hearts open and allow us to heal after loss. David Barbour of Lighting & Sound America writes: "[David] Bengali's images, which are laid out in a manner rather like the original poster for RENT, are nicely paired with the saturated colors in [Eric] Southern's lighting palette...Brian Ronan's sound design is present without being overwhelming, capturing the raw power of Rapp's voice." Photo: Russ Rowland