Signature Theatre is presenting Signature Plays, which revisits the work of three Legacy playwrights with Edward Albee’s The Sandbox, María Irene Fornés’ Drowning, and Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro. Directed by Lila Neugebauer (A.R. Gurney’s The Wayside Motor Inn), this trio of plays, all produced during their author’s original Playwright-in-Residence season and presented together for the first time, celebrates Signature’s rich and diverse history over the past quarter century.
The production began previews on May 3, with a May 22 opening night in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues), and has performances through June 12. All tickets for the initial run of the production are $25 as part of the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access. To purchase tickets for all Signature productions, call Ticket Services at 212-244-7529 (Tues. – Sun., 11am – 6pm) or visit signaturetheatre.org.
Pia Glenn, April Matthis, director Lila Neugebauer, Mikeah Ernest Jennings, January LaVoy, Crystal Dickinson, Melody Giron, Nick Bruder, Ryan-James Hatanaka, Frank Wood, Phyllis Somerville and Sahr Ngaujah. Photo by Lia Chang
Alison Fraser and Mary Testa. Photo by Lia Chang
The cast includes Nicholas Bruder (Signature’s Angel Reapers), Crystal Dickinson (You Can’t Take It With You, Clybourne Park), Tony Award nominee Alison Fraser (The Secret Garden), Pia Glenn (You’re Welcome America), Ryan-James Hatanaka (Signature’s Big Love), Mikeah Ernest Jennings (World of Wires), January LaVoy (Signature’s Seven Guitars), April Matthis (Hollow Roots), Tony Award nominee Sahr Ngaujah (Fela!, Signature’s The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek), Phyllis Somerville (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Tony Award winner Frank Wood (Signature’s Angels in America, Side Man).
The cast of Edward Albee’s THE SANDBOX- Frank Wood, Alison Fraser, Ryan-James Hatanaka, Phyllis Somerville and Melody Giron. Photo by Lia Chang
The design team includes Mimi Lien (Scenic Design), Kaye Voyce (Costume Design), Mark Barton (Lighting Design), Brandon Wolcott (Sound Design and Original Music). Marisa Levy is the Production Stage Manager. Casting by Telsey + Company, Karyn Casl, CSA.
Tickets to the initial runs of all Signature productions at The Pershing Square Signature Center are $25, part of the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, a program that guarantees affordable and accessible tickets to every Signature production through 2031. Serving as a model for theatres and performing arts organizations across the country, the Initiative was founded in 2005 and is made possible by lead partner The Pershing Square Foundation. Additional support provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Margot Adams, Rhoda Herrick and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Frank Wood, Alison Fraser, & Ryan-James Hatanaka in THE SANDBOX. Photo: Monique Carboni
Ryan-James Hatanaka, Phyllis Somerville in THE SANDBOX. Photo: Monique Carboni
Ryan-James Hatanaka, Phyllis Somerville in THE SANDBOX. Photo: Monique Carboni
Ryan-James Hatanaka in THE SANDBOX. Photo: Monique Carboni
Sahr Ngaujah, Frank Wood, Mikeah Ernest Jennings in DROWNING. Photo: Monique Carboni
Sahr Ngaujah, Mikeah Ernest Jennings in DROWNING. Photo: Monique Carboni
Mikeah Ernest Jennings in FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO. Photo: Monique Carboni
Crystal Dickinson in FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO. Photo: Monique Carboni
Sahr Ngaujah in FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO. Photo: Monique Carboni
January LaVoy in FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO. Photo: Monique Carboni
Alison Fraser in FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO. Photo: Monique Carboni
January LaVoy, April Matthis in FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO. Photo: Monique Carboni
Nicholas Bruder, January LaVoy in FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO. Photo: Monique Carboni
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Examiner.com, Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
