Animus Begins Its Fall 2019 Season

It was a banner year for the cutting-edge ensemble of artists led by Founding Artistic Director, Jonathan Judge-Russo. Animus Theatre Company is gearing for an equally exciting Fall 2019.

Highlights of 2018

The year began with the New York premiere of Leslye Headland's "Surfer Girl." Animus took this solo play (by the writer behind Netflix's mega-hit, the Emmy-nominated Russian Doll), into uncharted territory by using eight different actors and four different directors, presented at the Foley Gallery. Never the same show twice, the cast included Jessica Pimentel from Netflix's "Orange is the New Black," Sarah Utterback of ABC-TV's "Grey's Anatomy", and Animus company member Courtney Shaw of Hasbro's "Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy".

The company presented another installment of their celebrated 12-Hour Festival highlighting selected works by one playwright in marathon fashion throughout the day. Last year featured Pulitzer-Winner Beth Henley at Broadway's Circle in the Square featuring Carol Kane, Bill Pullman, and over 60 other company members and notable guest artists.

Finally, Animus closed their season with the New York revival of Tony-Nominated "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" by Frank McGuinness featuring company members Michael Broadhurst, Jonathan Judge-Russo, and Leif Steinert, directed by Alan Langdon. Animus' production won praise from numerous reviews (Robert Viagas noted it was "beautifully acted; demonstrate[s] the power of the human spirit over the most adverse of circumstances.") and was the fourth highest rated play of 2018 on ShowScore.

The 2019 Season

The fall 2019 Season began with the welcoming of new company members, including Pamela Adlon (Emmy Nominee for FX's Better Things), Ahmed Best (Star Wars: Episodes I, II, III), Bernardo Cubria (The Giant Void in My Soul), Beth Henley (Pulitzer-winner, Crimes of the Heart), Lauren Pritchard (Broadway's Spring Awakening), Paul Schneider (Parks and Rec); Jen Wineman (Dog Man: The Musical); Jorge Chapa (HBO's Divorce); Leif Steinert (Someone Who'll Watch Over Me); Jazmin Williams (Surfer Girl); Valorie Curry (Amazon's The Tick); Kelsey Hogan (Netflix' 13 Reasons Why); Karen Eilbacher (Fun Home, National Tour); Adam Langdon (Curious Incident, National Tour); and Terra Mackintosh (BACK, part of Broadway producer Ken Davenport's RAVE Festival).

Animus continues executing its Community Service program at various organizations, including NY Cares, KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now), Shiloh Community Garden, and Caldwell Temple Soup Kitchen; and they are about to embark on a partnership with WIN (Women in Need), leading educational/recreational theatre with children while their mothers seek/maintain employment. Growing their reputation as the community-service-theatre-company, Animus remains committed to highlighting the resilience of as many members of its community as possible, while lending assistance in multiple forms.

Animus begins its 2019-2020 programming with the first installment of their Season Selection Series, a free public reading of "Crabs in a Bucket" written by company member, Bernardo Cubria, on September 16, 2019, at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Casting to be announced; more details can be found at animustheatre.org..