BROOKLYN QUARTET to Play Medicine Show Theatre, 5/22

Rock WILK, armed with his new play, Brooklyn Quartet, is back.

A unique opportunity to see an industry performance of a theater piece that is also open to the public. "Mashup" performer (as his director calls him), actor, storyteller, playwright, musician, poet, composer, activist, provocateur and someone who seems to obliterate all the lines of trying to define or describe him, Rock WILK will be sharing his new work, Brooklyn Quartet, directed by Stephen Bishop Seely, at The Medicine Show Theatre in NYC on Thursday night, May 22nd, at 7:30pm at The Medicine Show Theatre. 549 W 52nd St. 3rd floor. NYC 10019. Tickets are $22 in advance, $25 at the theater. Available online at http://brooklynquartet.com/gig/.

After a 6 year journey of his first play, BROKE WIDE OPEN, which culminated with a highly regarded Off Broadway run at The 45th Street Theatre to great reviews, Rock's next journey is well underway. Brooklyn Quartet has already seen a series of solo readings all over the United States over the past year, has been explored as an ensemble piece, and is fresh off a great solo performance as part of the Downtown Urban Theatre Festival in New York City just a few weeks ago, Brooklyn Quartet is now ready to step out into the world.

"BROOKLYN QUARTET is about the resilience of the human spirit; that no matter what we do to one another, that we somehow find it in ourselves to forgive and to remain hopeful; that this is the most meaningful, powerful and important part of us; that this is what true love is, and that true love is the only thing that can save us."

"There are no songs in BROOKLYN QUARTET, and very little poetry, but I hope it reads like a symphony, like a beautifully tragic opera, like Miles soloing over My Funny Valentine, like Keith Jarrett floating furiously in stream of consciousness improvisation, like a beautiful love story that is drowned in reality, dark like a night filled with a million stars and storms and it feels beautiful but just a little bit dangerous, and sad, and angry, and friendship, and loyalty, and narcissism, and trust, and pure, vast like the ocean, unadulterated love. I hope it reads like that."-Rock WILK

An actor, a playwright and a poet, New York City's own Rock WILK is also a socially and politically charged vocalist and an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. He creates all of this art while riding the subways of NYC. Along with being a Nuyorican Poet's semifinalist and 2010 runoffs qualifier for The Nuyorican's national team, Rock also was recently a featured performer for Amnesty International at an event for human rights. Rock appeared in his first feature film, Jamesy Boy, starring James Woods, Mary Louise Parker and Ving Rhames, which was released in early 2014. He has worked as a studio and touring background vocalist for many years, most recently singing with the legendary Patti LaBelle and contributing vocal and horn arrangements to the Grammy Award winning Les Paul compilation album, LES PAUL AND FRIENDS. Rock's music can also be heard on such TV shows as MTV's The Real World and Making The Band, among others.

Rock's first play, BROKE WIDE OPEN, was presented in July of 2010 at undergroundzero, as part of the Playgroundzero Festival at PS 122 in Manhattan. Rock also toured BROKE WIDE OPEN "unplugged" all over the United States, a "stripped down" version of the show that is simply Rock on stage, telling his story in various different types of venues such as art galleries, schools, community centers, public parks, street corners and small theaters. BROKE WIDE OPEN was presented in August of 2011 as part of The Camden Fringe Festival in London, England, and had a sold out performance a few months later at The United Solo Theatre Festival on Theatre ROW in New York City. BROKE WIDE OPEN was also a part of the 2012 main stage season at The Passage Theatre in Trenton, NJ, and after six years of this amazing journey, BROKE WIDE OPEN finally had it's opening Off Broadway in October of 2012, and ran for over 3 months at The New Theatre at 45th Street in New York City to great reviews. Rock is currently developing his second play called Brooklyn Quartet.