Bated Breath Theatre Company's interactive art auction play, Beneath the Gavel, will come to Feinstein's/54 Below on September 14, 2018 at 9:30pm. Throw your paddle in the ring armed with fistfuls of cash as you rival your fellow audience members to be the last bidder standing at Bated Breath's interactive high-end art auction play Beneath the Gavel which premiered Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters in the Spring of 2017. Feinstein's/54 Below transforms into a Sotheby's-like auction house complete with deep-pocket collectors, ruthless art dealers, celebrity artists, and cut-throat auctioneers all vying for a Daniel Zeigler painting from the prized Haddie Weisenberg Collection. With world-renowned auctioneer Barbara Strongin at the podium, Beneath the Gavel exposes the hidden agendas and dirty secrets of the art world. As the stakes rise, so does the tension of a world that deals in billions. Not a Rockefeller? Don't worry, Bated Breath provides the money.
Beneath the Gavel is written and directed by Mara Lieberman in collaboration with Bated Breath Theatre Company and was originally created for the New Britain Museum of American Art. Lieberman, who has written and directed every Bated Breath production since she took the helm in 2012, specializes in creating interactive theatre in order to envelop audiences in multi- sensory, lived experiences in a way that sheds new light on old issues and responds to the changing demands of American theatre audiences. Some of her productions include The Un-making of Toulouse-Lautrec (performed in a secret location in the Flatiron District), award-winning Freedom: In 3 Acts, Wild Things: The Life and Work of
Maurice Sendak. Lieberman has also developed Bated Breath's museum series "Viewpoints &..." which brings the unique way Bated Breath makes theatre into gallery spaces to respond to installations. Most recently, Bated Breath responded to Nick Cave's "The Let Go" at the Park Avenue Armory. Lieberman also leads the Bated Breath Physical Theatre Training Center which trains the next generation of theatre artists to respond to the changing landscape of American Theatre.
Audiences want experiences. They are stepping outside of traditional theaters and are gravitating to interactive live performance where they can get a piece of the action. Award-winning Bated Breath has a track record of excellence, custom making and performing new work in partnership with non- traditional sites to create interactive plays that address fascinating episodes from historical events and current cultural touchstones. Often these original works will go on to tour more traditional theatrical venues. Bated Breath's plays have been seen in theaters, galleries, museums, historical landmarks, supper clubs, as keynote speeches for conferences, and in secret penthouses in order to reignite the theatre going experience.
Stories from auction world veteran, Barbara Strongin, who has decades of experiences working in the international fine art auction industry and who inspired Beneath the Gavel will serve as the auctioneer for the play.
Beneath the Gavel plays Feinstein's/54 Below (
254 West 54th Street) on September 14 at 9:30pm. There is a $25 - $35 cover charge and $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and information are available at
www.54Below.com. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.
Mara Lieberman is an award-winning director and has served as Executive Artistic Director of Bated Breath Theatre Company since 2012. She has written and directed Bated Breath's Off-Broadway production of Beneath the Gavel at
59E59 Theaters, Interludes: Beyond the Foot of the Stage, The Un-making of Toulouse-Lautrec, award-winning Freedom: In 3 Acts, Wild Things: The Life and Work of
Maurice Sendak and Freedom Deconstructed. Mara earned her BA in theater from
Sarah Lawrence College and a MA in Performance Studies from
Northwestern University. She served as
Lloyd Richards' assistant at the National Playwrights Conference at the
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Mara has adapted texts, directed, and performed original works as part of the New York International Fringe Festival and the American Living Room festival co-sponsored by Lincoln Center and HERE as well as forming other regional partnerships for her original works.
Barbara Strongin is a 36-year veteran of the international fine art auction industry where she has held a number of executive level positions including Senior Vice President/Director of Operations for Christie's Auction House for twenty-six years and Director of Administration and Lecturer for Sotheby's Institute of Art for ten years. Early on in her career at Christie's, she was described by Peter Watson, author of the book From Manet to Manhattan, as "the single most powerful person in the art market" due to the fact that she was in charge of seating the important evening sales, and thus, knew all the important players in the industry. She was also a consultant to the 2003 Nancy Meyer's film, Something's Gotta Give, starring
Diane Keaton,
Jack Nicholson and
Amanda Peet. Ms. Peet's character as an auctioneer at Christie's was developed after Ms. Strongin's role as an auctioneer at Christie's. Currently Ms. Strongin serves as a freelance Auctioneer, Auctioneer Trainer and works with International Fine Art Auction Houses to train their auctioneers. She has lectured at NYU Stern School of Business, and will be lecturing at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She will also be returning to Christie's this spring as a Lecturer for Christie's Education to teach her course on the Auction Business.
Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, is a performance venue in the grand tradition of New York City nightlife. A few blocks from the heart of Times Square and just below the legendary Studio 54, Feinstein's/54 Below is a classically designed state-of-the art nightclub in the theatre district that hosts audiences with warmth and style. Feinstein's/54 Below presents iconic and rising stars from the worlds of Broadway and popular music and has set a new standard for culinary excellence worthy of the world-class entertainment on the stage.
Located at
254 West 54th Street, Feinstein's/54 Below features up to three shows nightly with cover charges ranging from $5-$105.
54Below.com/Feinsteins
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