After a July premiere in Philadelphia, sbgProductions & Faux Real Entertainment will present the New York Premiere of DIVINE/INTERVENTION as part of the New York International Fringe Festival. This new play by E. Dale Smith based on an original concept by Mimi Imfurst (RuPaul's Drag Race) with direction by Braden Chapman (aka Imfurst), will run August 16 - 29 at The Lynn Redgrave Theater.
Glenn Milstead skyrocketed to stardom as drag queen Divine in
John Waters' cult films including Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living and Hairspray. In DIVINE/INTERVENTION, Glenn Milstead, alone in his hotel room on the night of his untimely death, the quiet man behind the mascara struggles with his inner demons and comes face to face with his larger-than-life creation: Divine.
With a mirror image set,
Ryan Walter and Bobby Goodrich simultaneously play Glenn and his more famous alter ego, exploring the duality and demons of the world's first drag superstar. The production also features an ensemble cast including Terrell M. Green, Dean Patrick Carvin, and Cosimo Mariano with sets by Mark A Dahl, costumes by Bobby Fabulous Designs and stage management by Kevin Stackhouse
E. Dale Smith (Author) is a 2009 alum of the Columbia School of the Arts MFA Playwriting Program where he served as the Shubert Playwriting Fellow for 2006. Dale has had several productions of his work produced in the city including Rhoda Heartbreak (2008), In Face (2009), Stella Mann (2009), and Rhoda Heartbreak: The Musical (2010). Other works include Pearls of Wisdom (2006) and Forsaken: A Musical (2004). Dale currently serves as co-chair of the Arts Department at Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, where he teaches theatre.
Braden Chapman (original concept/direction), best known as his drag queen alter ego Mimi Imfurst, is a producer, director and sometimes actor. Aside from two notorious turns on RuPaul's Drag Race, as Mimi Imfurst he has also appeared in drag on Nurse Jackie, Celebrity Apprentice (with
Donald Trump), Blue Bloods and ABC's What Would You Do? He has directed and produced productions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Rocky Horror Show, and Into The Woods. Aside from touring as a drag comedian and cabaret artist he has starred in several drag theater pieces including The Diary of
Anne Frankenstein, Thank You For Being A Friend (an unauthorized Golden Girls parody musical), The Facts Of Life - The Lost Episode and Rhoda Heartbreak: The Musical. He currently splits his time between New York City and Philadelphia and founded the production company Faux Real Entertainment.
Bobby Goodrich (Divine) is a costume designer and actor based in Philadelphia. He attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania and apprenticed at the
Walnut Street Theatre. Most recently he appeared in Brat Productions' Eternal Glamnation and played Little Red in an all-drag production of Into The Woods. He also has an original drag character, Cleo Phatra who performs in clubs all over the east coast.
Ryan Walter (Glenn Milstead) is graduate of
Vassar College, recent acting credits include: Audrey in As You Like It and the Duchess/Carlisle in Richard II (Quintessence Theatre Group), Krogstad in A Dolls House (Ebaneezer Maxwell Mansion), Birdboot in The Real Inspector Hound (Curio Theatre Company), Rob Debree/others in The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (Quince Productions), Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare in Clark Park), and Mason in Take Me Out (Plays & Players). In addition he works as a teaching artist with Lantern Theatre Company and Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Ryan recently directed a solo show about Jeffrey Dahmer called Guilty But Insane at Brainspunk Theater Company.
DIVINE/INTERVENTION runs Sun. 8/16 @ 7:45pm; Thurs. 8/20 @ Midnight; Mon.8/24 @ 7:30pm; Fri. 8/28 @ 4:45pm; and Sat 8/29 @ 3pm at the
Lynn Redgrave Theater @
Culture Project (45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street -- accessible from the 6 to Bleecker Street / B,D,F,M to Broadway/Lafayette Street / N, R to Prince / J, Z to Bowery). Tickets are $18 each available at
www.FringeNYC.org beginning July 17th or in person at FringeCentral (56 E 1st Street between 1st & 2nd Aves) beginning August 7. For more information visit
www.FringeNYC.org.
