Jessica Hecht, Bill Irwin, David Krumholtz & More to Star in JUST TELL NO ONE Staged Reading at Lincoln Center

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Arlekin Players will collaborate on a one-night only multi-media staged reading - Just Tell No One - at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (61 W. 62nd Street) on March 6, 2023, 7:30 ET.

The event will also be streamed live, available to view virtually.

The piece is directed by Golyak, who most recently directed The Orchard Off-Broadway with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Jessica Hecht. Golyak's Just Tell No One will be immersive and site specific in Lincoln Center's Atrium, making use of its media wall, with five cameras running, visual effects, and actors interacting with architectural elements throughout the space. Golyak again collaborates with Hecht alongside Broadway favorites Bill Irwin, David Krumholtz, and Tedra Millan, with Nathan Malin and Will Manning. This cast has joined forces with Lincoln Center and Arlekin for this one-night only event to raise awareness and visibility for the incredible work of Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings, a project of the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD).

Just Tell No One is a composition developed by Golyak using excerpts from three plays: Bad Roads by Natal'ya Vorozhbit, translated by Sasha Dugsdale, Three Rendezvous by Natal'ya Vorozhbit, translated by John Freedman with Natalia Bratus, and Just Tell No One, from the full-length play Night Devours Morning by Oksana Savchenko, translated by John Freedman. Revealing the human consequences of war, the piece illuminates a part of the world where an incomprehensible set of rules is at play, and people struggle to make sense of the complexity of one another with life and death consequences. This site-specific, multimedia reading immerses the audience in these human stories using dark humor, intimate moments, and images of conflict so exquisitely painful they can no longer be perceived as real.

"There are talented theater-makers in Ukraine, and this is a critical moment to bring Ukrainian art out of the shadows and celebrate it. Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings is incredible, shining a light on the voices and perspectives of these gifted Ukrainian playwrights and I'm honored to be part of it." says Igor Golyak. Producer Sara Stackhouse adds, "It is urgent to produce this work right now. Igor was born in Ukraine, and brings both passion and a unique artistic point of view to this material, which marks the beginning of a much larger artistic project that we will develop into a fully realized production over the next 18 months. We are truly grateful to have the support of Lincoln Center, CITD, and such a beautiful cast as we launch this important project."

To create the piece, Golyak and Stackhouse enlisted the visual dramaturgical mind of designer Irina Kruzhilina and a collaborative team including video and effects designer Eric Dunlap, sound designer Eric D. Clark, and stage manager Kyra Bowie, alongside the team at Lincoln Center.

This event is free and open to the public. Seating and entry are first-come, first-served; the line will form at the Atrium's entrance on Broadway, between 62nd and 63rd Street. Just Tell No One will also be streamed online live.

Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings is led by playwright/journalist/translator John Freedman, in partnership with Philip Arnoult of the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD). The reading is supported by Lincoln Center and The MART Foundation. Arlekin encourages donations to support Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings which has commissioned plays from over 30 Ukrainian playwrights and partnered on over 300 readings worldwide since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.

Performance Details:

Lincoln Center & Arlekin Players Theatre present

Just Tell No One

A site-specific, multimedia staged reading

Directed by Igor Golyak

Featuring: Jessica Hecht, Bill Irwin, David Krumholtz,

Nathan Malin, Will Manning & Tedra Millan

With material from Ukrainian Playwrights:

Bad Roads by Natal'ya Vorozhbit, translated by Sasha Dugsdale

Three Rendezvous by Natal'ya Vorozhbit,

translated by John Freedman with Natalia Bratus

Just Tell No One from the full-length play Night Devours Morning

by Oksana Savchenko, translated by John Freedman

Visual Dramaturg - Irina Kruzhilina

Video & Effects Design - Eric Dunlap

Sound Design - Eric D Clark

Stage Manager - Kyra Bowie

Producer - Sara Stackhouse

In Person | David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center - FREE AT THE DOOR

Online | Streaming Worldwide WATCH HERE

Benefitting Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings DONATE HERE

March 6, 7:30pm ET

Arlekin Players Theatre

was founded by Artistic Director Igor Golyak in 2009 and has since toured to New York, Chicago, and Hartford, as well as to international festivals in Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Monaco. Most recently Arlekin produced The Orchard featuring Jessica Hecht and Mikhail Baryshnikov, both Off-Broadway and in Boston. Arlekin received world-wide acclaim, including two New York Times Critic's Picks, for their groundbreaking virtual theater projects during the pandemic, including of State vs Natasha Banina and chekhovOS /an experimental game/ featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov. Arlekin has received multiple awards for its work including four 2020 Elliot Norton Awards from the Boston Theater Critics Association for recent productions of The Stone and The Seagull. Arlekin takes strong pride in their emphasis on self-identity; they are a company of immigrants performing works that play on the ideas of cross-culture, home, and traditions, challenging the idea of nationality, and finding common themes that unite us all. In 2020, Arlekin launched its Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab to explore new theater possibilities for a new time. The company makes its home in Needham, MA. In response to the war in Ukraine, Arlekin launched #Artists4Ukraine, an initiative to engage artists and audiences to raise funds for humanitarian aid and stand in solidarity with artists in Ukraine. For more information, visit www.arlekinplayers.com.

About Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) is a cultural and civic cornerstone of New York City. The primary advocate for the entire Lincoln Center campus, our strategic priorities include: fostering collaboration and deepening impact across the Lincoln Center resident organizations; championing inclusion and increasing the accessibility and reach of Lincoln Center's work; and nurturing innovation on stage and off to help ensure the arts are at the center of civic life for all. LCPA presents hundreds of programs each year, offered primarily for free and choose-what-you-pay, including many specially designed for young audiences, families, and those with disabilities.

Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings is a project of the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD). For more information, click here