PLAY/DATE, the hit show that electrified Lower East Side nightspot Fat Baby over the summer, returns Tuesday, September 28 for an Open Ended run. Featuring 22 one-act plays by 17 different playwrights, including Greg Kotis (Urinetown), Clay Mcleod Chapman (The Pumpkin Pie Show), Chad Beckim (And Miles to Go). Conceived by Blake McCarty and directed and designed by Michael Counts, PLAY/DATE is produced by 3-Legged Dog, in association with Michael and Sharon Counts, Blake McCarty, , Dominick Cattarina, and Kevin England.
The performance schedule for PLAY/DATE is Sunday - Wednesday at 8 PM at Fat Baby (112 Rivington Street, between Essex and Ludlow Streets, on the Lower East Side). Tickets start at $55 for general admission; and $75 for reserved table seating. The new $95 "Friends with Benefits" ticket option includes reserved priority table seating with waiter service, plus an opportunity to fully interact with the performers in specially created scenes that take place at the table. Tickets are available by calling Ovationtix at
866-811-4111 or visiting
www.playdateny.com.
Love at first sight, blind dates, late night hook-ups, and ugly break-ups (among other dramas of dating life in NYC) unfold in this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience comprised of short plays about love and relationships set throughout Fat Baby's three levels. The production encourages audience members to interact with characters, grab drinks, and commiserate with other patrons as they choose what to affairs watch and which hookups to follow. With resident DJ CSharp, providing the score, PLAY/DATE is an electrifying mash-up of live performance, digital communication, and New York City nightlife.
Post-show the party continues. PLAY/DATE audiences are encouraged to mix and mingle after the curtain comes down, with special guest DJs spinning well into the early morning hours.
Audiences and critics loved PLAY/DATE's voyeuristic experience, which is "broadening the definition of theater" according to The New York Times. Glenn Quentin of Stage Buddy said, "Combine a fully stocked bar, the hottest of today's tunes setting the atmosphere and short plays that everyone can relate to and you have one of the most innovative theater pieces currently playing in NYC". The NY Observer said PLAY/DATE was "funny, sad, endearing, sentimental" while "taking immersive theater to new horny heights." Gay City News enthused, "The integration of the audience into the piece heightens engagement and creates a powerful and welcome element of contemporary theatricality. Run down to Fat Baby soon, and maybe take a date." And Theater Is Easy called the show a "one-of-a-kind social and theatrical experience" while Time Out raved, "PLAY/DATE pushes boundaries - both artistic and personal - and takes theater one step further in the process."
Directed by Michael Counts, whose large-scale immersive productions have been at the forefront of NYC's avant-garde for two decades, PLAY/DATE includes plays by Tony Award winner
Greg Kotis (Urinetown) as well as Off-Broadway stalwarts
Chad Beckim (And Miles to Go; Lights Rise on Grace, Outstanding Play, 2007 NYFringe), Matthew Cleaver (Gay Blues at Barrow Street), Ashlin Halfnight (God's Waiting Room, Best Play, 2005 NYFringe), Claire Kiechel (Wolf Play, Winner, 2012 Samuel French Play Festival), Clay Mcleod Chapman (The Pumpkin Pie Show),
Isaac Oliver (Intimacy Idiot at
Ars Nova), Joe Salvatore (III, Outstanding Play, 2008 NYFringe), and
Emily Weiss (four-time EST/Alfred P. Sloan Grant recipient); as well as emerging writers Elle Anhorn, Kelly Claunch, Jennie Gruber, Emily Kaczmarek,
Catherine Lacey, Blake McCarty, Jamie Roach, and Sara Jo Wyllie.
PLAY/DATE's 40-plus characters will be played by an ensemble featuring Samantha Amaral (Naked Holidays), Elle Anhorn, Sharon Counts (Calloway's Salon at The McKittrick Hotel), Laura Delhauer, John Del Vecchio (Fearless, 2014 Fringe), Salvador Garcia, Jacqueline Guillen, Tim Haber (Sleep No More, McKittrick Hotel), Stevi Incremona (The Lobotomist,
Ars Nova), Ben Maters, Penny Middleton (Chalk, The Brick Theater), Zach McNally (Sleep No More, McKittrick Hotel), Lee
Anne Mitchell, Max Reinhardsen, Dara Swisher, and Tarion Taylor (When the Clouds Covered the Sun,
St. Luke's Theater), Ryan Rickenbach (Folk City), and Ilana Warner (Not About Eve, National Black Theater).
The creative team includes Ryan O'Gara (Lighting Designer), Marcello Añez (Sound Design, four-time Grammy Award Winner), Phillip Gulley (Video Design), and Márion Talán (Costume Designer).
The production is made possible by the support of the 3LD Earned Revenue Production Fund.
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