Photo Coverage: Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Audra McDonald, and More Brought THE CHILDREN'S MONOLOGUES to Carnegie Hall
By: Walter McBride Nov. 14, 2017
The African-based creative arts charity Dramatic Need and Carnegie Hall presented The Children's Monologues, a one-night-only theatrical event, in New York for the first time, on Monday, November 13, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage.
The cast included Academy Award-nominee Jessica Chastain, Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway, and rising talents Sebastian Stan (Captain America; I, Tonya) and Lakeith Stanfield (Selma, Get Out), as well as Jason Alexander, McKinley Belcher III, Common, Daveed Diggs, Andrew Garfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, James McAvoy, Audra McDonald, Sienna Miller, Javier Muñoz, Trevor Noah, Susan Sarandon, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The evening's musical line-up includes Broadway star Cynthia Erivo, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, rapper Little Simz, and vocalist/double bassist Esperanza Spalding.
Directed by the Academy Award-winning Danny Boyle, The Children's Monologues are based on the stories of children growing up in Rammulotsi, a small rural township in the Free State province of South Africa. Invited to describe a day that they will never forget, the work recounts the personal experiences of these young people expressed in their own words-sometimes harrowing, sometimes uplifting, and always moving.
Adapted for the stage by an impressive list of Academy Award, Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, and BAFTA-winning writers, including Lynn Nottage (Ruined, Sweat); Neil LaBute(Reasons to be Pretty, The Shape of Things); Tom Stoppard (The Coast of Utopia, Arcadia); Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child); Laura Wade (The Riot Club, Posh), and others, the production gives audience members a powerful glimpse into a world in which young people are forced to grapple with astonishing challenges as each cast member steps forward to give the voiceless a voice, performing their stories.
It was these compelling personal stories that inspired award-winning filmmaker and Dramatic Need trustee Danny Boyle to bring The Children's Monologues to the stage. Boyle comments: "These stories capture some extraordinary moments in the lives of these kids. There is something so powerful about their words-the simple humanity of them-that creates an intimate connection between each actor and the audience, across thousands of miles, across continents, race, age, income, and gender. The effect is to transport all of us in the theater to the townships and into these children's shoes. It is exactly what great theater should do: move you to see something so far away from your own experience as if it's right up close."
Bringing his signature dynamic style of intertwining sound, video, dance, visual art and performance to New York for the first time, Boyle demonstrated why his 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony so captured the world's imagination. Interwoven among the monologues will be musical performances by leading artists, including Tony and Grammy Award winner Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple), British rapper Little Simz, Grammy Award-winning vocalist and double bassist Esperanza Spalding, and up-and-coming British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician award.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride
Little Simz
Little Simz
Little Simz
Andrew Garfield attends The Children's Monologues at Carnegie Hall on November 13, 2017 in New York City.
Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah
Lakeith Stanfield
Lakeith Stanfield and Daveed Diggs
Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Esperanza
Esperanza
Common
Common
Common
Cast Autographs
Cast Autographs
Videos