Phoenix Festival Returns To Nyack in September
The festival runs from September 12th-22nd.
By: Blair Ingenthron Aug. 03, 2024
The Third Annual Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack will take place from September 12th-22nd in Nyack, NY. This vibrant performing arts festival will feature renowned New York City theatre companies, music, improvisation, an augmented reality walking tour, and for the first time, free-of-charge family-friendly performances in Nyack's Memorial Park on the banks of the Hudson River.
Performances will be held at various venues throughout the Village, including The Nyack Center, the Nyack Library, First Reformed Church, Big Red Books, Hotel Nyack, RCC Culinary Institute, Memorial Park, and a walking tour throughout the Village.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
Thursday, September 12th at 6:30-9:30pm at Hotel Nyack (400 High Avenue, Nyack, NY)
Opening Gala/Party at Hotel Nyack
Join Festival Sponsors, Festival Board Members, Artists and Contributors for a champagne toast, hors d'oeuvres, special music, conversation, and a great kickoff party for the Third Annual Phoenix Festival.
Tickets $40. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
Friday, September 13th at 7:00pm at Big Red Books (120 Main Street, Nyack, NY)
An Evening with Author/Playwright Sara Farrington and Friends
Visit Big Red Books for a lively evening of conversation with Sara Farrington, Drama Desk Award Winner, Author (The Lost Conversations: Interviews with an Enduring Avant Garde) and Playwright (The Trojan Woman among others) along with Artistic Director and Actor Elise Stone and Director Karen Case Cook as they talk about theatre, theatre makers, and more.
This is a free-of-charge performance, but attendees must register at this link.
Saturday, September 14th at 3:00pm at The Nyack Center (Depew & Broadway, Nyack, NY)
A Trojan Woman by Sara Farrington
A modern adaptation of Euripides' classic, a mother loses her child in a flash of modern warfare. In her moment of tragic realization, she becomes a Trojan woman, performing every iconic character in Euripides' original play.
Tickets $35. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
Sunday, September 15th at 3:00pm at The Nyack Center (Depew & Broadway, Nyack, NY)
BOY MY GREATNESS by Zoe Senese-Grossberg
A compelling exploration of the boys who played Shakespeare's women at The Globe Theatre, this play is set in the summer of 1606 where six boy players warm up, run lines, gossip, and fall in and out of love while rehearsing for Antony and Cleopatra and Twelfth Night. As the plague and rising religious conservatism surge, the boys are forced to reconsider their futures on the stage. Presented by The Firebird Project, this is a play about growing up, gender, and a time in theatre history we seek to forget.
Tickets $35. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
Monday, September 16th at 7:00pm at Big Red Books, 120 Main Street, Nyack
NURSE! by Ayun Halliday, performed by Ayun Halliday, directed by Spencer Kayden, presented by Theatre of the Apes
This comic meditation on love, death, aging, teenagers and the human comedy are told through the eyes of Juliet's nurse, performed by Halliday, who sets out to debunk the narrative surrounding “the greatest love story ever told” (Romeo & Juliet) from her own eyewitness observations.
Tickets $35. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
Tuesday, September 17th at 7:00pm at the First Reformed Church, 18 S. Broadway, Nyack, NY
Autumn Serenades: Mandel & Crandall
An evening of music with celebrated composer Ellen Mandel with songs inspired by works of Seamus Heany, E.E. Cummings, Glyn Maxwell, Samuel Becket, Edward Hopper, and others. Sung by the amazing Jessica Crandall. The extraordinary acoustics of The Reformed Church elevate the evening of music to lush sounds and unforgettable artistry.
Tickets $35. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
Wednesday, September 18th at 7:00pm at The Nyack Center (Depew & Broadway, Nyack, NY)
Out of the Hat
Experience an evening of wild, unpredictable, and often hilarious new 10-minute works by Rockland Playwrights, Tom Dudzick, Julie Goldberg, Christopher Kyle, and Shawn Rawls, featuring actors performing sight unseen scripts with only five minutes to prepare.
Tickets $35. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
Thursday, September 19th at 6:30pm at The Nyack Library, 59 S. Broadway, Nyack, NY
THE PORTABLE Dorothy Parker by Annie Lux
Set in 1943, this one-woman show centers around Dorothy Parker, famed for her wit and presence at the legendary Algonquin Round Table. Parker reflects on her life, loves, and literary legacy as she prepares her famous collection for Viking Press.
Tickets $35. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
September 20th at 7:00pm at Big Red Books, 120 Main Street, Nyack, NY
Vita and Virginia by Eileen Atkin, directed by Craig Smith
Virginia Woolf's work is much loved and studied, but her intimate relationship with fellow author Vita Sackville-West is rarely more than an overlooked footnote. Yet this relationship was absolutely formative for both women. The great literary love affair not only fed the visionary novel Orlando, but staked out new ground for women - and inspired the novelist's own hunt for the ideal relationship. Features Phoenix Theatre Ensemble's Karen Case Cook and Elise Stone.
Tickets $35. Order here or call 833-681-4800.
One Performance Only: Saturday, September 21st at 3:00pm Upper Memorial Park, Nyack
TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare
Presented by New York City's beloved Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, this rambunctious comedy where everyone is in love, but no one is in love with someone who loves them back, was especially selected by the Festival for Rockland County families to enjoy. Performed at Upper Memorial Park, attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets and lawn chairs.
This is a free-of-charge performance, but attendees must register at this link.
Sunday, September 22nd at 3:00pm at Upper Memorial Park, Nyack
PARK BENCH PLAYS by Nomad Theatrical Company
NYC's prestigious Nomad Theatrical Company will be coming to Nyack to perform a series of poignant, funny, and human short plays at Upper Memorial Park.
This is a free-of-charge performance, but attendees must register at this link.
Every Day 24/7 of the Festival (FREE OF CHARGE)
Digital Dreaming: Augmented Reality Village Walking Tour
Explore Nyack's rich landscape and history through a family-friendly audio-adventure and augmented reality tour, visiting seven Village landmarks.
This is a free-of-charge performance, but attendees must register at this link.
Rockland Shakespeare Company of Rockland Community College and Nyack's Elmwood Playhouse will be performing during the Festival: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (RSC) and Young Frankenstein (Elmwood), Information may be found at LiveArtsinNyack.com
"Phoenix Festival is in many ways a great experiment of collaboration between community businesses and the arts,” says Festival Executive Director Craig Smith. “These are tough days for the performing arts; the habits of our audiences have changed. The Festival strives to be responsive to these changes by making an event of the entire experience. Enjoy this remarkable jazzy rivertown 24 miles north of NYC, shop, dine, stay overnight, enjoy this community, and see world-class performing arts in the village. This seems to be working."
About Phoenix Festival:
Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack was launched in 2022 with Elise Stone as Artistic Director and Craig Smith as Executive Director. The Festival is supported by a coalition of 20-25 Rockland County businesses, The New York State Council on the Arts, Empire State Development, I Love New York, Rockland County Office of Tourism, The Village of Nyack Tourism grants, the Zisson Foundation, and Festival subscribers and individual contributors. The Festival is made possible by sponsorships that include Big Red Books, Emerald Medicare, Rand Realty, Hotel Nyack, Ameriprise Financial, Harrington Press, and Dolce Vita. The Festival is a program of NYC-based Phoenix Theatre Ensemble: Founded in 2004, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble is an Audelco, IRNE, Elliot Norton, NYIT Award-winning not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Phoenix Theatre Ensemble is committed to presenting great stories of the classical canon and innovative stagings of new adaptations of language-rich texts that speak to and serve contemporary audiences. We are dedicated to nurturing a diverse resident company of classically trained and highly skilled theatre artists.
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