59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director), will welcome the world premiere of BOYS WILL BE BOYS, written by Melissa Bubnic and directed by Lily Dorment. Produced by The Pond Theatre Company, BOYS WILL BE BOYS begins performances on Thursday, March 26 for a limited engagement through Sunday, April 12. Press Opening is Wednesday, April 1 at 7:30 pm. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 2:30 pm. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison). Single tickets are $25 ($20 for 59E59 Members). Tickets are available by calling the 59E59 Box Office at 646-892-7999 or by visiting www.59e59.org. The running time is 1 hour and 45 minutes, including intermission.
Astrid Wentworth is at the top of her game. A superstar trader in the male-dominated world of banking and high finance. She is ruthless and relentless, but she's always played by the boys' rules to get to the top.
So when Astrid takes on protégée Priya, she is the perfect person to help this ambitious young woman navigate the industry - as long as Priya is willing to listen.
BOYS WILL BE BOYS marks Australian playwright Melissa Bubnic's New York debut. She wrote this prescient play prior to the #MeToo movement, making it a trenchant look at how a woman succeeds in an environment drowning in male toxicity. Is she part of the problem or part of the solution...or both? And in the era of #MeToo, what happens to the women who had to play by the rules of the patriarchy in order to succeed?
The idea for BOYS WILL BE BOYS was sparked by a conversation between Bubnic and fellow Aussie, actor
Cate Blanchett, who wanted to see a play about women in male-dominated industries. Bubnic felt the London banking scene - with its money and glamor - was an inherently theatrical backdrop for the story.
Calling the play "an all-female Glengarry Glen Ross" by Lyn Gardner writing in The Guardian, Bubnic admitted to hoping audiences liked Astrid and her unapologetic ambition. But, she added, "I bet
David Mamet didn't go round worrying whether audiences would like the characters in Glengarry Glen Ross."
The all-female cast features
Colleen Clinton (Muswell Hill, Abigail's Party with The Pond Theatre/The
Barrow Group),
Laura Hooper (Design for Living, dir. Jack Hofsis, at HB Studio),
Elisha Mudly (Balls at 59E59),
Sandra Shipley (Present Laughter on Broadway), Laura Yumi Snell (After the Storm with
Lea Salonga at the Kennedy Center), and
Angie Tennant (The Dead, 1904 at Irish Rep). The production is framed like a cabaret, threading music originally performed by iconic female voices (like Nina Simone and
Etta James) through the story with piano accompaniment by Laura Yumi Snell.
The design team includes
Brittany Vasta (scenic designer);
Caitlin Smith Rapoport (lighting designer);
Grier Coleman (costume designer);
Ien DeNio (sound designer); and
Lauren Page Russell (props designer). Natalie Lamonte is the movement director. The Production Stage Manager is
Kacey Gritters.
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