Keen Company to Return to Live, In Person Performances With HERE/NOW: LIVE!

Today Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein announced the return to live in person production: "Last season, Keen pivoted to the virtual realm by commissioning and producing new pieces of audio theatre. To me, radio plays and theatre share an important ingredient: the use of your imagination. They ask you to suspend your belief as you immerse yourself into a world that can only be made real by you. It's that spirit we are taking with us from our virtual season into our first live in-person production in almost two years. What you will see during Hear/Now: LIVE! is a cross between the old and new - commissioned world premieres presented using the traditional tools of live foley sound effects and live original music. At the beginning of this process, we asked Deb and Deen to create pieces that contained joy, because I felt it was something we could all use a little more of right now. In their unique voices, they have each created beautiful plays that celebrate the human spirit. I can't imagine a better way to welcome our patrons back into the theater!'" said Silverstein.

Last season, Keen Company created Hear/Now: A Season of Audio Theater which reimagined the classic radio drama by commissioning new audio plays. Now, Keen reinvents the old-fashioned radio broadcast for the stage, featuring two newly commissioned world premiere plays by a??Keen a??Playwrights Lab alumni Mashuq Mushtaq Deen and Deb Margolin. Each exciting piece will be performed live in front of an audience, with live foley sound effects, and live music. The piece is designed to celebrate the storytelling process, by showing the audience all of the individual elements behind an audio play coming together live on stage. Watch as an existential Western and a chaotic subway ride come to life through original music, live foley sound effects, and a thrilling cast of characters! Get ready, anything can happen when you're live. The two 45 minute commissions will be presented together, creating one 90-minute evening with no intermission. The plays will be recorded live during the run and then released free to the public on the Keen website as well as popular podcast platforms. Performances will be December 10th through 19th only, with Opening night set for Wednesday December 15th. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Theatre Row box office, online at bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/hear-now-live/.

The Telegram by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen will feature Moe Angelos, Randy Danson, and Cesar Rosado. Augie is the consummate cowboy - she's hardened, principled, and quick on the draw. But when the Kid tags along, expecting stagecoach races, shootouts, and barrels of whiskey, he finds himself entirely unprepared for the absurd realities of the Wild West. Sort of your traditional radio Western, sort of not.

That Old Perplexity by Deb Margolin will feature Jordan Boatman, Marcia Jean Kurtz, and Lance Coadie Williams. While Manhattan is still reeling from the fall of 2001, Mary and Barbara find themselves in the midst of their own private crises. As their morning commute stalls, the beautiful discord of the recovering city is healed in a tiny way through the women's sudden intimate connection, the bizarre grace of a vagrant, and the organic ascendance of kindness. A comedy!

UP NEXT: February will see Keen's first full Off-Broadway production since closing Blues for an Alabama Sky on March 12th, 2020. Almost two years later, Keen will present the World Premiere of This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan, directed by Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein. Performances will begin February 22nd and continue through April 2nd, with Opening Night set for Wednesday March 9th. Tickets will be $60 with Premium Seats available for $85; to celebrate the return to live performance, Special First Preview tickets will be only $22 for 2-22-22! Tickets are available at the Theatre Row box office, online at https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/this-space-between-us/. Cast and design team will be announced shortly.

This Space Between Us is a new comedy about trying to change the world while admitting home could use a little change too. Keen Company is proud to present the World Premiere of This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan (The Rafa Play). Nobody understands why Jamie wants to leave his cushy law office to work for a non-profit. His best friend is confused, his boyfriend is concerned, and his conservative Cuban-American family are sure they know what's best. As Jamie announces his plans to serve those less fortunate, one shocking afternoon at the racetrack sparks unexpected and irreversible consequences for them all. This intergenerational comedy follows a raucous attempt to reach for something more without leaving the people you love behind.

Later this Spring Keen will offer a special treat: an all-star benefit performance. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

For more information, visit KeenCompany.org.

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