Phoenix Theatre Ensemble to Present World Premiere of DRINKS WITH DEAD POTETS at A.R.T./New York Theatres

Having previewed the play in October as part of its Phoenix Live Arts Festival in Nyack, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, led by Craig Smith and Elise Stone, will present the world premiere of "Drinks With Dead Poets" by Olivier Nominated author, playwright and poet Glyn Maxwell from February 2 to 11 at Gural Theatre of A.R.T/New York Theatres, 502 West 53rd Street.  The play is adapted from the author's celebrated 2016 novel of the same name.  It invites its audience into a phantom tavern in Nyack where spirits of deceased poets join the living for a drink and conversation. Attilio Rigotti directs.

 

In the play, Maxwell resurrects iconic American authors including Poe, Frost, Ginsberg, Hart Crane, Sylvia Plath, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Dorothy Parker and Emily Dickinson through their own words.  With dialogue drawn from their poems, correspondence and other writings, the play explores their lives and legacies, celebrating their language, creativity and the enduring impact of their poetic voices across generations.

 

Maxwell, a British poet, playwright, librettist and critic, is author of numerous plays.  He is a Resident Playwright of Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, who have previously staged his "Broken Journey," "Wolfpit," "The Lifeblood, "Agamemnon Home" and "The Gambler." 

 

The precursor to this play, Maxwell's book "Drinks With Dead Poets: The Autumn Term," was set in a bar in a mysterious village.  In that "brilliantly unclasssifiable work" (The Guardian), several deceased poets appear as characters, their speech taken verbatim from their writings.  In its developmental staging in October in the Phoenix Live Arts Festival in Nyack, the play was explicitly set in Nyack and staged in an actual bar (The Hudson House of Nyack, 134 Main Street).  The setting delighted its audiences.

 

A traveler (named Max, an obvious reference to the author) wanders into a bar where a woman named Ashling works.  (Her name means "dream" or "vision," referring to the aisling, a poem where Ireland appears as a vision to the poet lamenting her people's hardships.)  She is redacting "Wuthering Heights" and wrapping it in Saran Wrap. Another employee, Zach, arrives and he is from a different political party.  There is noise from the center of town, where it's revealed that people are barbecuing books.  As smoke wafts into the bar (no stage smoke is used), employees breathe it and channel the book that is being burned.  Ashling and Zach become a succession of American authors in dialogue that is taken from their journals and famous works.  At the end of the play, we realize that the children of the village have memorized all the great poets so they will live on.

 

The author played Max in the festival production; here the role is played by John Lenartz.  Elise Stone plays Ashling and Antonio Edwards Suarez plays Zach.

 

In his Director's Notes Attilio Rigotti writes, "When I first heard Glyn Maxwell’s play, I was sure it was a delicious satire. The second time I read it, it felt foreboding, a clever twist on speculative fiction. The third time a vicious documentary of what was going on around us. The fourth time, a mournful eulogy for the end of literature. The fifth time, a flame of hope for the survival of imagination.  The beauty of the piece, as with all great theatrical texts, is that it is all of these, and more. The voices of dozens of America’s great poets are brought back to life in the bodies of these remarkable actors to reflect on their legacy, their dreams, their hopes, their impact, and their immortality. And through that, we reflect on our own thoughts around our shared histories, our tumultuous present, and our uncertain future."

 

Phoenix Theatre is transplanting two leading productions of its 2023 Phoenix Live Arts Festival to NYC this season, naming the pair of productions its Winter Rep. "Drinks With Dead Poets" (Feb. 2-11) will be preceded by Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment," adapted for the stage by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus (January19 to 28).  The production compresses the tension and pathos of the famed Russian novel into a powerful 90 minute, three-actor play that is at once fresh and faithful to the original.  Karen Case Cook directs.  Both productions will take stage in the Gural Theatre of A.R.T/New York Theatres, 502 West 53rd Street.  (Schedule & tickets for both shows: https://www.phoenixtheatreensemble.org/calendar)

 

ABOUT PHOENIX LIVE ARTS FESTIVAL

The Phoenix Festival is an annual celebration of arts and culture with live performances (some outdoor) in Rockland County, NY, led by the award-winning Phoenix Theatre Ensemble.  It was begin in 2022, with the aspiration to create an arts festival to rival the national arts festivals, celebrating classical theater, classical music and the community of Nyack.  Presented during the Hudson Valley Fall Foliage season, the festival has featured world-class theater, music, dance, family shows, one-of-a-kind performances and special events all over downtown Nyack. Over 25 local businesses have participated as festival sponsors.  The number of presentations grew this year from six to ten and mainstage productions increased from three to four.  (https://liveartsinnyack.com)

 

ABOUT Phoenix Theatre ENSEMBLE

Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, led by Craig Smith and Elise Stone, is a prestigious, award-winning not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization committed to classics and new adaptations of language-rich texts.  Founded in Manhattan in 2004, the troupe expanded programming to include Nyack in 2018 and has been producing in both locations.  The organization nurtures a diverse resident company of classically trained and highly skilled theater artists and has been honored in recent years with Audelco, IRNE, Elliot Norton and New York Innovative Theatre Awards.  It is dedicated to an ensemble-driven process in which actors, directors, playwrights and designers are equal collaborators. (https://www.phoenixtheatreensemble.org)

Photo credit: Brian Jenkins

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