Photos: First Look at TAMMANY HALL A New Site-Specific, Immersive Production at SoHo Playhouse

Rub shoulders with some of New York's legendary politicians, mobsters, molls, and showgirls under the very roof that brought them all together during the Prohibition Era. Tammany Hall, a new, site-specific, immersive theater experience created and directed by Darren Lee Cole (Fleabag, Killer Joe) and Alexander Wright (The Great Gatsby, the UK's longest running immersive show), is now playing at New York's historic SoHo Playhouse (aka The Huron Club, 15 Vandam Street, NYC). Opening night is Election Night, Tuesday, November 2.

Tammany Hall takes us back 92 years to Election Night, November 2, 1929 for an up-close look at the corruption, scandal, romances and intrigue that brought New York's most notorious political machine crashing down. While awaiting the results of the night's big mayoral race, audiences engage with 15 different rooms at one of New York's historic Jazz Age hotspots. Jimmy Walker, Fiorello LaGuardia, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Legs Diamond, Betty Compton, Marion "Kiki" Roberts are just a few of the names and faces you'll hear and see. Audiences observe their political machinations in the club room, spy on their trysts in the penthouse suite, peek in at Follies rehearsals on stage, and maybe even knock back a libation or two while conspiring with henchman and government spies in the underground speakeasy.

With all of these colorful characters roaming the halls, the venue itself is central to the story. For nearly two centuries, Tammany Hall was the behemoth political machine of New York's Democratic Party. Though headquartered in Union Square, the Society of St. Tammany maintained a "clubhouse" in each of Manhattan's electoral districts. Today, the façade of SoHo Playhouse is still marked as The Huron Club, Tammany's presence in New York's First Ward. Built in 1826 on property John Jacob Astor purchased from Aaron Burr, the building was reconfigured to its current layout 1920. The meeting hall on the main floor was transformed into a theater, with a notorious clubhouse above, and a speakeasy below. It is rumored that Jimmy Walker and Betty Compton kept their love nest in the 4th floor penthouse.

"This is a story about change, and holding our society, our politics, and our personal decisions to account," says co-Creator and co-Director Darren Lee Cole. "Just like the 2020s, the 1920s in New York represented an incredibly volatile decade in politics, economics and culture. There was a feeling of the last days of Rome. In 1929, the Roaring Twenties crashed with the stock market. There was a real appetite for change. Governor FDR implemented policies in New York through Mayor LaGuardia. These policies later famously became known as The New Deal during his presidency. Nearly a century later, after years of excess, our modern crash has been Covid. In Tammany Hall we will see how they accounted for themselves in the 1920's, the jury is still out on the 2020's."

"We are telling a true story in the very location where many of these events may have unfolded," says co-Creator Alexander Wright. "Set almost 100 years ago against a backdrop of divisive politics, self-interest and cronyism, Tammany Hall is as much about 2021 as it is about 1929. It's about winning, about the cracks in the foundations of those victories, and what we will sacrifice for love and power. This is a theatrical experience that will entertain audiences as they interact with history and reflect on the present."

Tammany Hall features Marie Anello as Betty Compton, Natasa Babic as Valentine, Andrew Broaddus as Battery Dan. Jesse Castellano as Kresel, Isaac J. Connor as Olvany, Martin Dockery as Beau James Walker, Shahzeb Hussain as Curry, Chloe Kekovic as Kiki, Nathaniel Ryan as Legs Diamond, Sami Petrucci as Smarty, Christopher Romero as Fiorello LaGuardia, and Charley Wenzel as Ritzi.

Tammany Hall features a scenic design by Dan Daly (The Space Between the Letters, Under the Radar Festival at The Public), costume design by Grace Jeon (Twelfth Night, Irvington Shakespeare Company), lighting design by Emily Clarkson (Brother's Keeper at Actors Studio) and sound design by Megan Culley (Cullud Wattah at The Public). Megan Drury (A Midnight Visit - Sydney, Perth, Melbourne) joins the team as Associate Director.

SoHo Playhouse (Darren Lee Cole, Artistic Director) has been one of Off Broadway's primary venues for new plays for the past 80 years. Formerly "Vandam Playhouse" the theatre has been home to countless dreams and movements. Many actors, directors, choreographers, production designers, theatre managers, technicians, and producers all received their start at SoHo Playhouse. Writers: Sam Shepard, Edward Albee, Tracy Letts, Charles Buch, Leroi Jones and Lanford Wilson. Award winning shows have included: The Boys in the Band, Killer Joe, The Divine Sister, Mindgame, Krapp, 39, Piaf, Room Service, Jamaica Farewell, Belly of a Drunken Piano, Bukowski From Beyond, The Emperor Jones, Triassic Parq, Rap Guide To Climate Chaos, The Other Josh Cohen, Bill W and Dr Bob, Bright Colors And Bold Patterns, Josephine: A Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play and recently Hannah Gadsby's Nanette, Daniel Sloss X, and Phoebe Waller Bridge in Fleabag. The Playhouse has also proudly served as home to the International Fringe Encore Series since 2005. Mr. Cole has served as Artistic Director since 2004. SoHoPlayhouse.com

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