Jenny Lyn Bader will perform her solo play Equally Divine: The Real Story of the Mona Lisa in the 10th Annual United Solo Festival on Thursday, October 24th at 9:00pm. Directed by Julie Kramer, the performance takes place at the Studio Theatre on Theatre Row, at 410 W. 42nd St.
Told from the point of view of the world's most famous painting, this true-crime whodunit begins with the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum in Paris, then travels back in time to 1503 - introducing us to the visionary artist Leonardo da Vinci, the apprentice who would become his lover, and the secrets behind the creation of La Gioconda. Equally Divine is a time-hopping, gender-bending drama about art, inspiration, and becoming who we are.
Bader says, "In the course of the play, this mysterious woman tells all. And she answers questions that have stumped scholars for centuries: Why did the portrait never get delivered to the man who commissioned it? Who is this woman? And why is she smiling?"
Originally commissioned by Core Ensemble, Equally Divine was featured in a literary series at the New York Society Library last year.
Tickets are $45 and are available at http://unitedsolo.org/us/2019-equallydivine/ or by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200. Running time: 75 minutes.
Jenny Lyn Bader (playwright/performer) is thrilled to be returning to Theatre Row, where she and Julie Kramer previously worked together on None of the Above, Jenny Lyn's play about a teenager who makes a six-figure deal with her S.A.T. tutor. Jenny Lyn is a native of New York City, where her audio play The International Local (This Is Not a Theatre Company) can be listened to on the 7 train. A Harvard graduate, she is the recipient of the Edith Oliver Award (O'Neill Center), Lark Playwriting Fellowship (nomination by Wendy Wasserstein), and a 2019 Athena Playwriting Fellowship. Her work has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Vintage, Smith & Kraus, Applause, Lincoln Center Theater Review, and The New York Times, where she served as a frequent contributor to the "Week in Review." Her play Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library will premiere at Luna Stage Company this fall. www.jennylynbader.com
Julie Kramer (director) directed Jenny Lyn Bader's None of the Above at New Georges and the Lion Theatre (Theatre Row); Out of Mind (NYU/Strasberg); and countless workshops and readings. Julie's adaptation of Rona Jaffe's The Best of Everything (HERE Arts Center) was a New York Times "Critics' Pick" and is published by Dramatists Play Service. Other directing highlights include Amy Wilson's Mother Load (Off-Broadway, national tour), Pearl's Gone Blue (Best Musical, NY Int'l Fringe Festival), Andrew Secunda's One Woman Show (UCB Theatre), Santa Doesn't... (E.S.T.); And... Action (Keen Company); Christmas at Pemberley (Pioneer Theatre); A Chorus Line (Theatre Under the Stars); and Hillary (New Georges), workshopped at The Public Theater. Julie directed three shows for the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival, was a Young Director in Residence at E.S.T., and is a member of the SDC. www.juliekramerdirector.com
Videos