Harrison David Rivers' I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHY Premieres Live in May

Refracted Theatre Company will present the World Premiere of I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHY as part of NYC's Open Culture program May 22 -30. This audio immersive theatrical experience is written by award-winning playwright Harrison David Rivers (When Last We Flew, This Bitter Earth) and directed by Refracted's Artistic Director Tova Wolff (The King's Speech, Monica: This Play is Not About Monica Lewinsky). I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHY centers on the experience of a young gay Black man struggling to free himself from wounds left by his father.

I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHY challenges the audience to accept what is both heard and seen, as we enter the mind of a young man torn between past and future. Can Casey hold his history of his father, a history of both love and pain, as he drives toward a new level of intimacy with his boyfriend? It's his call...and yours.

For the live site-specific production of I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHY, a socially-distanced audience will gather on East 47th Street in Manhattan and will be given headphones to listen to the audio portion of the play while an ensemble of live performers present a movement-based version of the story that contextualizes and complicates the audio narrative.

The audioplay, which features sound design by Drew Sensue-Weinstein and original music by Noah Therrien, will be released as three distinct episodes on Refracted's audio immersive short-play podcast, The Swell (available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify) on June 7. The audio cast stars Jonathan Burke (The Inheritance, Choir Boy, Tuck Everlasting), Daniel K. Isaac (Billions, According to My Mother), Ivan Moore (Luke Cage, Bull), and Stevi Incremona (In Pieces, Play/Date); the live ensemble stars Kyle Starling, Marcus Zebra Smith, and Azi Coppin.

I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHY runs May 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 5pm. The performance begins in front of 884 2nd Avenue, on the northeast side corner of 2nd Avenue at 47th Street. Runtime is 35 minutes. Audience members must be able to stand for the duration of the event as the action of the play moves around them on the street. Tickets are $20 - $40 at www.refractedco.com.

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