Letta Neely's PULLING IT ALL INTO THE CURRENT to Play at Theater for the New City

We see the same stars...and tell different stories. Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Executive Director) presents "Pulling It All Into The Current." The play will run from September 1st to 8th, 2024, as part of "Dream Up: Invent! Concoct!"

"Pulling It All Into the Current" is a deeply personal and socially relevant performance that promises to captivate audiences with raw emotion and profound insight. Written and performed by Letta Neely, the one-woman show is a poignant exploration of identity, resilience, and the complexities of the human experience. Using a fusion of poetry, storytelling, and dramatic performance, Neely brings to life multiple characters - from teenagers to veterans, elders to addicts, and queers to teachers - and creates a series of interconnected narratives that delve into themes of love, struggle, and transformation. Her performance is a compelling testament to the power of personal and collective histories, weaving together her own experiences with broader societal issues, urging viewers to confront and embrace the complexities of their own lives and the world around them.

Growing up in the Mapleton Fall Creek neighborhood of Indianapolis, Neely's personal narrative adds authenticity to her work. Her dedication to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities is evident in her journey as a playwright and spoken word artist, endorsed by Abe Rybeck, founder of the acclaimed Theatre Offensive, as "absolutely vital."

"Pulling It All Into The Current" has achieved remarkable milestones since its start at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre. From its international festival debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to earning the titles of 'Best Drama' and 'Best Direction' at the United Solo Festival in New York City, the play continues to receive acclaim.

Recently, it captivated audiences at the Mariposa Museum and World Culture Center in New Hampshire and sold-out performances at The Storefront Theatre in Letta's hometown of Indianapolis. Greg Allen directs the play.

Letta Neely is a Black lesbian playwright, poet, and performer whose work explores the connections and intersections of Blackness, sexuality, and consciousness. She is an accomplished artist whose work has been celebrated nationally and internationally.

Letta Neely has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Outwrite National Poetry Slam Champion title and the New York Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellowship. Neely has also been a finalist for the Astraea National Lesbian Writer Award, the Triangle Award, and the Lambda Literary Award twice. Her contributions to the literary and theatre community have been recognized through an IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) Award nomination and inclusion in The Root's Top 30 Black Performance Poets list. Neely's work has been featured in many literary journals and anthologies, solidifying her status as a trailblazer in poetry and performance art.

In sheer awe, Susan L. Taylor, Editor in Chief Emeritus for Essence Magazine, exclaimed, "I'm stunned. It is brilliantly stunning that anyone could capture life so powerfully, poignantly, and commit it to memory. It was raw, real, and absolutely stunning. Thank you!" Her words resonate with the sentiments of many who the play has deeply moved. "People need to rush to the theater to see this, they do," Taylor continued. "In many ways, it was the confirmation that I think that we all need that we're all okay and we're all on this ledge, and we can make it, we can fly."

Judith B, an audience member in Boston, MA, shares that "Neely moves her audience through the lived experiences of an intertwined ecology of characters, fully inhabiting the transitions between them and opening timely and important questions of how we understand who we are. That we understand the actor as also the writer asks us to feel how much the stories we tell ourselves are made of tender layers of both lived and imagined lives."

Performance Details: Theatre For The New City, 155 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003.

• Sunday, 9/1 at 2 pm
• Tuesday, 9/3 at 6:30 pm
• Thursday, 9/5 at 6:30 pm
• Saturday, 9/7 at 8 pm
• Sunday, 9/8 at 5 pm

*For Tickets ($20) or Information: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35441/production/1208831

To post a comment, you must register and login.