Marti Gould Cummings To Make Directorial Debut At New York Theater Festival

Blake Allen, known for his innovative bridging of contemporary music and theater through composition, performance, and storytelling, presents the world premiere of Kelly [1955], produced by Traguna Productions at the New York Theater Festival, March 5, 9 and 10 at the Hudson Guild Theater in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

Directed by Allen's husband, New York drag queen, performer, and politician Marti Gould Cummings, Kelly [1955] is a one room play that examines a night in the life of a widowed matriarch, portrayed by Jessica Hendy (Cats), on a Kentucky Farm during the Cold War. Inspired by one of the most well-documented cases in the history of UFO incidents, the Harrison family farm receives a visitor that results in a battle of bullets and lots of question marks. With a flurry of press and police, the audience is put on the case to determine what really happened-- with the climax of the play done in absolute darkness.

"Sometimes it's the things we don't see or hear that invoke the most excitement," explains playwright Blake Allen. "This story broke wide open in the 1950's and led to the peaking curiosity over the actual existence of little green men from another place and time. I want the audience to get a glimpse into the true terror of aloneness and help to piece together what really happened on that sticky Kentucky night."

With a haunting underscore by Allen, the rest of the cast features Nicole Schalmo and Deya Danielle Drake, with Nicholas-Tyler Corbin, Alejandro Cervantes, Chara Kirkland, MaryKathryn Kopp, William Robert Lowe, Patrick O'Konis, and Christine de Frece understudying the female leads.

Tickets are $23 and available online for purchase at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3909892