This Coffee Shop is Dead, a new play by Anna Michael, will be presented May 20th-23rd, 2019 at The Tank. Michael's premiere work at the venue will feature the playwright, alongside Eric Taylor and Steven Meeker Jr., under the direction of Talia Feldberg.
The play occurs in an upscale coffee shop - the kind of place that does things the proper way; a macchiato is no more than two ounces of liquid, and employees like Chester (Taylor) and Olivia (Michael) quiver with laughter when customers request that their café latté be made with GOAT milk. They are the misfits - baristas dying inside a "dead" coffee shop. And speaking of death, there's Alice: Olivia's never-seen friend from home who is suffering traumatic effects after attempting suicide. Over the course of several days in their lives, we ponder with two young people the causes of such serious actions, and where accountability lies within them. Laden with sarcasm and sprinkled with warmth, the play ponders the value of memories, the mundanity of survival, and the "savior" narrative in a New York where iPhone applications seem to be the only emotionally safe ways to socially interact.
Michael, a playwright and director (The Ugly Kids, Fresh Fruit Festival Outstanding Musical award winner) makes her performance debut in play. She and Taylor are both graduates of Fordham University. Meeker Jr.'s resume boasts the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and Otterbein University, amongst others. Feldberg is a graduate of Vassar College, and has created work at the Long Wharf Theatre, The O'Neill Center, and Powerhouse Theater.
Dates/Time: May 20th-23rd, 9:30PM
Directed by Talia Feldberg
Presented by The Tank
Produced by Leigh Honigman and Tony Macht
With Anna Michael, Eric Taylor, and Steven Meeker Jr.
Set by Isabel Loughlin
Sound by Patrick Dunning
Lights by Elizabeth McManamon
Costumes by Danica Martino
Tickets are $12 and can be purchased HERE.
*This play contains discussion of suicide, drug abuse, and mental health. Viewer discretion is advised.
Videos