Upcoming

Upstate

From playwright Drew Larimore, who I collaborated with on Smithtown, a staged reading of his new play, Upstate, will be presented in the Helmerich Theater at The Studios of Key West on Fri. Feb 2nd & Sat. Feb. 3rd. Larimore is a master at crafting funny, yet slightly devastating plays. It is the inaugural work in The Studios of Key West’s “First Look Series of New Plays by American Playwrights”.

Seeking fulfillment after a move to upstate New York, Nathaniel & his husband Myles decide to adopt an infant daughter. The two-hander dives deep into the lives of the couple who are desperate to have the perfect life and create the “perfect” family. Things don’t always go so perfectly. The play opens on the day the couple has returned their daughter to the adoption agency.

The play is imbued with Drew’s remarkable facility to create flawed characters, crackerjack dialogue, and a unique ability to juxtapose pathos with humor. This reading will be the first time out of the gate to see where it is & where it might go. It will be performed as a reading, with minimal staging, by the NYC-based TV & stage actor Miles G. Jackson, and Key West actor, Brian Robinson. Upstate is one of a number of new works that are being presented in a “First Look” for The Studios new staged reading series.

Miles G. Jackson
Brian Robinson

Swimming in the Dark

Martin Hennessy & I will present excerpts from our newest opera collaboration, Swimming in the Dark, adapted from the extraordinary bestseller by Tomasz Jedrowski who awarded us the exclusive music adaptation rights. The book was named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR and Oprah Magazine’s list of LGBTQ fiction that will change the literary landscape. Named a best book of the year by The Guardian, it was also a finalist for the Polari First Book Prize.

The concert reading will be presented on Saturday, January 20, 2024 by the Jacobs School of Music, Ballet & Opera Theater at Indiana University, Bloomington. The school is one of the premiere opera training programs in the U.S. It is an industry presentation for an invited audience of opera presenters. The reading is under the direction of Michael Shell, Resident Stage Director, who runs the Opera program at the Jacobs School. Martin & I are thrilled to be collaborating with Michael and his team of singers and instrumentalists.