Did you hear the one about the traveling salesman who went to Las Vegas? No? What about the one about the little boy so haunted by the death of his grandfather, he begins hallucinating and summoning ghouls who torture and seduce him? Haven't heard that one either, huh? Well, now's your chance, because a double bill presented by Off-Off-Broadway's Cloven Patriarchs (in association with Access Theatre) brings both stories to life. Every Man Jack of You, by Erik Ehn, and Death Fragments, a comic/drama created and directed by Bob Fisher, play at the Access Theatre, June 11-21.
Ehn's poetic drama looks at the lustful, gambling-addicted salesman as he tries to find forgiveness. Directing and designing Jack is Cloven Patriarch co-founder (and Playbill On-Line staffer) Sean McGrath. Starring in the show are John Holley, Dana Claire Gottlieb, Renee Bourrut and Catherine Porter.
Ehn is a member of New York City's New Dramatists, an organization dedicated to the development of up-and-coming playwrights. Receiving his BA and MFA degrees in playwriting from Yale University, Ehn has written more than three dozen plays including Wolf at the Door, The Saint Plays, Phrenic Crush and Gravity's Drain.
As for Death Fragments, the piece was inspired by the paintings of Frida Kahlo and Dorothea Tanning, with author Fisher hoping to create "worlds of paranormal mystery." Puppets in the piece are designed by Obie-winning actress Jan Leslie Harding. Starring in the show are James Henderson, Stephen Guarino, Dana Claire Gottlieb and Michael Martin.
For tickets ($10) and information on Every Man Jack of You and Death Fragments at Access Theatre, 380 Broadway, call (718) 365 8726.
-- By David Lefkowitz
