A Disaster Begins, with Tony Nominee Cox, Sweeps into HERE Oct. 9

By Adam Hetrick
09 Oct 2009

Veanne Cox
Veanne Cox
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Tony nominee Veanne Cox relives the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 in Ain Gordon's one-woman work A Disaster Begins, which kicks off a limited run Oct. 9 at HERE Arts Center.

Running through Oct. 17, the work was inspired by the 1900 hurricane that took the lives of 6,000 Texans in a single night. Gordon directs the production.

A Disaster Begins, according to press notes, "finds Cox on stage equipped with little more than a glass and pitcher of water to tell her tale of the storm, weaving in her shocking experience of presidential corruption, pubescent despair, patriotic fervor, pre-marital passion and paralyzing writer's block."

Gordon's inspiration for the solo work began when he encountered the M. Halstead publication "The Galveston Flood," which came in a series of books that sensationally documented American disasters in the early part of the 20th century.

Veanne Cox earned a Tony nomination for her work as Amy in the 1995 revival of Company. Her stage roles also include Caroline, or Change; The Dinner Party; Smile; Paradise Park; Damn Yankees; Flora, the Red Menace; The Altruists; and House and Garden.

Ain Gordon is a three-time Obie Award-winning writer, director and actor. He appeared Off-Broadway and in touring engagements of Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell and was a writer for "Will & Grace."

For tickets, phone (212) 352-3101 or visit HERE. HERE Arts Center is located at 145 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.