Stage and Screen Stars Appear in "Brand:NEW Fall Festival of New Works" at Hartford Stage

By Ernio Hernandez
01 Sep 2005

Broadway stars Anika Noni Rose, Larry Pine, Becky Ann Baker, Mary Beth Peil, Emily Bergl and more are among the casts of Hartford Stage's "Brand:NEW Fall Festival of New Works."

The annual event will take place Sept. 14-25 during the run of Connecticut company's mainstage production of The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (which plays through Oct. 2).

The company for the developing works includes Becky Ann Baker (Assassins, "Freaks and Geeks"), Glynis Bell (Jewtopia, Amadeus), Emily Bergl (Fiction, The Rivals), Kim Director ("Blair Witch 2"), Jill Eikenberry ("LA Law"), David Fendig, Holter Graham ("Hairspray"), David Greenspan (Hairspray, The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue), Joe Haj, Frank Harts (A Raisin in the Sun), Jayne Houdyshell (Well, True Love), Marin Ireland (Sabina, Manuscript), Ron Cephas Jones (Richard III, Jesus Hopped the A-Train), Jordan Mahome, Logan Marshall-Green (Swimming in the Shallows,"The O.C."), Sherri Parker Lee, Austin Lysy, Jim Parsons, Mary Beth Peil (Nine, "Dawson's Creek"), Larry Pine (The Designated Mourner, "Vanya on 42nd Street"), Anne Ramsay ("Six Feet Under," "The L Word"), Elizabeth Rich (Rebecca Gilman's Dollhouse), Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change), John Rothman (The Argument, Rodney's Wife), Michael Tucker ("LA Law"), Matthew Stadelman (Hot 'n' Throbbing, Stone Cold Dead Serious), Nilaja Sun and Arie Thompson.

The schedule of "Brand:NEW 2005" is as follows:

  • Sept. 14 at 7:30 PM - Scream Through A Smile - by the winners of the Write On! Teenage Playwriting Competition
  • Sept. 15 at 7:30 PM - Seeing the Elephant - a comedy by JT Rogers (Madagascar), directed by Gus Reyes
  • Sept. 16 at 8:00 PM - Jesus Hates Me - a dark comedy by Wayne Lemon (head writer for "Grace Under Fire"), directed by Max Williams
  • Sept. 17 at Noon - Four Spirits - a Civil Rights drama by Sena Jeter Naslund and Elaine Hughes, directed by Jeremy B. Cohen
  • Sept. 17 at 4 PM - My Andy - a biographical drama about Andy Warhol and his mother by Patricia Wettig ("thirtysomething" actress), directed by Leigh Silverman
  • Sept. 18 at 4 PM - Dark Yellow a new drama by Julia Jordan (Boy), directed by Ethan McSweeny
  • Sept. 19 at 7:30 PM - TO DiE FOR - a dark comedy by Joyce Maynard (based on the her novel which inspired the film), with stage concept by Brian Swibel, directed by Dexter Bullard
  • Sept. 21 at 7:30 PM - Exposed - a Hollywood-set drama by Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart, The Miss Firecracker Contest), directed by Anders Cato
  • Sept. 22 at 7:30 PM - Bird in the Hand by Jorge Ignacio Cortinas (Savage Acts), directed by Debbie Savietz
  • Sept. 23 at 8:00 PM - 100 Saints You Should Know - a drama by Kate Fodor (Hannah and Martin), directed by Melissa Kievman
  • Sept. 24 at 12:00 PM - Lullaby - a dark comedy with songs by Michael Elyanow (The Idiot Box), directed by Jeremy B. Cohen
  • Sept. 24 at 4:00 PM - Antebellum 1930s Atlanta-set work by Robert O'Hara, directed by Chay Yew
  • Sept. 24 at 8:00 PM - Cradle of Man - a dark comedy by Melanie Marnich (The Sparrow Project), directed by Michael John Garces

    This year's festival also features an "Open Rehearsal" of last year's "Brand: NEW" show Floyd and Clea Under The Western Sky, Sept. 25 at 4 PM. The work — featuring music by Jonathan Kreisberg with a book and lyrics by David Cale — made its world premiere at Chicago's Goodman Theatre and will be presented at Hartford's mainstage, Oct. 13-Nov. 13 under director Michael Wilson. And a "Playwrights Panel" with participants Elizabeth Egloff, Jorge Ignacio Cortinas, Kate Fodor, Michael Elyanow, Melanie Marnich, Robert O'Hara and moderator Jeremy B. Cohen will take place Sept. 25 at 11 AM.

    Festival Passes are on sale now for the "Brand:NEW" readings ($30 for Hartford Stage Subscribers and $40 for Non-subscribers) by calling (860) 527-5151. For more information, visit www.hartfordstage.org.