*NEW SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT!*
Presented by our sister company, Cause Celebre Productions!
HERE WE ARE
by Dorothy Parker
&
FOR YOUR PLEASURE MADAME
by Susan Charlotte
CAUSE CELEBRE PRODUCTIONS opens its new season on a romantic note.
Well, sort of!
Join us for plays about love, marriage, and thoughts of divorce in Paris & NYC!
All in ONE afternoon!
DATE: Monday February 24th
TIME: 2pm
PLACE: Ethical Culture (2 West 64th St.)
DISCOUNT ALERT!
For a limited time, we are giving out a VALENTINE’S DAY DISCOUNT FOR TWO!
You have the chance to purchase a discounted $45 ticket AND an additional ticket for FREE!
Contact us directly before MIDNIGHT on Sunday February 16th to receive this lovely deal.
PHONE: 646-366-9340
EMAIL: [email protected]
Here We Are
By DOROTHY PARKER
Directed by ANTONY MARSELLIS
Starring:
PENNY FULLER, Tony Nominee
BOB DISHY, Drama Desk Award Winner
The characters in “Here We Are” are written as newlyweds in their 20’s.
But Bob Dishy and Penny Fuller perform the story as a memory piece.
Dorothy Parker begins her story in a very typical nuanced way–part humor, part anxiety, part Parker!
“Scene: A compartment in a Pullman car. He is storing the suitcases in the rack. She is primping.
He: Well!
She: Well !
He: Well, here we are!”
The story begins and ends with “Here we are”. But the meaning of those three words completely changes by the end of the play. Join us and you’ll see what we mean!
Two newlyweds are taking a train to NYC, where they will honeymoon and embark upon a new life. As their ride comes to an end the couple realize that marriage may be more difficult than they expected! And their excitement changes into a kind of apprehension. When the couple repeats the words, “Here we are,” at the end, one wonders if they are really thinking, “Where are we?”
“Here We Are” is followed by:
For Your Pleasure Madame
By SUSAN CHARLOTTE
Directed by ANTONY MARSELLIS
Starring: PENNY FULLER and ALLISON WHITE
Stage Directions for both plays: Michael Citriniti
For Your Pleasure Madame takes place in Paris. A woman in her 70s, who has just lost her husband,enters a hat store. The owner is a young woman who is on the phone with her husband. The American widow, who is quite vulnerable, has a steely facade and an acerbic sense of humor. But as she tries on each hat, a layer of defense is pealed away, and she finally reveals how in love she was with her husband. The French woman too opens up–about how unhappy she is with her older husband. She also reveals the history of the shop, which was shut down by her mother in 1940 when the Nazis marched down the Champs-Elysses. When her mother reopened the shop, it became more of a home for the French woman. And the hats had become a way for her to connect with others, especially on this day, especially with the American woman. As the story progresses they see that they have more in common than they realized at first.
These two one-act gems will be followed by a Q and A with the cast and writer.
Join us on February 24th and celebrate the opening of our new season.
We look forward to seeing you in person or via Zoom!
Cause Celebre Productions Presents
LAST CHANCE CAFE
WRITTEN BY: SUSAN CHARLOTTE
DIRECTED BY: ANTONY MARSELLIS
Based on the case of MARTY GARBUS
A COURT ROOM DRAMA WITH MUSIC AND DANCE!
DATE: Monday, March 31st at 2PM
LOCATION: Ethical Culture Society (2 West 64th St)
A deeply compelling play that combines a drama about voter suppression with lyrics
from the song, “Oxford Town,” written by musical icon, Bob Dylan.
STARRING:
JACK WETHERAL (“The Elephant Man” on Broadway)
NESHA WARD
GENE CASTLE
MICHAEL CITRINITI
“Oxford Town” was written about James Meredith, the first black person admitted to Mississippi U. in 1962. As Dylan said, the song, “deals with the Meredith case and then again it doesn’t. It could have happened at any time.” Riots erupted, two men were killed.
“Two men died ‘neath the Mississippi moon.”
Bob Dylan, in his song, “Oxford Town”
The rampant racism continued and in 1965, Henrietta Wright, was arrested in from of the Last Chance Cafe, a small store owned by her husband and herself. The reason, she was told, was due to a traffic violation.
She had not stopped for a red light!
The real reason — Mrs, Wright registered to vote.
A fabricated traffic violation led to a violation of a black woman’s civil rights.
She was assaulted, committed to a psychiatric ward (due to the lies of two doctors) and then served time in prison.
Mrs. Wright, a young woman in her 30’s, had the courage to file a complaint with the ACLU against two police men and two doctors.
Martin Garbus, a young New York lawyer who worked for the ACLU, flew to Oxford, Mississippi.
He then drove one hour to a small town in Mississippi in order to represent Henrietta Wright.
He warned this young woman that her chances of winning were next to nothing.
But, as Dylan wrote, “Somebody better investigate.”
Garbus told Mrs. Wright that thought they would not win, they would make a strong statement. This is indeed what happened.
Sixty years later this play could not be more relevant.
“The ominous Mississippi night which had so often harbored black men, hanging from their necks, the burning Cross, the vicious beating, had lost some of its threat for Mr. and Mrs. Wright.”
Martin Garbus
FOR TICKETS: CALL (646) 336-9340 or EMAIL: [email protected]