LIVE SOURCE THEATRE GROUP
PRESENTS
SUDDENLY

THE WORLD PREMIERE PLAY ADAPTED BY GIANFRANCO SETTECASI
AFTER THE SCREENPLAY BY RICHARD SALE

DIRECTED BY TYLER MERCER

WITH DREW ALLEN, HENRY BERRY, CHRIS DIEMAN, PHOEBE DUNN,
ARIEL ESTRADA, SEAN A. KAUFMAN, JOSEPH J. MENINO AND BRENDAN WALSH

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT — OCTOBER 5-20, 2018
AT HERE (145 6TH AVE, NYC – ENTER ON DOMINICK, ONE BLOCK SOUTH OF SPRING)

OPENS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7TH AT 4 PM
Tickets: http://www.live-source.org/ 

Live Source Theatre Group (Tyler Mercer, Co-Founder & Artistic Director; Chris Dieman, Co-Founder & Artist in Residence), as part of their 7th season, presents the world premiere of SUDDENLY, a new play based on the classic 1954 noir film starring Frank Sinatra, adapted by Gianfranco Settecasi after the screenplay by Richard Sale. Directed by Tyler Mercer, SUDDENLY will play a limited engagement at HERE (145 6th Avenue, NYC – Enter on Dominick, one block south of Spring). Performances begin Friday, October 5th and the engagement runs through Saturday, October 20th, 2018. The Opening is Sunday, October 7th at 4pm.

SUDDENLY is a new play adapted from the 1954 film of the same name, about an attempted presidential assassination that rocks a quiet town in northern California. When the Bensons’ home is placed on lockdown after local law enforcement learns of a potential threat to the president’s passage through the nearby train station, it soon becomes very clear that nothing is as it appears. Set against a post-war backdrop but staged with contemporary urgency, this intense political thriller explores a particularly American culture of violence.

Utilizing Live Source Theatre Group’s signature design-heavy production values, SUDDENLY will blend its stylized 1950s influences in a contemporary production with integrated video/projection design, highlighting the timeliness of this period script as it explores how far we have (and haven’t) come in the national dialogues on guns, the treatment of veterans, PTSD, and the dark side of the American dream.

The cast of SUDDENLY includes Drew Allen, Henry Fin Berry, Chris Dieman, Phoebe Dunn, Ariel Estrada, Sean A. Kaufman, Joseph J. Menino and Brendan Walsh.

SUDDENLY has scenic and video design by Bryce Cutler, costume design by Angela Harner, lighting design by Mary Ellen Stebbins, sound design by Adam Smith, and properties by Brett Warnke. The Production Manager is Emma Ruopp. The Production Stage Manager is Mackenzie Trowbridge. Meghan Rose Murphy is the Associate Producer.

SUDDENLY will play the following performance schedule beginning Friday, October 5th through Saturday, October 20th: Tuesdays at 8:30pm, Wednesdays at 8:30pm, Thursdays at 8:30pm, Fridays at 8:30pm, Saturdays at 8:30pm, and Sundays at 4:00pm, with an additional matinees Saturday October 6th at 4pm and Saturday, October 20th at 4pm.

Tickets for SUDDENLY are priced at $35 and may be purchased now by visiting www.live-source.org/ or by calling 212-352-3101.For special pricing for groups of 10+, contact info@live-source.org, or call 646-598-4803. In-person purchases can be made at HERE (145 6th Avenue) with the Box Office opening 2 hours before curtain.

Live Source Theatre Group was founded in 2011 with the mission to elevate the role of design in the creation, development, and production of new theatrical works. The group uses both classic and original plays to reveal and explore contemporary themes, drawing from a blend of styles, stories, and live sources. With innovative design and technology in constant play with highly stylized performances, Live Source engages audiences through a bold new theatre aesthetic. The company’s inaugural production in 2012, Macbeth, was a multimedia reimagining of Shakespeare’s violent tragedy, invoking midcentury influences from Watergate to On the Waterfront in an exploration of political corruption. This past Fall, Live Source Theatre Group presented the world premiere production of Solstice Party!, a new play by Susan Soon He Stanton (HBO’s Succession), at the A.R.T./NY Theaters, commissioned and developed by Live Source. Critics called it “superb” (The Huffington Post) and “a thrilling and compelling cauchemare” (Stage Buddy). Additional company works include We Are Live, a devised work which blended Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, with Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright; the English-language U.S. premiere of Bohemian Lights, adapted after Ramón Valle-Inclán’s masterwork Luces de Bohemia; and The Incredible Fox Sisters, a world premiere by Jaclyn Backhaus based on the true events following the infamous séances held in 19th Century by the Fox sisters in upstate New York. Live Source Theatre Group’s Board of Directors includes Chris Dieman, Sarah Dunn, Kathryn Giamo, Tyler Mercer and Bobbi Thompson.

This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

Drew Allen (John Baron) was recently seen as Tony Wendice in Dial M for Murder (Ocean State Theatre), nominated for best actor in a leading role as Henry VIII in Copse (MITF/Roy Arias Theatre), Dr. David Blau in Red Angel by Eric Bogosian, (Theatre Row), Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (Connelly Theatre), Ben Casey in Shark Play (Samuel French OOBF Finalist/Classic Stage Co.), Martin in On The Rocks (Theatre at St Clement’s), Robert F. Kennedy in The File on J. Edgar (Wild Project Theatre), Giovanni in We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! (Drilling Co. Theatre), Bernard in Don’t Dress For Dinner (Rosewater Theatre, GA). Recent film roles include JFK in Dick & Jack, which premiered at Cinema Village, and Michael/Jared, twins in The Dumping Fields, official selection for The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival.

Henry Fin Berry (Pidge Benson) was most recently seen in A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant. Favorite roles include Les in Newsies, Small Boy in Billy Elliott, Michael in Peter Pan, Grover Dill in A Christmas Story, and both Zeke and Troy in High School Musical Jr. Henry originated the role of Timmy in the Off Broadway premier of Dance Divas Nutcracker. Henry was a featured vocalist in “The Tony Show” at Carnegie Hall. He is a competitive dancer at Kick Dance Studios (national title winner 2017 and 2018) as well as a member of NYC Tap Crew with Thommie Retter.

Chris Dieman (Bart Wheeler) is an actor, composer, and musician. As a performer, his theater credits include Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale (Newport Music Festival, solo performance), The Smart Set (Cornerstone Playhouse), Dick on Dick (Bowery Poetry Club), The Cherry Orchard (LABA Theater), and workshops with Abrons Arts Center, Guild Hall, and New York Theater Workshop. TV: “Blue Bloods” (CBS) and “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” (HBO). He began playing piano at age six and later attended the music school of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and received a B.F.A. from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He serves as the music associate for legendary composer John Kander (Cabaret, Chicago, The Visit). In roles ranging from music transcriber to assistant musical director, Chris has helped Kander and his new writing partner, Greg Pierce, usher two of their world premieres to the stage – The Landing (Vineyard Theatre) and Kid Victory (Signature Theatre in Washington DC and Vineyard Theatre). Chris’ work as a composer includes his one-man show Peter and the Piano, the full-length musical Prohibited Love, a score for ballet called Done Dancing: Suite For Piano, and several other scores for film and dance. As a musician, he played a seven-country tour across Europe with a 35-piece orchestra in 2005. He has worked alongside Bridget Everett, Marin Mazzie, Malcolm Gets, David Hyde Pierce, Julia Murney, Judy Kaye, orchestrators Larry Hochman and Michael Starobin, and directors Liesl Tommy and Walter Bobbie, among many others. He also served as co-producer on the critically acclaimed LYPSINKA! The Trilogy.

Phoebe Dunn (Ellen Benson). Theatre credits include Pipi in Solstice Party! (LiveSource), Karen in J N K 1965 (Live in Theater), Leah Fox in The Incredible Fox Sisters (The New Ohio Theatre), Eve in The Bad Years (Kerrigan-Lowdermilk). TV: Hulu’s “The Looming Tower” (Margie), Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Museum: Swimming the Channel” (Gertrude Ederle). Film: Water On The Moon (Bec), False Negative (Emma). Graduate of The Juilliard School of Drama (Group 42). www.phoebedunn.net

Ariel Estrada (Benny Conklin). Off-Broadway: A Persistent Memory (MBL Productions, Jessi D. Hill, dir.); Double Falsehood (Letter of Marque, Andrew Borthwick-Leslie, dir.); Far East, Lincoln Center Theater (Daniel Sullivan, dir.); Shogun Macbeth, Cambodia Agonistes (Pan Asian Repertory Theatre). Selected Off-Off/Regional: Tartuffe (NYITA Nominee), Phoenix Theatre Ensemble; Made in China, Wakka Wakka (NYT Critics Pick); All We Have Left, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Jim Henson Foundation Puppetry Residency; The Imbible (FringeNYC Encore Award); Disoriented, Theater C; Honor, Prospect Theater Company; Miss Saigon, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse; 90 North, Kennedy Center, ASCAP/In the Works Program; Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night (Colorado Shakespeare Festival). TV/Film: Title VII, Future Folk, Don’t Let Me Drown; “Occupy White House Sprites,” “Tell Me A Story,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Americans,” “One Life to Live,” “Another World.” Awards: 2018 Rising Leader of Color, Theatre Communications Group. www.arielestrada.com

Sean A. Kaufman (Jud Kelly/Dan Carney) was recently seen in Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels, and soon will be seen in the independent short film, Maturing Youth, a dramedy produced by R&F Entertainment that will be hitting the indie film festival scene over the course of the next year. He also just finished Assistant Directing a different independent film, Joaquin & Luke. Favorite stage credits of his include Twelve Angry Men at Northern Stage, Les Misérables and others at The New London Barn Playhouse, and The Liar at Dartmouth College. He received his acting training from the two-year program at The Maggie Flanigan Studio and is a proud Dartmouth ’13. www.SeanAKaufman.com

Joseph J. Menino (Peter “Pop” Benson). New York: Phoenix Theatre Ensemble: Murrow (one-person show as Edward R. Murrow); The Gambler, Don Juan in Hell, Electra, Agamemnon Home, Art, Iphigenia at Aulis, Hapgood, No Exit, Enemy of the People, The Lifeblood, Antigone, Wolfpit; Jean Cocteau Repertory (nine seasons) including Othello, What the Butler Saw, Travesties, The Importance of Being Earnest; Willow Theatricals: Boys of a Certain Age; Shakespeare Forum: Merchant of Venice; Axis Theater Co.: Woyzeck; New York Classical Theater: Comedy of Errors, Triumph of Love, Twelfth Night; Case Goodmen Productions: Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune. Regional: Greenbrier Valley Theatre: Enemy of the People; Gretna Theatre: Broadway Bound; ACANSA Arts Festival: Murrow; Arkansas Repertory: Macbeth, Death of A Salesman, Henry V, All My Sons, All the King’s Men, Rough Crossing, Grapes of Wrath. Television: “American Genius: Hearst v. Pulitzer” (NatGeo), “Secret Lives of Stepford Wives” (Investigation Discovery). Film: Forbidden Cuba (2015) directed by Art Jones, Forgetting Sandy Glass (2016), The Sublet (2010).

Brendan Walsh (Sheriff Tod Shaw) A U.S.M.C. veteran, Brendan returned home to pursue his love for theatre. He is a graduate of Columbia University and is an Esper Studio alumni. Brendan continues his studying at HB Studio with Trudy Steibl and Austin Pendleton. He has performed regionally and nationally. Recent works include: Macduff, Macbeth; Vincent Van Gogh, Eulogy for Vincent; Eugene, The Au Pair Man; Claudius, Hamlet. He can be as Moke in the upcoming season of “The Punisher.”

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