To Gather Again: Spring 2022 by Theatre for a New Audience

B R O O K LY N

SPRING 2022

THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE

POLONSKY SHAKESPEARE CENTER Shakespeare and Other New Plays

Designed by Hugh Hardy and H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, the building centers around the Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage, a spacious, 299-seat, uniquely flexible theatre with state-of-the-art technology and acoustics,

adjoined by the 50-seat Theodore C. Rogers Studio, adaptable for Shakespeare, classics, and modern drama. We have taken exceptional precautions for safety and enjoyment for all. Indoor air quality and filtering have been enhanced by installation of an iWave ionization system and HEPA filters throughout the facility. We have also increased cleaning procedures, sanitizing all high-touch surfaces in the lobby, restroom and theatre, as well as assisted-listening devices. These improvements meet or exceed standards set by theatrical unions and public health officials.

Theatre for a New Audience acknowledges the indigenous communities who tended to this land long before it was named Brooklyn. Specifically, we honor the Lenape and Canarsie on whose ancestral homeland Polonsky Shakespeare Center was built. We are committed to rethinking the stories we tell about our history and our connection to each other.

Photo by Frances Dzikowski / Otto

TO GATHER AGAIN To gather again at Polonsky Shakespeare Center is a privilege and a joy, and we are pleased to offer flexible ticket packages for subscribers. We began our 21-22 season with Will Eno’s Gnit, a reimagining of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, and continue with the residency of CLASSIX, a Collective created by Awoye Timpo with Brittany Bradford, A.J. Muhammad, Dominique Rider, and Arminda Thomas, featuring a new podcast series uplifting Black writers and storytellers about different aspects of Black theatre history. The season concludes with productions of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice featuring John Douglas Thompson, and Wedding Band by the extraordinary Black author Alice Childress, whose drama, Trouble in Mind, won recent acclaim on Broadway. Jeffrey Horowitz Founding Artistic Director

Dorothy Ryan Managing Director

John Douglas Thompson is “one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation.” Ben Brantley, New York Times

By William Shakespeare Featuring John Douglas Thompson Directed by Arin Arbus

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Ira Aldridge, the great Shakespearean who left America for Britain in 1824 due to racial discrimination, became in 1831 the first Black actor to play Shylock. Nearly 200 years after Aldridge starred in the role in Britain, Ireland and Europe, John Douglas Thompson will be the first Black actor to play Shylock at a professional theatre in New York City. Photo of Arin Arbus by Phyllis Graber Jensen

Venice is often considered a birthplace of capitalism. “Perhaps not coincidentally,” notes Arbus, “it’s also the birthplace of the original ghetto. “The play depicts a divided society saturated with hate and inequity. The world boils with anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, classism. I’m interested in directing Merchant with a diverse company and discovering what the play means to us in the here and now.”

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Othello. She has since directed him in Macbeth, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Strindberg’s The Father. The Merchant company are Isabel Arraiza, (Portia);) Danaya Esperanza (Jessica); Sanjit De Silva, (Bassanio); Varín Ayala (Prince of Aragon); Shirine Babb (Nerissa); Jeff Biehl (Balthazar); Yonatan Gebeyehu (Solanio); David Lee Huynh (Lorenzo); Maurice Jones (Prince Morocco/Duke/Tubal);Nate Miller (Lancelot Gobbo); Alfredo Narciso (Antonio); Haynes Thigpen (Gratiano); John Douglas Thompson, (Shylock) and Graham Winton (Salerio). This production is made possible, in part, with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

With Merchant, Thompson and Arbus continue a collaboration at TFANA Endowment support for this production that began with Arbus’s Off-Broadway is provided by The Howard Gilman directorial debut with Thompson as Foundation Fund for Classic Drama.

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Awoye Timpo. Photo by Hollis King

“Alice Childress occupies an important but surprisingly under-recognized place in American drama but her impact on the American theater was profound. She is the first African American woman to have a play professionally produced in New York City (Gold Through the Trees, 1952) and the first woman to win an Obie for Best Play (Trouble in Mind, 1956).” From Forward of “Selected Plays “ Edited by Kathy A. Perkins

Wedding Band is set in the Deep South at the end of World War I during the flu epidemic, and is one of American drama’s most revealing tales of interracial love. Written in the heat of the Civil Rights era, Wedding Band speaks with stunning clarity to the public debates of the Black Lives Matter era. Following the celebrated Broadway production of Childress’ Trouble in Mind, Awoye Timpo directs the first New York production of Wedding Band since its New York premiere in 1972. Wedding Band is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com This production of Wedding Band is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

By Alice Childress Directed by Awoye Timpo

“My play… concerns itself with the seeking of love in a racist society… all kinds of love…man and woman, parental, neighborly… the love of country, the love of material things…and spiritual love.” Alice Childress in a letter to Ruby Dee

By Alice Childress Directed by Awoye Timpo

Art © Paul Davis. Reference photo of Alice Childress courtesy Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and the Tilden Foundations

CLASSIX RESIDENCY AT TFANA In 2019, a CLASSIX residency at Theatre for a New Audience inaugurated an ongoing series of readings. Production of the first play in this series, Alice Childress’s Wedding Band, is proudly presented as part of our reopening season at Polonsky Shakespeare Center.

CLASSIX PODCASTS WITH TFANA

A New Podcast Series Covering Different Aspects of Black Theatre History

(re)clamation, an upcoming series of podcasts produced by CLASSIX and presented by Theatre for a New Audience, and launched this winter, is an intervention in the current conversation around theatre history. This free podcast series will uplift Black writers and storytellers of the American theatre—both the celebrated and the forgotten—covering different aspects of Black theatre history. CLASSIX explodes the classical canon through an exploration of Black performance history and dramatic works by Black writers of African descent from around the world. The authors and works speak profoundly to the times in which they were written and resonate deeply with our own. “Before you’re a writer, you’re a citizen, a human being, and therefore the weapons of the citizen are at your disposal to use or not use.” — Wole Soyinka

HUMANITIES Engage with the language and ideas of authors we produce through TFANA’s humanities activities. These include: 360° Viewfinder, our online publication; TFANA Talks, conversations with scholars, thinkers and artists; and the free digital program, Sheltering with Shakespeare conceived and performed by Dakin Matthews.

Beverages and sweet and savory snacks will be available at Monica & Ali Wambold Food & Drink in our lobby. Masks are required when not actively eating or drinking. Our concessions provider Sweet Hospitality Group employs a fully-vaccinated staff and has put extensive protocols and procedures into place to ensure safe service. The Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Book Kiosk, in cooperation with Greenlight Bookstore, offers selected books, films, and music related to Shakespeare, theatre topics, and TFANA productions, for purchase in the lobby.

THANK YOU Thank you for being part of TFANA. As a not-for-profit theatre, all contributions are vital to sustaining our mission. For further information please visit www.tfana.org and click on Support.

SPECIAL TWO PLAY FLEX PACKAGE

Subscribe to our Spring Season and purchase two, three or four flex ticket packages to The Merchant of Venice and/or Wedding Band for just $60 per ticket (savings up to $30 a ticket) Add-Ons Subscribers to any size ticket package can add on Guest Tickets at $60 each. Subscribers can also add on New Deal Tickets for those age 30 and under or full-time students of any age for $20 each (details opposite). Our extra-flexible offer allows you to join us whenever you’d like this season, to use any number of your tickets for one or both productions, and to enjoy a range of exclusive benefits including free ticket exchanges until curtain, unlimited guest tickets, and priority booking.

Join us

Subscribe today and reserve choice seats to The Merchant of Venice and Wedding Band now! SUBSCRIBE: www.tfana.org/2122season

New Deal $20 for ages 30 and under, and for full-time students of any age. All Shows. All Performances. Best Available Seats. www.tfana.org/2122season New Deal tickets may be purchased as an Add On to Spring 22 Season Subscription at: www.tfana.org/2122season New Deal tickets also may also be purchased separately. For The Merchant of Venice, New Deal tickets will go on sale January 11, 2022 and for Wedding Band in April, 2022 (date to be announced shortly). New Deal tickets may be purchased online at www.tfana.org/2122season; over the phone at 212-229-2819 x10; or in person at the box office (Mon - Sat, Noon-7 PM) with promo code NEWDEAL. Each New Deal patron may purchase up to two New Deal tickets. For box office purchases, valid ID listing proof of age or full-time student status must be presented at time of purchase. New Deal tickets purchased by phone or internet will be held at the Box Office and picked up at Will Call up to one hour prior to curtain upon showing valid ID with proof of age or full-time student status. Failure to show valid ID will result in a surcharge for a full-price ticket.

Art by Milton Glaser

Internet and phone orders are subject to a handling fee. All sales are final; no refunds. Groups are not eligible for New Deal tickets, but group discounts are available by emailing tickets@tfana.org.

Health & Safety All patrons will be required to provide proof of full vaccination for entry, and to wear face masks while inside the theatre. Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided for audience members who request them. All Theatre for a New Audience employees are fully vaccinated and required to wear masks within Polonsky Shakespeare Center. Actors are also fully vaccinated. Visit https://www.tfana.org/visit/health-and-safety for complete policies.

Art by Milton Glaser

Robert E. Buckholz, Chair and Kathleen C. Walsh, Vice Chair gratefully acknowledge the support and generosity of TFANA’s Board and all our donors. Even with capacity audiences, ticket sales account for a small portion of our operating costs. The Theatre expresses its deepest thanks to the following Foundations, Corporations, Government Agencies, and Individuals for their generous support of the Theatre’s productions and its Humanities, Education, and Outreach programs. Lead support for the New Deal is provided by the JLGreene Arts Access Fund in the New York Community Trust, the Margaret Whitton Charitable Remainder Trust, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, with additional support as recommended by Council Member Laurie Cumbo. The Theatre’s Humanities programming, including the 360° Series: Viewfinders have been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the Theatre’s Humanities programs do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. A Challenge Grant from the NEH established a Humanities endowment fund at Theatre for a New Audience to support these programs in perpetuity. Leading matching gifts to the NEH grant were provided by Joan and Robert Arnow, Norman and Elaine Brodsky, The Durst Organization, Perry and Marty Granoff, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, John J. Kerr & Nora Wren Kerr, Litowitz Foundation, Inc., Robert and Wendy MacDonald, Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Inc., Theodore C. Rogers, and from purchasers in the Theatre’s Seat for Shakespeare Campaign, 2013 – 2015. Theatre for a New Audience’s Humanities, Education, and Outreach programs are supported, in part, by The Elayne P. Bernstein Education Fund.

Deloitte and Bloomberg Philanthropies are the 2021-2022 Season Sponsors. Major season support is provided by The Arnow Family Fund, The Booth Ferris Foundation, Sally Brody, Robert E. Buckholz and Lizanne Fontaine, Charina Endowment Fund, Constance Christensen, Deloitte LLP, The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Hearst Corporation, The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, Audrey Heffernan Meyer and Danny Meyer, The Polonsky Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Stockel Family Foundation, Anne and William Tatlock, Kathleen Walsh and Gene Bernstein, and Whiting Foundation. Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs are also made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities; the National Endowment for the Arts; Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Theatre for a New Audience is a grateful recipient of a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. We thank Senator Charles Schumer for his extraordinary advocacy in helping to “Save our Stages.”

Brochure Design: Paul Davis Studio

Theatre for a New Audience Polonsky Shakespeare Center 262 Ashland Place Brooklyn, NY 11217 Box Office Hours Monday - Saturday, 12 PM - 7 PM 212.229.2810 Ext. 10 TFANA.org

TFANA @ PSC

Subway: Take the 2, 3, 4, or 5 to Nevins Street; B, D, N, Q, or R trains to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center; the C to Lafayette Avenue; or the G to Fulton Street. Bus: The B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, and B67 buses all stop within a few blocks of our theatre. LIRR: The Long Island Rail Road stops at Atlantic Terminal, which is located two blocks away from our theatre. Citi Bike: The nearest Citi Bike station is located at the corner of Fulton Street and Rockwell Place.