THE NATIONAL ARTS CLUB ANNOUNCES THE 2009 KESSELRING FELLOWSHIPS FOR PLAYWRIGHTS

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

February 13, 2009 - The National Arts Club announced the recipients of its Kesselring Fellowship (formerly the Kesselring Award) supporting the work of extraordinary playwrights who have yet to achieve national recognition. An industry panel of writers, literary managers, actors, producers and directors and critics evaluated twenty-five finalists. In a rare move based on extraordinary merit, the 2009 panel and the National Arts Club choose to give out two lead awards rather than one. These two playwrights, Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghad Zoo, upcoming at the Mark Taper Forum) and David Adjmi (Stunning, upcoming at Lincoln Center 3) were awarded Kesselring Fellowships. Playwrights Jenny Schwartz and Tarrel Alvin McCraney were also named as Kesselring Honorees.

Ari Edelson, Artistic Director of the Kesselring Panel, stated, "The National Arts Club is one of the premiere institutional supporters and champions of the arts in NY, and this year the panel was honored to have the Club's support in awarding not just one lead award but two. Over twenty of America's premiere theatres participated in this process and the final selection panel is the only review entity that is truly made up of peer artists, producers and critics. The four playwrights highlighted by this year's awards represent a true cross-section of the bold ways American theatre is moving forward, and we are positive we have chosen four writers we will be hearing from for decades to come."

"In these tough economic times, The National Arts Club was excited to make sure the esteemed Kesselring Felllowships took a lead in ensuring we treasure our best artists," said Aldon James, Jr., President of the National Arts Club. "By giving out two lead awards, we hope we can rebuke the trend of those who are pulling back their arts funding and programming and encourage bold voices like these to show us light in difficult times."

ABOUT THE KESSELRING FELLOWSHIP
For 26 years, New York's National Arts Club has annually highlighted the work of playwrights who show exceptional promise through the Kesselring Prize. Named in honor of beloved playwright and National Arts Club member Joseph Kesselring, author of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, the Kesselring Prize was first presented by The National Arts Club in 1980, funded by Mr. Kesselring's widow, the late Charlotte Kesselring, and had a mission to highlight the work of emerging playwrights who had not yet received prominent national attention. Previous winners have included Mark Schultz, David Auburn, Melissa James Gibson, Tony Kushner, Nicky Silver, Anna Deavere Smith, David Lindsay-Abaire, Jose Rivera, Heather McDonald, Philip Kan Gotanda, Kira Obolensky, Tracey Scott Wilson, and Marion McClinton. In 2005, The Kesselring Fund was enhanced with a significant contribution by the estate of club member Dr. Paul F. Cranefield Jr..

In 2007, The National Arts Club invited The Exchange and its development center, The Orchard Project, to collaborate in redefining the award to ensure its legacy and maximize the support it provided to NYC playwrights. The new Kesselring Fellowship is committed to generating new work, further ensuring that outstanding playwrights are provided with the tools and support to keep working in NY theatre and contribute to the cultural life of the city.

The Kesselring Fellow receives a large honorarium and additional development support for a project of their chosing, in addition to a committed residency and workshop at the Orchard Project in upstate NY. The tenure of the Fellow will be marked by a reading of a play of their choice at the start of the fellowship and a reading of the new play at the end of the year. The Fellow can also use the year and resources to work on another commission. The three Kesselring Honorees are each presented with an honorarium, a presented reading of a play of their choice, and the opportunity to develop work with The Exchange and the Orchard Project over the course of the following year. All four playwrights will also be included in other literary and artistic events at the National Arts Club over the course of the year. In total, the Kesselring Fellow receives $7500 of direct support and $14,000 of indirect support through development, and each Honoree receives $1500 in direct support and an additional $2000 in indirect support through development.

Review- The Book Of Lambert

The Fab Marquee review by Peyton Wise.

The Book of Lambert is a nineteenth century novel beneath the subway lines, gothic and sprawling. It engages in the manor Middlemarch or Les Miserables, presenting ideas by slowly revealed characterization and plot. It requires the Facebook and MTV generations to recalibrate their attention, but offers rich rewards for doing so.

The play deals with six people living in an abandoned subway tunnel. Their spiritual leader is Lambert, a college professor who abandoned the world above on the heels of a disastrous love affair. His cohabitants include an alcoholic nymphomaniac dancer, a pregnant user, an amnesiac policeman, and a cankerous elderly couple made up of a blind man and a hardscrabble romantic. As Lambert writes his own book and quotes others, he has flashbacks of his relationship’s life and death. In the process of exorcising his own ghosts, Lambert compels those around him to revisit and perhaps begin to face the moments that lead them to abandon the daylight world. While the moments include the horrors one might expect, the play surprises with the impact of actions with benign intentions.

Lucille Lortel and Obie Award winning actor Arthur French as Otto and Gloria Sauve as Zinth
photo credit: Joe Bly

The program describes this production of The Book of Lambert as an update from the piece written 30+ years ago. The language feels contemporary, but some of the driving ideas feel dated. The climax of several character’s stories is a realization of some hidden memory or characteristic, the revelation of which makes the person whole. The idea that all one has to do to break the hold of an abusive memory is recover it seems naive. The fact that this simple idea is set in so complex a play makes one wonder if it is a holdover from the original production, written at a time when bohemia truly believed that understanding oneself could lead to a peaceful world. Likewise, amidst an intricate picture of interracial communication, Lambert’s white lover openly fetishizes black culture as the unknown exotic. Not only does it seem unlikely that anyone with an education or a TV could know nothing about African-Americans, but it seems doubly unlikely that any college professor wouldn’t immediately recognize the exoticization for what it was.

Lambert begins the play with the prologue to Romeo and Juliet and liberally sprinkles references throughout the play. It’s occasionally jarring to see such callous objectification described by some of the English language’s most incredible love poetry, but it’s a better metaphor than we realize. Romeo and Juliet are the ultimate kids in love with love, who fall in love without even knowing each other’s name. Both in the flashbacks and the present day, Lambert idealizes a relationship without communication, a lover with only self-interest. Despite the ephemeral charm Heather Massie brings to the role and love’s traditional eye problems, it seems shocking that Lambert doesn’t realize she has no idea who he is. In one painful moment, he says he’s not going to ‘shuck and jive her’ as he acts like her caricatured idea.

Sadrina Johson as Priscilla and Joresa Blount as Bonnie
photo credit: Joe Bly

The strong ensemble includes a couple standout performances. Clinton Faulkner has an amazing grasp of language and the charisma to carry what could be a callous role. Sadrina Johnson, as Lambert’s ‘interim lover’, exhibits both the fragility of the lovelorn and volatility of an alcoholic. Gloria Suave is heartbreaking as Zinth, a worn-down woman trying to force happiness. The design is hauntingly evocative, pulling you into this strange world from the moment you enter the theatre.

The Book of Lambert, while likely to connect with the audience’s mind rather than their empathy, is interesting exploration of the labyrinth of psyche, especially the caves of love, need and perception.

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La MaMa e.t.c. presents
Leslie Lee's
The Book Of Lambert
February 13th-March 1st, 2009

Tickets are $18 for adults and $13 for students and seniors and can be purchased by calling 212-475-7710 or visiting http://www.LaMaMa.org.

La MaMa e.t.c. | 74A East 4th St | Manhattan

RAGTIME takes on Astoria!

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

New York, NY-February 10, 2009: The new Artistic Director at the Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) “triumphs” with Ragtime. The award-winning APAC (OOBR Award for Is There Life After Highschool and 8 IT Award Nominations for various productions) furthers its mission to “bring professional high quality theatre and entertainment to Astoria/Long Island City” by offering the borough an “enormously ambitious and brilliantly executed new production that scales the show down to a very personal level...There's not a weak link in this solid group of performers!” – Curtain Up.

Ragtime is re-imagined, more intimate and offers a unique opportunity to connect with the actors on stage. Wojtunik’s use of space, three-quarter round seating, and utilizing every created entrance is “ingeniously staged ... [making] what was distant and didactic on Broadway seem wonderfully intimate...It's the combining of the actors' voices that appeals, of course, but also Walker's car sitting three feet before the audience. Indeed, Walker's car had been assembled earlier before the audience's eyes -- a triumph of Michael P. Kramer's streamlined and fascinating set design. – Back Stage


Ragtime is the realization of what APAC has been building for eight years in the heart of Astoria. The show is performing just blocks from 30th Avenue, Queen’s restaurant row, and mirrors the community which is “filled with hard-working immigrants, aging life-long residents, and struggling young artists (and, really, anyone else you might imagine), this is a place where you can both see and hear change happening — from the slick new condos creeping up between mom-and-pop Greek diners to the rush of languages that dance through your ears on any street corner.” – Curtain Up.


I strongly suggest you get to see it any way you can - by car or by subway. Even if you have to walk, it would be worth it. What an incredible achievement. It's a triumph on every level... To be moved and entertained by a troupe of so many creative and talented people. The Astoria Performing Arts Center has created something magical and memorable. Go.
- Talk Entertainment

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RAGTIME plays the following regular schedule through Sunday, February 22:

Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $15 in advanced and $18 at the door. Available online at www.apacny.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to showtime. TDF vouchers accepted.

Directions to the theatre: Take the N or W Subway to 30th Avenue. Walk down 30th Ave. to Crescent St. (Mount Sinai Hospital is on the corner.) Walk one block South to 30th Road.