OnTheRoadRep Repertory Theater Company will present Tea in the Afternoon, a two-character play by Vanessa Shealy, for a limited one week run, February 2 – 7, 2016 at the Studio Theater at Theatre Row. The production is directed by Nick Corley whose recent directing credits include Tim and Scrooge/New York Musical Theatre Festival and Tall Grass/The Beckett at Theatre Row. The production stars legendary acting teacher and OnTheRoadRep Artistic Director, Alice Spivak, alongside New York City newcomer, Tayler Beth Anderson (Boeing Boeing/Cortland Repertory Theatre). Tea in the Afternoon was originally premiered at The New York International Fringe Festival in 2006 where it played to packed houses and garnered excellent reviews.
In Tea in the Afternoon, Elizabeth discovers that her late, much beloved grandmother has bequeathed her entire estate not to her, but to an unbeknownst great-aunt, Bes. Her grief now twinged with betrayal, Elizabeth arrives on this mysterious great aunt’s doorstep looking for answers. What unfolds is an exploration of mutual need and reciprocal antagonism as each woman seeks in the other some echo of the woman they are missing.
Performance takes place at Theatre Row – Studio Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th avenues), New York, NY 10036. Subways: A/C/E to 42nd Street. Tickets are $18.00 and are available at www.OnTheRoadRep.com, Theatre Row box office, or Telecharge at 212-239-6200. Running time: 90 minutes.
Show Dates:
Tuesday, February 2nd at 7:00 pm
Wednesday, February 3rd at 8:00 pm
Thursday, February 4th at 8:00 pm
Friday, February 5th at 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 6th at 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Sunday, February 7th at 3:00 pm
More info is available at www.OnTheRoadRep.com or www.theatrerow.org.
Playwright Vanessa Shealy’s full length plays include One Two Whatever you do… (FringeNYC 2011), Tea in the Afternoon (FringeNYC 2006/OnTheRoadRep), and American Drum Circle, which will premiere at UP Theatre in May 2016. Her work has been developed or produced at theaters including The Abingdon Theater, The Actors Studio, UP Theater, Emerging Artists Theater, Sola Voce Festival, Estrogenius Festival, Queens Theater in the Park, South Street Theater, FringeNYC, Project Y, and ESPA Drills at 59E59 Theater. Visit www.vanessashealy.com for additional info.
Director Nick Corley made his West End directing debut with Woody Sez at London’s Arts Theatre. He directed The History Of War for the New York Musical Theatre Festival this fall and recently spent a year as the artistic director of Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma where he directed Sweeney Todd (starring Jeff McCarthy and Emily Skinner) The Music Man, The Who’s Tommy, Woody Sez (also co-author), and Steel Magnolias. Nick has directed many world premieres including Woody Sez for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and European Festival tour; the Off-Broadway productions of Tall Grass, Flight (Callaway Award Nomination), and Fables In Slang; and the NY productions of Tim and Scrooge (NYMF and Queens Theatre in the Park), The Overcoat (Fringe Festival), and Tallboy Walkin’. Visit www.nickcorley.com for additional info.
Actor Alice Spivak has acted extensively Off Broadway and in regional theatre (receiving the Joseph Jefferson Award in Chicago). Television audiences have seen her in Law and Order, Sex and the City, Law and Order CI, and as a regular performer on Sidney Lumet’s 100 Centre Street. Recent film appearances are in Please Give, Find Me Guilty, and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. She has coached on feature films, Broadway shows, TV mini-series, pilots, etc., and taught Film Directing Workshops, receiving the Indie Award by The Association of Video and Filmmakers in 1977. She has been on the faculty of NYU and Columbia Film Grad Schools.
OnTheRoad Repertory Company was founded in March, 2012, by its Artistic Director Alice Spivak, well-known Acting Teacher/Coach and author of HOW TO REHEARSE WHEN THERE IS NO REHEARSAL – ACTING & THE MEDIA (Limelight Editions ’07). The company was inspired by, and founded in collaboration with, her advanced and professional acting students. www.OnTheRoadRep.com.