Showing posts with label the Connelly Theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the Connelly Theater. Show all posts

Thursday, February 29, 2024

This 'Job' has been extended for 3 weeks at the East Village's Connelly Theater

Photo of Max Wolf Friedlich from January by Stacie Joy 

You now have three more weeks to catch a performance of "Job" at the Connelly Theater

The 80-minute psychological thriller was set to close on Sunday at the venue, 220 E. Fourth St., between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

However, the run has been extended through March 23. The two-character play, starring Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon, concerns a crisis therapist and a big tech company employee, one who has been placed on leave after becoming the subject of a viral video. We'll leave it at that! 

"Job" enjoyed a well-reviewed five-week engagement last fall at the Soho Playhouse. This time around, the notices are just as positive (for example, "one of the best shows playing in NYC right now"). 

Playwright Max Wolf Friedlich grew up in NYC and doing theater in the East Village — at the Kraine, NY Theater Workshop, Bowery Poetry Club, Under St. Marks, etc., as he previously told EVG's Stacie Joy.
We asked Max for his thoughts on the extension.

"We're over the moon to have extended for three more weeks at the Connelly. We're so grateful audiences continue to respond to the play," he said. "On a personal note, I hope our longevity — and the success of other independent Off-Broadway productions this season — demonstrates to the theater world that young people are excited about bold, modern plays written for and marketed to them." 

Find tickets here

Previously on EV Grieve

Thursday, February 1, 2024

On the Job: Talking with playwright Max Wolf Friedlich at the Connelly Theater

Photos and text by Stacie Joy

Updated 2/28: The play has been extended through March 23.

---

The doors at the Connelly Theater, 220 E. Fourth St.,  are locked when I arrive to meet playwright Max Wolf Friedlich.

After a "Hey, I'm here!" text, he pops out of the venue with a smile, clutching a can of grapefruit Spindrift.

We take a brief tour of the site here between Avenue A and Avenue B before the scheduled 2 p.m. matinee of his well-reviewed play "Job," a psychological thriller about an employee at an unnamed big tech company who has been placed on leave after becoming the subject of a viral video. 

The play, starring Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon, enjoyed a buzzy five-week engagement last fall at the Soho Playhouse. Positive word-of-mouth —and reviews — have followed the production here for this six-plus week run. (When I leave at 1:30 p.m., there is already a sizable line on this rainy afternoon.)
We leave details of the play and its plot aside and talk about keeping theater affordable and accessible (there is a weekend matinee with gentler pricing) and the neighborhood and his connection to it. 

"I grew up doing theater in the East Village — at the Kraine, NY Theater Workshop, Bowery Poetry Club, Under St. Marks," he says. "I went to high school in the East Village, and many of my best friends lived here. It's my favorite neighborhood in New York. Somehow, despite all the changing demographics, it still feels like a real neighborhood — a real community."

He continues: "Being able to eat Casa Adela or Katz's on show days? Doesn't get much better. The Connelly is gorgeous, and Josh [Luxenberg, director and general manager] and his team have been so accommodating and attentive. Our whole team truly loves being on East Fourth."
"Job" is scheduled through March 3; tickets can be purchased here

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

What's going on at Connelly Theater Upstairs, the former home of the Metropolitan Playhouse

The Metropolitan Playhouse suspended production for the foreseeable future and left its home of 31 seasons this past summer at the Cornelia Connelly Center on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

That 51-seat black box space is now part of the adjacent Connelly Theater and going as Connelly Theater Upstairs. Gabe Mollica's "Solo: A Show About Friendship" opens there tonight. 

About the production: 
Gabe dives deep into what it means to have friends in your 30s, his special relationship with Stephen Sondheim, working at a summer camp for children with chronic illnesses, and what happens when you break up with your best friend. 
Find tickets here

Meanwhile, also starting tonight, "Salesman之死" at the Connelly Theater ...