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Friday, December 30, 2016

Time Out New York Review

TIME OUT NEW YORK
Theater review: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey will surely draw you in
By David Cote

link to Time Out New York review







The men onstage know each other intimately but maintain a respectful, almost shy distance. They range from college-aged to senior citizenry. Yet as they trade observations on childhood, first loves and the pains of growing old, little gestures of affection emerge: a reassuring pat on the shoulder, a hand resting innocently on a knee during a juicy bit of gossip. They might be chatty relatives or an odd trio of roommates. In fact, they are phases of Edward Gorey (1925–2000), the genius illustrator and writer who produced nearly a hundred books over 47 years. Each was meticulously drawn in his signature style of dense cross-hatching, depicting Edwardian gentlemen and neurasthenic feather boa’ed society ladies, plus the occasional menacing urn, smug cat or creeping creature. If, in this fictional portrayal, the man who created that tremulous, midnight realm keeps his own self at arm’s length, it makes sense. “Why be one person when you can be…hundreds?” Gorey 1 (Andrew Dawson) queries. Like Whitman, the camp-gothic bard contained multitudes—and was perfectly happy to be lost in the crowd.

Travis Russ’s lovingly crafted 75-minute play is less concerned with the nitty-gritty of Gorey’s publishing career or his approach to drawing (lots of grumbling and self-criticism) and more with his breezy evasions and elliptical musings on an eccentric, solitary life. A dandyish student at Harvard (his roommate was poet Frank O’Hara), Gorey moved to New York in the 1950s, working in advertising while shopping his weird, cryptic portfolio to magazines. His black-and-white world of tweedy figures and sere landscapes, often captioned with nonsense verse, eventually gained a cult following—a fandom that increased when his art was used in the credit sequence for PBS’s Mystery.

Never married and self-admittedly asexual, Gorey spent the last 14 years of his life in a rickety ex–sea-captain’s home on Cap Cod. The play, which costars Phil Gillen as a twentyish, moony Gorey and Aidan Sank as the artist in bearded, relatively confident middle years, takes place in an imaginary version of that house, crammed floor to ceiling with all manner of rusty tools or antique toys that Gorey obsessively accumulated. It’s Grey Gardens with a better work ethic. The mood flits gently from whimsical to melancholy and dryly bemused.

For the proud owner of the anthology Amphigorey and its sequels, The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey is a visit to an old friend who always amuses and sometimes surprises. Newcomers, take care: Gorey’s macabre, intricately detailed universe can addict and overwhelm. The man himself was an object lesson.

Sheen Center (Off Broadway). Written and directed Travis Russ. With Andrew Dawson, Phil Gillen, Aidan Sank. Running time: 1hr 15mins. No intermission. Through Jan 14. Click here for full ticket and venue information. 

Gorey: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey- The New Yorker

Nice mention today in The New Yorker...

The New Yorker- GOREY:The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey

Gorey: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey

The writer and illustrator Edward Gorey specialized in locating humor in peril and gloom;
 in his life, he could accurately be labelled a hoarder and a loner, yet his personality brimmed
with inspirations and enthusiasms. The playwright and director Travis Russ has devised a 
brilliant solution for dramatizing this contradictory and solitary man: three actors, all of 
them excellent and in perfect tune with one another, play the artist simultaneously at three
 different ages, delivering a collective autobiographical monologue, sometimes delightedly
 affirming each other’s accounts, sometimes gently contradicting them. Gorey may be the only 
character onstage (unless you count his overstuffed old house on Cape Cod, which is evoked
 in such loving detail that it deserves its own billing), but presenting his life in triplicate is like
 taking a familiar melody and assigning it an unexpected set of chords.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

GOREY- Opening Night !

What a great opening night with this extraordinary group of people that made this show a reality. I am truly awed by everyone's talent! Bravo.



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

GOREY- First Preview TONIGHT at 8:00

Here we go....


GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey- New York magazine top 25 things to do!

New York Magazine lists GOREY as on of the top 25 things to do this week in NYC! Previews start today...running through January 14th!


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

GOREY opens next week- Friends & Family Discount!

Hi Everyone! 

GOREY is opening its Off-Broadway run next week and they are offering a "friends and family" discount for the first weekend (12/14-12/18). Use "FAM18" to get $18 tickets. We need great, friendly and enthusiastic audiences (critics will be around!) and I think you'd enjoy the show. This is a project I have been involved with for some time now and I really believe in it. If you can't make it (or if you saw it at HERE last Spring), please tell your friends! 


Regular performances run through January 14th.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

GOREY returns!

December 2016 through January 2017 at The Sheen Center...click here for more information 


America is Hard to See- Life Jacket Theatre

Honored to be a part of the first, developmental reading of Life Jacket Theatre's new and challenging play AMERICA IS HARD TO SEE...


Based on verbatim interviews and archival research, this ground breaking play investigates the lives in and around Miracle Village, a rural community for sex offenders, buried deep in Florida's sugarcane fields.
This uncomfortable and disruptive play tells tough, thoughtful and real stories about darkness, uncertainty and the painful process of healing in small-town America. Seven actors embody over 50 roles including Miracle Village residents, law officials, clergy, and other figures on opposing sides of this controversial community.


For more information, click here for Life Jacket's website...

Friday, May 6, 2016

GOREY: Photos from the Opening Party

A good time was had by all...

Travis Russ (Director/Playwright) and Carl Vorwerk (Stage Manager)

The cast with Elizabeth Ostler (Puppet Designer)

Anthony Dvarskas (Dramaturg)

The cast: me, Aidan Sank, Phil Gillen

Thursday, May 5, 2016

GOREY....Opening Night!

Great opening night and second performance. Full houses and wonderful and friendly audiences! Thanks to all my pals who came!

Now on to a successful little run!



Out front after opening night

Howard Johnson scene from GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey
We had a few Doubtful Guests awaiting us in the dressing room!

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey Opens Tonight

After a great weekend of full previews, GOREY opens tonight at 7:00!

 It has been such a wonderful ride getting to this point and now I look forward to settling into our run. 





Monday, April 18, 2016

Rehearsals Continue!






The cast of GOREY and choreographer Katie Proulx rehearsing a sequence inspired by the choreography of George Balanchine and the drawings of Edward Gorey.

 GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey is coming April 30th toHERE Arts Center--tickets and info here:tinyurl.com/goreyplay #goreyplay — with Andrew DawsonPhil GillenAidan Sank and Katie Proulx.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Rehearsals begin for GOREY

Rehearsals have begun for GOREY, a new play by Travis Russ about Edward Gorey premiering April 30th at HERE Arts Center



Tickets and more information available here: tinyurl.com/goreyplay#goreyplay — 

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Meet the Cast of GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey

GOREY: THE SECRET LIVES OF EDWARD GOREY
April 30-May 22
A new play investigating the published works and secret life of one of the most eccentric and creative artists of the 20th century.



















Thursday, March 17, 2016

NPR Interview- GOREY


Nice interview today on NPR about GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey



GOREY: THE SECRET LIVES OF EDWARD GOREY
April 30-May 22
A new play investigating the published works and secret life of one of the most eccentric and creative artists of the 20th century.

Click to Listen to the Interview



Monday, February 22, 2016

GOREY- April 29 through May 22, 2016

I'm so pleased to announce that I will be appear in the world premiere production of GOREY: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey, this May. You may remember that I did the developmental workshop of this play last year. So excited to have a chance at doing a full run of the entire play. More details to follow!


GOREY: THE SECRET LIVES OF EDWARD GOREY
April 30-May 22
A new play investigating the published works and secret life of one of the most eccentric and creative artists of the 20th century.