Five Summers at The Kennedy Family’s Hyannis Port Compound Come to Life in a Revealing World Premiere Production
28 MARCHANT AVENUE
A Story about Rose, Rosemary, Joseph and John, Jr. and the Things We’ll Do For Family
Written and Directed By Steven Carl McCasland
Part of the Celebration of the Plays of Steven Carl McCasland
Featuring 5 Plays in Repertory at New York City’s Clarion Theatre
NEW YORK, NY, Apr. 23, 2015 – 28 MARCHANT AVENUE, a new play examining five summers at The Kennedy Family’s Hyannis Port compound, will receive its world premiere production this May at New York City’s Clarion Theatre.
28 MARCHANT AVENUE examines the Kennedy Family’s summers at Hyannis Port leading up to the lobotomy of eldest daughter Rosemary, and its aftermath within the family’s Connecticut compound. The play offers an insider’s look into intimate conversations within the family as it grapples with Rosemary’s disability. The play reveals Rosemary’s great potential, as later discovered in her private diaries, and the way it was tragically stolen from her.
28 MARCHANT AVENUE is part of the month-long celebration of five plays by Steven Carl McCasland running in repertory from May 7 through May 31 at The Clarion Theatre. Each play focuses on a different real-life story, with a cast of 25 portraying some of history’s most intriguing characters. View the trailer at www.tinyurl.com/InRepertory.
The cast of 28 MARCHANT AVENUE features Kristen Gehling as Rosemary Kennedy, Dorothy Weemsas Rose Kennedy, Rachel Adams as Eunice Kennedy and Colin Fisher as John F. Kennedy. Rounding out the cast are Kimberly Faye Greenberg as Kathleen, Orlando Iriarte as Joseph, Paul Thomas Ryan as Joseph Jr., Brian Piehl as Bobby, Kelly Reader as Pat and Laurie Sammeth as the housemaid and confidant Louella.
The performance schedule for 28 MARCHANT AVENUE is as follows:
- Sunday, May 10 at 7pm
- Friday, May 15 at 8pm
- Sunday, May 17 at 4pm
- Wednesday, May 20 at 7pm
- Saturday, May 23 at 1pm
- Wednesday, May 27 at 2pm
- Sunday, May 31 at 2pm
Lighting design is by Jessica Creager. Costume design is by Somie Pak. Hailli Ridsdale is the production stage manager. John Capo Public Relations is the publicist. The play is directed by the author.
Tickets can be purchased at http://BeautifulSoup.Showclix..com.
The Clarion Theatre is located at 309 East 26th Street in New York City.
About The Author
Steven Carl McCasland is the founder and Artistic Director of The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective, for which he has directed Lift, Rags, Moose Murders, Yentl, A Doll’s Life, Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles, Twelfth Night, Crossing Brooklyn and more. He also directed the world premieres of his plays neat & tidy, BLACK [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Billy Learns About Captain Kirk] and BLUE: a fable. Beautiful Soup was founded in the summer of 2010. Steven received his Bachelor in Arts for Directing from Pace University.
McCasland’s revivals of Rags and A Doll’s Life featured heavily revised librettos, painstakingly put together using many lost drafts. The end results were comprehensive looks at long-troubled musicals in rare New York revivals.
In the spring of 2006, he founded Group Therapy Productions, the first student-run production company on campus. He produced and directed ten theatrical productions during his four years at Pace University, including an outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the school’s courtyard. Other productions include A Streetcar Named Desire, Dog Sees God, Death of a Salesman, Antigone, Medea, Falsettos, Proof, The Laramie Project and The Diary of Anne Frank.
In 2009, Steven was commissioned to adapt poet Jack Wiler’s anthologies into a solo performance about Wiler’s struggle with HIV. That play, Fun Being Me, was workshopped with Jack in the title role before his passing in 2009. His other plays, When I’m 64, Hope & Glory, The Tip, Opheliacs Anonymous, Fifth Position, Blue, Pulchritudinous (Huntington Award in Playwriting – First Place), neat & tidy and Billy Learns About Captain Kirk have all received productions regionally and in Manhattan.
A classically trained pianist, Steven’s musical direction and conducting credits include Falsettos, The Wizard of Oz, Aida, Godspell, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Imagine That, The Secret Garden and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
In June of 2011, Steven premiered his original adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Setting Wonderland in the heart of Paris, he also directed. After its one week workshop, Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles was picked up for an extended run at The SoHo Playhouse through September. His play neat & tidy made a splash on the Bowery in May of 2012, with critics hailing the play as one of the Top Dramatic Plays of the year.
While not at the theater, Steven maintains life as a private vocal and acting coaching, prepping New York actors on new material and for upcoming auditions. In addition, he runs a blog of free, public domain monologues, all written by him.
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