(RED BANK, NJ) -- Two River Theater invites audiences to sit back, relax, and listen to three exciting new dramas by some of the country’s most renowned writers, including Obie-award-winning playwright and actor David Greenspan, who adapted Thornton Wilder’s novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey, which Two River premiered in 2018.
These three new dramas, set to be released throughout 2021, are a part of a new series called “Radio Plays”, giving audience members a new way to experience work from Two River’s family of artists. Instead of seeing a play, audience members will listen to a play. “We’re inviting you to listen to a radio play. Which, of course, is as old as radio. But, in fact “listening” to a play is even older than that. All the way back to griots and fireside storytelling when we learned to be active listeners and employ our vivid imaginations to create pictures for ourselves”, says John Dias, Two River Theater’s Artistic Director.
“The three plays you’re going to hear are by three writers I’m crazy about: David Greenspan, Kimber Lee and Nilo Cruz. We commissioned each of them to write specifically for us and for this medium. They are joined by three excellent directors and exquisite actors who are meeting up in the digital realm from actual places all over the world.”
Kicking off the series on May 24 is The Memory Motel by David Greenspan. "I’m totally psyched about doing this because I’ve long wanted to write for a sound only, word only format”, says Greenspan. “My plays are very verbal in nature and my productions use only the most minimal scenery. I try to do everything with words, everything with language, even description in lieu of any scenery.”
Later this Summer and Fall, two additional Radio Plays will be released by Playwrights Kimber Lee and Nilo Cruz. Kimber Lee, is known for plays such as to the yellow house, tokyo fish story, and brownsville song (b-side for tray) and has won a number of awards including The Bruntwood Prize International Award and The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Kimber’s Radio Play is titled antarctica.
Nilo Cruz is best known for his play Anna in the Tropics, which premiered on Broadway in 2003 and later won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Nilo’s Radio Play, Kisses through the Glass, will be available this Fall in both English and Spanish.
The Memory Motel By David Greenspan; Directed by Morgan Green. FREE streaming is available through June 6/2021. Michael S. Michaels returns to a beach resort in order to piece together and better understand the fragments of his past. While he’s there, he encounters a series of eccentric characters with whom he discusses art, philosophy, and the peculiarities of memory. Obie-award-winning playwright and actor David Greenspan (The Bridge of San Luis Rey) returns to Two River with this brand-new radio play crafted with his unique blend of fancy, theatricality, and wit. Total listening time: 50 minutes
The Memory Motel cast features Joshua Avery Begelman (Kyle), David Greenspan (Michael), Paul Juhn (Nam June Paik), Keilly McQuail (Avril), Steven Rattazzi (Herb), Mary Shultz (Sandy, Deborah), Pete Simpson (Paddy), Paco Tolson (Danny), and Kevin Veloz (Jesús).
The creative team includes dialect coach Bridgett Jackson and sound designer/engineer Fan Zhang. The Stage Manager is Violet Asmara Tafari.
UPCOMING RADIO PLAYS
antarctica By Kimber Lee; Directed by Neel Keller. Matty wants to do the impossible: become the first woman to traverse Antarctica on foot unaided. On her journey she faces ice storms, frigid temperatures, and constant danger. Even the smallest mistake can mean failure or worse. Written by award-winning playwright Kimber Lee, antarctica delves into where the mind goes under the most extreme conditions.
Kisses Through The Glass By Nilo Cruz; Directed by Liz Diamond. On an American highway from the north to south of nowhere, Trevor Dos Santos and Anabella Landi fix eyes on each other and their attraction is immediate. They take to the road and begin a dance of words, of life, and death. From Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Nilo Cruz, Kisses Through the Glass is a tale of two souls on a journey to the end of the world, bursting with music, poetry, and romance.
ACCESSIBILITY: Closed Captioning and an Audio Spectrum visualizer are available for these performances.
TICKET INFO: Access to all Radio Plays are FREE. Listening is available through a password protected page on Two River Theater’s website. To receive the login information, patrons must reserve a ticket on tworivertheater.org.
SPONSORSHIP Two River Theater’s 2020/21 Season Sponsor is Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center.
Two River Theater is supported in part by public support through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Private support includes the Mary Owen Borden Foundation, Denholtz Properties, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Horizon Foundation of New Jersey, Investors Foundation, Jewish Communal Fund, Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, Springpoint Senior Living Foundation at The Atrium at Navesink Harbor, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, Wells Fargo Foundation, and many other generous foundations, corporations and individuals.
Two River Theater produces a theatrical season that includes American and world classics, new plays and musicals, programs for young people, and festivals of new work. Each year, we also offer 40+ events that reflect our diverse community of Red Bank, New Jersey. Two River produces work on two stages—the 350-seat Rechnitz Theater, and the flexible 110-seat Marion Huber Theater. The theater’s recently opened Center for New Work, Education and Design is a three-story facility that includes two rehearsal studios, artist labs, classrooms, expanded shops and centrally located offices.
Two River Theater has commissioned and premiered original projects including Be More Chill by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz (the theater’s first Broadway production) and Hurricane Diane by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George (which won an Obie Award for its Off-Broadway run). In June 2019, Two River was nationally recognized by USA TODAY as one of “10 great places to see a play” across the U.S. Two River serves thousands of students and community members through arts and humanities programs at the theater, in schools and throughout its region. Two River Theater is led by Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst.
