The original iconic New York Penn Station provides the setting to the first play of the Fordham Alumni Company’s 2014 New Works Series, which kicks off this Monday, June 9, at 7 p.m., in the Veronica Lally Kehoe Studio Theatre at the Lincoln Center campus.
For three consecutive Mondays, the New Works Series is showcasing three plays that were selected from submissions from alumni who are looking to develop their new artistic pieces with the support of the
Fordham Alumni Company. “[They] can ‘come home’ to the Lincoln Center campus to take the time to develop their newest work without the worry of rent,” said co-artistic director Maria Pizzarello, FCLC ’04.
The first of the three plays,
The Eternal Space, written by Justin Rivers, FCRH ’01, premieres at Fordham on Monday. The two-man play charts an unlikely friendship between a construction worker turned photographer and an aging English teacher amid the demolition of Penn Station in 1963. The show, which includes production help from several Fordham alumni, will be followed by a talkback with photographer Norman McGrath, whose photos of the architectural marvel are the backdrop to the play.
On June 16, writer Jeffrey James Keyes, FCLC ’02, will present his dramedy
Control, about a wife, her cheating military hero husband, and their swinging marriage. On June 23, writer Chris Barlow, FCLC ’10, and director Morgan Gould, FCLC ’08, will present
The Heart is a Lonely Arsonist, in which a wealthy gay man, stuck in a police precinct, must dig through his memories of a 20-year relationship to explain a possible crime.
Alumni also submitted musical pieces for Fordham Alumni Company’s The Music Sessions, which will showcase the works in a coffeehouse-style atmosphere on June 28 in the White Box Theatre at the Lincoln Center campus.
Pizzarello said this year’s submissions were exciting and varied, and those that captured the most attention were “artists trying to take the next step with their piece … Pieces that touched on cultural/political issues struck a chord with us. But really, we just like a good story.”
Each show is one night only, free and open to the public, but tickets need to be reserved at fordhamalumnicompany@gmail.com.
—Rachel Buttner
