Dearly Departed
By David Bottrell and Jessie Jones / Directed by Gloria Muzio

With Dylan Baker, Leo Burmester, Linda Cook, Mary Fogarty, Greg Germann, JR Horne, Jessie Jones, Jill Larson, Wendy Lawless, Sloane Shelton

Set by Allen Moyer, Lighting by Don Holder, Costumes by Ellen McCartney, Sound by Mark Bennett, Hair by Antonio Soddu, Production Manager Carol Fishman, Production Stage Manager Stacey Fleischer, Stage Manager Robert L Young, Casting by Meg Simon CSA, Press Representative Richard Kornberg

This season was supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

"This play has much quality humor as it takes traditional family values and the unlikely co-topic of dealing with death, and combines them for a riotous farce. I found the show to be a stitch."
— Terry Helbing, New York Native

"The joy of this piece is in the boldness of its farcical characterization, and clearly it is a golden chance for actors, and the cast of 10, sharply directed by Gloria Muzio, grabs at it joyously. All of them, I am glad to say, are outrageous and lovely."
— Clive Barnes, New York Post

"Drop-dead funny! Dearly Departed manages a pretty neat trick: it puts some fun in a funeral."
— Harry Haun, Daily News

"Some of the New York stage's best comic performers are hard at work in this venture."
— Frank Scheck, Back Stage

Before It Hits Home
By Cheryl L. West / Directed by Tazewell Thompson

With Beth Dixon, Frankie R. Faison, Yvette Hawkins, Carol Honda, James Jason Lilley, Marcella Lowery, James McDaniel, Monti Sharp, Keith Randolph Smith, Sharon Washington

Set by Loy Arcenas, Lighting by Nancy Schertler, Costumes by Paul Tazewell, Sound by Susan White, Hair by Antonio Soddu, Production Manager Carol Fishman, Production Stage Manager James Fitzsimmons, Stage Manager Cathleen Wolfe, Casting by Meg Simon CSA, Press Representative Richard Kornberg

Originally produced in 1991 by Arena Stage, Zelda Fichandler, Producing Director, as part of the NBC "New Voices" program.

Dedicated to all of our friends living with AIDS.

"A rare and marvelous coup de theatre. The lines have been beautifully constructed to bounce off each other with razor-sharp dialogue. Under the auspices of Second Stage Theatre, Before It Hits Home receives a top-flight production under the fast-paced direction of Tazewell Thompson."
— David Kaufman, Daily News

"Cheryl L. West's new play hits home and hits hard with magnetic emotional pull."
— Jan Stuart, New York Newsday

"Powerful lines or situations jump out of West's scenes, like gazelles leaping from the underbrush, giving proof of her passion and potential as a writer. Her cast, maneuvering easily through Tazewell Thompson's taut, unpressured staging, meets her strongly at every point."
— Michael Feingold, The Village Voice

Spike Heels
By Theresa Rebeck / Directed by Michael Greif

With Kevin Bacon, Tony Goldwyn, Saundra Santiago, Julie White

Set by James Youmans, Lighting by Kenneth Posner, Costumes by Candice Donnelly, Sound by Mark Bennett, Hair by Antonio Soddu, Production Manager Carol Fishman, Production Stage Manager Jess Lynn, Stage Manager Allison Sommers, Press Representative Richard Kornberg, Casting by Meg Simon CSA

This production was generously supported by a grant from AT&T.

"A sexy cast. Kevin Bacon is one sleazy lawyer you love to hate."
— Frank Rich, The New York Times

"The performances possess flair and energy - a grimacingly attractive Saundra Santiago whirls through the play gathering up laughs like a combine-harvester; Kevin Bacon, always the consummate comedian, is most stylishly caddish. Michael Greif's crisp and assured staging is the best thing he has done since his remarkable production of Machinal at the Public Theater."
— Clive Barnes, New York Post

Private Lives a la mode. Laughter abounds."
— The New Yorker

Red Diaper Baby
Written and Performed by Josh Kornbluth / Directed by Joshua Mostel

Set by Randy Benjamin, Lighting by Pat Dignan, Costumes by Susan Lyall, Sound by Aural Fixation, Hair by Antonio Soddu, Dramaturg Erin Sanders, Production Manager Carol Fishman, Production Stage Manager Buzz Cohen, Press Representative Richard Kornberg

"Josh Kornbluth is an impish, lumpyish monologist, best described as a cross between Woody Allen, Spalding Gray, and a ravenous John Belushi. As a poignant elegy to his long-suffering father, Red Diaper Baby is surprisingly sentimental, but never in a pandering manner; the performance, much like the performer himself, is always soft and cuddly."
— Ari Roth, The New York Times