Crowns
Written and Directed by Regina Taylor

Based on the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry

Choreography by Ronald K. Brown
Music Direction and Arrangements by Linda Twine

With Lawrence Clayton, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Harriet D. Foy, Lynda Gravatt, Janet Hubert, Ebony Jo -Ann, Lillias White

Sets by Riccardo Hernandez; Costumes by Emilio Sosa; Lights by Robert Perry; Sound by Darron L. West; Additional Arrangements by David Pleasant and Carl MaultsBy, DFA; Press Richard Kornberg & Associates; Casting Tara Rubin Casting; Production Stage Manager Alison Cote; Stage Manager Amy Patricia Stern

"Hats off to Crowns! A delightfully celebratory new show with an ensemble as warm, vibrant and winning as any you can name. A show that seems to arise out of spontaneous combustion.&"
— Bruce Weber, The New York Times

"Dazzling! Now hat's entertainment!"
— Donald Lyons, New York Post

"Spectacular! This beautiful, gospel-filled musical is a joy!"
— Robert Dominguez, Daily News

"Soul-stirring! Brimming with joy and vitality, Crowns is delightful."
— Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger

Little Fish
A New Musical by Michael John LaChiusa

Suggested by Short Stories by Deborah Eisenberg

Director and Choreographer Graciela Daniele

With Lea DeLaria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Marcy Harriell, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Ken Marks, Hugh Panaro, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Eric Jordan Young

Orchestrations Bruce Coughlin; Music Director Dan Lipton

Set Design by Riccardo Hernandez; Costume Design by Toni-Leslie James; Lighting Design by Peggy Eisenhauer; Sound Design by Scott Lehrer; Press Richard Kornberg & Associates; Casting Tara Rubin Casting; Music Coordinator Seymour Red Press; Associate Choreographer Maddie Ehlert; Production Stage Manager Lisa Iacucci; Stage Manager Thomas Borchard

"A LATTER DAY ANSWER TO COMPANY! Adapted from two stories by Deborah Eisenberg, this stylish new musical has the jazzy, noirish feel of what is conventionally called the symphony of the city. As the wistful Charlotte, Jennifer Laura Thompson is charming. Her burnished voice lopes with bluesy suppleness through Mr. LaChiusa's swirling melodies.&"
— Ben Brantley, The New York Times

"A BRILLIANT NEW MUSICAL! LaChiusa's music ranges freely over many pop forms. Bruce Coughlin's bright orchestrations aptly unify the score's lively, eclectic sounds!"
— Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger

"WONDERFUL WRITING AND WONDERFUL PERFORMING! LACHIUSA COMES EQUIPPED WITH TREMENDOUS TALENTS, WHICH FLOW FREELY HERE: His lyrics are wittily pointed and elegantly formed; his music inventively bends standard melodic patterns into unexpected shapes; he is sharp with observation, generous with compassion, and able to evoke volumes of experience in the flick of a single phrase."

"Director Graciela Daniele has given Little Fish a cleanly sculpted shape and a jittery post-911 atmosphere that are emphatically right for it."

"YOU COULDN'T FIND A MORE ENGAGING CAST! Thompson and Harriell are charming; DeLaria brings the monster roommate appalling conviction; and the supporting roles feature distinctive performers like Hugh Panaro, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Eric Jordan Young, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ken Marks."
— Michael Feingold, The Village Voice

"New York can be angst-inducing, especially for single women looking for love, trying to get in shape and giving up smoking all at the same time. Little Fish, the endearing new musical by Michael John LaChiusa at Second Stage Theatre, tells the story of Charlotte (Jennifer Laura Thompson), a young woman from upstate trying to find herself in the big city. Along the way, she tries to forget her evil ex-boyfriend and sleeps with her best friend's man. See it with a group of girlfriends."
— Daily News

The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci
Adapted and Directed by Mary Zimmerman

With Anjali Bhimani, Lucia Brawley, Lizzy Cooper Davis, Christopher Donahue, Kyle Hall, Doug Hara, Louise Lamson, Mariann Mayberry, and Paul Oakley Stovall.

Set Design by Scott Bradley; Costume Design by Mara Blumenfeld; Lighting Design by TJ Gerckens; Sound Design by Michael Bodeen; Original Music by Miriam Sturn and Michael Bodeen; Press Richard Kornberg & Assoc.; Production Stage Manager Cynthia Cahill; Stage Manager Bethany Ford

"Take the writings of a leading Renaissance man. Sprinkle with Surrealist uncanniness and other entrancing visual effects. Simmer in the juices of 1960's avant-garde dance and 70's performance art and garnish with eight talented, attractive, gymnastically inclined actors. The result is A SHOW WORTHY OF DA VINCI!"
— Roberta Smith, The New York Times

"... an engaging and deeply moving show."
— The Wall Street Journal / Zagat Theater Survey

"Mary Zimmerman's gift is original and her visual imagination captivating. From the set to the carefully gymnastic teamwork of the ensemble, the show fairly reeks of ingenuity!"
— Bruce Weber, The New York Times

"BRILLIANT! Viewers should collect Zimmerman productions like pieces of art - for that's what they are!"
— Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger

"MAGICAL! This clever Notebook is filled with wonders. Mary Zimmerman is a smart and graceful synthesizer!"
— Linda Winer, Newsday

"Notebooks is above all a testimony to the insatiable acuity of the artist's eye, always on the move, always looking, questioning and learning, and pulling the mind along with it. It pulls our eyes as well toward sudden moments of visual clarity. Leonardo's thoughts on shadow are illustrated with startling simplicity when one actor sits in the doorway of a darkened house, one side of his face drenched in light. At the same time, another actor underscores Leonardo's love of beauty by admonishing the reader to take special care when depicting young faces. The artist's dense writing on perspective is made riveting by a model of one-point perspective. A LEONARDO SAMPLER WORTHY OF DA VINCI!"
— Roberta Smith, The New York Times

"FASCINATING! The Notebooksgives a vivid sense of Leonardo da Vinci's incredibly restless brain!"
— Robert Feldberg, The Record