THE CHANGELING Opening Night (Costumes Encouraged)

"Catch there, catch the last couple in hell." -The Changeling

One of TimeOut NY's "13 Best Halloween Theater Events of 2019"

COSTUME COMPETITION AT EACH PERFORMANCE. Just for entering, you get a free Rude Grooms sticker; the winner gets a signed poster, a pair of tickets to Painted Alice - The Musical at the Plaxall Gallery, and $20 off their bar tab at The Astorian!

VIP Ticket holders get to enter early and enjoy different pre-show entertainment every night. From music to comedy, the pre-show guests double the fun of your spooky night out. At the Astorian, the VIP early entry (at 6:45pm) allows you to order drinks and a delicious meal before the show while you enjoy additional live music and/or comedy! Scroll down to learn about this evening's pre-show performer, musicians Nicola and Tepper Saffren.

ABOUT THE CHANGELING

The Changeling is a deeply disturbing 1622 tragicomedy of lust, madness, and murder. A young woman plots to kill her fiancé after falling for another man. She persuades a servant, madly in love with her but whom she deplores, to commit the crime. That act of violence begins a cascade of horrors that leave no one unscarred. Experience the play that The Guardian calls “a grisly masterpiece” brought to life through site-specific performance, direct audience engagement, and live music.

The Changeling is a wild blend of genres that will appeal as much to fans of Jennifer’s Body or American Psycho as fans of Shakespeare and Jacobean drama. We’re thrilled to build on last year’s oversold run of The Witch of Edmonton at The Astorian and the Plaxall Gallery to conjure these 400 year old ghosts in Queens.

This haunted Halloween trip to the madhouse can be experienced in a speakeasy setting (The Studio Bar at The Astorian) or in an immersive, mobile rendition in a 12,000 square foot art gallery (The Plaxall Gallery).

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

The production runs approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.

This Opening Night Performance begins at at 7:30pm in The Studio Bar at The Astorian on October 24. Come early to enjoy the Astorian’s signature craft cocktails and internationally-inspired comfort food, or purchase a VIP seat to enter the Studio Bar early and have a meal while you enjoy exclusive pre-show entertainment!

Groundling tickets are $10 and are standing only -- however, if you have accessibility needs that make standing for more than an hour uncomfortable, please reach out to us at boxoffice@rudegrooms.com.

Members of our Patreon community and our Fractured Atlas sponsors and donors will receive invitations to our Opening Night party immediately following the performance. Patreon allows your to support our work and get exclusive benefits and access for as little as $4/month; Fractured Atlas allows donors to make tax-deductible contributions to support our work.*

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES

10/24 at 7:30pm at the Astorian - Buy Tickets

10/25 at 7:30pm at the Astorian - Buy Tickets

10/26 at 7:30pm at the Astorian - Buy Tickets

10/28 at 7:30pm at the Plaxall Gallery - Buy Tickets

10/29 at 7:30pm at the Plaxall Gallery - Buy Tickets

10/30 at 7:30pm at the Plaxall Gallery - Buy Tickets

HALLOWEEN 10/31 at 7:30pm at the Astorian - Buy Tickets

HALLOWEEN 10/31 MOONLIGHT MATINEE at 10pm at the Astorian - Buy Tickets

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Production is led by actor-manager Montgomery Sutton (Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe), produced in partnership with The Astorian and Long Island City Artists at the Plaxall Gallery.

The acting ensemble includes Rude Grooms Sharers Daniel Kemper (The Limit of the Tongue, The Daughter’s Collective) and Deb Radloff* (Caucasian Chalk Circle, Classic Stage Company) alongside guest artists Elisabeth Ahrens* (Taming of the Shrew, Queens Company), Clio Contogenis (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), Andrew Garrett* (Julius Caesar, Houston Shakespeare Festival), Yael Reich* (Evita, National Tour and Orlando Shakes), John Roque* (Twelfth Night, Leviathan Lab), Jack Sochet* (Cora & Dave Are Getting Older, Ensemble Studio Theatre), Harry Waller* (Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company), and a special appearance by soprano Alexandra Lang ("A superb singing actress," Voce di meche) alongside pianists Eric Sedgwick & Nora Bartosik.

Rude Grooms creates epicly intimate theatrical experiences built on classic stories. Our work is rooted in the actor-audience relationship exemplified by Shakespeare’s acting company: we use interactive and responsive techniques of Early Modern acting companies in public spaces, non-traditional venues, and new media to decentralize and increase access to the arts. By bringing the plays out to our audiences and offering free or low-cost admission to all of our productions, we enrich our community through cultural engagement that is accessible financially, geographically, and artistically.

LIC Artists, Inc. (LIC-A), is a 501(c)3 non-profit arts advocacy organization founded in 1986 by artists in Long Island City. In 2016, Plaxall, Inc. generously donated a waterfront warehouse space to serve as a fine art gallery, performing arts venue, and community center. LIC-A presents monthly art exhibitions, art classes, theatrical productions, dance and music performances and special events. (www.licartists.org)

VIP PRE-SHOW PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

This evening's VIP preshow peformance features Nicola and Tepper Saffren.

Nicola Saffren is a young multi-disciplinary artist and activist with a passion for acting, writing, directing, poetry & the Alexander Technique. Originally from Montreal, Nicola now lives in New York City where she studies the Meisner technique at the world-renowned William Esper Studio and apprentices with six-time Tony & Emmy nominee Tovah Feldshuh. She commutes back and forth between NYC & her beloved Montreal, where she is co-founder & co-artistic director of local theatre company Playground Productions.

Nicola is a proud graduate of Dawson College's Professional Theatre Program where she undertook roles such as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Violet in August: Osage County, & Phaedra in Euripides's classic Greek tragedy, Hippolytus. She has performed on various stages in and around Montreal including The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts, ASM Performing Arts, Theatre St. Catherine, Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, and Place-Des-Arts. When she is not performing, Nicola teaches classes on sustainability. She will be launching a new YouTube channel about living sustainably in New York City. nicolasaffren.com

*Rude Grooms is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Rude Grooms’ must be made payable to Fractured Atlas only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.