"Beauty Freak" is a provocative, potent and prescient new work, aiming to make audiences think critically about their own choices in our current moment, and the fragility of democracy across the world. Written by James Clements explores the meteoric rise of controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl during the creation and promotion of her magnum opus “Olympia,” a film about the 1936 Berlin Olympics commissioned by the Nazi Regime. As the regime that supports her artistic vision escalates their campaign of terror and commits increasingly flagrant atrocities, Leni and her colleagues are forced to reckon with their own complicity and responsibilities as artists. This world premiere co-production with Nancy Manocherian's the cell is directed by Danilo Gambini and will feature Baize Buzan*, Sam Hood Adrain, James Clements, Peter Coleman*, Luca Fontaine, Slate Holmgren*, and Keith Rubin*.
*These Actors are appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
This season at Classic Stage Company, the Classic Perspectives Series will be curated and hosted by Co-Artistic Directors Sam Hood Adrain and James Clements. Classic Perspectives is a post-show discussion program at CSC offering audiences the chance to go beyond the performance and engage in meaningful conversation. Following select performances, the series brings together artists, scholars, and creative team members to unpack the themes of the production, explore its connections to both past and present experiences, and dive behind-the-scenes processes.
From the editor: A few years back, I was working quite frequently as a Stagehand at Company XIV, a burlesque-circus-cabaret show in Bushwick. I had to build and run backstage tracks for their MainStage shows, and often train stagehand subs for every new show. One spring, I had the pleasure of having to train Shelby Gilberto, a fierce, determined, laser-focused, audacious, caring, and enthusiastic theater-maker. We shared a love for producing Site-Specific and Immersive Theater, and quickly formed a friendship. At the time, Shelby had recently just started her own production company: Pocket Ghost Productions, and invited me to attend the dress rehearsal of their second production: “Dinner With Emily”. Curious, I showed up at her apartment in Flatbush, walked into her kitchen, and sat around a dining table with five strangers. In awe, I watched Shelby recite an incredibly touching, moving, and vulnerable monologue, as she updated her sister on what she had been missing since she had passed on - while preparing the audience a delicious homemade meal. As the show ended, I got to take the show in while sharing a meal in community, profoundly inspired, with the certainty that Pocked Ghost Productions was a promising new company I had to keep an eye on.
This new play by Andrew Watkins is a retelling of Sophocles’ Ajax, combining contemporary documentary theatre with the original text, at a soon-to-be-announced venue. Watkins, a respected writer and director working between New York and Berlin, has been developing the project since 2022 and will continue to shape it through an upcoming residency at Mercury Store in March 2026. We are thrilled to partner with Sanguine Theatre and Hamlet Isn't Dead to bring this production to life next Spring.
Established in 2017, “storytime” is a free night of storytelling and live music for the Neighborhood, held at various venues throughout New York. Each event features a specific theme (such as “Uplifting Black Stories,” “Not A Day Goes By” or “Waiting”) curated by the visiting musicians (including Eleri Ward, Kathryn Allison and Amyra León) and hosts (including Abby Feldman, Xavier Reyes and Ayla Sullivan). Any audience member who is willing to tell a story is welcome to, creating an authentic and powerful collective experience. This event has so far served over 3500 folks in the New York and online, and was recently recognized with a $15k NYC Department of Cultural Affairs CDF Grant. Most recently, “storytime” was part of the Six Foot Platform in DUMBO. Previous venues include: the cell theatre, Industry City Distillery and Starr Bar.
Returning as playwrights for a third year, this free youth education program creates a brave and welcoming space where young artists can share important ideas and generate exciting theatre that will be performed for their peers. Jane O’Leary, the Director of Education at Barrington Stage Company, noted, “[A]s playwright mentors in PMP, James and Sam are experts at knowing how to work with the teens to support them dramaturgically. Every year, we benefit from their craft and look forward to how they help the program grow artistically.”
Returning as playwrights for a third year, this free youth education program creates a brave and welcoming space where young artists can share important ideas and generate exciting theatre that will be performed for their peers. Jane O’Leary, the Director of Education at Barrington Stage Company, noted, “[A]s playwright mentors in PMP, James and Sam are experts at knowing how to work with the teens to support them dramaturgically. Every year, we benefit from their craft and look forward to how they help the program grow artistically.”
