| ONE MONTH UNTIL OPENING: Neuro-inclusive 'Into the Woods' this June with EPIC Players | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 10:59 am EDT 05/09/23 | |
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| ONE MONTH UNTIL OPENING: NEURO-INCLUSIVE INTO THE WOODS THIS JUNE WITH EPIC PLAYERS Tickets Available Now — Neuro-Inclusive Production of INTO THE WOODS at ART/NY; Limited Run From June 8-18 — NEW YORK – This June, EPIC Players will dazzle audiences with theatrical magic and more with its mainstage production of Into the Woods, a show filled with fairy tales, enchantments, imagination, fanciful beings and valuable moral lessons. It's also EPIC's most inclusive production to date, featuring artists from the Neurodiverse, Deaf, Disabled, Blind and Trans/LGBTQ+ community. The show will have a limited run from June 8-18 in the Mezzanine at A.R.T./New York Theatre in Midtown, Manhattan. EPIC Players is a leading neuro-diverse theater company in New York City that believes everyone has a talent and our differences are our strength. EPIC provides opportunities for performers with developmental and other disabilities to appear on stage and screen. (EPIC stands for Empower, Perform, Include, Create.) Based on the Tony Award-winning book by James Lapine and score by Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods intertwines various Brothers Grimm fairy tales. It follows five main characters and their deepest wishes: a Baker (Max Tunney) and the Baker's Wife, (Carly Hayes) who wish to have a child; Cinderella, (Jordan Boyatt) who wishes to attend the King's Festival; Jack (Gianluca Cirafici ) who wishes his cow would give milk; and Little Red (Emy Ramos) who wishes for bread to bring to her Granny's house. The performance will be inclusive for both actors and audiences – powered by its diverse cast and creative team, and offering a relaxed atmosphere for patrons with developmental disabilities to talk and vocalize as they wish. Accessible seating, assisted listening devices, two scheduled captioned performances, sensory guides, noise canceling headphones, quiet zones and touch tours also will be available for audience members who need them. "We are immensely grateful and proud to be able to finally share this performance with our audiences," said EPIC's Executive and Artistic Director Aubrie Therrien. " Into the Woods shows us that the world - even a fairytale one - is not always black and white, and that most things live somewhere in the complexity of the gray. This show is hilarious, soul-stirring and oftentimes heartbreaking, and I think also coupled through the lens of neurodiversity, we are able to see the nuisances of the human condition in the texts and lyrics even more clearly. Audience members can expect a very special retelling of this magical show." Tickets are available at https://epicplayers.ticketspice.com/epic-players-presents-into-the-woods and range from $35-$65. The set $65 ticket price on Opening Night June 8 includes an open bar with a Brothers Grimm-styled cocktail hour (beer and wine). Doors open at 6 p.m. Performances on Wednesday to Saturdays are at 6:45 p.m. and performances on Sundays are at 2 p.m. Proceeds from ticket sales will support EPIC Players, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit, founded in 2016 to create professional performing arts opportunities and supportive social communities in the arts for individuals with developmental disabilities. Through inclusive mainstage productions, musical cabarets, original showcases, skills-based classes and career resources, EPIC aims to foster greater inclusion in the arts. In addition to Max Tunney, Carly Hayes, Jordan Boyatt, Emy Ramos and Gianluca Cirafici, the 28-member EPIC cast for Into the Woods includes: Sarah "Sair" Kaufman (Witch ), Samantha Elisofon (Rapunzel ), Ben Rosloff ( Narrator ), Sandy Gladstone-Karpe (Jack's Mom), Sean Mcgowan (Milky White), Miles Butler (Milky White), Henry Hougton (Rapunzel's Prince), Sam Langsheteyn (Cinderella's Prince), Nick Moscato (Wolf ), Will Ketter (Steward One), Ethan Homan (Steward Two), Meggan Dodd (Granny ), Fern Schlesinger (Giant ), Travis Burbee ( Mysterious Man), Mina Cuesta (Cinderella's Mom), Zach Lichterman (Cinderella's Dad), Chloe Solomon (Step Mom), Laisha Gonzalez (Florinda ), Christine Newberry (Lucinda ), Natalie Kaiser (Snow White), Eric Fegan (Wolf Two), Alexander Reeves (Rumplestiltskin / Ensemble ) and Nick Amodio ( Hansel/ Ensemble). The diverse creative team for Into the Woods includes: Aubrie Therrien (Director ), Max Baudisch (Assistant Director), Shane Dittmar (Musical Director), Sydnee Davis (Production Manager), Dakota Silvey ( Stage Manager), Carol Hoverman (Assistant Stage Manager), Bre Baron (Assistant Stage Manager), Wells Thorne ( Props Designer), Matt Imhoff ( Set Designer), Nicole Zausmer ( Costume Designer), Sean Ramos (Sound Designer), Cameron Filepas ( Lighting Designer), Travis Burbee ( Choreographer ), Meggan Dodd (Acting Coach), and Talia Eapen (Front of House Manager). About EPIC Players EPIC Players is a nonprofit, neuro-diverse theater company in New York City founded in 2016 to provide opportunities for performers with developmental disabilities. EPIC seeks to use the performing arts as a vehicle to empower neuro-divergent artists through professional opportunities and supportive social communities. Through stage productions, musical cabarets, original showcases, skills-based classes and career resources, EPIC breaks down social stigmas surrounding neuro-diverse communities, increasing employment opportunities and pioneering inclusion in the arts. Since its founding, EPIC has grown exponentially, offering free classes and other services, and ever-increasing paid employment to its neuro-diverse community of artists with and without disabilities. EPIC is proud to have performed at several venues throughout the city, including HBO Headquarters, Joe's Pub and Lincoln Center. EPIC Players have gone onto great heights in their careers, some landing opportunities on TV shows such as Blue Bloods, and roles in Broadway musicals. EPIC Players produces two neuro-diverse stage productions per year, reaching audiences of more than 1,600 people in venues all across New York City, including The Flea, The Sheen Center, A.R.T./New York and the HERE Arts Center. Previously, EPIC has staged productions of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Almost, Maine and Little Shop of Horrors. EPIC Players and staff were honored to ring the opening bell at The New York Stock Exchange in April 2018 and speak at The United Nations on autism and the arts. Learn more at www.epicplayersnyc.org . Most recently, EPIC Players founded EPIC Junior, a program created for students ages 12-17 with developmental disabilities. During the free program, which began in January, students learn the ins and outs of being a performer, access mentorships in the arts, and work towards building a performance to be staged Off-Broadway this June. Praise for EPIC Players EPIC's production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown was named a Top 10 Theatre Pick for 2017 by YesBroadway.com (EPIC was #3) EPIC was named one of the "Top Five Theater Companies to Know in New York City Working with Actors with Disabilities" by TDF Magazine "The joy and commitment of the EPIC Players are infectious . I don't know when I've seen so many people have such a good time. . . . All in all, the energetic exuberance of this group is something everyone can enjoy and appreciate. Take your kids. It's a production for the ages. HAPPY FACE" — Hi! Drama, Peter and the Starcatcher "As a disabled person who has often been told that I can't, who has been dismissed, misjudged, cut from the number, laughed off the stage, and somehow simultaneously told that ‘fair is not equal' and ‘life is not fair,' I find some comfort in EPIC's mission. I know from experience that when enough people, particularly those with authority or influence, communicate through words or actions that you can't, that you don't belong, that you are not enough, it's not long before you start to believe it…[At EPIC] everyone greeted me enthusiastically, and suddenly I was a part of something. I felt welcome. I felt safe." – Alexandra Pierson, American Theatre Magazine "The EPIC Players' pursuit is a noble one; to be the beacon, the proverbial shining city on a hill, bravely providing an example for the rest of us to follow." – My Entertainment World "Nick Moscato said as an autistic man with a lifelong love of musical theater, this show lets him step into the spotlight. . . . ‘When I was in community theater, I was with a bunch of neurotypical people and I was always cast in the ensemble,' Moscato said. ‘But with this theater group, I was able to blossom more.'" — WNYC, National Public Radio "Great audience interaction, so much laughter, so much movement, amazing set design. All around all-star production." — EPIC Audience Member, The Little Prince Facebook: www.facebook.com/epicplayersnyc |
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