NEW PLACE PLAYERS' CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED THE MASQUE OF NIGHT RETURNS TO CASA CLARA ON JUNE 21 AND 22 AT 7 PM

“There are a million ways that Romeo & Juliet has been performed, but there is something so uniquely sweet and endearing about The Masque of Night, that sets it apart from the rest. With an earnest cast, pitch-perfect musical accompaniment, and distinctive setting, this one-hour production of Romeo & Juliet is a delicious bite-sized confection of romance and tragedy.” – Austin Fimmano, playstosee.com

“The New Place Players, the innovative actors-and-musicians ensemble that performs Shakespeare with music and without a fourth wall, presented a condensed version of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Brilliantly directed by Craig Bacon and Janina Picard, the performance focused on the main scenes between the two protagonists, interspersed with modern-day songs.” - Woman Around Town 

“How to infuse the most well-known of well-known Shakespeare plays with new energy, making the age-old story of star-crossed lovers as fresh and captivating as it was when the audience first encountered it (probably in high school)? The New Place Players’ The Masque of Night, a cabaret of songs (some Elizabethan, mostly contemporary) interspersed with Romeo & Juliet’s most iconic set-pieces, does just that.” - Thinking Theater NYC 

“You can whittle Shakespeare down to a core, you can stage him in a living room, you can do most anything to him; in our collective imagination his characters still stand tall, their cries still ring. Directors Craig Bacon and Janina Picard know this, and their nocturnal “masque” found the heart of Romeo & Juliet.” - BlogCritics 

NEW PLACE PLAYERS' CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED THE MASQUE OF NIGHT RETURNS TO CASA CLARA ON JUNE 21 AND 22 AT 7 PM

New York, NY [June 13, 2024] - NEW PLACE PLAYERS is pleased to announce the limited New York engagement of the critically acclaimed THE MASQUE OF NIGHT, directed by Craig Bacon and Janina Picard. The “uniquely sweet”, ​ “innovative”, and “captivating” Romeo & Juliet cabaret will take place at the enchanting Casa Clara  (218 E 25th St, New York, NY, 10010). Performances are June 21 and 22 at 7:00 pm. Tickets start at $25 ​ and are available at https://www.newplaceplayers.org/. 

Directed by Bacon, a seasoned professional with a 40-year career in New York City and Europe, and co-directed by Picard, a talented German-born actor and director, THE MASQUE OF NIGHT seamlessly blends Shakespeare’s iconic text with chamber music and songs by David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Rufus Wainwright, and original compositions by Musical Director Flavio Gaete. The four actor-musicians will transport the audience to the very heart of the iconic lovers’ timeless journey. 

Originally performed in Casa Clara in March, THE MASQUE OF NIGHT completed its New Jersey premiere on June 7th and 8th at Hopewell Mt. Christian Church. Now, New Place Players returns to Casa Clara, accompanying Shakespeare’s text with chamber music and song, weaving both classical and contemporary, and allowing the performers to transport you to the very heart of the lovers’ timeless journey.

Casa Clara, a former foundry and stone sculpture atelier provides the perfect immersive venue with sofas, dining chairs, a skylight, balconies, and a fabulous collection of eclectic art. With forty-plus guests in such a glorious intimate space, THE MASQUE OF NIGHT  is a soirée not to be missed!

THE MASQUE OF NIGHT stars Maximilian Macdonald (Romeo), Libby Lindsey (Juliet), Anna Bikales (Nurse), and Flavio Gaete (Benvolio, Mercutio, Friar Lawrence, Prince, Balthazar). Bikales and Gaete also serve as principal musicians. 

The Masque of Night is produced by New Place Players, Production Manager and Stage Manager is Rose Kanj and ​ General Manager is Leah Michalos, graphic design by Cristian Gastelo, and filming by Reza Mirjalili. Publicity by Katie Rosin/Kampfire PR.

Tickets are $25/$50 for THE MASQUE OF NIGHT. 

Website:https://www.newplaceplayers.org/

Media Kit with Photos

IG: @newplaceplayersnyc

Wines provided by Kyle MacLachlan’s Pursued By Bear Winery with proceeds supporting New Place Players’ production development and education programs. https://www.pursuedbybearwine.com/

The show premiered at The Players (the old world actor’s club in New York City founded by Edwin Booth) and has since been running at Casa Clara in NYC. It made its New Jersey premiere at the Hopewell Mt. Christian Church, built in 1844 and converted into a performance and living space.

BIOGRAPHIES

CRAIG BACON (Co-Director) ​ is a director, actor, and voice teacher designated by Kristin Linklater in 1998 to teach her technique “Freeing the Natural Voice”. He has taught at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University since 2011 and is a member of the Actor’s Studio’s Director’s Unit. Other faculty appointments include SUNY Purchase, Columbia University, Fordham University, NYU (Atlantic Theater Company), National Theater Institute (US and UK), The Actors Centre (London), The Linklater Center, and Shakespeare & Co. (Lenox, MA). Some of Craig’s directing work includes The Mercury Theatre in England (Macbeth, The Tempest, The Crucible); SUNY Purchase (The Winter’s Tale, By the Bog of Cats, and LAByrinth Theater Company’s One-Acts co-directed with Richard Crawford). He is the founder and artistic director of New Place Players where he directed Twelfth Night, co-directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream with James Ortiz, The Tempest with Richard Crawford, and Othello with Makenna Masenheimer. Some of Craig’s extensive acting work includes Prospero in The Tempest (New Place Players); Henry IV, Pt. 1; Much Ado About Nothing; Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare & Co.); Cymbeline; The Rover; Twelfth Night (Lincoln Center Inst.); One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf; A Christmas Carol (American Drama Group, Europe); Kenneth Lonergan’s Borderlines; Off-Shore Wind w/William Hickey, and Sunday’s Child w/Celeste Holm (HB Playwrights). Craig trained extensively with Uta Hagen, Herbert Berghof, Tina Packer, and of course his mentor, the master teacher Kristin Linklater.

JANINA PICARD (Co-Director) is a German-born actor, director, and teacher of dreamwork for artists based in NYC. With over a decade of professional experience working as a stage and film actor in both Europe and the United States, her directorial vision is deeply influenced by working with the unconscious. She assisted, trained, and studied extensively with her mentor Sandra Seacat in Los Angeles and has furthered her studies of dreamwork with the C.G. Jung Institute Berlin and the C.G. Jung Centre Dublin. She has been coaching artists privately and teaching workshops internationally since 2020.

FLAVIO GAETE  (Music Director) has worked as a musician, sound designer, actor, arts administrator, and teacher for the last 20+ years. He has collaborated with various ensembles in music, theater, film, and dance. Some of his latest collaborations have been with New Place Players as music director for Othello, film composer Renaud Barbier for his latest film soundtrack, Petit Pays, and the Orquesta de Cámara de Chile for their 2018-19 season. Flavio has been a guest lecturer at Sciences Po Paris-Reims and ​ NY University and has taught extensively throughout NYC. Flavio has also played with various orchestras and ensembles, including the Orquesta de Cámara de Chile, Distinguished Concerts International NY, The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, the Manhattan Camerata, Nikolett Pankovits, and various others, having performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, among others. 

NEW PLACE PLAYERS embodies the power of Shakespeare’s plays, performing in intimate, found spaces, integrated with original live chamber music. The company employs experienced musicians, actors, and recent MFA graduates, empowering a new generation of theater artists.

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