Welcome to The Actors Temple Theatre » Uncategorized

Scroll Down or Click Here for More Information!

stlukestheatre — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:54:39 +0000

NOW PLAYING AT ACTORS TEMPLE THEATRE:

Black Angels Over Tuskegee

Honestly Abe

Tin Pan Alley

Join our E-mail List for special offers on discounts to these and other Off-Broadway shows!

NOW PLAYING: Tin Pan Alley!

stlukestheatre — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:34:26 +0000

The original iTunes, TIN PAN ALLEY is a stroll down musical memory lane, featuring classic song-and-dance tunes, a winning cast and a sunny vibe that helps make the production feel fresh. With hits that have become ingrained in our collective memory like “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “It Had To Be You,” and “Give My Regards to Broadway,” don’t be surprised if you catch yourself singing along with the cast. Filled with great songs and toe-tapping dance numbers, TIN PAN ALLEY is one street on which you’ll want to stay for an evening of musical enjoyment.

Gene Castle and Karla Shook
Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

“…the real thrill of the evening is Castle’s choreography. It’s expert and beautifully executed. Tap dancing and marvelous moves like this don’t grow on many stages.”
-Peter Filicia

Performance Schedule:
Monday at 7 PM
Saturday at 3 PM
Sunday at 2 PM

To purchase tickets, call 212-239-6200, visit www.telecharge.com
or visit our main box office at St. Luke’s Theatre,
308 W. 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues),
any day between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Loni Ackerman, Gene Castle, Karla Shook and Brad Bradley
Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

Jets attendance at Black Angels Over Tuskegee featured in the New York Times!

stlukestheatre — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 20:15:13 +0000

Black Angels Over Tuskegee (front row) with the New York Jets
(© Tristan Fuge)" width="502" height="299" border="0" />

After Cameo on Cable, Jets Hit Broadway

By BRUCE WEBER

The police stopped rush-hour traffic at Eighth Avenue and West 47th Street on Wednesday so the buses could pass through and their passengers, burly men in jackets and ties, could make the curtain. These were the Jets, en route to the off-Broadway Actors Temple Theater. It was just before 9 a.m., earlier even for actors than for professional athletes.

“Last time I did a 9 a.m. show I was in the third grade,” said Layon Gray, who wrote, directed and performed in the play “Black Angels Over Tuskegee.” “I was a tree.”

But the Jets had a luncheon scheduled and then they were off to Philadelphia, where they will play the Eagles Thursday night in their final preseason game. If they were going to see the show and absorb its message about comradeship and loyalty and pride, it had to be early. Everyone was there (well, not Darrelle Revis), including Coach Rex Ryan and the team owner, Woody Johnson.

It was an odd scene, a parade of huge, well-dressed guys filing quietly and obediently into the tiny theater, where several took up more than one seat apiece. A bystander prompted a sizable lineman: “Better than practice, right?”

“I’d rather be practicing,” he responded.

How did this come to pass? Serendipitously.

The play, part history and civics lesson, part inspirational narrative, concerns half a dozen men who during World War II were among the United States’ first black military aviators, known popularly as the Tuskegee Airmen, and who cohere into the proverbial band of brothers. It has been running since February to modest reviews — “an agreeable drama,” The New York Times called it — and one day last spring Ray Anderson, the N.F.L.’s executive vice president for football operations, was walking after dinner with his wife, Buffie, passed by the theater and decided to buy tickets.

Afterward, taken by its themes, its historical poignance and its relevance, racially speaking, to a league whose players are overwhelmingly black, the Andersons were thrilled, and Buffie suggested to her husband that he take his staff to see it. He did, and he subsequently issued a statement extolling the play as “a dynamic teambuilding experience.”

He added, ‘Black Angels’ is a must-see.”

(Anderson could have more use for his skills as a drama critic in a few weeks when “Lombardi,” a new play about the Green Bay Packers coach, opens on Broadway, with the N.F.L. as a producer.)

Buffie Anderson also sent her friend, Sara Hickmann, to the show. Hickmann, formerly director of the N.F.L.’s player assistance services, is now a Jets staff psychologist.

“And the entire time I was watching it, I was thinking, ‘I have to figure out way to get the team to see this,’ ” Hickmann said. “It was so relevant to what they’re trying to do, coming from all walks of life and maybe not always loving everyone on the team, needing to be away from family and friends, experiencing life tragedies. There were similarities in terms of the kind of banter the characters engage in, in terms of being educated and having role models.”

Hickmann took her idea to the Jets’ general manager, Mike Tannenbaum, who approved it, and the league also approved the outing as part of the life-skills program that each team is required to provide for its players. At first, the Jets talked about inviting the performers to their training camp, but Hickmann wanted the players in the theater.

“There’s something about the humility of the building when you walk in,” she said.

The players were a respectful, attentive audience, and a reasonably appreciative one, though there was some confusion about how long to applaud, and the actors’ curtain call concluded in silence. Still, they were murmuring approval on the way out and several asked to purchase T-shirts, though there was a limited supply in size XXXL.

“The play was as good as advertised,” Ryan said. “The message was outstanding, about teamwork, the way you have to take care of each other, the way you have to go through adversity and still go out and function on a high level.”

Jason Taylor, the linebacker signed from the Miami Dolphins, saw the play as being about “guys coming together and not letting someone else tell you what you can’t be.”

He acknowledged that some of his teammates may have initially rolled their eyes at the idea that watching a play together might be beneficial. But he thought the majority found it both relevant and moving.

“I found myself getting emotional at times,” he said. “You can sit in a room full of testosterone and big tough guys. But if you let your guard down and let your guard down and be a true man, you’ll find something in it for you.”

As for the actors, they were delighted, too.

“We saw a few tears shed by those big fellas,” said Thom Scott II, who plays Abraham, a voluble but sensitive young man who has the added burden of looking out for his brother, who is prone to fits.

“I think this play offers a lot that can help them for their Super Bowl run; I’m rooting for them now,” Scott said after admitting he has always been a Steelers fan.

To see the original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/sports/football/02jets.html?ref=sports

NOW PLAYING: Honestly Abe!

stlukestheatre — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:10:59 +0000

Set in Indiana in the late 1820s, and based on historical fact, “Honestly Abe” presents the young Abe Lincoln as a lanky, prankster boy who loves to read and who can tell a yarn with the best of them. Close to both his mother and sister, while never quite seeing eye-to-eye with his father, Abe dreams of the day he can quit the family farm, leave his life of “rail-splitting” in the past and become a riverboat pilot. But family tragedies, a desire for revenge and the advice of a close friend will cause him to change his plans, setting him on the path toward the law and politics, but not before leaving someone very special behind.

Tickets range from $15 to $35 and are available at www.telecharge.com and 212-239-6200.

The show runs 90 minutes with no intermission.
For more information, go to www.lamusevenale.org
Lamusevenale@gmail.com
646-620-7406.

La Muse Venale, Inc. presents Robert L. Hecker’s,” Honestly Abe”, a musical tale of dreams, possibilities and heartbreak, shining a light on a little-known early chapter in the life of President Abraham Lincoln. Directed by M. Stefan Stozier, “Honestly Abe” is held at The Actors’ Temple located at 339 West 47th Street, every Friday at 2:00 pm and Sundays at 11:00 am.

CLOSED: Innocent Flesh

stlukestheatre — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:44:12 +0000

MZL LLC
in association with
Diana C. Zollicoffer
Michael Mann
Kenyetta Lethridge
present

A haunting one-act play written by
KENYETTA LETHRIDGE
about teen prostitution and human trafficking in America

“It is vital that we take notice and not turn our backs on what is ugly.”

Innocent Flesh is a stage play that follows the lives of four teenage girls as they experience and expose the hardship and realities of the sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking of children in America.

Innocent Flesh is written in a multi-layered style that uses poetry, dance, and a modern take on the classic Greek Chorus to express the many struggles and obstacles that young girls face. Lethridge unveils the secrets of how girls from all walks of life can find themselves on the streets, their bodies being sold to men.

Performance Schedule:
Thursday at 8 PM
Sunday at 4 PM

CLOSED as of May 3, 2012.

One Night Only! Special Performance on March 21: “After Anne Frank”

stlukestheatre — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:59:09 +0000

Join us for a special performance of After Anne Frank! One Night Only!
Wednesday, March 21st at 7:00 p.m.
Please join us for a talk back following the show!

March. 1973. Dear diary, I borrowed The Diary of Anne Frank from the library today, but I can’t bring myself to open it.

And so begins 32 years of Carol Lempert ducking Anne’s legacy, but something keeps pulling her back. Again and again and again. And then that ‘something’… transformed her.

Come and meet Carol’s Uncle Bill, Fran the dentist, Matilda the Star Trek fan, plus 20 other funny and wise characters who changed Carol’s life forever. And be transformed yourself.

***

“a masterpiece of theatre”
- nytheatre.com

“entertaining, touching and provocative”
- Backstage. Critic’s Pick!

“Best Bet”
- Newsday

***

Tickets: $49.50
Show length: 90 minutes.

To purchase tickets, visit www.telecharge.com or call 212-239-2600.
Tickets can also be purchased at the main box office at St. Luke’s Theatre at 308 W. 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). The Box Office is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day.

***

For more information, please visit the website and Facebook page
for After Anne Frank!

“Harry & Eddie” to Close Decemeber 18!

stlukestheatre — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:11:20 +0000

“HARRY & EDDIE: The Birth of Israel”

Will Close December 18^th at

THE ACTORS TEMPLE THEATRE

“HARRY & EDDIE: The Birth of Israel”, which opened September 8^th, will close on Sunday, December 18^th after playing a total of 42 performances. The drama tells the largely-unknown story of how President Harry S. Truman’s friendship with his former business partner, Eddie Jacobson, leads to the creation of Israel in 1948. The play, written by Mark Weston, directed by Bob Spiotto and produced by Jessimeg Productions, began previews on August 25^th at St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 West 46^th Street. On October 12^th the production moved to Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47^th Street.

The current performance schedule is Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM.

Tickets at $59.50 & $36.30 are available through www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

For more information go to harryandeddieandisrael.com.

Closed: Harry & Eddie: The Birth of Israel

stlukestheatre — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:38:27 +0000

HARRY & EDDIE: The Birth of Israel

MARK WESTON PLAY ABOUT THE CREATION OF ISRAEL
DIRECTED BY BOB SPIOTTO
FEATURES RICK GROSSMAN, DAN HICKS & LYDIA GLADSTONE

Dan Hicks (as Harry S. Truman) & Rick Grossman (as Eddie Jacobson)
Photo credit: Carol Rosegg

“HARRY & EDDIE: The Birth of Israel”, which opened off-Broadway at St. Luke’s Theatre on September 8^th, has moved to Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47^th Street. The new performance schedule will be Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM and Saturday nights at 8 PM.

“HARRY & EDDIE: The Birth of Israel” tells the largely-unknown story of how President Harry S. Truman’s friendship with his former business partner, Eddie Jacobson, leads to the creation of Israel in 1948.

Eddie Jacobson, a Jewish haberdashery salesman, and Harry Truman initially bonded during World War I where the Missouri men were put in charge of a struggling army canteen. The success of that venture leads to their joining forces after the war to open a haberdashery store in Kansas City, MO. When the depression hit and their store failed, Harry went into politics and Eddie went back on the road as a traveling salesman. In 1948, as the Zionists were struggling to convince President Truman to support the United Nation’s recognition of Israel, Eddie was asked to push their unlikely friendship to the breaking point.

The play, written by Mark Weston, directed by Bob Spiotto and produced by Jessimeg Productions, had its World Premiere on Thursday, September 8^th at St. Luke’s Theatre. It features Rick Grossman as Eddie Jacobson, Dan Hicks as Harry Truman and Lydia Gladstone as Bluma Jacobson.

Tickets at $59.50 & $36.30 are available through www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

For more information go to www.harryandeddieandisrael.com.

Join our E-mail list

stlukestheatre — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:36:52 +0000

[contact-form]

Available now for rentals

stlukestheatre — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:38:58 +0000

In New York’s theatre district at 339 W. 47th Street, Actors Temple Theatre is located in the historic Actors Temple Synagogue building. In use as an Off-Broadway theatre since 2006. Recent productions include Don’t Leave It All To Your Children!, The Big Voice: God or Merman? and The J.A.P. Show: Jewish American Princesses of Comedy.

The theatre seats 199, but can be reconfigured to accommodate up to 240.

For rental information, call (212) 947-3499.