Photo Flash: In Rehearsal with The Public's FIRE IN DREAMLAND

By: Jun. 05, 2018
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The Public Theater will begin previews for the New York premiere of Fire in Dreamland, written by Rinne Groff on Tuesday, June 19. The company is currently hard at work in rehearsals, check out the photos below!

Directed by Marissa Wolf, Fire in Dreamland continues The Public's Astor Anniversary Season at their landmark downtown home on Lafayette Street, celebrating 50 years of new work and the 50th Anniversary of HAIR. The production will run through Sunday, August 5 in The Public's Anspacher Theater.

The complete cast of Fire in Dreamland features Kyle Beltran (Lance), Enver Gjokaj (Jaap Hooft), and Rebecca Naomi Jones (Kate).

Continuing The Public's mission to make great theater accessible to all, The Public's Free First Previews program continues this summer with free tickets to the first preview on Tuesday, June 19; available beginning June 12, via TodayTix mobile lottery, and on June 19 via the lottery in the lobby of The Public Theater at Astor Place, with entries starting at 12:00 p.m. and winners drawn at 1:00 p.m.

Rinne Groff returns to The Public with a dynamic and poignantly funny new play directed by Marissa Wolf, Associate Artistic Director and New Works Director at Kansas City Repertory. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, a disillusioned do-gooder named Kate, meets Jaap, a charismatic European making a film about the 1911 fire that burned Coney Island's Dreamland amusement park to ashes. Desperate for something to live for, Kate buys a ticket on the thrill ride of Jaap's passion. The only trick is to keep the roller coaster from running off the rails before it destroys them all. Breaking the boundaries of time and narrative, Fire in Dreamland is a vibrant new play that explores the astonishing things we create in the face of devastation. The work was originally commissioned by The Public Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

FIRE IN DREAMLAND features scenic and costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, and original music and sound design by Brendan Aanes.

GROFF (Playwright). Her plays and musicals include The Ruby Sunrise and Compulsion at The Public, directed by Oskar Eustis; 77% at the San Francisco Playhouse, directed by Marissa Wolf; What Then; Inky; and Jimmy Carter was a Democrat. Her TV credits include "Weeds" season two as staff writer. Whiting Writers Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Obie Award grant, New Dramatists alum, Dramatist Guild member, and associate Arts Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Groff is a founding member of Elevator Repair Service, recently performing as Isabella in Measure for Measure at The Public.

Marissa Wolf (Director) is in her third season as Associate Artistic Director and New Works Director at Kansas City Rep. Wolf directed the world premiere of Fire in Dreamland as part of the inaugural OriginKC: New Works Festival. She has directed numerous world and regional premiere productions including 77% by Rinne Groff at the San Francisco Playhouse; Man in Love by Christina Anderson at KCRep; Precious Little by Madeleine George with the Shotgun Players; The Late Wedding by Christopher Chen and The Taming by Lauren Gunderson with Crowded Fire Theater, in addition to workshops at The New Group and Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor. Nominated Best Director by Broadway World San Francisco and the Bay Area Critics Circle Award, Wolf previously held the Harte Directing Fellowship at Berkeley Rep and served as Artistic Director of Crowded Fire Theater for six years.

Kyle Beltran (Lance) has appeared at The Public in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Head of Passes, and The Fortress of Solitude. His Broadway credits include The Cherry Orchard, In The Heights (and first national tour). Off-Broadway he has appeared in Tin Cat Shoes, The Amateurs, The Flick, Gloria, Choir Boy, The Netflix Plays, and 10 Things To Do Before I Die. Beltran has also appeared regionally at Center Theatre Group, Yale Rep, The Old Globe. His film and television credits include Equity, "Horace and Peter," "The Big C," "Unforgettable."

Enver Gjokaj (Jaap Hooft) has appeared at The Public in As You Like It, directed by Mark Lamos. His regional credits include Future Thinking at South Coast Rep, directed by Lila Neugebauer; Arms And The Man at The Old Globe, directed by Jessica Stone; and The Cherry Orchard at The Huntington Theatre, directed by Nicholas Martin. His film and television credits include The Avengers, Come And Find Me, Would You Rather, "Agent Carter," "Dollhouse," "The Walking Dead," and "Law & Order: SVU."

Rebecca Naomi Jones (Kate) has appeared at The Public in The Fortress of Solitude, Love's Labour's Lost, Passing Strange, and Public Works' As You Like It. Her Broadway credits include Significant Other, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot, and Passing Strange. Jones has also appeared Off-Broadway in Describe the Night; Marie and Rosetta; Big Love (Drama League nomination); Murder Ballad (Lortel nomination, Lilly Award). Her film credits include Someone Great (upcoming), Most Likely to Murder, The Big Sick, etc. Television credits include "High Maintenance," "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll," "Strangers," "Inside Amy Schumer." She's performed solo concerts at both Lincoln Center and the Apollo Café.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus



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