By Bart Greenberg****On April 29 at 7 PM, at the historic and exquisite Church of the Transfiguration, an impressive roster of cabaret celebrities will gather together to celebrate and support the upcoming production of a powerful new off-Broadway play, In the Closet. Offering up selections from their vast repertoires, KT Sullivan, Jeff Harnar, Marieann Meringolo, Billy Stritch, Jon Weber, Eugene Ebner and Doris Dear will, in turn, entertain and enthrall the attendees. The audience will also receive a special glimpse of the new theatrical event as the playwright Siegmund Fuchs introduces actor Paul Page performing a monologue from the work.
The play itself, In the Closet, will be staged May 29 through June 16, 2019 at the Theatre Row Studio Theatre. An Ebner-Page production, directed by Eli Carpenter, the piece tells the story of a gay man who retreats back into the closet every time life challenges him with loss and difficulties. Page, who plays the leading character, says he knows this man; in fact, “a part of me is him.” The performer’s own life journey included coming out to his then wife, divorcing but staying in the household and living in the basement to be part of raising their two children together.
During that time, he and co-producer Ebner met doing theater but the complicated aspects of his life forced them to part. Reunited by another theater productions some years later, they discovered the sparks were still there and they were ready to commit to each other and have now been married for five years.
In the Closet was first given a staged reading as part of at the 2016 New Works Festival, Denver, CO, where it won an award. Page discovered Fuchs’ work there and found the script resonated with him in its exploration of self-acceptance, self-love and aging in the gay community, with his role serving as an “every man.” Subsequent productions were given in Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., where the metaphysical dramedy was received with glowing reviews: “Stirring multi-generational dramedy about self-worth and self-acceptance that gives new meaning to gay coming of age” DC Metro Arts.
The couple are thrilled to now bring the show to New York in an exciting new production. Joining Page in the cast are Ryan Avalos, Ed Rosini and James O’Hagan Murphy, who offer a range of viewpoints as they portray different generations of gay men. The New York City production will be a fund raiser for the National LGBT Cancer Project, which provides emotional and financial support for cancer patients and their loved ones.
In the Closet cabaret event at the Church of the Transfiguration, 1 E. 29th St., New York City. All tickets are $35, and will help to raise money to finance the dramatic production.
For tickets to the cabaret concert, click here. For tickets to the play, click here.
Leave a Reply