The Three Christs of Manhattan

Akeem Davis, Dan Hodge
Leah Walton &
Judith Lightfoot Clarke

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 Hold onto your seat belts…You’re in for a wild ride.  On the heels of Two Jews Walked Into A War, Seth Rozin has done it again with what is sure to be another smash hit!  The world premiere of The Three Christs of Manhattan is being produced by InterAct Theatre Company and will be appearing at the old Adrienne Theatre 2030 Sansom Street through June 21. The audience gets an inside view of a young Jewish psychiatrist’s first day of practice. Leah Walton portrays Dr. Posner with a naïve simplicity and brilliant comic timing. Her first three patients, surprisingly enough, all believe themselves to be Jesus Christ, returned to earth. One, Dan Hodge, appears in long straight hair, white robe and sandals. Moments after he leaves, the second patient, Akeem Davis, appears in dreadlocks espousing the need to help the poor and underprivileged. Dr. Posner has no chance to catch her breath after he leaves when her third patient arrives dressed in heels and a dress, claiming the way to salvation is forward thinking through wise investments. Dr. Posner has a plan to get all three together to try for a break-through with their illusions. Spoiler alert: She calls for the return of the Jesi !!!   Each of the actors is true to his character’s beliefs and as such, is very convincing in his role. As an atheist, Dr. Posner is not easily swayed. The play is brief. It runs only 80 minutes but there are enough laughs packed into this satiric piece for a show twice that length. What a wonderful way for InterAct to end its season. Come see The Three Christs of Manhattan and say goodbye to their home at the old Adrienne, as the theatre will be moving to a new theatre space at the Drake next year.  For more tickets or information about this great show with a surprising twist, call 215-568-8077 or visit online at www.InterActTheatre.org.

One-Minute Play Festival

Get your party hat on to enjoy a season’s worth of local theatre adventure rolled into one spectacular evening. The One-Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) and InterAct Theatre Company are presenting the 2^nd Annual One-Minute Play Festival Sunday August 3 through Tuesday August 5 at 8:00PM.  The festival will be held in the home of InterAct Theatre Company, the main stage of the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street.  “We’re incredibly pleased to host the 2^nd Annual Philly One-Minute Play Festival featuring a tremendous number of local playwrights, actors and directors,” says Seth Rozin, InterAct Theatre Company’s Producing Artistic Director. “In addition to being a fun, fast-paced evening of theatre, OMPF is a great way to celebrate the vitality of our theatre community.”  The festival will feature over 90 brand new One-Minute Plays by close to 60 playwrights from Philadelphia’s extraordinary contemporary writers; among them some of the most well-known and important voices throughout the country.  At least 39 of the participating playwrights contributed to the #1MPF in Philadelphia last year, among them Seth Rozin, Jacqueline Goldfinger, Sam Henderson and Michael Hollinger. The playwrights have been selected by invitation and are encouraged to write about anything which inspires their passion. As various themes and ideas have become apparent, the plays are grouped together to reflect these themes.  Teams of actors and directors work together to stage each group. The result is over 90 complete plays, all staged with 4 chairs. #1MPF examines the spirit of different communities through dialogue and consensus building.  Its goal is to represent local cultures of playwrights of different ages, genders and races  at various points in their careers. One half of the proceed of this event will benefit The Philadelphia New Play Initiative. This is bound to be an exciting evening.  It was amazing last year and I expect it to be equally remarkable this year as well. Tickets are available online at www.interacttheatre.org  or by calling 215-568-8079.