WORLD PREMIERE By Scott Organ Directed by Seth Barrish
Announcing: Two week extension through March 1!*
Tickets for extension dates on sale soon!
Opening Night: January 22, 2020
All performances at 7:30pm
TBG Mainstage Theatre, 312 West 36 St, NY, NY 10018
Run Time: Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission
In the aftermath of a school shooting, Sheriff's Deputy Andy Rubens must come to terms with the choices he made during the tragedy. In Scott Organ's spellbinding new play, one man's search for redemption prompts a community to ask—what will we be known for?
PRESS
Listen to Scott Organ and Seth Barrish on WNYC's All Of It with Alison Stewart discussing 17 Minutes!
"Organ's play accomplishes what the theatre does best: It presents this issue not as an emotionally fraught intellectual argument but as a complicated and compassionate human drama."
—Talkin' Broadway
"Astonishingly effective new drama"
—Theaterscene
"The acting is uniformly excellent"
—Plays to See
"17 Minutes is a fine addition to our national dialogue about our country’s abject failure of courage."
—Theater Reviews from My Seat
PLAYBILL
Talkback Series
Join us for one of our talkbacks following a select number of 17 Minutes performances. All talkbacks take place immediately following the performance and last approximately 30 minutes.
January 25 —Talkback with Padraic Lillis, Diane Renaldo, and Adina Taubman
January 29 —Talkback with School Violence Prevention Expert Dr. Sonali Rajan and Mass-Casualty Expert Dr. Louis Klarevas
February 3 — Talkback with Kylie Vincent, Action Director of March For Our Lives NY State
February 6 — Talkback with Pamela Dickson and Leigh Gellar of Bedrock Intelligence Group
February 9 — Talkback with Gays Against Guns
February 13 — Panel Discussion with New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Youth Over Guns, OPEN DOORS, and the artistic team of 17 Minutes
PERFORMANCE CO-HOSTED WITH NEW YORKERS AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE
Made possible by Manhattan Community Awards Grant
MEET THE CAST
Lee Brock (Cecilia Bauserman) has overseen, developed, and/or produced more than 170 projects with The Barrow Group. Directing credits include: Abigail’s Party (New York Times Critic’s Pick), The Pavilion, The Timekeepers, Orange Flower Water, Save Me, Art, and Uncle Vanya, among others. She has appeared in theaters throughout the country including Manhattan Theatre Club, The Kennedy Center, and La Mama e.t.c. Her television appearances include: Orange is the New Black, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, among others. In 2009, Brock created FAB (For, About, and By Women), a developmental wing of The Barrow Group dedicated to creating women’s projects. One of Brock’s personal missions is to help artists create their own work. She teaches classes with The Barrow Group. Thousands of students from all over the world have studied with her in the last 30 years.
Michael Giese (Dan Watson) is an award-winning actor who has been seen on television in As The World Turns and Nurse Jackie, in multiple short and feature length films, most recently Life Hack, which can be found on Amazon Prime, and in numerous national network commercials. He appeared in Grand Theft Auto V as yoga instructor Fabien LaRouche and in Red Dead Redemption II and has been seen on stage regionally and Off-Broadway in various plays including Henrik Ibsen’s Enemy Of The People, A Low Lying Fog and AWAKE all at The Barrow Group where he also teaches. For more information, visit speakgiese.com.
DeAnna Lenhart (Samantha Rubens) is thrilled to be working at The Barrow Group. Most recently she was seen in another Scott Organ play, The Thing with Feathers, also at The Barrow Group. Prior to that, she appeared in Point Last Seen, which was performed at the Atlantic Second Stage, and The Barrow Group’s production of Phoenix. Other Barrow Group credits include The Fear Project, Release, Short Stuff II, and Short Stuff III. Other New York credits include Runners at Atlantic Theater Company's 453 New Works, Escape From Happiness and The House of Yes (Tantrum Theatre) and What I Like About Breasts (Exploding Moment). Regional Credits: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Idaho Shakespeare Festival) and Sincerity Forever (New City Theater, Seattle). Short Films: Curfew and So Grown Up. She has a BFA in Acting from Cornish College of the Arts.
Larry Mitchell’s (sheriff’s deputy Andy Rubens) most recent appearance at The Barrow Group was in the title role (Dr. Stockmann) in Enemy of the People. Previously he has appeared in The Barrow Group productions of Lobby Hero, Orange Flower Water, and Short Stuff II, among others. Mitchell originated the role of Joey in the NYC workshop premiere of A Steady Rain and conceived, produced, and performed the solo show, When I Wished I Was Here; Dispatches from Fallujah; compiled entirely from the memoirs of former Marine Sgt. Derek McGee. On television, Mitchell starred as Jay Paterno alongside Al Pacino in Barry Levinson’s Emmy-nominated film, Paterno for HBO. Guest star & recurring TV highlights include Jessica Jones, NOS4A2, The Blacklist, The Enemy Within, Blue Bloods, Sneaky Pete, Hostages, Mysteries of Laura, among others. Film highlights include The Departed, American Gangster, Blame, and Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming directorial release, The Trial of the Chicago 7. He is from Littleton, CO.
Shannon Patterson (Mary Stevens) has called The Barrow Group her artistic home, where she also teaches and has spent the last decade developing and directing new plays. She is thrilled to be returning to the stage for this production of 17 Minutes. As a director, her most recent credits include the New York Premieres of Torben Betts’ Muswell Hill (a co-production between The Barrow Group and The Pond) and Erik Gernand’s The Beautiful Dark, as well as John Yearly’s The Unrepeatable Moment also at The Barrow Group. Visit shanpatterson.com for more information.
Brian Rojas (Virgil Morris) is a Colombian-American actor and native New Yorker. This is his debut at The Barrow Group where he developed his acting approach, His recent stage credits include: Savana Clacial (Fringe NYC - UT Patet Theater Co.), an immersive Macbeth (Red Monkey Theater Group), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (RMTG), Stop Kiss (RMTG), and reading of Swing (Negro Ensemble Co.). His Film/TV credits include network television series, feature films, graduate thesis projects, and commercial campaigns.
The Creative Team
Scott Organ’s (Playwright) plays have been commissioned by The Atlantic Theater Company, developed by theaters including The Barrow Group, The New Group, Page 73, South Coast Rep, and performed and workshopped throughout the United States, Europe and South America. Organ’s play Phoenix premiered at the Humana Festival of New American Plays and was subsequently produced at The Barrow Group and through Rattlestick Playwrights Theater at Cherry Lane Theater. Phoenix has been translated into Portuguese, Spanish, and French. His writing has been featured in Arts In The Armed Forces. Organ’s plays can be found in New Playwrights – The Best Plays 2010, Humana Festival 2010 – The Complete Plays, New American Short Plays 2005, Best American Short Plays, and Great Short Plays. He is a writer on the short films Playdate (TriBeCa Film Festival, London City International Film Festival – 3rd place, Vimeo Staff Pick), The Board (TriBeCa Film Festival), and The One (Palm Springs International Film Festival), and the features Phoenix and History of Technology (written with David Shane.)
For more information go to Scott's website.
Edward T. Morris, Scenic Designer
Solomon Weisbard, Lighting Designer
Emma Wilk, Sound Designer
Matsy Stinson, Costume Designer
Addison Heeren, Props
Allison Raynes, Production Stage Manager
Seth Barrish (Director) is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of The Barrow Group. Directing Credits include (Broadway) Mike Birbiglia’s The New One; (Off Broadway) The New One (Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle Awards OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE); The Tricky Part (OBIE Award, Drama Desk Nominations for BEST PLAY and BEST SOLO SHOW), All The Rage (Lucille Lortel Award for BEST SOLO SHOW), My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, (Lucille Lortel Award for BEST SOLO SHOW, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for BEST SOLO SHOW—Final performance at Carnegie Hall), Sleepwalk With Me (Nightlife Award for OUTSTANDING COMEDIAN IN A MAJOR PERFORMANCE), Pentecost (Drama Desk Nomination for BEST PLAY), Old Wicked Songs (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award & Garland Award for BEST DIRECTION), and Good (Straw Hat Award for BEST DIRECTION), among dozens of productions spanning a 35-year career Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, in regional theater and internationally. Barrish co-directed Mike Birbiglia’s feature film Sleepwalk With Me. He is a professional acting and directing teacher and is author of the book An Actor’s Companion–Tools for the Working Actor. Barrish co-directed the Netflix Comedy Special Thank God for Jokes and directed the Netflix Comedy Special Mike Birbiglia, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend. He was a consulting producer for the film Don’t Think Twice and a producer of Mike Birbiglia’s CD Sleepwalk With Me Live. As an actor, Barrish appears regularly in film and on television. He is also a composer (SESAC).