Vital Signs

Vital Theatre Company presents its annual Vital Signs New Works Festival. Please note that the third week schedule features performances at 7pm and 9pm.

Series One: November 30-December 3rd

In ANDREA LEPCIO’s HOW I WON THE WAR, a WWII Navy vet finally makes peace with himself while recounting his wartime experiences of bribes, famous athletes, 30-foot waves, untold death and a bevy of beauties.

In SHAWN HIRABAYASHI’s TAV, tensions rise between two old friends, one Japanese-American and the other Jewish who meet at a cemetery in rural France.

In MICHAEL JOHN GARCES’ SOUVENIRS, Aya and Rebecca search for God in a sunset as they lounge on a beach in Mindoro.

In the final piece of Series One, MARK HARVEY LEVINE’s THE REMOTE, a married couple discovers that it IS possible to watch too much television.

Series Two: December 7-10

Series Two kicks off with FIVE WISHES, by THOMAS H. DIGGS, which tells the story of Nick and his boyfriend Quinn; when they agree to work on a living will,
they soon learn they are making plans for more than just the end of a life.

In ANTON DUDLEY’s ANTARCTICA, a couple’s entire marriage is called into question when a mysterious package arrives at their desert island home.

In Steven Yockey’s BRIGHT.APPLE.CRUSH., Ethan, Nancy and Dan rapidly slip from the darkly comic to purely dark as three disturbing acts of vengeance unfold.

Finally, ROSS MAXWELL’s CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY examines what happens when a sister chooses to save the world rather than her family.

Series Three – 7:00 pm: VITAL R&D – December 14-17

Series Three features the work of Vital R&D, Vital Theatre Company’s ongoing playwrights’ workshop. Each playwright composed a play set in and around the Upper West Side, the historic neighborhood in which Vital Theatre is located. The resulting plays span a century and almost as many blocks.

First up is MARK LOEWENSTERN’s THE BLOOMINGDALE ROAD. Set in 19th Century Manhattan, on a dirt path that would one day be the intersection of Broadway and 76th Street, a father must decide which of his children is more deserving of the land he owns.

In Robin Rothstein’s BREAKING ROUTINE, a weekly rendezvous between two elderly friends who meet for their regular bagel, lox and cream cheese at Barney’s Greengrass turns out to be anything but routine.

KIMBERLY ROSENSTOCK’s comedy, DISCOVERING COLUMBUS, skewers celebrity culture through the lens of two star-crossed Starbuck’s employees.

Series Three – 9:00 pm: VITAL R&D – December 14-17

IT’S GIULIANI TIME by AURIN SQUIRE examines the fear that creates shocking rifts between neighbors, friends and lovers when race, crime and politics come into play.

In DAVID BEN-ARIE’s DOUBLE FANTASY, an encounter between a man and woman at Strawberry Fields leads to heated debate about the legacy of John Lennon in a violent and divided world.

In the final play of the evening, DEEN’s SAFFRON, two people from opposite ends of the social spectrum find their common humanity.