Black comedy about middle school equestrians makes its New York premiere.
December 3 - January 23 at the cell
"Hilarious and terrifying… You may also have to lift your jaw off the floor a few times. Weiner is a promising playwright with a talent for drawing humor and horror from seemingly mundane subjects." -- TheaterMania
"A whip-smart script… it rings frighteningly true. The acting is superb, the script hilarious, the directing purposeful, the set, costumes, and attention to detail remarkable, and there is a song dedicated to Ann Romney. Need I say more? Go see this play!" -- nytheater now
"Everything you wish for in a tween-centric comedy. Weiner captures the hilarity and gravity of every little thing in a twelve year-old’s simple life…. an exceptional glance at the mean girl culture." -- Theater In The Now
"Take 'Mean Girls,' add a pinch of 'National Velvet,' a dash of 'Carrie.' Stir briskly and you get Jenny Rachel Weiner’s HORSE GIRLS... hilariously nails a kind of peer and class pressure, and obsessive pony love, in this unbridled spoof." -- Misha Berson, Seattle Times
Critics Pick! "Playwright Jenny Rachel Weiner has an ear for viciousness... HORSE GIRLS could be the promising start to a gleefully devastating body of work." -- The Stranger (Seattle)
the cell presents the New York Premiere of HORSE GIRLS, a black comedy by Jenny Rachel Weiner. Directed by Sarah Krohn, previews begin December 3 at the cell with opening slated for Wednesday, December 10.
In HORSE GIRLS, twelve-year-old Ashleigh rules the Lady Jean Ladies, South Florida’s most exclusive horse club. Rumors that her family’s stables are being sold and their horses killed for meat throws the Ladies into crisis in this dark comedy of middle school deception and lies.
HORSE GIRLS was developed at Fordham/Primary Stages and was workshopped in Ars Nova's ANTFest in 2013. It had its World Premiere in association with Collaboraction Theatre in Chicago in August 2013 and made its West Coast Premiere at Annex Theatre in Seattle in October 2014.
HORSE GIRLS stars Kaley Ronayne (Brooke Shields' daughter on Army Wives), Anna Baryshnikov, Olivia Macklin, Angeliea Stark, Katie Lawson, Maddie Sykes, and Eleonore Condo with set by Daniel Geggatt, lighting by Alex deNevers, costumes by Siena Zoë Allen, sound by Ben Truppin-Brown and special effects by Amanda Perry. The production team also includes Justice Longshore (stage manager), Hannah Brooks (assistant stage manager) and Rachel Birnbaum (general manager).
Jenny Rachel Weiner is a playwright and actress based in New York City. Select plays include: diventare (KCACTF National Student Playwriting Award), The Cave Play (O’Neill Semi-Finalist), The Selfish Giant, Grow Wise (Northlight Theatre), Nina (Fordham/Primary Stages), Jason&Julia (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Aunt Sylvia Is Dead (The Collective) BFA: Boston University, MFA: Fordham University/Primary Stages. When Jenny isn’t writing plays, you can catch her performing with NYC/LA based theatre company The Striking Viking Story Pirates.
Sarah Krohn is a NYC-based director. Recent productions include: Jenny Rachel Weiner’s Nina (Fordham/Primary Stages), Parade (Yale Dramat), Joshua Harmon’s The Pits (Williamstown Theater Festival), Letters to Guantanamo (New Georges/The Culture Project), and Dan O’Neils Victor Frange Presents Gas (Incubator Arts). Member of the 2014-16 Women's Project Theater Lab and current co-facilitator of the New Georges Jam writer/director group. Past Member of the LCT Director’s Lab and the Soho Rep Writer/ Director Lab. Recipient of an inaugural New Georges Audrey Residency and the Williamstown Theatre Festival Sagal Fellowship. Graduate of Columbia University (BA) and Carnegie Mellon (MFA), where she received the NYDAC/Boettcher award. www.sarahkrohn.com
the cell, A Twenty First Century Salon (Nancy Manocherian, Founding Artistic Director and Kira Simring, Artistic Director) is dedicated to creating works to mine the mind, pierce the heart, and awaken the soul. the cell is a not-for-profit collective for artists to incubate and present new work.
HORSE GIRLS runs December 3 - 19, Wednesday - Friday at 8pm with an additional performance on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 8pm and January 6 - January 23, Tuesday - Friday at 8pm. (Note: no performance Jan. 20.) the cell is located at 338 W 23rd St, between 8th & 9th Aves.-- accessible from the C & E trains at 23rd Street. Tickets are $20, available at 800-838-3006 or www.HorseGirlsThePlay.com.