Partial Comfort Productions premieres a love story for the opioid era by Chad Beckim.
October 1 - 26 at The A.R.T./New York Theatres
Partial Comfort Productions (Samuel D. Hunter’s A Bright New Boise, Robert O’Hara’s Booty Candy, Thomas Bradshaw’s The Bereaved) will present the World Premiere of NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY by Chad Beckim. Directed by Shelley Butler, previews begin October 1 at the Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at The A.R.T./New York Theatres. Opening night is slated for October 8.
Clay and Jess have big dreams: college, refuge from the cold Maine winters, and a permanent escape from the paycheck-to-paycheck, rent-a-center furniture lifestyle of their parents. When Jess finds herself temporarily stuck behind and at odds with her stepfather, she moves in with Clay's mom and begrudgingly takes a job at the local chicken farm. Meanwhile Clay heads off to college, counting down the days to his return, desperate to avoid the destiny of his geography. NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY is love story for the opioid era.
NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY stars Mary Bacon (Tom Stoppard’s Rock n Roll on Broadway, Women Without Men at The Mint, Charles Busch’s The Tribute Artist, Eccentricities of a Nightingale with TACT, Giant at The Public), Adrienne Rose Bengtsson (Wilderness with En Garde Arts), Peter Mark Kendall (Six Degrees of Separation on Broadway, The Harvest at LCT3, Mercury Fur with New Group), Talene Monahon (Log Cabin at Playwrights Horizons, Bobbie Clearly at Roundabout, The Government Inspector), and Micheal Richardson (son of Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson, in his stage debut). The production team includes Jason Simms (sets), Karen Spahn (lighting), Sinan Refik Zafar (sound), Whitney Locher (costumes), and Lindsay Kipnis (stage manager).
Shelley Butler's recent productions include the world premiere of Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 at South Coast Repertory, The Magician’s Daughter by Lila Rose Kaplan for Geva and Wrecked by Greg Kalleres for Contemporary American Theater Festival. Butler also recently helmed the Japanese premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. She has developed over two dozen new plays and musicals at companies including Ars Nova, Primary Stages, E.S.T., WP Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, South Coast Repertory, Denver Center Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Geva, New York Stage and Film, PlayPenn, Ma-Yi, New Georges, The Playwright’s Realm, Keen Company, New Dramatists and the Lark. She spent two seasons as artistic associate in charge of new play development for Hartford Stage and three seasons as artistic associate for Great Lakes Theater Festival. Upcoming: Arcadia for South Coast Repertory.
Chad Beckim (pictured above) is a New York City based playwright whose credits include Lights Rise on Grace, a matter of choice, `nami, The Main(e) Play, After, Little Man, Ghosts, and And Miles to Go. His work has been produced, developed and commissioned by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Old Vic, the EST/Sloan Foundation, The New Victory Theater, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Ars Nova, The National New Play Network, Naked Angels, The Working Theatre, The Playwrights Realm and Partial Comfort Productions. Chad holds an MFA in Playwrighting from Mac Wellman’s Brooklyn College Program and is a founding co-Artistic Director of Partial Comfort Productions.
Partial Comfort Productions is a not-for-profit theater ensemble dedicated to nurturing and launching the next generation of great American playwrights. Co-founded in 2002 by Chad Beckim and Molly Pearson, the company has been an incubator for innovative plays and artists that have gone on to shape the American theater. Past productions include Samuel D. Hunter’s A Bright New Boise (Obie winner and Drama Desk nominee; New York Magazine’s Best of 2010), Thomas Bradshaw's The Bereaved (Best of 2009, Time Out New York), Greg Keller’s Dutch Masters (directed by Andre Holland; Off-Broadway Alliance and Clive Barnes Award nominees), five acclaimed works by Beckim (After., nami, The Maine Play, ...a matter of choice, and And Miles To Go), Ross Maxwell’s Open House (Best Ensemble Award winner at FringeNYC 2006); Craft and Nelson by Sam Marks; Booty Candy by Robert O’Hara; and Play by O’Hara, Chay Yew, Kia Corthron, Eddie Sanchez, Keith Adkins and Tracey Scott Wilson. For more information visit www.partialcomfort.org.
The A.R.T./New York Theatres are a project of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York), which provide state-of-the-art, accessible venues at subsidized rental rates, plus free access to top-line technical equipment, so that the city’s small and emerging theatre companies can continue to experiment, grow, and produce new works. Founded in 1972, A.R.T./New York is the leading service and advocacy organization for New York City’s 400+ nonprofit theatres, with a mission to assist member theatres in managing their companies effectively so that they may realize their rich artistic visions and serve their diverse audiences well. We accomplish this through a comprehensive roster of real estate, financial, educational, and community-building programs, as well as research, advocacy, and field-wide initiatives that seek to improve the long-term health and sustainability of the industry. Over the years, A.R.T./New York has received numerous honors, including an Obie Award, an Innovative Theatre Award, a New York City Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture, and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. For more information, please visit www.art-newyork.org.
NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY runs October 1 - 26, Tuesday - Saturday at 8:00pm with 3pm Saturday matinees on October 19 & 26. The Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at The A.R.T./New York Theatres is located at 502 West 53rd Street (off 10th Avenue). Tickets are $20, available at 866-811-4111 or www.PartialComfort.org.