Move over Mary Todd Lincoln! Obie Award winner Jodie Markell stars as propagandist filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl in this new dark satire.
May 29 - June 14 at Paradise Factory
"Engaging, entertaining, intelligent and informative... Kofman’s script, Markell’s charisma and Caliban’s atmospheric and inventive production add up to a smart, funny, and chilling experience... Leni's Last Lament is a triumph – not of the will, but of theater as a medium for channeling history and keeping it alive so we remember it, and can try, against all odds, not to repeat the mistakes of the past." -- Jon Sobel, blogcritics
★★★★ "A dark, complex and refreshingly amusing glimpse into the psyche of a truly complicated boundary-breaking figure, channelled in a stellar performance by Jodi Markel. Combined with sharp direction from Richard Caliban, Leni’s Last Lament soars with a timely relevance." -- Culture Fix
"A smartly scripted, hallucinatory, outrageous cabaret carried off with immense panache." --- Kenneth Scott, Edinburgh Guide
★★★★ "Brave and disturbing." -- Rebecca Vines, Broadway Baby
With the rise of global fascism and after an acclaimed World Premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe and a workshop production at United Solo Festival that won Best Script, Best Actress and Best Director, LENI'S LAST LAMENT makes its US Premiere. This darkly satirical play with music is written by Gil Kofman, directed by Richard Caliban, and stars Obie Award winner Jodie Markell as propagandist filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. Performances begin May 29 at the newly renovated Paradise Factory.
Oh, Leni! In LENI'S LAST LAMENT, Hitler’s controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl brazenly poses as a misunderstood victim as she attempts to justify and sanitize her notorious past. Set in Leni’s editing room and presented as a macabre, comic cabaret with a live accordionist, the timely play is a wild, ironic ride full of hard-to-believe insights into this provocative figure as she desperately reassembles her life to create a more palatable portrait.
"While carefully tracing Riefenstahl’s trajectory of self-delusion and moral debasement, LENI'S LAST LAMENT shows how even talented people can talk themselves out of what's right and moral when there's prizes and awards to be had," notes playwright Gil Kofman. "By doing so, the play insidiously draws the audience into its narcissistic orbit with the scalpel of satire instead of a blunt polemic sledgehammer - and holds up a mirror to our own complacency and self-deception.”
A controversial filmmaker who directed Triumph of the Will for Hitler at his 1934 Nuremberg Rally, Leni Riefenstahl's work is often credited with creating the Nazi brand and promoting its aesthetic. Despite that, her work is considered groundbreaking and innovative and is still studied at film schools today.
LENI'S LAST LAMENT features live accordion and violin by Spiff Wiegand, projection & lighting design by Joey Moro, puppet design & construction by Lake Simmons, and set & sound design by Richard Caliban, with Muriel Stockdale as costume consultant and Meg Rosenberg as stage manager.
LENI'S LAST LAMENT runs May 29 - June 14 with performances Thursday - Saturday at 8pm & Sunday at 7pm. Paradise Factory Theater is located at 64 E 4th Street, New York, NY 10003. Tickets are $27, available at www.lenislastlament.com or paradisefactory.org.
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Gil Kofman was born in Nigeria and raised in Kenya, Israel, and NYC. He received an M.F.A. in playwriting from the Yale School of Drama. His play American Magic, a dark political satire, was produced in NY, LA, and London with music by Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth and Richard Foreman playing the part of the President. It was later published by Broadway Play Publishing along with two other plays, Interview and Pharmacopeia. His film, The Memory Thief, won the Feature Award at the Edmonton Int'l Film Festival and played on the Sundance Channel. He later directed a thriller in mainland China, called, Case Sensitive, which was developed at the Sundance Producer's Lab and got a wide release in China, and played on HBO Asia. His other film Lost in the White City played at the Black Nights Film Festival and in other places around the world. His novel aKa came out in2023. His last play premiered at Theatre for the New City in October 2024, also directed by Richard Caliban.
Richard Caliban has worked as a playwright, director and composer across the country and internationally. He was Artistic Director of critically acclaimed, award-winning Cucaracha Theatre (“The most exciting experimental theater company in New York.” — NY Times) where he wrote and directed many of his plays, including productions at The Public Theatre and The Vineyard Theatre. His play Rodents & Radios was on Mel Gussow's (NY Times) Top 10 Plays of the year list. Caliban's MoM - A Rock Concert Musical won “Outstanding Musical” at the NY Fringe Festival and continued with runs at the Actor's Playhouse, Geva Theatre and many other venues. He is also known for directing the celebrated Obie and Outer Critics Circle award-winning production of Mac Wellman's Crowbar at the Victory Theater. Caliban directed Lost Shanghai, which he co-wrote with Grammy nominated composer Angel Lam, at Merkin Hall. His work has also been seen at Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, Theatre Row, The Cherry Lane, Ensemble Studio Theatre, La Mama, HERE, Joyce Theatre, Naked Angels, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theater, Berkshire Theatre Festival, the R.S.9 Theatre in Budapest, Hungary; and the Ilkhom Theatre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. www.richardcaliban.com
Jodie Markell (Leni Riefenstahl) received an OBIE award for her performance in MACHINALl directed by Michael Greif at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. Other New York theater includes: David Marshall Grant's SNAKEBIT; David Lindsay-Abaire's KIMBERLY AKIMBO - Manhattan Theatre Club; BALM IN GILEAD directed by John Malkovich - Circle Rep; ITALIAN AMERICAN RECONCILIATION directed by John Patrick Shanley - Manhattan Theatre Club; ROAD and UBU at Lincoln Center; Will Scheffer's EASTER and Odet's CLASH BY NIGHT both directed by Richard Caliban at Naked Angels (company member). She also played Karla Faye Tucker in Steve Earle's KARLA. Regional theater includes: Tom Waits' FRANK'S WILD YEARS - Steppenwolf Theater; STREET SCENE - Williamstown; SCENES FROM AN EXECUTION - Mark Taper Forum; Theresa Rebeck's SPIKE HEELS - NY Stage and Film. Film includes: Woody Allen's HOLLYWOOD ENDING; Todd Haynes SAFE; Jim Jarmusch's MYSTERY TRAIN and THE DEAD DON'T DIE; Barry Levinson's Jimmy Hollywood. Other features include: TRAPPED; QUEEN'S LOGIC; SWEET LAND; and Ira Sach's KEEP THE LIGHTS ON. TV includes: Law and Order; SVU; The Good Wife; and the recurring role of Wendy Hunt in the HBO series Big Love. She also directed the feature film of Tennessee Williams' THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, and Ellen Burstyn. www.jodiemarkell.com