The renowned investigative theatre company, The Civilians has announced casting and opening night for its world premiere of IN THE FOOTPRINT: THE BATTLE OVER ATLANTIC YARDS, a new play with music, beginning previews November 12 prior to an official opening night on November 22 at the Irondale Center (85 South Oxford St.) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
Written and directed by Steven Cosson ("Gone Missing," "This Beautiful City,"), co-written with Jocelyn Clarke and with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman ("Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson," "This Beautiful City"), IN THE FOOTPRINT is a lively theatrical chronicle of the widely-publicized conflicts surrounding the largest land development project in Brooklyn's history at the Atlantic Avenue rail yards.
Featured in the cast of IN THE FOOTPRINT are Matthew Dellapina (The Civilians' "(I Am) Nobody's Lunch"), Greg McFadden ("The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" on Broadway), Colleen Werthmann ("Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" at The Public Theater, The Civilians' "Gone Missing"), Billy Eugene Jones ("Passing Strange," "A Raisin in the Sun" on Broadway), Donnetta Lavinia Grays ("In The Next Room," "Well" on Broadway) and Simone Moore.
IN THE FOOTPRINT is inspired by interviews conducted by The Civilians with real-life players in the years-long controversy about the Atlantic Yards Project, which will bring high-rise housing and a basketball arena to the rail yards in downtown Brooklyn. The different perspectives represented include those of Brooklyn residents, political leaders including Letitia James and Marty Markowitz, members of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, union members, and Project supporters such as Bertha Lewis of ACORN. IN THE FOOTPRINT is an examination of how the fate of the city and its dwellers is decided in present-day New York and what might be learned from this ongoing epic of politics, money, and the places we call home.
In fact, the Irondale Center where IN THE FOOTPRINT will perform sits a mere two blocks from the Project site, where construction has already begun.
This show is the culmination of a two-year long company investigation. The Civilians' creative team listened to Brooklynites from Borough Hall to barber shops to gain insights into both the Atlantic Yards drama and the ongoing story of gentrification in the city. The company previously presented a week of sold-out workshop performances at the Brooklyn Lyceum in 2008 under the title BROOKLYN AT EYE LEVEL.
IN THE FOOTPRINT is produced in association with The Exchange and is part of Exchange NYC 2010-11, a city wide season of new work by America's most innovative theatre companies. Tickets for IN THE FOOTPRINT are available as part of the X-Pass, Exchange NYC's flexible season pass. For more information and to purchase the X-Pass: www.exchangenyc.org
