History of the show
HOW THIS REMARKABLE EVENING OF THEATER CAME ABOUT
THE FOUNDING OF RED PRODUCTIONS EVENTS.
In 2009, Gordon Farrell teamed up with Tatiana Gelfand and launched Red Productions Events. The two were both privy to a number of extraordinary stories that women had shared over the years. Farrell, who holds an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, would eventually go on to co-author "The Lifespan of a Fact," which starred Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway. But in the meantime, many of the women who shared their stories with Farrell had already approached him about putting those stories on the stage. He took their stories and, working with Gelfand, turned them into monologues which would be staged at the Upstairs Cabaret at People Lounge on NYC's Lower East Side.
2009-2014
This series of monologue plays was called "In the Red Room: Every Woman/Dances for Someone," eventually becoming known simply as "The Red Anthology." From 2009 through 2014, "The Red Anthology" attracted large audiences to our LES performance space, and numerous women came forward with their own stories, stories they felt needed to be shared with the world. More monologues were written, more were performed, with the women themselves sometimes acting in their own stories on stage.
EARLY RECEPTION
Julia Pugachevsky
of the Washington Square News
wrote this:
"‘In The Red Room: Every Woman/Dances For Someone’ starts off with an invitation. It is a cordial summoning, calmly echoed by a chorus of eight women circling the stage in a provocative, dance-like manner. Like sirens, the women snare us almost immediately, but we stay in their world, ironically, because they appear to offer escape. The play, written by Gordon Farrell, tells the true stories of eight women whom he has known throughout his life. Each story’s speaker commands full attention as she shares her secrets. Stories of heartbreak, helplessness and crises of faith intertwine to form a cycle of self-discovery and reinvention. Together, they create an atmosphere of vulnerability and honesty, a space of healing for all to see.”
A LOST LEASE AND A NEW LIFE
In 2015, People Lounge and its Upstairs Cabaret lost their lease. So Farrell and Gelfand put their heads together. Something had to be done to preserve and transmit the stories they had been entrusted with. The two collaborators decided to create a fully enacted, fully dramatized presentation of what had previously been only monologues.
This was the beginning of "Girls Who Walked on Glass."
From four contributors (some of whom who wish to remain anonymous) come the true stories of young women struggling to deal with the aftermath of sexual assault, of a teenager's alienation from her physically abusive father, of a hopeless love affair with an older man who is HIV positive, and the loss of a mother. These were combined in a powerful quartet of harrowing journeys that lead us through hope, fear and personal triumph.
The final ingredient was making the play a walkthrough immersive experience that presents all four stories simultaneously, as three different audiences follow the characters through seven rooms and multiple corridors.
AN OUT-OF-TOWN TRY OUT
The immersive, walkthrough idea turned out to be the magic ingredient. When the Alleyway Theater of Buffalo, NY, heard this pitch, they agreed immediately to produce the play in tandem with Red Productions Events. It was presented for four weeks in the spring of 2019. This was our trial by fire, the test of whether or not this idea could work and how audiences would respond.
Buffalo Reviews...
The play sold out its entire run.
Here's a taste of what the Buffalo critics said
(for more, go to our reviews section):
"Truly an immersive experience and a unique one!"
-Ann Marie Cusella, Buffalo Vibe Online (May 31, 2019)
"A rare and special theatrical event..."
- Anthony Chase, Buffalo News (June 7, 2019)
"It’s immersive, intense, and in your face, and it’s a play that will stay with you."
-Peter Hall, Buffalo Rising Magazine (June 12, 2019)
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER IN NEW YORK
After several delays due to COVID-19, we were finally clear to produce "Girls Who Walked on Glass" in New York City. In November of 2021, headline NYC comic, Sean Lynch, signed on to play Mike B, a character based on the stand up comic Mike DeStefano, a legend on the NY comedy scene.
In 2021, the sought-after Vogue model and up-and-coming Amazon Prime star Chelsea LeSage took the leading role of Katrina. LeSage, a classically trained actor, also co-produces the noted off-off Broadway Shakespeare company, Stag and Lion, where she recently portrayed Lady Macbeth. LeSage and Lynch subsequently took on the roles of co-producers with Red Productions Events.
Veteran Broadway set designer Raymond Recht signed on to create the visual feel and flow of the many rooms in which these stories play out. Sharon Ellman of Momentum Medium accepted the position of press agent, and seasoned event manager/producer Andrea Canacci came aboard as Managing Director.
We are ready and running towards our gala opening night on May 16th. Performances will run only through June 9th, six shows a week, at The Alchemical Studios on 17th Street in the heart of New York.