Filmed productions of Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls, Martín Zimmerman's On the Exhale, and Richard Nelson's adaptation of Uncle Vanya will all be seen on WNET-TV's New York City-area Channel THIRTEEN this summer as part of Theater Close-Up.
“These three plays continue our mission of presenting the diverse array of talent that thrives in New York’s rich Off-Broadway scene,” said David Horn, executive producer of Theater Close-Up. “We’re delighted to bring a dynamic mix of productions to Theater Close-Up, ranging from new works to reinterpretations of classics.”
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play will be broadcast August 16 at 9 PM.
First seen Off-Broadway in 2017, the critically acclaimed School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play was remounted by MCC last fall, where it extended its return engagement. Directed by Rebecca Taichman, the coming-of-age story takes place in an exclusive, all-girls boarding school in Ghana in the ‘80s and uses both comedy and drama to explore girlhood, colorism, colonialism, and beauty.
READ: How Mean Girls and a Dearth of Roles Inspired Jocelyn Bioh's School Girls
The cast of School Girls is made up of MaameYaa Boafo, Latoya Edwards, Paige Gilbert, Joanna A. Jones, Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole, Myra Lucretia Taylor, and Zenzi Williams.
On the Exhale will be broadcast on August 16 at 10:15 PM.
Performed by Tony nominee Marin Ireland, On the Exhale looks at the aftermath of a random act of violence on a single mother. Directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, the monologue was seen in Roundabout Theatre Company’s Roundabout Underground in 2017.
Nelson's reworking of Uncle Vanya will be seen August 23 at 9 PM.
In its inaugural production last year, the Hunter Theater Project presented Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at the Frederick Loewe Theater at Hunter College, directed by playwright Nelson, and translated by Nelson and Russian literature translators Richard Peyear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
The cast is made up of Celeste Arias, Jon DeVries, Kate Kearney- Patch, Jesse Pennington, Jay O. Sanders, Yvonne Woods, and Alice Cannon.
