Tony nominee Kathleen Chalfant is set to lead the cast of Rattlestick Playwright Theater's summer workshop production of Saint Vincent’s Project: Novenas for a Lost Hospital, a new play that will celebrate the life and legacy of the now-closed West Village landmark.
Guided by Elizabeth Seton of the Sisters of Charity (Chalfant), Saint Vincent’s Project explores the 161-year history of the hospital and is inspired by the real people who dedicated their life to care and those who were lost.
Penned by A Lifetime Burning playwright Cusi Cram and directed by Artistic Director Daniella Topol, the piece has been developed in conversation with a number of community partners, including the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, NYC AIDS Memorial Board, The Stonewall Chorale, and St. John’s in the Village.
Saint Vincent’s Project: Novenas for a Lost Hospital will play June 12–17 at Rattlestick.
Completing the cast will be Tony nominee Lucas Steele (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Kelly McAndrew (Men on Boats), Ken Barnett (Mozart in the Jungle), Mahira Kakkar (Against the Hillside), and Oscar A.L. Cabrera (Basilica).
“When I first became artistic director, I knew I wanted to create work by the West Village community for the West Village community,” said Topol in a statement. “It became immediately clear that the most relevant and emotionally complex subject to discuss theatrically was the life of St. Vincent’s Hospital. So many New Yorkers, and most specifically former and current West Village residents, hold memories of the hospital and its profound impact on their lives.”
The piece will begin with a prologue at St. John’s in the Village and culminate with an epilogue, created in partnership with The Stonewall Chorale, in the streets of the West Village. The prologue and epilogue are created by architect Norman Scott Johnson, director-creator James Scruggs, choreographer Irving Amigon, composer-designer Serge Ossorguine, and Rattlestick Directing Fellow Kevin Hourigan.
The limited engagement will feature design by students of Brooklyn College as part of a new partnership between Brooklyn College and Rattlestick. The designers include Wyatt Moniz (props), Karim Rivera Rosado (costumes, working in collaboration with professional costume designer Theresa Squire), and Yang Yu (set and lights), with professional sound designer Serge Ossorguine.
