ON STAGE
THE LIGHT AND THE DARK
(the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi)
by KATE HAMILL
directed by JADE KING CARROLL
59E59 Theaters | 59 East 59th St.
November 2 - December 15, 2024
in association with Chautauqua Theater Company
and in association with Jamie deRoy
At the height of the Italian Renaissance, artists are reshaping the very image of humanity. Artemisia Gentileschi wants to become one of the great painters...but women are not thought capable of true artistry. With persistence and bravado she quickly establishes a groundbreaking perspective, but just as her career begins to gain momentum, a series of devastating betrayals crack the foundation of her life and art. Told through her piercing point of view, The Light and The Dark (the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi) weaves a magnetic and empowering tapestry of art, ambition, rage, and resilience.
From Kate Hamill, the playwright behind Primary Stages' critically acclaimed adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Little Women, comes a new play about how Gentileschi transcended trauma to become one of the most successful artists of her time and an inspiration for women throughout the ages.
Original artwork by Chance Brinkman-Sull, Chautauqua Theater Company at Chautauqua Institution
AMERIKIN
by CHISA HUTCHINSON
directed by JADE KING CARROLL
59E59 Theaters | 59 East 59th St.
March 1 - April 13, 2025
part of 59E59 Theaters' AMPLIFY Festival
In small-town Maryland, Jeff Browning resolves to give his newborn son every possible advantage – by joining a local white supremacist group. When his attempt to join is thwarted by some surprising ancestry test results, the line between “us” and “them” gets incredibly blurry. Jeff scrambles to maintain appearances, but his sanitized story starts to unravel when a prominent Black journalist and his daughter start asking questions.
Both bitterly funny and deeply compassionate, Amerikin explores the lengths we go to protect our own, the lies we tell ourselves, and the cost of division on us all.
Chisa Hutchinson developed Amerikin as part of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages, and the play was featured in our 2018 Fresh Ink Reading Series.