Veteran film and television production designer and Sag Harbor resident Dean Taucher presents his behind-the-scenes stories from the darkly ironic, shocking, and wonderfully weird underpinnings of Hollywood through a series of interweaving monologues in his new comedy REEL STORIES – MADE IN NEW YORK, coming to the Hamptons as a staged reading with one exclusive performance on Monday, March 6th at Bay Street Theater. Taucher, whose credits include Miami Vice, The Sopranos, Law & Order SVU and New York Undercover, offers a colorful glimpse of maniacal movie stars, homicidal teamsters, clueless starlets, outrageous harassment seminars more foul than fair, and cash-obsessed writers and producers running the gamut from creative to criminal in REEL STORIES, all of whom are sourced straight from the sets of the nearly five hundred TV episodes he designed.
The stellar, all-star cast assembled for this exclusive Hamptons performance includes two-time Obie Award winner and Tony and Drama Desk Award-nominated Broadway legend Charlayne Woodard, making her Hamptons debut. Woodard’s extensive roles as a playwright and performer include Broadway shows Ain’t Misbehavin’ and HAIR, M. Night Shyamalan’s notable films Unbreakable and Glass, TV series Chicago Hope, Law and Order SVU and the soon to be released Marvel TV miniseries Secret Invasion, where she stars alongside Samuel L. Jackson.
Joining Woodard at Bay Street is Drama Desk-award winning Broadway stage actor Jay O. Sanders, well known for several starring roles at the Public Theater including The Apple Family Plays and more appearances at The Delacorte than any actor to date! Also known for his roles in the films The Day After Tomorrow, Glory and Revolutionary Road, Sanders like Taucher, worked on many television projects with producers Michael Mann and Dick Wolf. Rounding out the cast is Michael Giese, a member of The Barrow Group Theatre Company, who has been seen on stage in off-Broadway plays including an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy Of The People by Seth Barrish and K. Lorrel Manning and most recently a collection of shorts entitled Awake by Mr. Manning. Giese also nabbed a Best Supporting Actor award at the 2013 Long Island International Film Expo for his role as Jon Phelps in the feature Wet Behind the Ears. REEL STORIES is directed by Shannon Patterson of The Barrow Group Performing Arts Center in Manhattan and produced by Josh Gladstone, longtime Artistic Director of the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall, now an independent producer.
“I am thrilled to bring this play to the Hamptons! My wife Gabrielle Lansner and I live in Sag Harbor and this play, which is a product of COVID isolation, was conceived during the many hours I spent on my boat in the waters of Sag Harbor,” shares Taucher. “After 40 years working behind the scenes to bring to life some of the most celebrated made for TV dramas and films, it’s time to bring the real-life drama and those who cause it into the spotlight. The biggest fish in the Hollywood pond are unpleasant, self-centered and perpetuating a culture that desperately needs to change. These are their stories; uncensored, unfiltered and completely unbelievable!”
Taucher’s play was first read at Manhattan’s Theatre Row in December 2021, garnering favorable commentary from industry colleagues such as Matthew Penn of The Sopranos and Orange is the New Black: “…incredibly funny, ironic, dark and wonderfully weird. Really good writing.” Director and choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett shares, “The writing is wonderful with a Mamet-like rhythm density, but more interesting.” Producer and director David Lewis Richardson offers, “…monologues remind me of those wonderful word-scrapes created by Dylan-Thomas. Brilliantly done.”
Producer Josh Gladstone adds, “What a treat to gather such a remarkable cast for a delicious night of dark dish served up FREE on the finest stage in our neighborhood. Kudos to Tracy Mitchell and our partners at Bay Street for welcoming the community in to experience these magnificent artists developing this sharp, new play.” In Taucher’s words, “Nothing may be true – but they are all REEL STORIES – MADE IN NEW YORK!”
Admission is FREE and reservations are strongly recommended. The performance will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. and is approximately 70 minutes. An informal meet-and-greet with the cast in Bay Street's lobby lounge follows the performance. Tickets may be reserved at Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/3XnkhAH.
Bay Street Theater is a fully vaccinated company. All attendance is available via touchless ticketing. Masks are optional upon entry to the theater. For full list of COVID-19 related safety procedures and guidelines for in-person events, please visit baystreet.org.
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