'Extinction': A Theatrical Examination of Friendship in Free Fall
It started when Sawyer Spielberg was looking for a scene to perform in Lyle Kessler’s Master Class for Actors in New York City. One of his classmates, Brynne Kraynak, knew the playwright Gabe McKinley and had seen his play “Extinction” workshopped in graduate school. She thought one of the roles would be right for Mr. Spielberg.
From that seedling, a new production of that play, which had a single performance at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Manhattan in 2009, grew from a hunch into a three-way partnership that is bringing it to the stage at Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater for a two-and-a-half-week run starting next Thursday.
“Extinction” is the story of two college friends, Max and Finn, who meet every year for a weekend of male bonding and debauchery. Ten years on, the ritual takes them to the Borgata in Atlantic City, where from the beginning it is apparent that the friendship is about to unravel.
Mr. Spielberg, who lives New York City and East Hampton, took the play to Josh Gladstone, John Drew’s artistic director, when both were appearing in “Of Mice and Men” at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor in 2015.
“I was reading it in the dressing room,” recalled Mr. Gladstone, “and I thought it was a really funny, edgy piece. Then I read the second act and realized it goes to a dark, interesting place that explores to meat of their specific relationship and male relationships in general.”
Mr. Gladstone expressed his interest in the play and suggested that Mr. Spielberg produce it. The actor and his colleagues formed the Where Are They Going Theatre Group, embarked on a crowdfunding effort on Indiegogo, and raised the money to produce the play.
Guild Hall is providing the space, marketing, and Mr. Gladstone, who will direct. “It’s been 10 years since I’ve had a chance to direct something here,” he said. “There’s a lot of sexual tension in the play, lots of drugs and booze — it’s a mess.”
The cast came together as a result of that reading in Mr. Kessler’s class. Eric Svendsen, another classmate, read the scene with Mr. Spielberg. Ms. Kraynak and another member of the class, Raye Levine, became excited about the play and decided to get involved. In addition to playing one of the two female roles, Ms. Levine will design the set. Mr. Spielberg is doing props.
“It’s the purest form of ‘let’s put on a show,’ ” said Mr. Gladstone.
In addition to its performance at Cherry Lane, “Extinction” had a brief run in Los Angeles in 2009. In a review of that production, the critic Joe Straw wrote, “Gabe McKinley writes a dramatic play that takes [a relationship] by the throat and squeezes the life out of it. Moments come crashing down like lightning bolts, changing their relationship into a fragile quivering whimpering mass of human flesh.”
The play will be performed at Guild Hall in the round, with the audience seated on the stage. “It was the actors’ idea,” Mr. Gladstone said. “I thought that would be very interesting, because there will be no place to hide.”
Mr. Gladstone said that Guild Hall will produce four plays this year, two more than in 2016. “The plays all involve young people, edgy work, and I’m having a great time. This is an exciting time for the theater community here.”
Performances will take place Wednesdays through Sundays at 7 p.m. through April 16, with 2 p.m. matinees set for April 8 and 15. Tickets are $25, $23 for members, and $15 for students under 18.