Theater and Dance Events Come to Guild Hall
Two performances by the Strangemen Theatre Company and Dancers for Good, a benefit evening of dance, will take place at Guild Hall during the next ten days.
A nonprofit troupe founded in 2010 by graduates of the State University at Purchase Acting Conservatory, the Strangemen Theatre Company focuses on developing original plays and encouraging collaboration between artists from different disciplines.
“Bernie and Mikey’s Trip to the Moon,” which will be performed on Monday evening at 7, is a new play by Scott Aiello about an Italian-American family in Chicago in the 1990s that experiences the challenges and joys of raising a child with a cognitive disability. Billed as a dark comedy, the story includes a baseball bat, Elvin Presley, the moon, and a giant pot of tomato sauce.
Inspired by Greek mythology and poetry, “The Shape of Stars,” written and directed by Frank Winters, is a modern story of a family torn apart by grief whose individual members struggle to come to terms with their agony. It will be presented July 23 at 7 p.m.
Both plays will be followed by garden receptions with the casts and production teams. Links to tickets, which range from $30 to $90, can be found on Guild Hall’s website.
Seven dance companies will participate in Dancers for Good on Friday, July 20, at 7 p.m. The evening will honor Chita Rivera with the Lifetime Achievement in Dance award, and Bebe Neuwirth with the Dance Humanitarian award.
The program will include performances by the Amy Marshall Dance Company, Carolyn Dorfman Dance, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Pam Tanowitz Dance, Rock the Ballet, Eryc Taylor Dance, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
Proceeds will benefit the Actors Fund, which offers a broad spectrum of programs and services to help meet the needs of those who work in entertainment and the performing arts.
Dancers for Good is a nonprofit formed in 2015 by Michael Apuzzo, a dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Eric Gunhus, an event planner and Broadway performer, to produce dance festivals that support of the arts.
Tickets, available at eventbrite.com, range from $150 for the show only to $500 for preferred seating and an after party, with a limited number of $50 tickets for students and senior citizens.