Creators of long-running immersive hit Then She Fell welcome you to a 1970’s era tropical resort in new multi-sensory experience.
Now thru December 31 at The Grand Paradise
Critic's Pick. "The latest and lushest of the many immersive theater spectacles to set up camp in New York… This interactive tour of an imaginary Floridian pleasure palace from the 1970s manages to summon romantic promise and regretful retrospection in a single, ocean-air breath." -- Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Critics' Pick. "A captivatingly sensual interactive adventure… This escapist world is our oyster, where each grain of sand in an hourglass has a shot at becoming a pearl.” -- Time Out
"Extremely impressive." -- amNewYork
"This is one you absolutely cannot miss." -- Huffington Post
"A fun, hip and sensuous two-hour holiday with a cast of 20, all attractive, some barely clad, in a cleverly designed beach resort from the hedonist 1970s." -- NewYorkTheater.me
"A little disorienting, a little exotic, a bit joyful, sometimes a bit frightening. It is like traveling in a foreign country with a culture very different from your own. 'The Grand Paradise' does all this. It's worth the trip." -- WNYC
Third Rail Projects follows up its critically acclaimed, long-running production of THEN SHE FELL with the World Premiere of THE GRAND PARADISE, a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience in which visitors travel to a tropical paradise. Performances take place at The Grand Paradise, a venue in Bushwick, Brooklyn custom renovated for the production.
Set in those hazy and culturally liminal years of the late 1970s becoming the 1980s, the experience begins as you are handed a vintage plane ticket by a polyester-clad airline attendant. You and other guests find yourselves transported to THE GRAND PARADISE, a tropical resort that purports to be the home of the original, genuine Fountain of Youth. Greeted with a tropical drink, a garland of flowers, and an overly-cheerful Activities Director, visitors encounter the resort’s resident population, characters who embody the era’s shifting and blurring values — a rogue’s gallery of eccentrics, hustlers, eternal youths, gods, monsters, disco queens, and con men. Visitors to THE GRAND PARADISE are invited to explore the grounds and the beaches, watch a floorshow, quench their deepest longings, follow performers into one-on-one encounters, and trade their faded ideals for shiny new illusions. Ultimately, THE GRAND PARADISE offers a pas de deux of desire and death, a midlife crisis, a coming of age, and search for the revitalizing waters of the Fountain of Youth at the resort of the eternally brokenhearted.
Based on a concept by Tom Pearson, THE GRAND PARADISE is directed, designed, written and choreographed by Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett in collaboration with The Company: Erik Abbott-Main, Elizabeth Carena, Alberto Denis, Ashley Handel, Roxanne Kidd, Jeff Lyon, Rebekah Morin, Lauren Muraski, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Tara O'Con, Wil Petre, Joshua Reaver, Katrina Reid, Edward Rice, Ashley Robicheaux, Sebastiani Romagnolo, Jessy Smith, Tori Sparks, Niko Tsocanos, and Carlton Cyrus Ward. The production features production design by Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett, original music & sound design by Sean Hagerty, costumes by Karen Young, environment design Elisabeth Svenningsen, project management by Andrea Dohar Corbett, production management by Brittany Crowell, stage management by Kristina Vnook, and technical direction by Jordan Schulze. It is produced in association with Bill Caleo and Zach Stern.
The full company of performers includes: Matthew Albert, Erika Boudreau-Barbee, Elizabeth Carena, Guilia Carotenuto, Elisa Davis, Alberto Denis, Benjamin Freedman, Lea Fulton, Amy Gernux, Joseph Harris, Julia Jurgilewicz, Roxanne Kidd, Madison Krekel, Justin Lynch, Rebekah Morin, Krista Morgenson, Zach Morris, Lauren Muraski, Taylor Myers, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Tara O’Con, Tom Pearson, Joshua Reaver, Katrina Reid, Edward Rice, Julie Seal, Bre Short, Jessy Smith, Bryan Strimple, Jeff Sykes, Jake Szczpek, Simon Thomas-Train, Niko Tsocanos, Carlton Cyrus Ward, and Jennine Willett.
Hailed as one of the foremost companies creating site-specific, immersive and experiential performance in the US, Third Rail Projects, led by Artistic Directors Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett, is dedicated to re-envisioning ways in which audiences can engage with contemporary performance. They have made work in New York, internationally, and abroad for over 15 years, and their long-running, award-winning work, Then She Fell, was named as one of the “Top Ten Shows of the 2012” The New York Times and acclaimed as one of the best theater experiences of 2013 by Vogue Magazine. Third Rail Projects has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Awards for Then She Fell (2013) and Vanishing Point (2008). For more info, visit thirdrailprojects.com.
THE GRAND PARADISE runs thru December 31, 2016. Performances are Thursday - Sunday at 7:00pm, with 10:30pm shows on Friday and Saturday.. The Grand Paradise is located at 383 Troutman Street at Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn -- just off the L train at Jefferson Street. Tickets are $110 - $135, available at www.thegrandparadise.com. Private events are also available; visit the website for more information. Performances begin promptly and there is absolutely no late admittance and no refunds. The show features nudity and adult themes, so admittance is strictly limited to audience members 18 years of age and over; all audience members must bring valid government-issued photo IDs. The performance lasts roughly 2 hours. Because of the immersive nature of this piece, audiences may be standing for significant periods of time over the course of the performance. Audiences are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes. This performance is not recommended for audience members who are not comfortable standing, walking or being alone. For more information call 718-374-5196.