UPDATE - 8/16/18 - Original Story Below
The Bench: Star Power Both Behind and On Stage
Photo by Aidan Grant
By Doug Singer
With names like Chris Noth (Sex and the City, The Good Wife), Barry "Shabaka" Henley (Collateral, Better Call Saul, Jitney), Jay O. Sanders (JFK, Day After Tomorrow, Sneaky Pete), and Tony-Winning Broadway Producer Terry Schnuck (Spring Awakening, Fun Home, Hair), all working behind the scenes to bring a show to Off-Broadway, there has to be a lot of pressure on a comparably unknown performer. If indeed it is pressure that makes diamonds, then Robert Galinsky is a 531 carat performer.
The Bench, written and performed by Galinsky (at Cherry Lane Theatre thru December 17th), is well-deserving of a legendary stage "setting" to let this diamond of a show shine. Walking in the footsteps of great theatrical artists like Sam Shepard, Edward Albee, Harold Pinter and Edna St. Vincent Millay (who all have worked at the Cherry Lane), Galinsky is obviously up for the challenge. He is also quite possibly filling the void of incredible New York actors who have sadly passed recently: Phillip Seymour Hoffman and James Gandolfini. Although big shoes to fill, it certainly looks like Robert Galinsky is ready to fill them, walk in them and quite possibly run straight to Broadway in them.
The Bench is not only a tour de force of Galinsky's stage writing and acting, but it truly moved me, and quite frankly left me with both awe and hope. If you don't see it before it's run ends on December 17th, you will certainly be sorry that you missed seeing it in the cozy and up close venue that is the Cherry Lane Theatre. I believe that they should extend the run so that theatre lovers can experience the compassion and humanity that is the center of this sometimes hilarious and altogether serious commentary on our culture and how we treat our citizens. Robert Galinsky throws down the gauntlet as a social challenge to all of us--to be better people, see fellow humans with more empathy and to ultimately to understand that what is on the surface is not always what is underneath.
Grab your friend, your spouse, or your astrologer and get to Cherry Lane Theater before this short run comes to an end--you will not be disappointed!
With names like Chris Noth (Sex and the City, The Good Wife), Barry "Shabaka" Henley (Collateral, Better Call Saul, Jitney), Jay O. Sanders (JFK, Day After Tomorrow, Sneaky Pete), and Tony-Winning Broadway Producer Terry Schnuck (Spring Awakening, Fun Home, Hair), all working behind the scenes to bring a show to Off-Broadway, there has to be a lot of pressure on a comparably unknown performer. If indeed it is pressure that makes diamonds, then Robert Galinsky is a 531 carat performer.
The Bench, written and performed by Galinsky (at Cherry Lane Theatre thru December 17th), is well-deserving of a legendary stage "setting" to let this diamond of a show shine. Walking in the footsteps of great theatrical artists like Sam Shepard, Edward Albee, Harold Pinter and Edna St. Vincent Millay (who all have worked at the Cherry Lane), Galinsky is obviously up for the challenge. He is also quite possibly filling the void of incredible New York actors who have sadly passed recently: Phillip Seymour Hoffman and James Gandolfini. Although big shoes to fill, it certainly looks like Robert Galinsky is ready to fill them, walk in them and quite possibly run straight to Broadway in them.
The Bench is not only a tour de force of Galinsky's stage writing and acting, but it truly moved me, and quite frankly left me with both awe and hope. If you don't see it before it's run ends on December 17th, you will certainly be sorry that you missed seeing it in the cozy and up close venue that is the Cherry Lane Theatre. I believe that they should extend the run so that theatre lovers can experience the compassion and humanity that is the center of this sometimes hilarious and altogether serious commentary on our culture and how we treat our citizens. Robert Galinsky throws down the gauntlet as a social challenge to all of us--to be better people, see fellow humans with more empathy and to ultimately to understand that what is on the surface is not always what is underneath.
Grab your friend, your spouse, or your astrologer and get to Cherry Lane Theater before this short run comes to an end--you will not be disappointed!
The Bench
Written and performed by Robert Galinsky, directed by Jay O. Sanders
October 15 – December 17, 2017 Playing Sundays at 7pm Exceptions: NO Performances on November 5 and December 3 ADDED performance: Tuesday, December 5 at 7pm The show runs 60 minutes, no intermission.
Cherry Lane Studio Theater located at 38 Commerce Street in the heart of New York’s West Village Tickets are $59 and can be purchased by visiting TheBenchPlay.com or call 866-811-4111
For more info visit www.thebenchplay.com and for the Cherry Lane Theatre visit www.cherrylanetheatre.org
Written and performed by Robert Galinsky, directed by Jay O. Sanders
October 15 – December 17, 2017 Playing Sundays at 7pm Exceptions: NO Performances on November 5 and December 3 ADDED performance: Tuesday, December 5 at 7pm The show runs 60 minutes, no intermission.
Cherry Lane Studio Theater located at 38 Commerce Street in the heart of New York’s West Village Tickets are $59 and can be purchased by visiting TheBenchPlay.com or call 866-811-4111
For more info visit www.thebenchplay.com and for the Cherry Lane Theatre visit www.cherrylanetheatre.org
