First Read Through: THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE

"It's like the first day of school!" remarked actress Jill Melanie Wirth as we gathered this afternoon for our first read-through of The Inn at Lake Devine.  

I know exactly what she means -- all the nerves, excitement, new people, and work lies ahead to put a play on its feet in 5 short weeks.  We even get new clothes (costumes) and books (script) and an incoming class (cast and crew).

Tongue in Cheek's world premiere of the play with music, based on the novel by Elinor Lipman, features 15 actors, directed by Kimberly Faith Hickman and assisted by Molly Ballerstein.  Philip Rothman is the music director and sound designer, Lisa Renee Jordan is the costume designer, Tyler M. Perry is our scenic designer, and Richard T. Chamblin III will light the show.

At 1 pm, the singers in the production arrived and went through songs with Philip.  By 2 pm, the room was filled with everyone else, and by 2:10, we started reading the play.  Then there were bits of business -- design presentations, photos for Lisa Renee, paperwork -- and, most importantly, people seemed genuinely delighted to be in the room together.

I can't wait for it to be running -- and yet, I want to relish every minute we have until that day -- to enjoy rehearsal, get to know everyone involved, refine our work,  and put forth our best possible production.

Join us at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios, October 7-24, 2015.  Tickets are $18 at www.tictheater.com and at 212-868-4444.

Cast and crew of THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE announced!

First, a huge thank you to all the actors who submitted, auditioned, and came to callbacks for The Inn at Lake Devine.  We saw so many talented actors and loved seeing the piece come to life aloud.

Below please find the list of our cast for the world premiere production, October 7-24, 2015 (tickets on sale here!).  Photos and bios here.

Kurt Badele* as 'Donald Fife'
Michael Breese Barbour* as 'Eddie Marx'
Andrew Dawson* as 'Karl Berry'
Jessica Giannone as 'Woman'
Carson Lee* as 'Nelson Berry'
Jake Lipman* as 'Natalie Marx'
Maria Maloney* as 'Robin Fife'
Ruben Navarro as 'Man'
Norrice Raymaker* as 'Sissy Fife'
Amanda Rodhe as 'Gretel Berry'
Andrew Spieker* as 'Kris Berry'
Barbra Wengerd* as 'Pamela Marx'
Jennifer Dorr White* as 'Ingrid Berry'
Jill Melanie Wirth* as 'Audrey Marx'
Melissa WolfKlain* as 'Linette Feldman'

Our production team is comprised of director Kimberly Faith Hickman, assistant director/associate producer/stage manager Molly Ballerstein, composer and sound designer Philip Rothman, scenic designer Tyler M. Perry, and costume designer Lisa Renee Jordan.

Can't wait for the first read-through later this month!

Visit 'The Inn at Lake Devine' on Indie Go Go!

This summer, Tongue in Cheek launched its first ever Indie Go Go "crowdfunding" campaign, for the world premiere of The Inn at Lake Devine this fall.  All donations are tax-deductible!

We love producing indie theater in NYC for you.  You fill our audiences with laughter and applause.

Ticket revenue only covers a portion of our expenses, however.  For The Inn at Lake Devine, we are asking our friends and supporters to help with the biggest production we've ever mounted.

We are SO grateful if you are in a position to contribute to our production of The Inn at Lake Devine.  Watch our video about the production. 

Shooting our campaign video was a blast!

We'll be performing 16 times (our longest run ever!) and the cast is comprised of 15 actors, a top-notch production team and original music, too!  At our staged reading in April, our audience members called it "heartwarming and funny" and "a delightful slice of Americana."

ANY support is appreciated -- liking us on Facebook and Twitter, sharing the link to the Indie Go Go campaign with your friends -- and makes producing thought-provoking comedy possible.

And a very special thanks to Holly Lynn Ellis for shooting our video campaign and Gusta Johnson for editing it.

Candid Camera

In scene 3 of The Inn at Lake Devine, it's a rainy summer day, and the Marx family drives over to The Inn to check it out.

Yesterday was rainy in Manhattan, too, and Holly Lynn Ellis (filmmaker and actor) came over to shoot a bunch of short videos of producing artistic director Jake Lipman in her apartment.

Jake Lipman talks TIC

Aside from an attack of the giggles and the roar of a motorcycle, we got tons of footage, about TIC, adapting The Inn at Lake Devine from the book by Elinor Lipman into a play, and a few other fun tidbits.

These videos will be shared over the summer, including in TIC's first ever IndieGoGo campaign.  Tickets are on sale now, too.

More soon, but here's to things heating up and sunny days ahead!

Tickets On Sale for THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE

Tickets went on sale today for the world premiere of The Inn at Lake Devine, which will run for 16 performances, October 7-24, 2015 at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios in midtown NYC.

Tickets are $18 online or by calling 212-868-4444, and for more about the production, visit our website.

Media passes, photographs, interviews and additional materials are available upon request.  For group sales, book groups, faith-based organizations and school group performances (with study guide materials and talk-back following the performance), please contact us.

Jake Lipman adapted the play with music, based on the popular novel by Elinor Lipman.  The fall production will be directed by Kimberly Faith Hickman and assistant directed by Molly Ballerstein.

A Lipman E-mails Another Lipman: Collaboration Ensues

It all started in May of 2014.  I was acting in the TIC-devised piece Buffalo Heights, which was going really well.  It was going so well that I wanted to jump in and create another new piece.

As I was running my lines in my apartment on the UWS, I looked over at the bookshelf and saw my favorite novel, The Inn at Lake Devine, by Elinor Lipman, beckoning to me.

I should also say my late mother had planted a seed in my head, years ago, that we were related to Ms. Elinor Lipman.  Call it chutzpah.  I sent a fan girl, long-lost cousin e-mail through her website that very day, asking if The Inn had ever been turned into a play, and if not, if a conversation could be had about adapting it.  I expected some publicist to reply weeks later, but mere minutes later, I heard back from Elinor Lipman Herself.  Wow.

She was incredibly gracious from the outset, and encouraging.  Let's meet for a drink, she said.  I live in NYC also.  Wow wow wow.

We met, and a couple of glasses of champagne later, I was the proud owner of an autographed book from my favorite novelist, and that same novelist had put me in touch with her fancy agents at William Morris Endeavor.  Sadly, we soon established we were not related.  Nope.  Not at all.  But I didn't care.  My mother's chutzpah had emboldened me to reach out and now I was in talks to adapt this story I love into a play.  HOLY COW.

In the months since, Elinor has been an incredible collaborator.  We've met to tweak dialogue, share more bubbly, and she's come to see me in another play.  She's hard at work on her latest novel and jet sets around the world to promote her other works, and yet continues to make time for me.

On April 23 at 7 pm at Shetler Studios, we're presenting a staged reading of the work-in-progress, and I'd love for you to join us.  E-mail info@tictheater.com to reserve your free seat.

And we'd love to have you see the fully-staged run this October at Theatre 54 in midtown NYC.

More here: http://www.tictheater.com/innatlakedevine.html

From left-to-right: Elinor and Jake, both Lipmans.

Come to our staged reading of THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE, April 23 at 7 PM

As you may know from recent posts, TIC is developing a new full-length play adaptation of the popular novel, The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman.

Today's read through added in several choral arrangements, led by Philip Rothman, including Christmas songs (sung with four-part harmony), a round in Hebrew, and an old-timey barbershop quartet rendition of "In the Good Ole Summertime."

March 22 table read of THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE

Equal parts coming-of-age, romantic comedy, and comedy of errors, the play follows a woman named Natalie Marx, from her teenage years to adulthood, examining the profound effect a single, dismissive letter has had upon her desire to stay at The Inn at Lake Devine.  While her mother says, "It isn't personal: they have a hotel, they don't want Jews, we're Jews," Natalie is determined to understand who is behind this statement and in the course of her pursuit, finds friendship and love.

Join us on Thursday, April 23 at 7 PM for a FREE staged reading of the play (followed by wine, nibbles and general hob-nobbing) at Shetler 1 at Shetler Studios, 244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor.  The run time will be about 2 hours, including a 10-minute intermission. 

To reserve your seat, e-mail info@tictheater.com with your desired number of seats.