Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Kennedy’s Children’

Review Fix chats with the cast and director of Kennedy’s Children, to find out all about the upcoming revival at Under St. Mark’s in New York City’s East Village. Detailing their creative process and goals for the production, the team lets us know exactly why this is a special version of an incredibly unique production.

About the Production:

Performances begin next week for the 2017 revival of Robert Patrick’s Kennedy’s Children, presented by Regeneration Theatre for 6 performances only in an environmental production at UNDER St Mark’s in the East Village. “The people are hungry and tired and weak and disillusioned, but isn’t that a sure sign that something’s crumbling?” – Rona, Kennedy’s Children

November 22, 1963. The day optimism died for a generation. November 8, 2016. Is history repeating itself? Do we ever learn from the lessons of the past. Are we destined to grow up like those who were left behind in Dallas – Kennedy’s Children…

This rarely seen, rich, evocative, and very perceptive play proves to be as relevant in 2017 as it was in 1974, and full of lessons that we should be playing close attention to in the current political climate.

The cast includes Emily Battles*, Jessica Carollo*, Colin Chapin*, Nicole Greevy*, Sara Minisquero, Timothy Regan under the expert direction of Erin Solér.

Tickets are $18 and available at http://regeneration.bpt.me.


Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Erin Solér (Director): My process is a little different for every project. I like to have a solid foundation to build upon; research is very important to me. I’m interested in creating with others. I want everyone to feel free to try things and experiment, and I hope to provide a structure that will encourage that. Theatre is a collaborative art form; it is imperative to listen. A great idea can come from anyone in the room or from the smallest moment. Ideally, everyone brings their ideas, then we select the ones that help tell the story the best.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Erin Solér (Director): This production of Kennedy’s Children grew out of disappointment and a need for action.This team is comprised of intelligent, committed, brave, adventurous artists; they have been a dream to work with. We need to create; this production has given us an outlet in a turbulent and stressful time in our country.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Sara Minisquero (Rona): This show, this text, brought me to a profound realization that I’m so much like my parents- my father in particular was so much like Rona as a draft dodging anti-war anti-establishment rebel of the time. There’s such a reverberating echo with the themes of the piece and the current political climate, that being so mired in this piece actually started to give me some solace, and not depression over the state of the country, there’s comfort in knowing that this feeling of displacement and disdain isn’t foreign or new.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?

Sara Minisquero (Rona): I’m very very humbled by the community I’ve found myself a part of with this cast and production team. We had an incredibly open and safe rehearsal process to discuss the issues we’re facing daily, and even immediate events like the Times Square vehicular homicide and the London concert bombings- we really bonded like family, and always tap in with each other. It’s exactly what I believe I needed to get through this past month of toxic news.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Barnaby Edwards (Producer): I started Regeneration Theatre above all to make theatre and have fun doing it along the way with creative people, like Erin, Sara and the rest of our marvelous cast and team. I have a deep personal interest in theatre history, and particularly in trying to find lesser know work that has real value. While I love, for example “The Crucible”, “Hamlet”, and “West Side Story” as pieces of great art and will likely enjoy them whenever I see them I am less interested in trying to find a new interpretation of a well known work, and far more excited about revisiting something that has not received enough attention, and attempt to show why it should with our productions. “Kennedy’s Children” is a case in point, where it was a big hit in London, but played less than 100 performances on Broadway. It was done a fair bit afterwards, but has fallen out of favor in recent years. The time felt right for it to come back, given the current political climate.

Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?

Erin Solér (Director): I’d guess that people will enjoy the lighter moments with the BARTENDER (Emily Battles) and SPARGER (Colin Chapin).

Barnaby Edwards (Producer): I  think they will enjoy Colin’s Sparger a lot as well, but I also think they will enjoy reliving that period of American history, along the different perspectives that Robert Patrick portrays in his text, and especially the eerie parallels with what is going on in our country today, which to many is every bit as traumatic as the events experienced by our characters.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Barnaby Edwards (Producer): Regeneration Theatre has announced a pretty exciting season that goes into the first half of next year, and next up is a revival of the musical “Skyscraper”, which ran for 248 performances (not enough to recoup) in 1965-1966 and has never been heard of since. It’s got a fun jazzy score by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, who were basically the Frank Sinatra “house band” for a while, and we think it’s worth taking a second look at a fun romantic comedy set that also acts as a love letter to the every changing nature of New York City. After than, Erin will be directing Ed Graczyk’s “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” in November, and February will see us tackling “Is There Life After High School?”, which has a glorious Craig Carnelia score that begs to be better known.