Review Fix Exclusive: Jake Lipman Talks ‘Recent Tragic Events’

Review Fix chats with Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions producer Jake Lipman, who discusses his new show, “Recent Tragic Events,” which is set for its run from May 8-18 at the Bridge Theatre in New York City.

About the Production:

It’s the day after September 11, and Waverly opens her apartment door, aghast. How could she have forgotten her blind date, Andrew, would be picking her up? As she scrambles to get ready, a series of twists, turns, and unexpected guests make for a fateful first date.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project? What’s the criteria for what you produce?

Jake Lipman: The main criteria for any production is that they are equal parts thought-provoking and funny.

Recent Tragic Events, TIC’s 41st production, looks at a major world event – 9/11 – from a deeply personal perspective of one woman. She’s on what would be a great blind date if not for the fact she is trying to reach her sister in NYC. It’s a play that really makes you think about the nature of free will versus destiny and it’s also very, very funny.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like – choosing, writing, directing? 

Lipman: Choosing plays is the fun part – I am a voracious reader, so reading and having that feeling of, “ooh, yeah, this would be great to do!”

Writing is harder – it’s a bit of a moving target, and stressful at times, but so deeply satisfying when I hear it aloud and it works!

Directing is pure joy. I was just in rehearsal on Sunday for Recent Tragic Events, scribbling away in my notebook about what I liked and saw onstage with my actors. It’s so much fun to see the actors being excellent and bringing a play from the script to the stage.

Review Fix: What makes Tongue in Cheek Theater different or special?

Lipman: One of the attributes I’m most proud of is that TIC is still here, 14 years and 41 productions since I first founded it, but it’s not enough to just do the thing.

I want every production to be a step up from the last – and so that means creating new works, encouraging people to tell their stories, and finding existing plays that are challenging and exciting to do.

Plus, we only do comedies, which, as an audience member, I really want when I go to the theater – to laugh and feel something good as a result of the show.

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

Lipman: Without giving away a plot twist, I have a very important prop/extension of myself in this piece, so manipulating it to make it work and augment my performance has been humbling. I’m still working at it, and we open May 8, so I hope to gain some confidence in the coming week!

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

Lipman: I want this show to be seen and for audiences, industry, and reviewers to marvel at the acting and storytelling. Getting an audience to laugh hard and industry to reach out for meetings, and reviewers to rave – it’s all the same thing. We want to perform and impact the people in the room!

Review Fix: What’s next?

Lipman: I am revising my play, Relentlessly Pleasant, from 2018, for future stage productions and also a TV pilot script/treatment. It is so topical – women at work, in an all-female co-working space – and I feel certain in the right hands, it could really be a phenomenon.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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