Brooklyn-based theatre group to perform Elmer Rice’s ‘Street Scene’ in Park Slope
Site-specific free performances slated for June 22
Brave New World Repertory Theatre is a performing arts company dedicated to all things Brooklyn. Based in Ditmas Park, the organization, which is comprised of Brooklyn-based theatre professionals, is committed to featuring new works by Brooklyn writers, as well as adaptations of classic plays. Its productions take place in unique and historic Brooklyn venues.
This weekend Brave New World will present a free, site-specific performance of Elmer Rice’s 1929 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Street Scene.” The play, which takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City apartment building, will be performed on the sidewalk and stoop of a tenement on 5th St. (between 8th Ave. and Prospect Park in Park Slope) on June 22 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Audience members will be seated in the street, which will be closed to traffic for the day.
Claire Beckmen, who founded Brave New World in 2003 and is directing “Street Scene”, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that Borough President Marty Markowitz has played a crucial role in enabling her group to perform in such unusual spaces. “He’s been such a champion of our work because he’s a real lover of the arts and also of free events. He really believes that this is a natural way to have a diverse population mingle and learn to live together peacefully and joyfully. Marty and I have always been aligned and on the same page in that way,” said Beckman.
“Street Scene” requires a particularly unique setup. Brave New World’s cast consists of 35 actors (including seven children and a dog), some of them Equity actors. “Just because it’s set on a stoop does not mean it’s a gimmick. It’s going to be a beautiful piece of theater, worthy of any stage,” said Beckman.