Who We ARE

Photo: Jeremy Daniel

Mission

Committed to the immediacy of the relationship between the actor and the audience, Bedlam creates works of theatre that reinvigorate traditional forms in a flexible, raw space, collapsing aesthetic distance and bringing its viewers into direct contact with the dangers and delicacies of life. In this new, fresh, active environment storytelling becomes paramount and the result is a kinetic experience of shared empathy.

History

Bedlam was founded in 2012, presenting George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan on a shoestring budget with only four actors playing over 25 characters. The show received instant recognition and was extended four times. Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal was an early admirer, describing it as “Thrilling! An unforgettable show! The most exciting George Bernard Shaw revival I’ve ever seen, bar none.”

In 2013, Bedlam produced William Shakespeare’s Hamlet with the same four actors, again playing over 25 characters amongst themselves. Hamlet ran in repertory with Saint Joan and both productions were then transferred for a commercial Off-Broadway run at The Lynn Redgrave Theater in the winter of 2013/2014. Ben Brantley, the head theatre critic of The New York Times wrote, “Every member of Bedlam hears voices. Not of God and his saints, but of Shaw (who probably would have said that’s the same thing) and Shakespeare. And I mean they believe they hear these playwrights, in all their sonority, telling them what to do…anyone who listens to the eminently sane and persuasive voices of Bedlam is destined to become a convert.”

During the 2014 and 2015 seasons Bedlam produced two Off Broadway remounts, two World Premieres, one American Premiere and two different productions of Twelfth Night running in repertory with one another, all receiving additional acclaim. Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, adapted by Kate Hamill and directed by Artistic Director Eric Tucker ran for a year Off Broadway, including three extensions. Another major hit with the critics, Peter Hempstead of Theatermania explained it best: “This hysterical, endlessly inventive production captures Austen’s penchant for satire while inducing laughs with an ever-changing set and 10 brilliant actors who never seem to stop moving. It’s one of the funniest, most engaging productions now running off-Broadway.”

Bedlam’s shows have been noted as Ben Brantley’s “Critics’ Picks” for The New York Times six times, noted on The New York Times and New York Magazine’s “Top Ten Best Show Lists” two times, as well as those of The Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine respectively. The Wall Street Journal also noted Eric Tucker as “Director of the Year” in 2014 and 2021. Bedlam has won two Irne Awards, two Off Broadway Alliance Awards and an Obie Grant. Bedlam has also been nominated for two Lucille Lortel awards, a Drama League award, six Elliot Norton awards, winning for Best Visiting Production and Best Ensemble for Bedlam’s Saint Joan, Best Visiting Production for Bedlam’s Twelfth Night/What You Will and Best Visiting Performer for Vaishnavi Sharma in Bedlam’s Pygmalion.

Accolades

CRITICS’ PICKS

  • The Crucible (NYTimes Critics’ Pick, 2019)
  • Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet (Sara Holdren, New York Magazine, Top Ten Best of 2018)
  • Peter Pan (Charles Quittner, BroadwayWorld, Top 10 Best of 2017)
  • Peter Pan (Sarah Holdren, NY Magazine, Honorable Mention Top 10 Best of 2017)
  • Sense & Sensibility (Brantley, NYTimes Critics’ Pick, 2016)
  • Twelfth Night (Brantley, NYTimes Critics’ Pick, 2015)
  • What You Will (Brantley, NYTimes Critics’ Pick, 2015)
  • Sense & Sensibility (Brantley, NYTimes Critics’ Pick, Top 10 Best of 2014)
  • Saint Joan (Time Magazine, Top 10 Best of 2014)
  • Hamlet (Brantley, NYTimes Critics’ Pick, Top 10 Best of 2014)

ACCOLADES

  • Wall Street Journal Best Classical Director of the Year, Eric Tucker, 2021
  • Wall Street Journal Performance of the Year in Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet, Zuzanna Szadkowski, 2018
  • Wall Street Journal Best Classical Director in America and of his generation, Eric Tucker, 2017
  • Wall Street Journal Best Classical Director, Eric Tucker, 2015
  • Wall Street Journal Performance of the Year in New York Animals, Susannah Millonzi, 2015
  • Wall Street Journal Director of the Year, Eric Tucker, 2014
  • Wall Street Journal Best Revival, Saint Joan, 2012

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

  • Drama League Nomination – 2020 Distinguished Performance Award, Susannah Millonzi, The Crucible
  • Elliot Norton Award Nomination – Outstanding Director  The Crucible, 2020
  • Elliot Norton Award – Best Visiting Performer, Vaishnavi Sharma, Bedlam’s Pygmalion, 2019
  • Irne Award – Best Visiting Production, Small Theater, Bedlam’s Twelfth Night / What You Will, 2017
  • Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding Visiting Production, Bedlam’s Twelfth Night / What You Will, 2017
  • Helen Hayes Award – Outstanding Direction – Play, Folger Theatre’s Sense & Sensibility, 2017
  • Obie Award Grant in recognition artistic achievements and commitment to excellence in theatre, 2016
  • Off-Broadway Alliance Award – Best Unique Theatrical Experience, Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility, 2016
  • Lucille Lortel Award – Best Director, Eric Tucker, Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility (nomination), 2016
  • Lucille Lortel Award – Best Choreographer, Alexandra Beller, Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility (nomination), 2016
  • Irne Award – Best Visiting Production, Small Theater, Bedlam’s Saint Joan, 2016
  • Irne Award – Best Visiting Performer, Small Theater, Andrus Nichols for Bedlam’s Saint Joan, 2016
  • Houston Theater Award – Best Visiting Production for Bedlam’s Saint Joan, 2016
  • Houston Theater Award – Best Lighting by Christina Gianelli for Bedlam’s Saint Joan, 2016
  • Houston Theater Award – Best Actress, Samantha Steinmetz for Bedlam’s Saint Joan(nomination), 2016
  • Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding Visiting Production, Bedlam’s Saint Joan, 2015
  • Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding Ensemble, Bedlam’s Saint Joan, 2015
  • Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding Lead Actress, Andrus Nichols, Bedlam’s Saint Joan, (nomination), 2015
  • Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding Director, Eric Tucker, Bedlam’s Saint Joan, (nomination), 2015
  • Helen Hayes Award – Outstanding Lead Actress, Andrus Nichols, Bedlam’s Saint Joan, (nomination), 2014
  • Off-Broadway Alliance Award – Best Revival of a Play, Bedlam’s Saint Joan, 2014

TEAM

ERIC TUCKER (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR)

Wall Street Journal BEST CLASSICAL DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 2021; DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 2014. Off Broadway: Persuasion; The Crucible; Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet; Pygmalion; Peter Pan; Vanity Fair; Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility (Off Broadway Alliance Award, Lortel nom, Best Director, Drama League nom, Best Revival, 4 Helen Hayes awards including Best Director and Best Production); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Drama League nom Best Revival, WSJ Best Classical Production 2015); Bedlam’s Saint Joan (NY Times/Time Magazine top 10; Off Broadway Alliance Best Revival 2014); Bedlam’s Hamlet (NY Times top 10); Tina Packer’s Women of Will; New York Animals (World Premiere by Steven Sater/Burt Bacharach), Twelfth Night and What You Will (NYTCritics Picks); The Seagull (WSJ Best Classical Production 2014). Other: Caesar and Cleopatra (ASC); The Rivals (BRT); The Merry Wives of Windsor (Two River), Disney’s Beauty & The Beast (OSF); Pericles (APT, WSJ Best Classical Production 2017); Copenhagen (Central Square Theatre), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (HVSF), Mate (The Actors’ Gang).

THOMAS KAPUSTA (MANAGING DIRECTOR)

Thomas Kapusta is a director, producer, and fundraiser specializing in classical theatre, unexpected collaborations, and connecting new audiences to arts experiences. As founding Artistic Director of Corkscrew Theater Festival, he oversaw the artistic development and production of over thirty new plays in the festival’s four years. For seven years, Tom served as chief operations officer for Ricochet Group LLC, a boutique consulting firm specializing in nonprofit arts institutions, higher education, and commercial theatre. He holds a BA in History from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Arts Administration from the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College where he received the Marlow Prize in Arts Leadership. He serves as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer of Royal Shakespeare Company America and works as an Adjunct Professor at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.

SUSANNAH MILLONZI (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR)

Prior to becoming Bedlam’s Development Director, Susannah worked as Development Associate for the arts organization Community Access to the Arts. As an actor, dancer and choreographer her theatre credits include: Bedlam: The Crucible (Drama League nom. for Distinguished Performance), Uncle Romeo Vanya JulietNew York Animals (WSJ Performance of the Year 2015), Dead Dog Park, Twelfth Night(s) (also at Central Square Theater); Classic Stage Company: Prometheus Bound (David Oyelowo); David Neumann/Advanced Beginner Group: tough, the tough, 21st Annual Bessie Awards; Clubbed Thumb: Pageant; Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Arabian Nights, The Winter’s Tale;  Shakespeare & Company.: Romeo and Juliet, King John, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors; Seattle Shakespeare Company: Twelfth Night, Electra (Footlight Award: Best Actor); Georgia Shakespeare Festival: Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, All’s Well that Ends Well; Orlando Shakespeare Company: As You Like It; Elm Shakespeare: The Three Musketeers; Boston Theatre Works: The Tempest. Choreographer for Bedlam, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Company, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Esperance. B.A. Barnard College.

ZACHARY ELKIND (ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR)

Zachary Elkind is a director based in New York City. Directing at Bedlam: Mary Stuart, Hedda Gabler, Richard II. Selected other directing: Joan of Arc by William Shakespeare (Under St. Marks)His Dark Materials (Ghostlight), Macbeth (NYU/Steinhardt), Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Arcadia (Yale). Assistant Director: Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet and The Crucible (BEDLAM), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (The New Group), Lincoln Center Education, Theater for the New City, Yale School of Drama, Symphony Space, Heartbeat Opera. Assistant Producer: BRIC, Dixon Place, Notch Theatre, Dramatists Guild Foundation, Live from Lincoln Center, Page 73. Education: Yale. zacharyelkind.com 

CAROLINE GROGAN (Education Director & Development Assistant)

Caroline Grogan is a NY based actor and teaching artist. Her theater credits includ: Bedlam’s The Crucible (Boston & NY), Mona Mansour’s Beginning Days of True Jubilation directed by Scott Illingworth, Chuck Mee’s Jesus (13th Street Rep), and Polaroid Stories (Tisch Stage Works). Caroline is also a puppeteer for Puppetsburg, the Development Director and teaching artist for the arts nonprofit, Zara Aina, and a founding ensemble member of Society Theatre. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. http://www.caroline-grogan.com

ASHLEY GARRETT (RESIDENT PHOTOGRAPHER)

Ashley Garrett is an American photographer based in New York. She specializes in production photos for theater, music and dance, and portraits for individuals and groups. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Boston, Berlin, London and Rome. Previously, Ashley marketed credit cards at MasterCard and for close to 20 years managed the All Souls Soup Kitchen, a privately funded organization that serves more than 25,000 hot sit-down meals each year. Ashley is on the boards of the NYC Autism Charter Schools, the Harvard Business School Fund, Pipeline Theatre, Parity Productions and Statement Arts. Ashley has an AB in theater from Smith College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  www.AshleyGarrett.Photo

POLK & CO (PRESS AGENT)

Polk & Co., led by Matt Polk, represents a variety of current and upcoming Broadway and Off-Broadway favorites including Wicked, the Tony Award winning revival of The Color Purple, Amelie, An Act of God, Anastasia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Cherry Orchard, Come From Away, Holiday Inn, In Transit, The Layover, Love, Love, Love and The Price.  Polk & Co. has also contributed to the press campaigns for various movie and television theatrical events including Grease LIVE!, Into The Woods, Florence Foster Jenkins, Indignation, Genius, the upcoming Rocky Horror Picture Show, and musical feature film La La Land. Additional clients include Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage Theater, Warner Bros Theatre Ventures, Birdland Jazz Club, Alvin Ailey, Riverdance 20th Anniversary North American Tour, Broadway Records, production and set designer Derek McLane and Emmy® nominated actor and producer John Stamos.

Board Members

Charles Schader – Chair

Eric Tucker – President

Alan Altschuler – Treasurer

Amy Greer – Secretary

Sarah Hancock

Melissa Hirsch

Isaac Koyfman

Diane Compagno Miller

Ryan Quinn

George Reed

Videos

AMERICAN THEATER WING

“Working In The Theatre” goes behind the curtain with The Pig Iron Theater Company of Philadelphia and the Bedlam Theater Company of NYC to learn how each company creatively reimagines The Bard’s rich and sometimes complicated text. Through movement, music and creative staging, their Shakespeare is compelling, contemporary, and never boring. (2014)

Director/producer: Margarita Jimeno, DOP: Adam Jandrup, Editor: Matt Burke, Musical Composition by Julio Monterrey

AMERICAN THEATER WING

In this episode of “Working in the Theatre,” ATW explores the process of adaptation in the theatre.  With exploration of the amazing work of Kate Hamill and her adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility at Bedlam in 2016 (directed by Eric Tucker) and traveling through the minds of Dave Malloy’s work on War and Peace and Moby Dick (with direction by Rachel Chavkin), we find out what it takes to find a story for the stage, shape it appropriately, and decide what gets left behind.  (2018)

Director/producer: American Theater Wing

It’s Scary – Bedlam (2015)

Director/producer: Richard Barber and Ann Schaetzel

All in this together – Bedlam (2015)

Director/producer: Richard Barber and Ann Schaetzel