THE NEW GROUP OFFSTAGE: THE JACKSONIAN

Who: Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Bill Pullman, Juliet Brett, Carol Kane
What: Live reunion reading by the New Group
Where: The New Group Off Stage
When: Thursday, August 27, $25, 7:00 (available through August 30 at midnight)
Why: In my November 2013 review of the New Group’s NYC premiere of The Jacksonian, I wrote, “Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley, who was born in Jackson, Mississippi, has crafted a gripping southern Gothic black comedy with sharp, unpredictable dialogue and heavily stylized direction by Robert Falls. An actor’s actor, Ed Harris gives an exceptional performance as the seemingly stalwart dentist who just wants to have a normal family. Amy Madigan plays Susan with a tension ready to explode at any moment. Bill Pullman is nearly unrecognizable as the bartender harboring more than a few secrets, while Glenne Headly has fun chewing some scenery as the scheming Eva. But it’s Juliet Brett who packs the biggest punch in a breakout role as Rosy.” Harris, his real-life wife, Madigan, Pullman, and Brett are reuniting for a live Zoom reading of the play on August 27 at 7:00; Headly, who passed away in 2017 at the age of sixty-two, will be replaced by Carol Kane. Tickets are $25, with ten percent of the proceeds benefiting Race Forward, which “brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity”; the link will be available through August 30 at midnight. Part of “The New Group Off Stage,” the reunion reading series previously presented Sharr White’s The True and Jesse Eisenberg’s The Spoils. You can still catch the New Group’s “Why We Do It” conversation series with such guests as Cynthia Nixon, Bobby Cannavale, Edie Falco, Donja R. Love, and Suzanne Vega here.