Stage
Washed in the Blood
Live Theater, 55m
Aug 3 – 27, 2023, Apr 18-21, 2024
A school shooter invades the lives of a teenage evangelist, a juvenile delinquent, and a youth pastor, forcing them to ask whether faith is worth dying for. Written in the wake of the 2015 shooting at Umpqua Community College and revived in response to the recent shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. Starring Jonathan Power, Jack Piccioni, Joshua Crone, Varda Appleton, Dolores Susan Merino, and Billy Malone.
“Washed in the Blood” at the Yellow Bicycle Theater, with (from left) Jonathan Power, Varda Appleton and Jack Piccioni.
ARTS > THEATER
It’s a busy Philly season for filmmaker-playwright Joshua Crone
Crone arrived in Philadelphia in 2021, after working in New York and Los Angeles. He runs Yellow Bicycle Co. and is getting ready for a busy Fringe season.
Growing up in an evangelical Christian home in upstate New York and then central Florida, playwright and filmmaker Joshua Crone… [READ FULL ARTICLE]
Ashes Ashes
Live Theater, 1h 30m, Sep 7 – 21
You’ve met the men who built the bomb, now meet the men who dropped it… and the women they affected. Shuttling between 80s New York and 50s Hiroshima, this new play by Joshua Crone explores imagined encounters between a Japanese-American reporter, a Japanese survivor-turned-prostitute, and the pilot and co-pilot of the Enola Gay. Featuring Mayo Kinoshita, Kassidy Kimata, James C. Gavin, Joshua Crone and John Crann.
“Keep Yellow Bicycle on your radar. This is certain to be a performance space gem in our city.”
Ashes Ashes at Yellow Bicycle Theatre gives audiences a closer look at Enola Gay pilots in a tale that spans decades
By Brenda Hillegas
“Yellow Bicycle Theater is a fantastic new black box theatre and art house cinema just behind Love Park… The theatre’s intimate setting is perfect for the portrayal of real-life Enola Gay pilots Paul Tibbets (played by James C. Gavin) and Robert Lewis (Crone). You’ll find yourself down a rabbit hole of information, what ifs, and a close look at what could have been going on inside of their heads…and so many others at that time… Crone’s story grip’s viewers as we witness the pilots’ encounters with two young women who turn out to be a big part of their history – the Hiroshima survivor turned prostitute Miko (Mayo Kinoshita) and Japanese-American journalist Asuna (Kassidy Kimata)… This is a not-to-be-missed Fringe Festival pick. With only four performances left, you need to make a plan to see it this weekend or next Thursday.” [Full Review]
The Journey
Thu Oct 19 – Sun Oct 29, 1h 45m
Nick Landers wants to marry Luna Lieberman. But first he has to earn her father’s blessing by joining the family on a journey—the kind you take without leaving the living room. The only problem is Nick has never done drugs before—or “medicine,” according to Shanti, the family’s therapist/shaman. She and her partner Brad are serving Peruvian ayahuasca in heart-shaped chocolates at the Liebermans’ Malibu home this Sabbath, just in time for an unannounced visit from Grandma Stern. And you’re invited on the journey. Featuring Patricia Casperson, John Crann, Nell Fossa, Deborah Tova Glassman, Seth Hammerman, Thoeger Hansen, Vivian Kelly, Alan J. Krier, Dave Leitch, Sylvette Mikell, Maryellen Molnar, Michael Oto, Hercules Pappas and Tiffany Ray. Produced and directed by Joshua Crone, co-produced by Thoeger Hansen.
Tiffany Ray
Tiffany Ray
From L: Michael Oto, Tiffany Ray and Deborah Glassman
From L: Michael Oto, Tiffany Ray and Deborah Glassman
From L: Dave Leitch and Deborah Glassman
From L: Dave Leitch and Deborah Glassman
From L: Dave Leitch and Deborah Glassman
From L: Dave Leitch and Deborah Glassman
Thoeger Hansen
Thoeger Hansen
From L: Thoeger Hansen, Nell Fossa and Alan J. Krier
From L: Thoeger Hansen, Nell Fossa and Alan J. Krier
From L: Nell Fossa, Alan J. Krier and Thoeger Hansen
From L: Nell Fossa, Alan J. Krier and Thoeger Hansen
From L: Tiffany Ray, Alan J. Krier, Michael Oto, Nell Fossa, Maryellen Molnar, Vivian Kelly, Thoeger Hansen, Seth Hammerman and Deborah Glassman
From L: Tiffany Ray, Alan J. Krier, Michael Oto, Nell Fossa, Maryellen Molnar, Vivian Kelly, Thoeger Hansen, Seth Hammerman and Deborah Glassman
From L: John Crann and Patricia Casperson
From L: John Crann and Patricia Casperson
From L: Alan J. Krier, Vivian Kelly, Seth Hammerman, Nell Fossa, Dave Leitch, Deborah Glassman, John Crann, Patricia Casperson and Maryellen Molnar
From L: Alan J. Krier, Vivian Kelly, Seth Hammerman, Nell Fossa, Dave Leitch, Deborah Glassman, John Crann, Patricia Casperson and Maryellen Molnar
From L: Patricia Casperson and Thoeger Hansen
From L: Patricia Casperson and Thoeger Hansen
From L: Michael Oto and Seth Hammerman
From L: Michael Oto and Seth Hammerman
From L: Nell Fossa, Maryellen Molnar, Thoeger Hansen and Vivian Kelly
From L: Nell Fossa, Maryellen Molnar, Thoeger Hansen and Vivian Kelly
From L: Deborah Glassman and Tiffany Ray
From L: Deborah Glassman and Tiffany Ray
From L: Michael Oto and Seth Hammerman
From L: Michael Oto and Seth Hammerman
From L: Seth Hammerman and Sylvette Mikell
From L: Seth Hammerman and Sylvette Mikell
From L: Sylvette Mikell
From L: Sylvette Mikell
From L: Maryellen Molnar, Seth Hammerman and Vivian Kelly
From L: Maryellen Molnar, Seth Hammerman and Vivian Kelly
From L: Hercules Pappas
From L: Hercules Pappas
From L: Vivian Kelly and Hercules Pappas
From L: Vivian Kelly and Hercules Pappas
The comedy in this production ranges from laugh-out-loud exclamations to subtle quips you might not catch if you’re not paying close attention […] Every single actor is perfect for their role and performs their assignment admirably […] When it’s time to start the ritual, you’re invited to join the procession for a chocolate heart of your own. It’s a nice treat that adds a bit of sweet immersion to the experience […] Just as a good drama has the right dose of comic relief, there were a few moments toward the end of the story where I actually felt a little emotional.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it. The cast was a mix of actors who were early on in their careers and seasoned actors with some impressive stage, screen and television credits. They took great care to convey Joshua Crone’s well-crafted material with respect and an ideal balance of emotions to ensure a quality production [….] Despite the seemingly cluttered plot, the show flowed very well. It was a very sweet ending, especially if you are a Tom Petty Fan. It was ambitious material that was done right and done well. It’s worth the journey to Manhattan to see this show.
Squatters
Live Theater, 1h, Sat, Nov 18 (CornuCopiaFest)
In an abandoned building overlooking Ground Zero, a woman pieces together a story that gives her grief meaning, only to have it demolished by the man who brought her there. Did they really just meet in a bar? Did she really lose someone in the Towers? Competing narratives abound in the Philadelphia premiere of a play by award-winning writer/director Joshua Crone that had audiences talking in London, Berlin and New York. A darkly comic look at the aftermath of 9/11, with asides on the geopolitical ramifications of bad sex, the art of tactical bed-making and the occult significance of sharing a hairbrush. Featuring Meghan Sudol Crook and Joshua Crone.
It is hard to begin to describe Squatters in a way that both keeps the mystery of the show alive and accurately presents it in the light that it deserves, though I will start by saying this: I left the theatre feeling very moved.
Filled with heartbreak, romance, (staged) sex, subtle humor, and a tragic and mildly disturbing climactic twist that proves to be the cherry of top of this dark and gritty drama.
Though Squatters is just now making its New York stage premiere, this neat little nesting doll of enigmas has already had a long and varied life, having enjoyed stage success in Germany and London.
Voices in the Valley
Live Theater, 45m, Fri, Nov 17 at 7:30 pm, Sat Nov 18 at 4:30 pm, Sun Nov 19 at 6:30 pm, 45m (CornuCopiaFest)
A mischianza of short plays & comic interludes inspired by the winter at Valley Forge, written by Kirill Antonin Zakharov, Max Raab, Sebastian Middlesex and Cricket O’Connor and featuring Thoeger Hansen as Baron von Steuben, Nell Fossa as Peggy Shippen and an English manservant and Alan J. Krier as Steuben’s aide de campe, an unknown Irish soldier and Captain John André. “The next best thing to being there” -B. Franklin, Pennsylvania Gazette, “Fast so gut wie da zu sein.” – B. Fränklin, Philadelphische Zeitung. Directed by Joshua Crone. Executive produced by Seth Hammerman. Flyer design by the very late John André.
An Enemy of the People
Apr 4-21, 2024, 1h 40m
Ibsen’s timely classic pits brother against brother when deadly bacteria is discovered in a spa town’s water supply. Where is the line between individual freedom and collective responsibility, and who should draw it?
Yellow Bicycle Theater explores these urgent questions and more in Joshua Crone’s taut new adaptation featuring Thoeger Hansen, James C. Gavin, Patricia Casperson, Sylvette Mikell, Tiffany Ray, John Crann, Robert Guajardo, Seth Hammerman and Jonathan Power.
