JUNE 19 — JULY 1, PART OF SUMMERWORKS 2025
wild project
195 E 3rd St.
New York, NY 10009
Featuring:
Alana Raquel Bowers
Will Cobbs
Nina Grollman
Andy Lucien
Grace McLean
Lizan Mitchell
Mallory Portnoy
Suzzy Roche
Ellen Winter
Creative Team:
Book, Music, and Lyrics by: Ro Reddick
Director: Knud Adams
Music Director: Ellen Winter
Sets: Afsoon Pajoufar
Costumes: Brenda Abbandandolo
Lights: Masha Tsimring
Sound: Kathy Ruvuna
Movement: Baye & Asa
Production Stage Manager: Christina Woolard
In Cold War Choir Practice, a prominent Black conservative brings his mysteriously ill wife home for the holidays, setting long simmering tensions with his estranged family to boil. A fugue of Reaganomics, espionage, roller disco, and cults —underscored by the Syracuse, NY chapter of the Seedlings of Peace Children’s Chorus.
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Photo by Maria Baranova
Press for Cold War Choir Practice
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3 Views on Theater
“Reddick’s clever, deeply imaginative, dark comedy is a gentle reminder that we, too, can intervene, even on the most basic, sometimes accidental level, in the face of hard times.”
- Ashley M. Thomas
Check out all three articles on Cold War Choir Practice from 3Views on Theater out now.
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New York Times Critics Pick
"A highly-entertaining... brainy new comedy... featuring a jewel-studded cast."
The New York Times calls Cold War Choir Practice a timely play “about power, needless destruction and how the wealth of a nation is spent.”
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NewYorkNotebook
“A rollicking spoof that's dead serious.”
“A good laugh might have seemed in poor taste at this particular juncture, but playwright Ro Reddick… knows what buttons to push, and how. In this tongue-in-cheek spy caper, she needles our collective complacency lightly, wittily.”
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Exeunt
“A funny, spirited play with joyfully ridiculous songs that delivers a deep undercurrent of truth.”
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Vulture
“Ro Reddick’s Cold War Choir Practice, co-produced with Page 73, rounds out this summer’s trio: Reaganomics and roller-skating collide with spycraft and, yes, choir practice in this ambitious play with music.”
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American Theatre Magazine
“The show is surreal but deeply human. Its rich score, with tight harmonies and off-kilter holiday sounds… set in a roller rink at the tail end of the Cold War.”
Behind the Scenes
The True Story Behind Cold War Choir Practice
Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction...especially in the 80’s.
In this behind-the-scenes featurette, playwright Ro Reddick shares the true story of the children's peace chorus in Syracuse that inspired her play.
“Lay Down Your Arms”
“Did you know the voice of a child has the power to stop a nuclear attack?”
Watch a rehearsal sneak peek of “Lay Down Your Arms” sung by our own Syracuse, NY chapter of the Seedlings of Peace Children's Chorus.
Hear What Audiences Are Saying
"Like nothing I've ever seen before or probably will again."
Tickets
$25 Students
$35 General Admission
$45 Reserved Seating
$65 Pay It Forward
Runtime
Approximately 95 minutes with no intermission.
About the Playwright:
RO REDDICK
Ro Reddick (she/her) is a queer Black playwright and songwriter who is a member of the 2025 Page 73 Writers Group. She writes off-kilter comedies (mostly); the theme songs to your late capitalist nightmares. Ro is a ’24-’25 DGF Playwriting Fellow and Playwrights’ Center Core Apprentice. She is also under commission at People’s Light Theatre for their new Queerways PA commissioning and residency program. Her plays have been workshopped/developed/read with Clubbed Thumb/Page 73, Trinity Rep, The Ground Floor (Berkeley Rep), Bushwick Starr Reading Series and Williamstown Theatre Festival (NYC Reading). Other fellowships, residencies, and honors include Susan Smith Blackburn Prize nomination 2025 (Cold War Choir Practice), Venturous Fellowship Nomination (Throwback Island), Lambda Literary Fellow in Playwriting, Adele Kellenberg Seaver Fellow in Creative Writing at Brown University, La Mama Umbria International Playwright Retreat, Miranda Theatre Company Playwright Grant, and 3x O’Neill Finalist. As an actor, Ro has performed at theaters including Hartford Stage, McCarter Theatre Center, Long Wharf, and KC Rep; Off-Broadway in Silence! The Musical, and on screen in “The Americans,” “Louie,” and “SATC 2.” As a singer she has performed and co-written songs for a country, rock, and blues band. She also writes original songs for her plays and is an alum of the BAI Songwriting Workshop. In addition to her MFA in Playwriting from Brown, Ro has an MBA from NYU (which she has no intention of using).
About the Director:
KNUD ADAMS
Knud Adams is an Obie-winning director of artful new plays, based in New York City. He recently directed the acclaimed Broadway debut of Sanaz Toossi’s English, which Variety hailed as “one of the best plays of the decade.” He is the only director to have premiered consecutive Pulitzer Prize winners: English and Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust. Additional world premieres include: The Book of Mountains and Seas, I’m Revolting, Bodies They Ritual, The Headlands, Paris, Tin Cat Shoes, The Workshop, Asshole, and Tom & Eliza. Knud’s productions have been celebrated on "Best of the Year" lists by the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, New York Magazine, New Yorker, and Washington Post. Knud is a Clubbed Thumb Affiliated Artist.
About The Cast
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Meek
ALANA RAQUEL BOWERS
Broadway: Chicken and Biscuits. Off-Broadway: Bernarda’s Daughters (Signature Theater), What To Send Up When It Goes Down (A.R.T./NY Theaters) Regional: The Comeuppance (Woolly Mammoth/Wilma Theater). Film/TV: "After Class", “Fantasy Life” (SXSW 2025), "FBI: Most Wanted", “Dr. Death”. Producer Credits: The Black Wolfe Tone (Irish Rep/Fishamble) Transatlantic Residency (Irish Rep/Apollo Theater)
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Smooch
WILL COBBS
Broadway: Tina Satter’s Is This A Room. Off-Broadway: Six Characters (LCT3). Regional includes Walter Lee in Raisin in the Sun (Arena Theater), Sly in Detroit 67' (McCarter) and Lyons in Fences (The Resident Ensemble Players at University of Delaware). TV includes Skinny John on “For Life” (ABC); “Prodigal Son” (Fox); “The Good Wife,” “Madam Secretary” (CBS); “Deadbeat” (Hulu); “The Night Of” (HBO); and “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix). Teaches acting and movement classes at Pace University, Brooklyn College and Yale's Summer Session.
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Chorus
NINA GROLLMAN
Nina made her Broadway debut as Margie in The Iceman Cometh. She then went on to play Scout in Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill A Mockingbird. She makes music under the moniker Softee and has been featured in publications such as Rolling Stone and Paper Magazine. A graduate of Juilliard, Nina can be seen in the Apple+ series, “Bad Monkey.”
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Clay
ANDY LUCIEN
TV: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime), “The Blacklist” (NBC), Marvel’s “Daredevil” (Netflix), “Elementary” (CBS), “Madam Secretary” (CBS) Film: Pretty Doesn’t Hurt, Seven Lovers, Vox Lux, Theater: Off-Broadway: Signature Theater, MTC, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theater, Rattlestick. Regional: Actors Theater of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Studio Theater.
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Chorus
GRACE MCLEAN
Broadway: Suffs, Bad Cinderella, Natasha, Pierre. Off-Broadway: Public, TNG, MCC, LCT3, Vineyard, 2ST. TV: “The First Lady” (Showtime), “The Other Two” (HBO). Richard Rodgers (writing), Lortel (performance) for In the Green. Scores for film (Marina - Gotham Award), theater (Lunar Eclipse, The Apiary). Debut album "My Lovely Enemy" "brilliant" - Rolling Stone.
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Puddin
LIZAN MITCHELL
Broadway: Ohio State Murders, Electra, Having Our Say, So Long on Lonely Street. Off-Broadway: On Sugarland, Cullud Wattah, Passage, Brownsville Song, Trojan Women, and A'int Supposed to Die a Natural Death. Regional: Our Daughters, Like Pillars, Skeleton Crew, Raisin in the Sun, Richard lll, The Tempest, and Gem of the Ocean. Film/TV: “Detroit”, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, “The Good Wife”, “The Preacher’s Wife”, “The Wire”, “Human Stain”, and “Law & Order.”
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Virgie
MALLORY PORTNOY
Broadway: Oklahoma! Other New York Credits: A Party With Comden and Green, Most Happy, California, Privacy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Inspired by True Events. TV: “American Horror Story” (FX), “American Rust” (Amazon Prime), “The Good Fight” (Paramount+), “Grace and Frankie” (Netflix), “Helpsters” (Apple TV). Film: Maestro. Training: University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign, Juilliard.
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Chorus
SUZZY ROCHE
Suzzy Roche (singer, songwriter, performer, author) is a founding member of the singing group The Roches, and an associate member of The Wooster Group. Suzzy has written and recorded music for fifty years, penned two novels, and most recently enjoys singing and recording with her daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche.
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Choir Leader
ELLEN WINTER
Ellen Winter is a Brooklyn-based artist, composer, & writer. Off-Broadway MD: The Beastiary (Ars Nova), Hurricane Diane (NYTW). Audio Fiction: 36 Questions, Hit Singles. Albums: YIKES, Every Feeling I've Ever Felt. TV: "Paper Roses" in “Tiny Beautiful Things”. Awards: EST/Sloan, Bryan Gallace/Posthumous Prodigy Productions Musicians Fellowship. Residencies: Joe’s Pub Working Group, Berkeley Rep GF, Mercury Store, Ars Nova Maker’s Lab, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. @itsellenwinter
Getting to wild project is easy!
wild project
195 E 3rd St.
New York, NY 10009
Subway
F to 2nd Ave. (closest)
6 to Bleecker St.
B/D/F/M to Broadway-Lafayette
6/N/R to Astor Place & 8th St.
Nearest Parking
Edison ParkFast at 167 Essex St. btw Stanton and Houston (about a 6 minute walk) [map]
Recommended Restaurants & Bars near the Connelly Theater
Bibi Wine Bar - 211 E 4th St [map]
Book Club Bar - 197 East 3rd Street [map]
Boulton & Watt - 5 Avenue A [map]
The Cabin NYC - 205 E 4th St [map]
Populares - 51 Ave B [map]
wild project is wheelchair accessible from street level.
Cold War Choir Practice is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with The City Council.