Waterwell was founded in 2002 and since then has created eleven original plays, one cabaret and two staged readings. Using a combination of research, improvisation and source texts, the ensemble devises each drop over the course of an extended rehearsal period. The resulting mixture of drama and vaudeville uses music and comedy as access points to address larger issues of powerclass and race. The New York Times hails the work as, "Brilliant, original and inspired. Alive enough to surprise even the performers themselves," and Theatermania writes, "Waterwell has artfully staked a claim on our collective conscience."
THE WIZARD OF WALL STREET
The Wizard of Wall Street is an all new musical about the life and times of financier/railroad executive Jay Gould who was, according to Joseph Pulitzer, "one of the most sinister figures that have ever flitted bat-like across the vision of the American people." Known in his own time as the "Mephistopheles of Wall Street" and throughout history as "Robbingest of the Robber Barons," Jay Gould's was one of the most spectacular and controversial careers in American business.
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Goodbar
Reviving the lost art of the Live Concept Album, NYC rock band, Bambï, teams up with downtown theatre company, Waterwell, to tackle one of the most controversial pop culture artifacts from the '70s, Looking For Mr. Goodbar.
Taking inspiration from both the film starring Diane Keaton and the novel by Judith Rossner, Bambï and Waterwell explore the timeless themes of sexuality, independence and persona as seen refracted through a disco ball.
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#9
Fusing harsh beats and bleak electronics with surging pop and sunny balladry, #9 is a swirling new music theatre piece about technology, identity and relationships. As innovations allow us to give and get information, share opinions and express our feelings in ways that were unimaginable even a few years ago, #9 confronts the question: how are the tools we create shaping the contours of our experience - transforming how we think and act?
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The Last Year in the Life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As Devised by Waterwell: A Rock Operetta
An all new theatrical event about one of America's most loved and misunderstood figures.
Featuring an exuberant score of hard edged rock, blues and funk, The/King/Operetta draws on speeches, writings and interviews to give a blistering account of King as he barnstorms the country squaring off against the most powerful forces in politics and commerce.
Facing criticism on all sides and even doubts from his closest advisors, he speaks his mind fearlessly and fights to the end against war, poverty, even his own government.
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Marco Millions (based on lies)
Waterwell puts its signature irreverent stamp on an obscure play by one of America's greatest dramatists, Eugene O'Neill.
Based on the thirteenth century travels of Marco Polo, Marco Millions is the story of a Westerner encountering the East and the collision of cultures and economies that followed.
O'Neill's play was born out of his reaction to the American post-war boom of the 1920s. A time of capitalist triumph and commercial imperialism, of untapped markets in underdeveloped countries, it was the time, O'Neill thought, to recognize that the majority of the world didn't necessarily embrace The American Way. He saw history repeating itself . . .
Featuring live music, Marco Millions (based on lies) is a kaleidoscopic and freewheeling ride that confront head on questions of class and race that are as important now as they were in 1928 . . . or 1271.
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The Persians ... a comedy about war with five songs
The Persians were the most powerful empire the world had ever seen.
The Persians' army was the biggest war machine ever assembled.
The Persians marched off to destroy their most hated enemies.
The Persians lost the war and the world.
The revolution is about to begin ... let us entertain you!
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Sweetness & Light
An awkward but brilliant inventor falls fervently in love with a boisterous lamp tester and loses her when the company's eccentric founder is caught in a financial panic. Two revolutionaries sort through personal and political tensions at the dawn of democracy. Set in present-day Pittsburgh and 1784 Paris the stories collide an uproarious skewering of industry and statecraft. Combining comedy, satire and pathos and underpinned by a cache of vibrant country and folk music, it questions America's love affair with business, technology and itself.
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Chill & Serve
Writer/actor/performance artists Rodney Gardiner and Hanna Cheek give us two original solo pieces built around the lives of famous singers. Mr. Gardiner's Episodes in Blue unfolds the searing blues of Waililn' Walter and Ms. Cheek's Life in Pink centers around the vibrant voice of Edith Piaf. Featuring live music, they weave and dive between hilarity and poignancy, sweeping from a 1976 blues bar to a present-day Chelsea café.
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STUCK
Jerry and Gerry have been stuck in a theatre since 1984. Come keep them company. A largely improvised play where anything can happen ... but nothing ever does.
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Lost in Yemen or "The Bizarre Bazaar"
A new comedy about the Middle East and why we shouldn't say "sand-nigger"
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In On It
A spiraling narrative about a dying man trying to make plans for the end, a pair of lovers trying to make it work and two men trying to make a play. A world where accidents happen. A story about control. A play that keeps its options open.
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Choo, Choo! All Aboard the Comedy Express -
Next Stop ... Funnyville!
An Original Sketch Comedy Extravaganza
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