#Keely Baisden Knudsen

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

From yesterday's performance of "Love Letters" @ Legacy Theatre

(x,x,x,x)

#love letters #legacy theatre #james roday rodriguez #keely baisden knudsen #fan encounter #photo #apparently still limping around #that's no excuse for showing up like this to work though mr rodriguez #do better

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

Wednesday, February 14 at 7pm

Love Letters by A.R. Gurney

Starring James Roday Rodriguez (Psych, A Million Little Things) and Legacy Theatre’s own Artistic Director and co-founder, Keely Baisden Knudsen, Love Letters is a unique and imaginative piece of theatre comprised of letters exchanged over a lifetime between two people who grew up together, went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences. As the actors read the letters aloud, what is created is an evocative, touching, frequently funny but always telling pair of character studies in which what is implied is as revealing and meaningful as what is actually written down.

 “A.R. Gurney’s deceptively simple 1988 epistolary two-hander, Love Letters, is that rare work whose emotional richness requires no embellishment in order to become a full-bodied theatrical experience.” - David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

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#legacy theatre #james roday rodriguez #keely baisden knudsen #Love Letters #theatre #reading

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

legacytheatrect "Ringside Rambles" continues, this time featuring the incredible Director of MASTERS OF PUPPETS, Gabe McKinley.

Join us for MASTERS OF PUPPETS at Legacy Theatre playing through June 11!

legacytheatrect.org/masters-of-puppets

#masters of puppets #legacy theatre #james roday rodriguez #gabe mckinley #keely baisden knudsen #video #bts

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

legacytheatrect Who’s ready to rumble? Welcome to Ringside Rambles with our own Artistic Director, Keely Baisden Knudsen, and her longtime friend, collaborator, and the co-producer of MASTERS OF PUPPETS, James Roday Rodriguez! Curious how this no-holds-barred new play about the world of professional wrestling ended up on our stage? Check out their conversation, and join us for MASTERS OF PUPPETS opening this weekend at Legacy! legacytheatrect.org/masters-of-puppets

#masters of puppets #legacy theatre #james roday rodriguez #Keely Baisden Knudsen #video #this is so awkward i love it #two actors without a script everyone

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

legacytheatrect Rehearsals for MASTERS OF PUPPETS are ramping up as we look forward to opening in just over a week! Pictured here are members of our wonderful MASTERS OF PUPPETS company – come see them in action at Legacy May 25-June 11. Single tickets on sale now!

legacytheatrect.org/masters-of-puppets

#Legacy Theatre #Masters of Puppets #Amanda Detmer #Kurt Fuller #James Roday Rodriguez #Dana Ashbrook #Michael Hogan #Gabe McKinley #Keely Baisden Knudsen #Michael Bobenhausen #Joshua Heggie #photo #bts

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

James Roday Rodriguez ("A Million Little Things," "Psych") & The Legacy Theatre will present the world premiere of Masters of Puppets, written by Laurence Davis*, directed by Gabe McKinley. It will begin its limited run at The Legacy Theatre on Thursday, May 25, and run through June 11, 2023.

Master of Puppets is a fictionalized, no holds barred look at the dirty underbelly of professional wrestling written by insider Laurence Davis*. The riveting drama takes you from the corner office to the top turnbuckle and will star Dana Ashbrook (Showtime's Twin Peaks), Amanda Detmer (Fox's Empire), Kurt Fuller (CBS's Evil), Michael Hogan (Fox's The Resident), Michael Bobenhausen ("Imposters") and Joshua W. Heggie (Big River).

The creative team includes Jamie Burnett (scenic and lighting design), Gali Noy (costume design), Adam Jackson (sound design), Erica Pajonas (props design), Emmett Cassidy (fight choreographer), and T. Rick Jones (production stage manager).

"I have been a pro wrestling fan my whole life. From its humble beginnings in traveling carnivals to the billion-dollar industry that fills arenas across the world, one thing has always been intrinsic to its machinations: storytelling. Masters of Puppets peels back the canvas and gives us a peek at the shoots behind the works, and it's absolutely electric. Ging Ging." - Producer, James Roday Rodriguez

"How exciting to begin the season as the host of the World Premiere of this thrilling new work, Masters of Puppets, with such seasoned, recognizable visiting artists in this precious seaside town in Stony Creek. Orson Welles presented his bold, new theatrical work at this very venue in the 1930s, and I am moved to produce programming in a similar vein nearly a hundred years later, championing new works that challenge and thrill audiences. This one is particularly fulfilling as I am collaborating with artists I have known for 25 years." - The Legacy Theatre's Artistic Director, Keely Baisden Knudsen

"There's always been questions as to what's real and what's fake in the world of wrestling, and those questions continue to this day. This piece explores the topic in a really thought-provoking way. It's a gritty, no-holds-barred approach to the subject matter. We are happy to present its World Premiere." - The Legacy Theatre's Managing Director, Jeff Provost

The world premiere of Masters of Puppets debuts at The Legacy Theatre (128 Thimble Islands Road, Branford, CT 06405) on Thursday, May 25, at 7 p.m. Performances run through June 11, with shows on Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale now; season subscribers to all four productions receive a 25 percent discount.

Content Warning: For mature audiences. Contains violence, harsh language, and drug use. There is no puppetry in the production.

For more information, visit www.LegacyTheatreCT.org

Click Here to Buy Tickets

#legacy theatre #Masters Of Puppets #james roday rodriguez #dana ashbrook #kurt fuller #amanda detmer #gabe mckinley #michael hogan #gali noy #Keely Baisden Knudsen #of course james brought gali along #this may not be an RDS production but it is basically an RDS production

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

legacytheatrect This weekend is your last chance to see MASTERS OF PUPPETS at Legacy Theatre! The world premiere production closes this Sunday, June 11 – don't miss out!

legacytheatrect.org/masters-of-puppets

#masters of puppets #l #legacy theatre #james roday rodriguez #keely baisden knudsen #gabe mckinley #video #bts

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

legacytheatrect Join us after a performance of MASTERS OF PUPPETS for one of our talkbacks! Talkbacks will feature company members, including James Roday Rodriguez, Kurt Fuller, Amanda Detmer, and more! For more information on the talkbacks, please visit our website: legacytheatrect.org/masters-of-puppets

Sat. May 27 2:00 PM "Bringing a New Work to the Stage" With James Roday Rodriguez (Producer) and Laurence Davis (Playwright)

Thurs. June 1 7:00 PM “Meet the MASTERS -- The Collaborative Process” With Kurt Fuller (Victor Kragston) and Amanda Detmer (Delia Kragston)

Sat. June 3 2:00 PM “Meet the PUPPETS -- The Collaborative Process” With Dana Ashbrook (Ted Blasendale), Michael Bobenhausen (Jace Powers), Joshua Heggie (Leonard “Reaper” Barnett”, and Michael Hogan (Rainey Dayes)

#Legacy Theatre #Masters of Puppets #Amanda Detmer #Kurt Fuller #James Roday Rodriguez #Dana Ashbrook #Michael Hogan #Gabe McKinley #Keely Baisden Knudsen #Michael Bobenhausen #Joshua Heggie #Laurence Davis #Masters of Puppets premieres tonight! #lots of broken legs to everyone involved #also can someone please ask david rock why he's taken on a pseudonym for this it's really bugging me

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

A theater company born out of the pandemic will soon start rehearsals for its first mainstage production of 2023. On May 25, The Legacy Theatre will debut the world premiere of “Masters of Puppets,” a riveting drama by Laurence Davis that explores the dirty underbelly of professional wrestling.

A brief history

The aptly-named Legacy Theatre was one of the few companies producing shows following the first full year of the COVID-19 lockdown, according to Managing Director Jeff Provost. Before they set up shop in the former Stony Creek Playhouse — a historic haunt of Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre Players — Legacy staged productions at the nearby Stony Creek Museum and outdoors on the Guilford and Branford greens.

Co-Founders Keely Baisden Knudsen and Stephanie Stiefel Williams spearheaded the company’s renovation of the playhouse while preserving its “fabled history,” Provost said. And while audiences were slow to return amid pandemic-era restrictions, the theater’s production mix proved successful.

“Keely has made a commitment since Day One to do at least one new play as part of our mainstage series,” Provost said. “It really tells you how daring and willing we are as a theater company to explore new ideas and works onstage.”

‘Masters of Puppets’

Davis’ work follows a husband and wife (played by Kurt Fuller of CBS’s “Evil” and Amanda Detmer of Fox’s “Empire”) who are “the masters” of a large-scale wrestling organization, Provost said. The couple engage in a power struggle with an executive from the professional sports network (played by Dana Ashbrook of Showtime’s “Twin Peaks”) over who’s pulling the proverbial strings.

“There’s always been questions as to what’s real and what’s fake in the world of wrestling, and those questions continue to this day,” Provost said. “This piece explores the topic in a really thought-provoking way. It’s a gritty, no-holds-barred approach to the subject matter.”

“Masters of Puppets” comes to the Legacy stage via James Roday Rodriguez (of ABC’s “A Million Little Things”), who will assist Legacy behind the scenes as a producer. Rodriguez and Knudsen grew up together; they performed alongside each other in middle school and eventually studied together as undergraduate students at New York University. Director Gabe McKinley was at NYU with them as well.

Provost explained that Rodriguez initially intended to produce the show with a theater company out in Los Angeles, but then COVID hit. Rodriguez connected with Knudsen about debuting “Puppets” at Legacy, and the rest, they say, is history.

“All of these connections and relationships that James has in the industry will play out really beautifully in this production,” Provost added. “The actors know each other very well and already have that base established.”

The world premiere of “Masters of Puppets” debuts at The Legacy Theatre on Thursday, May 25, at 7 p.m. Performances run through June 11, with shows on Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now; season subscribers receive a 25 percent discount. For more information, visit www.LegacyTheatreCT.org.

[Anyone who wants to go please heed the content warning on their website: For mature audiences. Contains violence, harsh language, and drug use. There is no puppetry in the production.]

#Legacy Theatre #Masters of Puppets #Amanda Detmer #Kurt Fuller #James Roday Rodriguez #Dana Ashbrook #Michael Hogan #Gabe McKinley #thank god they got a new poster #this whole CT thing makes much more sense now knowing the play was supposed to be produced for RDS originally #looks like david rock decided to go with a pseudonym in the end #the name change really confused me for a bit there #also while we knew that james and AD keely went to NYU together this is the first i heard they actually went to school together as well #pretty cool #love that the theatre specified that there is no puppetry in the production #probably based on the fact it was a puppetry theatre in its previous life