Cherry Lane Alternative to Co-Present Orietta Crispino’s Let Me Cook For You with Theaterlab

Orietta Crispino and Angelina Fiordellisi
Cherry Lane Alternative (Angelina Fiordellisi, Founding Artistic Director) will co-present Orietta Crispino’s intimate and interactive solo show, Let Me Cook for You with Theaterlab (Orietta Crispino, Artistic Director), April 28-May 28. This unique collaboration will bring together two powerhouse female-led producing organizations. 


“It is with great pride and appreciation that I support a woman artist as fierce, passionate and enormously talented as Orietta Crispino.” said Angelina Fiordellisi, Founding Artistic Director of Cherry Lane Alternative.


“It’s such a gift to receive Angelina Fiordellisi’s support and mentorship for this project,” said writer/performer Orietta Crispino. “It was during This Beautiful Future, presented in January 2022 at Theaterlab that we had the chance to weave our connection. She was on stage and I wanted to make her feel at home, honoring her great experience by creating a space of calm and joy to make work in the middle of the pandemic. I think it was at that moment that we recognized each other, we were both women running a theater in NYC, sharing many of the same challenges and in that kinship, supporting one another.” 


Let Me Cook For You is a collage of inherited myths and apocryphal histories, melding the intoxicating act of storytelling with the ritual of preparing food. The 150-minute show, designed for an intimate audience of up to 15 people, features a home-cooked meal, an installation of unique garments from Orietta’s designer collection, and a closing ceremony, in which strangers share more than just the space. 


Performances will take place on Friday, April 28 at 7pm, Saturday, 29 at 7pm, Sunday, April 30 at 5pm, Monday, May 1 at 7pm, Tuesday, May 2 at 7pm, Friday, May 5 at 7pm, Saturday, May 6 at 7pm, Sunday, May 7 at 5pm, Monday, May 8 at 7pm, Wednesday, May 10 at 7pm, Friday, May 12 at 7pm, Saturday, May 13 at 7pm, Sunday, May 14 at 5pm, Tuesday, May 16 at 7pm, Friday, May 19 at 7pm, Saturday, May 20 at 7pm, Sunday, May 21 at 5pm, Tuesday, May 23 at 7pm, Friday, May 26 at 7pm, Saturday, May 27 at 7pm, and Sunday, May 28 at 5pm at Theaterlab (357 W 36th St Floor 3, New York, NY 10018). Seating is limited to 15 audience members per performance. Tickets ($35-$65) are available for advance purchase at www.theaterlabnyc.com, with group discounts available. The performance will run approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes including one 10-minute intermission.   


This show is a theatrical experience where the audience consumes food as they consume the larger-than-life story. Guests are invited to take their masks off and participate in this crucial element of the experience. In order to keep everyone safe, we will require a negative COVID test within 24 hours of the performance. You may submit your own COVID test (any kind will work, including at-home rapids) by taking a picture of your result and showing it at the door; we will also offer testing on-site. Those who wish to receive a test from Theaterlab on-site must email theaterlab36@gmail.com and request a test at least 48 hours before the show and arrive 30 minutes before the curtain time. Sharing space is meant to be joyous and fulfilling, so thank you for respecting our covid testing guidelines to ensure all present can safely enjoy the show.


Cherry Lane Alternative In keeping with Cherry Lane Alternative’s 26-year history, our mission is to support playwrights and small theater companies whose programs uplift emerging writers, enhancing our culture’s literary landscape and consequently, the future of American drama.


Theaterlab is an artistic laboratory dedicated to research into the nature of live performance. Through the development of new and experimental work, including theater, music, and visual arts, Theaterlab supports New York City’s diverse community of artists as well as the general public interested in seeing emerging new work. Theaterlab also focuses on audience development as a creative project. We regard the theatrical experience as a creative public assembly with the audience as an important partner in fulfilling our mission. www.theaterlabnyc.com   

Published by malinism

Malini is a native New Yorker who has been involved in the arts for her entire life. She's served the theatre in many aspects of which she's very proud – actress, director, producer, stage manager, costume designer, prop designer, theatre reviewer, publicist and most recently writer/monologist. She received her BA in Theatre Arts and English Literature from Baruch College and her MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School. In 2003, Malini and her husband, Ian, created Black Henna Productions with a handful of innovative artists. Every member of the company collaborates on every piece, either writing, acting, directing, designing, or filling any other role that fit their own personal skills with a commitment to bring new, exciting, and challenging theatre to the world. She is an associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women. Malini received the Woman of Distinction Award for her contribution to Media, Arts and Culture from the City of New York in 2008. She is also a Person of Godspell which ran at Circle in the Square on Broadway from 2011-2012.

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