Since we’ve been thinking about “why we do what we do”, we’ve asked some of our immediate community of artists to join us for creative conversations that explore what continues to draw them to the theater, touchstones in their theater careers and what hopes they have going forward. Join us on YouTube Live and Facebook Live for these free conversations, moderated by Founding Artistic Director Scott Elliott.
Why We Do It: Cynthia Nixon
Wednesday, May 6 at 4pm
Click here to watch the conversation on YouTube.
CYNTHIA NIXON is an Emmy®, Tony®, and Grammy® Award-winning actress, and progressive advocate who ran for the governor of New York to fight for a better, more equal state. She starred in The New Group’s production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and directed their hit shows Steve by Mark Gerrard and Rasheeda Speaking by Joel Drake Johnson. Nixon will next star in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series “Ratched” alongside Sarah Paulson, Judy Davis and Sharon Stone in the “One Flew Over The Cukoo’s Nest” prequel for Netflix set to launch in fall 2020. She was about to start production on “Gilded Age”, a new HBO drama from “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes, set in 1880s New York, alongside Christine Baranski and many other great NY actors when the Coronavirus shut down production. Nixon can currently be seen in the film Stray Dolls, Sonejuhi Sinha’s celebrated feature debut which would have opened in theaters on April 10 but can now be streamed on demand. A lifelong New Yorker and mother of three, Nixon has been a longtime activist for better funding for public schools, abortion rights and LGBTQ equality.
Miss Jean Brodie
1.25 oz rye
.75 oz apple brandy
.5 oz peach liqueur
.25 oz honey
Stir, strain into rocks glass over ice. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Porch Swing
1 oz lemon juice
.75 oz honey
1 tsp peach puree
Shake, strain into collins glass over fresh ice. Top with seltzer. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Drink recipes created by Sammi Katz, creator of A Girl’s Guide to Drinking Alone.
Why We Do It: Bobby Cannavale
Wednesday, May 13 at 4pm
Click here to watch the conversation on YouTube.
Hurlyburly Negroni
1.5 oz Gin
.75 oz Campari
.5 oz Punt e Mes (or another sweet vermouth)
.25 oz Dry Vermouth
.25 oz St Germain
1 dash Orange Bitters
Stir in a mixing glass with ice, then strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Drink recipes created by Sammi Katz, creator of A Girl’s Guide to Drinking Alone.
Bobby Cannavale Select NY Theater: Medea (BAM),The Lifespan of a Fact, The Hairy Ape (Drama Desk Nomination),The Big Knife, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Motherfucker With The Hat (Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Award), Mauritius (Tony Nomination), HurlyBurly, Fucking A, The Gingerbread House. Member: Labyrinth Theater Company. Select Film: The Irishman, The Jesus Rolls, Motherless Brooklyn, I,Tonya, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Ant Man and the Wasp, Ferdinand, Daddy’s Home, Ant-Man, Spy, Danny Collins, Annie, Chef, Blue Jasmine, Win Win, The Station Agent, Fast Food Nation, Romance and Cigarettes. Upcoming Film: Super Intelligence, Blonde. TV: Homecoming, Angie Tribeca, Mr. Robot, Master of None, Vinyl, Boardwalk Empire (Emmy Award, SAG Nomination), Nurse Jackie (2 Emmy Nominations, SAG Nomination), Will and Grace (Emmy Award).
Why We Do It: Derek McLane
Wednesday, May 20 at 4pm
Click here to watch the conversation on YouTube.
Color Theory
1.5 oz Vodka
.5 oz Lemon Juice
.5 oz Strawberry Liqueur
.25 oz St Germain
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Shake with one cube of ice, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
In the Round
1 oz Lemon Juice
.75 oz Elderflower Cordial
3 Sliced Strawberries
Drink recipes created by Sammi Katz, creator of A Girl’s Guide to Drinking Alone.
Muddle strawberries in mixing tin. Add other ingredients and ice. Shake, then strain through fine strainer into a tall glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a strawberry slice.
Derek McLane’s nearly 350 designs include: Broadway credits include: Moulin Rouge!, A Soldier’s Play, Burn This, American Son, Parisian Woman, The Price, Beautiful, Fully Committed, Noises Off, Gigi, 33 Variations (Tony Award), China Doll, How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying, The Heiress, Follies, Anything Goes, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Million Dollar Quartet, Ragtime, The Pajama Game, I Am My Own Wife. Off-Broadway: Buried Child, Jerry Springer The Opera, Merrily We Roll Along, The Spoils, If I Forget, Love, Love, Love; The Night of the Iguana, Sweet Charity, Into the Woods, Ruined, The Last Five Years, Television 6 years of Academy Awards, NBC Musicals: The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz & Hairspray. A Tony Award, 2 Emmy’s, 2 Obie’s, Drama Desk, 3 Lucille Lortel Awards, and 2 Art Directors Guild Awards.
Why We Do It: Edie Falco
Wednesday, May 27 at 4pm
Click here to watch the conversation on YouTube.
Polly’s Bramble
1.5 oz gin
.75 oz creme de mure (blackberry liqueur)
.5 oz lemon juice
.25 oz simple syrup
.25 oz ginger juice
3 dashes orange bitters
Shake, then strain into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a blackberry and orange slice on a pick.
Albany Briar
1 oz lemon juice
.75 oz simple syrup
.25 oz ginger juice
5 blackberries
2 orange slices
Muddle blackberries and orange slices in tin. Add other ingredients. Shake, then fine strain into a rocks glass over ice. Top with seltzer. Garnish with a blackberry and orange slice on a pick.
Drink recipes created by Sammi Katz, creator of A Girl’s Guide to Drinking Alone.
Edie Falco is best known for her roles as Diane Whittlesey on the HBO series “Oz,” Carmela Soprano on “The Sopranos,” and in the title role of Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie.” She can currently be seen in the title role on “Tommy.” For her television work she has received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Awards, as well as the American Film Institute’s Award for Female Television Actor of the Year. Falco made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning play Sideman after appearing in its original off-Broadway production. For her performance, she received a Theatre World Award and Drama Desk Award nomination. She went on to make her London stage debut in the West End premiere of Sideman, and thereafter opened the London production The Vagina Monologues. Other Broadway credits include Frankie And Johnny In The Claire De Lune, ‘Night Mother, and The House of Blue Leaves (Tony Award Nomination). Off-Broadway she has appeared in The Madrid, This Wide Night, and The True. For her work in the feature film Cost of Living, Falco received the American Film Institute’s Best Actress Award. Her performance in Laws of Gravity earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead Actor, and she received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in John Sayles’ Sunshine State. Other film work includes A Price Above Rubies, Landline, Hurricane, The Funeral, The Addiction, Bullets Over Broadway, Freedomland, The Land of Steady Habits, Random Hearts and Judy Berlin.
Why We Do It: Donja R. Love in conversation with John-Martin Green
Wednesday, June 10 at 4pm
Click here to watch the conversation on YouTube.
Our free conversation series continues this week with playwright Donja R. Love. Joined by John-Martin Green, the discussion will talk about Love’s play one in two (produced earlier this season at The New Group) and how white supremacy and anti-Blackness contributes to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic within the Black Community. The conversation will be streamed on YouTube Live and Facebook Live.
Donja R. Love (he/him/his) is Black, Queer, HIV+, and thriving. A Philly native, his work examines the forced absurdity of life for those who identify as Black, Queer, and HIV-positive – a diverse intersection filled with eloquent stories that challenge the white supremacist, heteronormative structures that exist in American culture. He’s the recipient of the Laurents/Hatcher Award and the Princess Grace Playwriting Award. Other honors include The Lark’s Van Lier New Voices Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm’s Writing Fellowship, and the Philadelphia Adult Grand Slam Poetry Champion. He’s the co-founder of The Each-Other Project, an organization that helps build community and provide visibility, through art and advocacy, for LGBTQ+ People of Color. Plays include soft, one in two (The New Group), Fireflies (Atlantic Theater Company), Sugar in Our Wounds (Manhattan Theatre Club, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Nominations), and The Trade. He’s a graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at The Juilliard School.
John-Martin Green ED.D is founder of The Gatekeeper’s Collective (TGC), a resiliency enhancement network of same-gender-loving (SGL) African-descended men which works to facilitate identity reformation, empowerment, health promotion and wellness. As co-founder and co-artistic director of Blackberry Productions Documentary Theatre Company, John-Martin develops and produces theatre that sheds light on issues impacting our communities, and creates forums for a multiplicity of voices and perspectives in solutions-focused reflection. Currently, Dr. Green teaches community health and interpersonal relations at Hostos College, of the City University of New York, and has taught theatre at New School University, Brooklyn College and SUNY campuses at Old Westbury and Nassau Community College.
Why We Do It: Nat Wolff
Wednesday, July 8 at 4pm
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Best known for critically praised roles in diverse films such as Palo Alto and Ashby, actor/musician Nat Wolff is building his resume as a formidable film star, with such feats as a spot on Variety’s Youth Impact list and as the recipient of the 2015 “Star of Tomorrow” award at CinemaCon.
Most recently, Wolff starred in the military action film The Kill Team opposite Alexander Skarsgård, as well as crime thriller Semper Fi, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin, who called Wolff “a young DiCaprio… highly likable yet always mischievous and unpredictable.” Other recent films include Paramount Picture’s Body Cam, opposite Mary J. Blige; fantasy adventure Mortal; and Stella’s Last Weekend, in which he starred alongside brother, Alex Wolff, and was directed by mother, Polly Draper.
Next up, Wolff joins the star-studded cast of CBS All Access’ highly anticipated Stephen King adaptation, The Stand. Wolff is set to make his directorial debut with Youngest, a short film that will star June Van Patten, Austin Abrams and Michael Gandolfini. Additional upcoming projects include comedic-drama Good Posture, alongside Grace Van Patten and Emily Mortimer, and Gia Coppola’s Mainstream, with Maya Hawke, Alexa Demie, and Andrew Garfield.
In 2017 Wolff starred in the animated feature Leap!; Home Again opposite Reese Witherspoon and Michael Sheen; and the indie thriller, Rosy.
Wolff made his off-Broadway debut in February 2016, co-starring in the New Group production of Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Buried Child opposite Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Rich Sommer and Paul Sparks.
In the dramedy Ashby, Wolff led an all-star cast including Mickey Rourke and Sarah Silverman. The film focused on the relationship between a high school student (Wolff) and a retired CIA assassin (Mickey Rourke), which premiered to rave reviews at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival and was released by Paramount on September 25.
In July 2015, Wolff starred in Paper Towns, FOX’s film adaptation of the John Green best-selling novel, which re-united him with The Fault in Our Stars team, including writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer, The Spectacular Now), and producers Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen (Twilight).
In 2014’s The Fault in Our Stars – which grossed over $300 million worldwide — Wolff gave a scene-stealing performance as Isaac, a blind teenager battling cancer. Critics lauded his performance as “outstanding” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone); “After his scene-stealing performance, Wolff will surely be declared a newcomer to watch” (Paula Bernstein, IndieWire); “The 19-year-old actor steals scenes. It should prove to be a big career boost for Wolff, who has several intriguing projects coming up” (Kyle Buchanan, New York Magazine).
In Palo Alto, directed and adapted by Gia Coppola from James Franco’s collection of short stories, Wolff delivered a gripping performance as an angry, damaged and oddly charming antihero. Palo Alto premiered to critical success at the Venice, Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals, and was released by Tribeca Films on May 9, 2014. Critics layered on the praise: “Nat Wolff is a true find and a star in the making” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone); “a dead-on performance” (Mark Olsen, LA Times); “Wolff has a bit of Robert De Niro’s early, fascinating dash in Mean Streets, with just the right kind of dangerous charisma” (David Noh, Film Journal); “Nat Wolff, in the film’s best performance. He’s the one you can’t take your eyes off” (Sara Stewart, New York Post).
Other film credits include: James Franco-directed In Dubious Battle, which premiered at the 2016 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals; Nancy Meyers’ The Intern (2015); Paul Weitz’s Grandma (2015); Stuck In Love opposite Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly and Lily Collins (2012); Admission opposite Tina Fey and Paul Rudd (2012) and Toronto Film Festival dramedy Peace, Love and Misunderstanding opposite Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Olsen (2011).
On the music side, Wolff is releasing new singles with his brother, Alex Wolff, under the moniker Nat & Alex Wolff. Their latest songs are currently available on iTunes.
Why We Do It: Suzanne Vega
Wednesday, July 15 at 4pm
Click here to watch the conversation on YouTube.
Suzanne Vega is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who has sold more than 7 million albums throughout her career. Her hits include “Luka,” and the DNA remix of “Tom’s Diner.” Suzanne majored in English at Barnard College while minoring in theatre. Her one-woman play with music, Lover, Beloved: An Evening With Carson McCullers, had its world premiere at The Alley Theater in Houston, Texas, on February 14, 2018, with Suzanne in the title role of Carson McCullers. She made her New Group debut as Band Leader in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
Why We Do It: Clint Ramos
Wednesday, July 22 at 4pm
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Clint Ramos is a costume and scenic designer. He recently designed the costumes on Liesl Tommy’s Aretha Franklin biopic, “Respect,” starring Jennifer Hudson. He is the recipient of a TONY Award for Best Costume Design of a Play for Eclipsed and the first person of color to win in his category. He is also the recipient of two OBIE Awards including one for Sustained Excellence in Design, 3 Lucille Lortel Awards and 6 nominations, 2 American Theater Wing Henry Hewes Awards and 8 nominations, TDF Irene Sharaff Young Master Award, Helen Hayes Award, Craig Noel Award, and 3 Drama Desk nominations, among other awards.
He is also the recipient of the Ani ng Dangal Presidential Medal for dramatic arts from the President of the Philippines – receiving this honor twice.
He has designed sets and/or costumes for over two hundred theater, opera, and dance productions. Selected credits include the Broadway productions of Burn This, Torch Song (Tony Nomination), Once On This Island (Tony Nomination), Six Degrees of Separation with Allison Janney, Sunday in the Park With George with Jake Gyllenhaal, In Transit, Eclipsed with Lupita Nyong’o (Tony Award), Violet with Sutton Foster and The Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper (also West End). Highlights also include Bella, Kid Victory, Sweet Charity, Here Lies Love (NY, Seattle and at the National Theatre, London), Dry Powder with Claire Danes and John Kazinsky, Barbecue, The Good Person of Szechuan, Appropriate, Angels in America, Wild With Happy, Bootycandy and many more. He is the principal costume designer for City Center Encores! Off- Center.
Ramos is a professor of design and Head of Design and Production at Fordham University. He was professor of scenic design at SUNY Purchase and has been a visiting professor/artist at NYU, Tisch School of the Arts and Georgetown University.
In addition to his work in the theater, he sits on the board of SLAM NYC, which is an organization working towards creating NYC’s first ever recovery high school and most recently sat on the board of FIERCE NY, an organization that is devoted to building the leadership and power of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color.
He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Design for Stage and Film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts where he attended on the Gary Kalkin Memorial Scholarship. He was born and raised in Cebu in the Philippines. He lives in New York with his husband and their daughter.
Why We Do It: Maulik Pancholy
Wednesday, July 29 at 4pm
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Maulik Pancholy’s career spans almost 20 years, with a diversity of work including animation, theater, TV and film. He has worked with the industry’s most prolific directors including Andy Tennant, Nicole Holofcener, Mike Nichols, Taylor Hackford and most recently Nick Stoller, and has earned the Screen Actors Guild Award on multiple occasions.
Pancholy is best known for playing Alec Baldwin’s intrepid assistant Jonathan on the classic NBC comedy “30 Rock,” with the show garnering 80 awards and 310 nominations.
From 2005-2012, Pancholy appeared in the Showtime hit series “Weeds” for 27 episodes, which was created by Emmy award winner Jenji Kohan (“Orange Is the New Black”). He followed this by returning to the NBC family and joining the cast of the comedy Whitney, which Entertainment Weekly called “Provocative and insane!” Pancholy soon after pivoted to starring in the Lifetime pilot HR, opposite Alicia Silverstone and directed by “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star.
Sporadically through 2011-2015, Pancholy recurred on the Showtime comedy Web Therapy opposite Lisa Kudrow, which garnered an Emmy nomination in 2012. In addition, multiple guest star roles on shows including “The Sopranos,” “Law & Order” and “The Good Wife.”
Since 2008, Pancholy has entertained children and adults by voicing a number of animated series including Phineas and Ferb, which was nominated for 39 awards in various categories. He followed this by landing the coveted role of Sanjay in the Nickelodeon animated series Sanjay and Craig, which ran for three seasons.
Most recently, Maulik can be seen on the CBS series Star Trek: Discovery, which is the first Star Trek series to air since 2005. The series was created by Transformers producer/writer Alex Kurtzman. He also guest starred on Netflix’s Friends from College, created by Nicholas Stoller and Francesca Delbanco. Pancholy also provided the voice of “Baljeet” in the Disney XD animated series Milo Murphy’s Law.
He has also recently authored the children’s novel The Best at It, which portrays the story of a young Indian boy coming into his own and is currently being developed into a television series. The book has been lauded by critics having been awarded the 2020 American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book, 2019 Junior Library Guild Selection, and Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2019.
On the big screen, Pancholy has appeared in numerous blockbuster films such as 27 Dresses (grossed $77mill), Hitch (grossed $176mill), Love Ranch, Charlie Wilson’s War and Horrible Bosses. He has also appeared in several independent features, including Raspberry Magic, winner of “Best Narrative Feature” at Philadelphia’s Asian American Film Festival.
Pancholy’s theater credits span back to his years at Yale, but they include the Off-Broadway productions of Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom (with the Culture Project), Aunt Dan & Lemon (with the New Group) and playing Romeo in Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival’s production of Romeo & Juliet. After completing a sold out run of The Awake in New York, Maulik went on to portray Frank Finger in Terrence McNally’s It’s Only a Play, starring opposite Tony winners Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, F. Murray Abraham and Martin Short. He reunited with Abraham in the original cast of Good for Otto along side Ed Harris, Amy Madigan and Rhea Perlman. Most recently, Maulik played a supporting role in the Off-Broadway production of Grand Horizons across Jane Alexander and James Cromwell which ended its successful run in the spring of 2020.
A graduate of Northwestern University’s Theatre program, Pancholy went on to get his MFA at the Yale School of Drama and trained with the renowned comedy improv group The Groundlings. He also travels extensively around the country delivering keynote speeches at universities, speaking particularly about his own journey as an actor and the entertainment industry’s evolving attitude towards minorities.
Why We Do It: Erica Schmidt
Wednesday, August 5 at 4pm
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The New Group’s 25th Anniversary season opened with Erica Schmidt’s adaptation of Cyrano, which she also directed. Mac Beth, adapted and directed by Erica, ran at The Lortel, produced by Red Bull Theater, and just concluded a return engagement produced by Hunter Theater Project. Her adaptation is being published by DPS. Other directing credits include: Mac Beth (Seattle Rep); Richard II with Robert Sean Leonard (The Old Globe); writer and director of All the Fine Boys (The New Group, published by Samuel French); Turgenev’s A Month In The Country (Classic Stage Company); Dennis Kelly’s Taking Care Of Baby (Manhattan Theatre Club); Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s I Call My Brothers and the Obie Award-winning Invasion! (both for The Play Company).
Erica was co-creator/writer of Lucille Lortel Award-winning show Humor Abuse (Manhattan Theatre Club, Philadelphia Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theatre, Seattle Rep and The Taper). Erica received a Lortel Award for Humor Abuse. She has also directed Rent (Tokyo); Moliere’s Imaginary Invalid, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Sorcerer and Copland’s The Tender Land (all at Bard Summer Scape); Carnival (The Paper Mill Playhouse); Quincy Long’s People Be Heard (Playwrights Horizons); Gary Mitchell’s Trust (The Play Company, Callaway Award nominee); As You Like It (The Public Theater/NYSF, chashama, New York International Fringe Festival Winner for Best Direction); Spanish Girl (Second Stage). Erica wrote the adaptation and directed Debbie Does Dallas (The Araca Group). Erica received the Princess Grace Award in 2001. Upcoming: Orpheus Descending (Theatre for a New Audience).
Why We Do It: Brandon Victor Dixon
Wednesday, August 12 at 4pm
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Brandon Victor Dixon is Emmy and Grammy nominated for his role of Judas in NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” and starred in “RENT Live!” on Fox as ‘Tom Collins’. He was recently seen as Dan in Next to Normal at the Kennedy Center. Previous Broadway credits include: Aaron Burr in Hamilton, Eubie Blake in Shuffle Along (Tony Award nomination), Berry Gordy in Motown The Musical (Grammy and Drama League Award nominations), and Harpo in The Color Purple (Tony Award nomination). National tour: Simba in The Lion King. Off- Broadway: F**king A, Rent and The Scottsboro Boys (Lucille Lortel, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Laurence Olivier Award nominations). Television: “Modern Love”, “Power” (Series Regular) on STARZ, NETFLIX’s “She’s Gotta Have It,” “Gone”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “One Life to Live,” and “The Good Wife.” Dixon was raised in Maryland, and is a graduate of Columbia University. He is the co-founder of WalkRunFly Productions. Qurator: The Movie Ratings App (available on iOS/Android) and the WeAre Foundation [501(c)3]
Why We Do It: Nico Santos
Thursday, October 15 at 7pm
Watch conversation for free on our Youtube Live and Facebook Live social accounts.
Nico Santos can currently be seen starring as Mateo in NBC’s hit comedy “Superstore.” Santos was born and raised in the Philippines and assimilated to American culture rather quickly by living in California by way of Portland, Ore. He started doing stand-up in San Francisco, and in just a short amount of time had become a popular fixture in the Bay Area comedy scene with his acute observations and quirky characters. Santos made his film debut in Warner’s smash hit “Crazy Rich Asians,” alongside Ken Jeong, Constance Wu, Harry Shum Jr., among others. He has written for E! Network’s “Fashion Police,” and has appeared on screen in Showtime’s “Pride Comedy Jam” as well as the series “Ground Floor,” “Mulaney” and “2 Broke Girls.” Santos was also a regular panelist on “Chelsea Lately. He recently appeared in The New Group’s production of Happy Talk in 2019.
Monday, October 19 at 7pm
Watch conversation for free on our Youtube Live and Facebook Live social accounts.
Four-time Emmy nominee Natasha Lyonne is a gifted actor whose creative versatility and talent continue to grow after more
than three decades in the industry. Lyonne pushes boundaries as a producer, actor, writer, and director.
On stage, Lyonne starred alongside Ethan Hawke in The New Group’s darkly comic Off-Broadway production of Blood from a Stone, written by Thomas Nohilly and directed by Scott Elliott. Natasha earned critical-acclaim for her adept portrayal of the couch-ridden, heartbroken Grace in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Tigers Be Still, written by Kim Rosenstock and directed by Sam Gold. In 2019, Lyonne co-presented Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees with executive producer Mike Birbiglia. The comedy showed at The Cherry Lane Theatre and received rave reviews. Natasha’s other stage credits include roles in Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an intimate collection of monologues and stories by Delia and Nora Ephron, and the familial drama, Two Thousand Years, directed by Scott Elliott and written by the legendary Mike Leigh.
Lyonne, alongside Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland, co-created the eight-episode Netflix series “Russian Doll” which premiered in February 2019 and received three Emmy awards, a total of 13 Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe nomination and a Gotham Award nomination. Lyonne wrote and directed for the series which stars her as Nadia, a young woman on a journey as the guest of honor at a seemingly inescapable party one night in New York City. The show was picked up for a second season by Netflix. In 2019, Lyonne returned as Nicky Nichols in the seventh and final season of Netflix original drama series “Orange Is the New Black” in which she also directed an episode.
Recently, Lyonne directed and appeared in an episode of “Awkwafina is Nora From Queens” that premiered on Comedy Central in January 2020. Lyonne also directed an episode of the second season of “Shrill” starring Aidy Bryant and an episode of the upcoming Hulu series “High Fidelity” starring Zoë Kravitz. In November 2018 it was announced that Lyonne launched a production company with Maya Rudolph,
Animal Pictures, which has a first-look TV deal with Amazon. The newly formed production banner will develop and produce a slate of original series, in addition to feature and documentary projects.
Next up in film, Lyonne can be seen in the comedy Irresistible, written and directed by Jon Stewart and co-starring Steve Carell and Rose Byrne. Additionally, Lyonne will star in the Lee Daniels film The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, about the legendary jazz singer. In 2017, Lyonne made her directorial debut with Kenzo film Cabiria, Charity, Chastity, featuring the Fall/Winter 2017 collection. She also wrote the screenplay for the 11-minute film which stars Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, and Leslie Odom Jr. among others. In 2017, she produced and starred in IFC Midnight’s Antibirth, directed by Danny Perez, co-starring Chloe Sevigny. This independent farce horror hybrid which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2016, was released wide in the US in 2016, and released in the UK in 2017. In 2014, Natasha earned a Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in “Orange Is the New Black”. Recent television credits include guest stints on the critically-acclaimed “Portlandia”, “Girls”, “Inside Amy Schumer”, The Simpsons and IFC’s “Documentary Now”.
Lyonne is well known for her acclaimed performances in Slums of Beverly Hills, the beloved comedy directed by Tamara Jenkins, and co-starring Alan Arkin & Marisa Tomei; the coming-of age comedy, But I’m a Cheerleader, with Clea Duvall and RuPaul; and Woody Allen’s romantic musical comedy, Everyone Say I Love You. Additional film credits include: Pee-wee’s Playhouse, The Grey Zone, Zig Zag, Girlfriend’s Day, Addicted to Fresno, Sleeping with Other People, Hello, My Name is Doris, He’s Way More Famous Than You, Girl Most Likely, All About Evil, Blade: Trinity, Die, Mommie, Die!, Party Monster, James Mangold’s Kate & Leopold, Scary Movie 2, American Pie, America Pie 2, Detroit Rock City, The Intervention, Yoga Hosers, Show Dogs, Handsome, and A Futile & Stupid Gesture.