Tweed theaterworks

TWEED Theaterworks, also known as TWEED, Tweed Ensemble, and theatretweed, is an experimental theatre company founded in 1983 known popularly for its Fractured Classicks series; spoofs of classic American plays and films that employ unique casting choices,[1] as well as its critically acclaimed[2][3] productions featuring drag icon Lypsinka.[4]

TWEED Theaterworks' mission statement is stated as:

TWEED unearths raw, yet sophisticated, socially relevant artists and material and ushers them to the threshold of acceptability (and often beyond) to cast an irreverent mirror on contemporary culture.[5]

TWEED has been led by Artistic Director Kevin Malony since the company's founding in 1983. Originally intended as a platform for actors to present adaptations from literature and agent showcases, TWEED and Malony rapidly became a part of the thriving early 80s art movement in Manhattan's East Village.[6] The TWEED New Works Festival (1985-1995) presented the early work of many of today's recognized theater artists, including Bill Russell, Lisa Kron, John (Lypsinka) Epperson and John Kelly.[7]

The dancer and choreographer John O'Malley choreographed pieces for TWEED such as "Hotel Martinique" and "Atomic Opera".[8]

Reviewing TWEED Fractured Classick "The Mailman Always Comes Twice" in 2002, Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times called the show was a "ribald parody" of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Of Varla Jean Merman's leading performance as "Nora Papadopolous," Genzlinger wrote, "[she had] the Lana [Turner] look pegged pretty definitively, including the legs." Genzlinger described the show as "simply hilarious -- a terrific, if indescribable, bit of staging".[9]

References
  1. Malony, Kevin. "TWEED". TWEED TheaterWorks Official Site. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. Brantley, Ben (2014-11-13). "John Epperson Returns, in 'Lypsinka! The Trilogy'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  3. Brantley, Ben (2000-09-16). "THEATER REVIEW; Those Eyes! Those Sighs! Lypsinka, What a Dame". The New York Times Theatre Section. The New York Times. Retrieved April 2016. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. New York Times Theater Reviews 1997-1998; 1999-2000 issue both cite Lypsinka!
  5. TheaterWorks, TWEED. "About". TWEED TheaterWorks Official Site. Kevin Malony. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  6. Malony, Kevin (November 2012). "The Complete History". TWEED TheaterWorks Official Website. TWEED. Retrieved March 2016. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. "TWEED TheaterWorks Description & History". NYC Service Organizations. The City of New York. 2016. Retrieved April 2016. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. Hendrix, Grady (2008). "Obituaries John O'Malley, 47, a top dancer and choreographer". The Villager. 77 (33).
  9. "THEATER IN REVIEW; 'The Mailman Always . . .'". New York Times. 15 November 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
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