Works by Eva Steinmetz:
THE APPOINTMENT
PENELOPE
Synopses:
The Appointment – From the acclaimed company Lightning Rod Special (Underground Railroad Game), The Appointment is an outrageous musical satire singing and dancing through the absurdity and hypocrisy of the American abortion debate. The show was named to the “Best Theater of 2019” lists and returned for a critically acclaimed run in 2023.
Using cutting humor, catchy songs, and some very lively fetuses, The Appointment unpacks the many systems that disempower groups of people from making informed reproductive decisions with hilarious, devastating, and hilariously devastating results. This “thoughtful and profoundly imaginative show concludes in a silence that is all the more eloquent for the sound and the fury that preceded it.” – The New York Times
Penelope – Penelope is a solo concert musical, which began as a writing project for Alex Bechtel at the start of the pandemic. Forced to quarantine from his romantic partner, he found comfort and healing in writing songs from the point of view of Odysseus’ waiting wife in Homer’s Odyssey. Many years and a few more collaborators later, Penelope is a tribute to the things we miss and the lives we wait for –– to the wide horizons that fill our hearts with longing. It’s also about the journey of the everyday; the ways we grow and discover, even when we’re stuck in one place. As we continue to grapple with pain and dream of better futures, as we spend our lives learning the same lessons over and over again, we all have healing work to do. Penelope will have its world premiere at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, September 2023.
Bio:
Eva Steinmetz is a Philadelphia-based theater and film director, making new works that straddle the ordinary and extraordinary. Most notably she directed and co-wrote The Appointment with Lightning Rod Special (NY Times Critic’s Pick; Time Out NY critics Pick; 6 Barrymore Nominations, including Best Director). Other collaborations include the Pig Iron Theater Company, Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, Theatre Horizon, The Polyphone Festival, Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean, Alexandra Tatarsky, Tommy Butler, Johanna Kasimow, Sarah Knittel, and Lily Kind. Eva was also a performer/creator in Josephine Decker’s film, Madeline’s Madeline.