The world premiere of Novenas for a Lost Hospital, a communal theatrical experience celebrating the legacy of the now-closed St. Vincent's Hospital, opens at Off-Broadway's Rattlestick Playwrights Theater September 19. The traveling play, written by Cusi Cram and directed by Artistic Director Daniella Topol, takes the audience on a journey from an enclosed West Village garden to Rattlestick’s intimate theatre and the NYC AIDS Memorial Park.
Tony nominee Kathleen Chalfant leads the cast as Elizabeth Seton of the Sisters of Charity (reprising her performance from last year's workshop production).
Chalfant is joined by Ken Barnett, Goussy Celestin, Justin Genna, Steven Jeltsch, Alvin Keith, Shayne Lebron-Acevedo, Kelly McAndrew, Noriko Omichi, Rafael Sánchez, Laura Vogels, and Natalie Woolams-Torres.
Novenas began September 5 and runs through October 13. Guy Lancaster is the dramaturg, Lannyl Stephens is attached as creative partner, and Edisa Weeks is the show's choreographer.
The show pays tribute to and celebrates St. Vincent’s Hospital, the 161-year-old Catholic institution and West Village landmark that treated victims of AIDS, as well as calamities from the sinking of the Titanic to September 11.
Novenas is presented in partnership with Village Preservation, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center, NYC AIDS Memorial Board, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, St. John’s in the Village, and Visual AIDS.
