Sinking Ship Productions
presents

Powerhouse

A New Play

Created by Director Jon Levin, Writer Josh Luxenberg, and the Sinking Ship Ensemble

POWERHOUSE ran at the New Ohio Theater in NYC from Nov. 3 - 23, 2014.

ABOUT THE SHOW

Powerhouse uses physical theater, music, and puppetry to tell the story of brilliant, idiosyncratic composer and electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott.

Inspired by swing music, animated cartoons and futuristic machines, Powerhouse takes the audience inside the mind of Raymond Scott. He wrote fast-paced, tightly orchestrated compositions, attempting to reinvent swing in the 1930s. Wildly successful in his own time, his music would be completely forgotten were it not for its use in countless Looney Tunes cartoons of the 1940s and 1950s. But Scott never watched a cartoon in his life.

Informed by interviews with family members and colleagues, and dozens of phone calls recorded by Scott, Powerhouse spins a kaleidoscopic, kinetic story about creativity and the chasm between what an artist imagines and what his audience perceives.

Click the banner above to view the Powerhouse trailer.

Press

  "Powerhouse, which somehow manages to pack very funny puppetry, exuberant dance numbers, fascinating historical tangents, a mountain of narrative and a vivid sense of period mood into one steam train of a drama, is the rare Fringe show that lives up to its title... [Audiences are] constantly looking for the next new thing... and with this talented company, we may have found it."

  —Jason Zinoman, The New York Times

  ★★★★ 

  Critics Pick! 

  "To learn something new at the theater... is worth celebrating. Take this 75-minute biodrama by the splendid company Sinking Ship... Aiming to honor the mad, creative urge to perfectly transmute ideas into art, this work succeeds beautifully."

  —David Cote, Time Out New York

"Highly original!"

  —Will Friedwald, The Wall Street Journal

  "This play presents a life story told in fragments, a dizzying and often surreal whirl that’s endlessly inventive."

  —The New Yorker

  "I'd put money on this show being one of the tightest, most entertaining productions you'll see in the festival. Don't miss it."

  —Emily Otta, NYTheatre.com

  "Powerhouse is absolutely buoyant... It’s what Aaron Sorkin’s The Farnsworth Invention would have been if set to music: thrilling! This isn’t just an ambitious show for the Fringe festival: it’s the creative standard to which companies should be pushing themselves."

  —Aaron Riccio, Theater Talk's New Theater Corps

  "A remarkable production... Sinking Ship creates a rich and fascinating world. And the outstanding choreography, executed with a precision that seems effortless, gives Powerhouse... the feeling of being one fantastic organism, free-forming and lovely."

  —Stagebuddy

CREDITS

Created by:
Director Jon Levin
Writer Josh Luxenberg
& the Sinking Ship Ensemble

Powerhouse was created collaboratively by the Sinking Ship ensemble, including, over the years: Tyler Bunch, Ben Dziuba, Jesse Garrison, Erik Lochtefeld, Jon Levin, Josh Luxenberg, Clare McNulty, Joshua Morris, Deborah Radloff, Hanley Smith, Eric Wright.

2014 New Ohio Cast: Tyler Bunch, Jessica Frey, Spencer Lott, Erik Lochtefeld, Clare McNulty, Hanley Smith, Eric Wright

Producer: Dina Vovsi

Desk Design: Carolyn Mraz
Costume Design: Erin Schultz
Puppet Design: The Puppet Kitchen
Lighting Design: Nicholas Houfek
Sound Design: Sean Brennan
Props Master: Claire M. Savannah

Stage Manager: Carly Levin

HISTORY

Premiere: The New Ohio Theater (2014)
Workshop: Development and Staged Reading (2010)
Workshop: New York International Fringe Festival (2009)
Extension: FringeNYC Encore Series (2009)

Sinking Ship workshopped Powerhouse at the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival, where it played to sold-out crowds and rave reviews. The production won an award from the festival for “Outstanding Ensemble” and went on to play a short extension as part of the FringeNYC Encores Series. In 2012, the script for Powerhouse was a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference.

Trailer: Jesse Garrison
Poster Art: Monozorro