the complete history — TWEED THEATERWORKS

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THE WHOLE, LONG, NO-DETAIL-TOO-INSIGNIFICANT STORY . . .

KEVIN MALONY (PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, CO-FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF TWEED THEATERWORKS) WAS BORN IN PUEBLO, COLORADO. AS A PRE-ADOLESCENT, HE WAS AN ORIGINAL MEMBER OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THEATER THE IMPOSSIBLE PLAYERS, WHICH STILL EXISTS. AFTER GRADUATING HIGH-SCHOOL (AS THE STAR DRAMA NERD), HE ATTENDED COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY IN FT. COLLINS. HE TOOK EVERY COURSE IN DRAMA, PSYCHOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY OFFERED BEFORE DROPPING OUT TO WORK AS AN ACTOR IN SANTA FE, WHERE HE STUDIED BRIEFLY WITH RENOWNED STAGE ACTRESS KIM STANLEY. HE MOVED TO SAN FRANCISCO TO ATTEND ACT, THEN WORKING WITH ACCLAIMED ACTING COACH JEAN SHELTON, AND LATER MOVED TO WASHINGTON, D.C. TO WORK WITH THE WASHINGTON THEATER LAB. HE MOVED TO NEW YORK IN 1978 TO STUDY SCRIPT ANALYSIS WITH STELLA ADLER AND DIRECTING WITH FRANK CORSARO. DURING THIS TIME, HIS FOCUS CHANGED FROM ACTING TO DIRECTING AND PRODUCING, AND HE BEGAN WORKING WITH SEVERAL SMALL COMPANIES IN NEW YORK IN THE LATE 70S AND EARLY 80S.

IN 1983, WITH THE ACTRESS AND DIRECTOR NEVA HUTCHINSON, HE FOUNDED THE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THEATERTWEED INC. ORIGINALLY INTENDED AS A PLATFORM FOR ACTORS TO PRESENT ADAPTATIONS FROM LITERATURE AND AGENT SHOWCASES, THE COMPANY QUICKLY CHANGED FOCUS WHEN HUTCHINSON MOVED ON AND MALONY TOOK OVER AS SOLE CREATIVE DIRECTOR. MALONY AND TWEED BECAME A PART OF THE THRIVING EARLY 80S ART MOVEMENT IN MANHATTAN’S EAST VILLAGE. THE COMPANY PRESENTED MOST OF ITS EARLY PRODUCTIONS IN THE MANY PERFORMANCE CLUBS LOCATED DOWNTOWN: LIMBO LOUNGE, 8BC, SNAFU, DARINKA, THE LIMELIGHT, CAT CLUB, THE CLUB AT LA MAMA, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE PYRAMID CLUB.

THIS ERA, SPECIFICALLY 1985, WAS A MAJOR TURNING POINT. MALONY’S WORK AS A THEATER ARTIST CAN BE CATEGORIZED AS “BP” AND “AP”— BEFORE AND AFTER PYRAMID. THE PYRAMID CLUB IN THE 1980S WAS THE EPICENTER OF AN ART MOVEMENT INVOLVING ARTISTS WORKING IN ALL MEDIA. THEATER ARTISTS PRODUCED PLAYS: JOHN JESURUN’S CHANG IN A VOID MOON, MARK OATES AND CHAL PIVIK’S PSYKO III THE MUSICAL, KESTUDIS NAKAS’ WHEN LITHUANIA RULED THE WORLD. PERFORMANCE ARTISTS PRESENTED THEIR WORK LATE AT NIGHT: JOHN KELLY, KEMBRA PHALER, ANN MAGNUSON, DAVID CALE, HOLLY HUGHES, KAREN FINLEY. DRAG PERFORMERS WHO ELEVATED THAT ART TO ITS PUREST FORM, INCLUDING HAPI PHACE, TABBOO, INTERNATIONAL CHRYSIS, LINDA SIMPSON AND ETHEL EICHELBERGER, ALL DANCED ON THE BAR WHEN NOT APPEARING ONSTAGE. LADY BUNNY GAVE BIRTH TO WIGSTOCK AFTER HOURS WHEN THE BAR CLOSED DOWN AND A FEW DEGENERATES WENT TO THE BAND SHELL AT TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK TO KEEP THE SHOW GOING. PAINTERS, WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, DESIGNERS AND FASHION DENIZENS ALL MADE THE CLUB THEIR HOME AWAY FROM HOME. IT WAS AT THE PYRAMID THAT TWEED’S PRODUCTION OF TRISTAN TZARA’S DADA MANIFESTO THE GAS HEART WAS FIRST PRODUCED.

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DURING THIS PERIOD, TWEED BEGAN TO PRESENT ARTISTS FROM THE CLUBS IN THEATRICAL VENUES, AND THE TWEED NEW WORKS FESTIVAL WAS BORN. THE FESTIVAL CONTINUED SUCCESSFULLY FOR TEN YEARS AND PRODUCED WORK BY MANY NOW-WELL-KNOWN AND ICONIC ARTISTS FROM THAT ERA. FROM 1986 - 1988, CLUB ETC., A PRODUCING ARM OF TWEED THAT FOCUSED ON SHOWS IN CLUBS, PRODUCED JOHN (LYPSINKA) EPPERSON’S EARLY MUSICALS AT THE PYRAMID CLUB. IN THE 5TH NEW WORKS FESTIVAL, TWEED PRESENTED LYPSINKA’S FIRST THEATRICAL ENGAGEMENT, THE MANY MOODS OF LYPSINKA, WHICH WAS RE-TITLED I COULD GO ON LIP SYNCHING AND RAN FOR A YEAR OFF-BROADWAY. SINCE THAT TIME, MALONY HAS DIRECTED FULL PRODUCTIONS AND PERSONAL APPEARANCES WITH LYPSINKA AROUND THE WORLD AND, WITH RUSSELL SCOTT LEWIS, PRODUCED THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED LYPSINKA! THE BOXED SET (WASHINGTON, D.C. HELEN HAYES AWARD, 2002), WHICH TOURED EXTENSIVELY.

THE LATE 80S AND EARLY 90S SAW MALONY’S LARGE MULTI-MEDIA WORK HOUSED IN THE OHIO THEATER IN SOHO. SEVERAL CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED MULTI-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS WERE PRODUCED DURING THIS PERIOD, OFTEN WITH NEO LABOS DANCETHEATER. THAT COMPANY, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF CHOREOGRAPHERS MICHELE ELLIMAN AND JOHN O’MALLEY, WORKED UNDER THE AEGIS OF TWEED FOR SEVERAL SEASONS. DURING THIS PERIOD, MALONY WROTE AND DIRECTED SEVERAL WORKS INCLUDING HOTEL MARTINIQUE, AN ADAPTATION OF JONATHAN KOZOL’S TREATISE ON HOMELESSNESS IN NYC IN THE LATE 80S WITH MUSIC BY FRANK JUMP AND ANNE POPE; ATOMIC OPERA WITH MUSIC BY DOUGLAS J. CUOMO; AND THE HISTORY OF PORNOGRAPHY WITH MUSIC BY CAROL LIPNIK. MALONY ALSO WROTE THE TEXT FOR TEN TEN SPIN BY NEO LABOS DANCETHEATER.

HE PRESENTED THE FIRST INCARNATION OF JOHN KELLY’S OBIE-AWARD-WINNING PASS THE BLUTWURST, BITTE; WAS THE ORIGINAL PRODUCER OF BILL RUSSELL’S ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS WHICH RAN IN LONDON’S WEST END; CO-DIRECTED MARK DENDY’S DREAM ANALYSIS AT DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP; DIRECTED PAVED PARADISE REDUX (JOHN KELLY’S HOMAGE TO JONI MITCHELL) AT THE ABRONS ARTS CENTER AND ON TOUR (WINNER, BEST TOURING MUSICAL 2011, AUSTIN TEXAS CRITICS CIRCLE). MALONY’S OTHER DIRECTING AND WRITING CREDITS AT THIS TIME INCLUDE BRENDA BERGMAN IN HER REALITY AND ENDANGERED SPECIES: THE BRENDA BERGMAN STORY; CELEBRITY PSYCHIC DR. JULIA WONDER IN MAKE MY DREAMS YOUR REALITY (ALONG WITH MULTIPLE JULIA WONDER SHOWS); DRAG CHANTEUSE VARLA JEAN MERMAN’S THE CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT CARNEGIE HALL’S WEILL RECITAL HALL; JACKIE HOFFMAN’S KOSHER KHRISTMAS PARTS 1, 2, & 3; TOM JUDSON’S CANNED HAM AT DIXON PLACE AND ON TOUR; AND JOSEPH KECKLER’S TALKING BEASTS AT ARS NOVA.

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IN 1996, WITH LONGTIME COMPANY MEMBERS STEPHEN PELL AND COLLEEN O’NEILL, MALONY LAUNCHED THE TWEED FRACTURED CLASSICKS SERIES, WHICH BEGAN AS A LARK BY PRESENTING AN UNDERGROUND, RENEGADE ONE-NIGHT-ONLY PRODUCTION OF EDWARD ALBEE’S WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? WHICH FEATURED MEN IN THE WOMEN’S PARTS AND WOMEN IN THE MEN’S PARTS. BY THE TIME THE CEASE AND DESIST ORDER ARRIVED, THE SHOW WAS OVER AND THE FRACTURED CLASSICKS SERIES WAS BORN. SINCE THAT TIME, UNAUTHORIZED READINGS OF CLASSIC PLAYS AND MOVIES FEATURING UNUSUAL, COMEDIC, AND OFTEN CROSS-GENDER CASTING CHOICES HAVE BEEN PRESENTED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. THE FRACTURED CLASSICKS SERIES MOVED ON TO STAGING FULL PRODUCTIONS WHENEVER POSSIBLE, AND ATTAINED CULT STATUS AROUND 2000. SINCE THAT TIME OVER TWENTY PRODUCTIONS HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED.

IT WAS IN 1983, AGAINST THE ADVICE OF ALL COUNSEL, THAT MALONY ANNOUNCED TWEED WOULD DONATE A PORTION OF PROCEEDS FROM ITS VERY FIRST FUNDRAISING GALA TO LARRY KRAMER’S GAY MEN’S HEALTH CRISIS, THEN A FLEDGLING GROUP OF RADICAL ACTIVISTS. FROM THAT TIME ON, TWEED HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL AND FUNDRAISING AND PRODUCING EVENTS FOR A VARIETY OF SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS. SINCE THE LATE 90S, MALONY HAS PRODUCED LARGE-SCALE, CELEBRITY-STUDDED FUNDRAISERS FOR GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER AT TOWN HALL, ALICE TULLY HALL AND ABRONS ART CENTER ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE. OVER THE YEARS, INVOLVEMENT WITH THESE HUMAN SERVICES HAS BECOME A HALLMARK OF TWEED’S ACTIVITIES.

THE CHARACTER DR. JULIA WONDER, ASTRO-PARA-PSYCHOLOGIST AND CELEBRITY PSYCHIC, EMERGED FROM THE VAPOR IN 1997— CREATED BY STEPHEN PELL, COLLEEN O’NEILL, GRADY HENDRIX AND MALONY. DR. WONDER APPEARED IN MULTIPLE VENUES— FROM ALICE TULLY HALL TO THE ROXY NIGHTCLUB TO THE MAURY POVICH SHOW— AND IN A VARIETY OF MEDIA OVER THE NEXT FIFTEEN YEARS. JULIA BECAME A SORT OF OBSESSION FOR HER CREATORS, AND MADE SEVERAL MANHATTAN CABLE TV SHOWS, FULL-SCALE THEATRICAL PRESENTATIONS, PERSONAL APPEARANCES AND EVEN HAD AN UNSUCCESSFUL BID AT THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES IN 2002.

THROUGH THE MID-2000S, TWEED WAS CONSTANTLY ACTIVE AND THRIVING. THE LONG ILLNESS AND ULTIMATE DEATH IN 2007 OF MALONY’S PARTNER, DANCER AND CHOREOGRAPHER JOHN O’MALLEY, CURTAILED PRODUCING ACTIVITY FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. AROUND THIS TIME, TWEED BEGAN PARTNERING WITH THE HOWL FESTIVAL TO PRESENT FRACTURED CLASSICKS AND MUSIC SERIES CONCERTS TO RAISE MONEY FOR HOWL HELP, A PROJECT OF THE ACTORS FUND. TWEED’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HOWL ARTS HAS CONTINUED FOR OVER A DECADE, AND BENEFITS SUPPORTING HOWL HELP ARE PRODUCED REGULARLY— THE MOST RECENT BEING JONI MITCHELL: A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE AT THE CUTTING ROOM.

TWEED SUNDAYS AT SEVEN AT PANGEA HAS NOW BEEN GOING STRONG FOR OVER THREE YEARS. LONGTIME TWEED ARTIST CAROL LIPNIK HAS BEEN MESMERIZING AUDIENCES WITH AN ONGOING MONTHLY SHOW, AND ACTOR/WRITER DAVID CALE HAS WORKSHOPPED HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MUSICAL WHICH PREMIERED AT THE GOODMAN IN FALL 2018. TO DATE, OVER THIRTY ARTISTS HAVE BEEN SEEN IN THE SERIES.

IN SUMMER 2018, TWEED PRESENTED A VIDEO SCREENING OF SEVERAL PAST FRACTURED CLASSICKS. IN OCTOBER 2018, TWEED CELEBRATED ITS 35th anniversary WITH A BLOWOUT GALA featuring a plethora of old and new downtown talent. Currently, plans are afoot to continue the development of the brain that wouldn’t stop thinking about the revolution: a MASH-UP OF the brain that wouldn’t die and Marat/Sade.