Thirdwing premieres timely drama about Walt Disney's 1941anti-fascist goodwill tour of South America.
August 5 - 17 at The Wild Project
After scoring a hit with the Disney union strike drama Burbank (called “smart and entertaining” by Laura Collins Hughes of The New York Times), Thirdwing will present the World Premiere of THE ANIMALS SPEAK by Cameron Darwin Bossert. Previews begin August 5 at The Wild Project with opening set for August 10. (Please note that THE ANIMALS SPEAK will NOT be filmed or presented on demand; it is an in-person only offering.)
THE ANIMALS SPEAK follows a depressed Walt Disney in 1941 with his wife and a small crew of artists on a goodwill tour funded by the U.S. Government to sway South America from the influence of Nazis. Walt is trying to forget everything: the near bankruptcy of the company, the ongoing animator's strike, and the recent death of his mother, for which he blames himself. Mary Blair, a young artist with the company, has tagged along and struggles to find a true artistic voice separate from her husband's. But with a bit of encouragement and late-night gins with Walt's wife Lillian, her work blossoms and might end up being the inspiration everyone needs to keep going.
Closing out what began with The Fairest in 2021, Bossert’s “Venomous Color” trilogy asks what is the true cost of commodifying art for the masses and examines the role of women at the Disney Studio, artistically and financially.
THE ANIMALS SPEAK runs August 5 - 17. Performances are at 7pm daily with additional performances on August 13 & 16 at 2pm. (Note: no performances August 9, 11 & 12). Running time is 80 minutes. The Wild Project Theatre is at 195 E 3rd St, New York, NY 10009. Tickets are $50 at www.thirdwing.info. Patrons can also purchase membership to Thirdwing for $59/ year or $7/month, which includes 2 tickets to the show, 2 tickets to each upcoming production and event (including readings of DOCTORS VS LAWYERS and the upcoming production BLACKOUT COCKTAILS by Arif Silverman), and access to all content on Thirdwing’s streaming platform, including the preceding play, BURBANK.
Thirdwing is an innovative new hybrid theater company presenting bold original works about American history and international politics, making their productions affordable to anyone on a regular basis by offering them under a streaming business model with additional online original content since January 2020.
THE ANIMALS SPEAK stars Ginger Kearns (Sleep No More, The Death of Rasputin), Cian Genaro (Netflix's Zero Day, Thirdwing's Televison), Krysten Wagner (The Female Genius), Felipe Arellano (La Leva, La Mala Clase), Adam Griffith (Sleep No More, The Death of Rasputin), and Cameron Darwin Bossert (The Disciple, Burbank). Costumes designed by Yolanda Balaña. Music composed by Deeba Montazeri.
Cameron Darwin Bossert (called “a keen observer of the American media landscape,” by Juan Ramirez of the New York Times) is the founder of Thirdwing, whose directing credits include Burbank, The Fairest, The Female Genius by Rachel Carey, The United Nations play series, and feature films The Last 48 and Jewtah. He designed the opening sequence for John Turturro’s feature film Fading Gigolo and the multimedia/ film elements for Yasmina Reza’s A Spanish Play at Classic Stage Company. As an actor he appeared in Bambi Everson’s The Thin Man in the Cherry Orchard (FringeNYC) and Rachel Carey’s The Disciple. Bossert is also a composer whose work has been performed by the American Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, DaCapo Chamber Players, and the JACK Quartet, for which he was commissioned by the Utah Symphony Orchestra as part of the 2008 Meet the Composer Series.
Launched in January 2020, Thirdwing is a hybrid theater and streaming company taking inspiration from the classic mid-century teleplays pioneered by Paddy Chayefsky, Rod Serling, and Harold Pinter. Their mission is to bridge theater and film to tell expansive, world-building stories and make traditional in-person theatergoing more affordable with a subscription model offering new content every month, either online, in-person, or both. Thirdwing’s first offering, The Female Genius, by Rachel Carey, premiered its first episode on March 8th, 2020, presenting a new streaming theater experience 4 days before the NYC Covid lockdown. The rest of the series was released in April 2020, as the first new streaming play with full staging, lighting, and costumes. Since summer 2021, Thirdwing has premiered 9 main stage productions: Burbank and its encore production, The Disciple, The Fairest, The United Nations: The Border and the Coast, Vermont, Television, The United Nations: The Other West, and How to Brexit Gracefully: Duty Free. Thirdwing has also been presenting the sold-out reading series, Doctors vs. Lawyers, since June of 2023, bringing the two favorite TV professions together in comedic clashes for a live audience.