The Man Who Laughs
Nominated for 3 Drama Desk awards!

The Man Who Laughs Poster Cheer on Stolen Chair at The 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards! Watch the Red Carpet and Ceremony live at theatremania.com.

The Man Who Laughs has been nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding Music in a Play (Eugene Ma), Outstanding Lighting Design (Daniel Winters), and Unique Theatrical Experience!

Thank you to everyone who helped make The Man Who Laughs a success! Thank you to our wonderful audience for coming to see the show (and welcome to all of our new fans)! Thanks to our IndieGoGo donors for putting us over our goal! Thanks to Margi and the Dapper Dots for setting the perfect 1920's mood! Thanks to Ben Model & John Towsen for participating in our panel discussion. Thanks to Katherine Walley, Sarah Brandenburg, and Nicole Montagna for making sure our cast & crew talkback was ASL-interpreted. Thanks to all the theater reviewers, bloggers, and reporters for covering the production. And thanks to our lovely cast and crew!

Enjoy our round-up of press for The Man Who Laughs:

New York Times' Andy Webster called The Man Who Laughs an "Ingenious simulation of silent film...impeccably cohesive."


Fern Siegel, Huffington Post deemed the production "A remarkable achievement...captivating ...inspired stagecraft. A triumph of stylized acting and directorial artistry."


Scott Brown, New York Magazine, recommends going on a date to this "Sumptuous...lovely, creepy little show."


Lisa Jo Sagolla, Backstage, calls the production "Heart-wounding...Extraordinarily clever...Rivetingly rendered."


Rebecca Bernard, Show Business Weekly, enjoyed the complete experience: "Magical... Breathtaking... The attention to detail and commitment of this production is phenomenal."


Tom Blunt of Random House's, Word & Film, highlights the crossroads of Film and Theater: "While "Les Miserables" would love nothing more than to hold our attention all the way through Oscar season, yet another Victor Hugo adaptation is stealthily having its moment....It's pure movie magic."


Ashley Griffin, TheaterOnline.com, deems The Man Who Laughs "a stunningly beautiful work of art," calling the writing "inspired," the direction "brilliant," the design "genius," the performances "breathtaking," exclaiming, "This is truly a not to be missed experience." Read the rest of the review here.


Mary Notari, NYTheatre.com, says the show "is a thrillingly executed, utterly captivating piece of physical theater [that] illustrates how essential live theater is and how the theater of clown can touch us in very real ways...Do not miss this show."


Victoria Teague, New York Theatre Review, likes the feel of silent film combined with the intimacy of theatre, "Gruesomely comedic...will delight and break your heart simultaneously.".


Karen White, Arts & Leisure News, exclaims "Entertains and impresses."


Michael Block, Theatre in the Now, trumpets "Stolen Chair Theatre Company should be praised for their daring production that reminds us that theater can still be transformative and relevant."


Eleanor J. Bader, Theatre is Easy, proclaims, "Rife with pathos, melodrama, and occasional humor...So ingenious."


Jon Sobel, Blog Critics, says, this "delightful new production...created a bright, vivid world on a stage drained of color and voices, fashioning a truly unusual entertainment."


Charles Battersby, Theater for Nerds, urges Joker fans to learn the origin story: "Giggles are replaced by gasps as tragic events unfold".


John Townsen, All Fall Down, exclaims "It moves...Brilliant...Art is in the details, and here attention was devoted to every little moment."


W.M. Akers, Astor Place Riot, interviews director Jon Stancato and declares, "It is not a parody of the genre; it is not a museum piece. Instead, it is one of the loveliest bits of theater New York has seen this year."


Alix Cohen, Woman Around Town, declares, "It's a hoot...beautifully conjures the ethos of both era and medium, eliciting pathos and humor."


And check out more buzz about The Man Who Laughs:


Stolen Chair is Theatre is Easy's Featured Artist of the Month!

Jim Moore, VaudeVisuals, interviews our laughing man, Dave Droxler, and director Jon Stancato about each of their inspirations for creating the piece. Watch the interview here.


Go See a Show!, interviews Playwright Kiran Rikhye and director Jon Stancato. Listen to the interview here.


Playright Kiran Rikhye spoke with Works by Women about how the show was originally created and how language is developed for a “silent film” piece.


Trav S. D., author of Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, anticipates tonight's opening, having called the 2005 original production "Utterly tremendous!


Martin Denton, of nytheatre.com & indietheaternow.com, is excited for the return of The Man Who Laughs, including it his preview of the upcoming theatre season in The Villager. On the original production, Denton wrote "This bona fide tour de force of theater has the real capacity to tug at something inside of us and make us feel in a raw, spontaneous and very essential way."


Playwright Kiran Rikhye & director Jon Stancato, each are People You Should Know! Read about what excites Kiran and Jon about creating The Man Who Laughs.

Go Backstage and read a profile of star Dave Droxler in, Actors Perform With No Words In 'The Man Who Laughs'.

First performed to critical acclaim in 2005, The Man Who Laughs transforms silent film into live action, taking us back to a time when performers didn't need to speak to pull on our heart strings and tickle our funny bones.Based on Victor Hugo's novel The Man Who Laughs, the play is performed in the style of a silent film, complete with live piano accompaniment, projected title cards, and a vibrant black-and-white set.

Written by Kiran Rikhye | Directed by Jon Stancato | Dramaturgy by Emily Otto | Music by Eugene Ma | Set Design by Michael Minahan | Costume Design by Julie Schworm | Lighting Design by Daniel Winters | Props & Graphic Design by Aviva Meyer | Makeup by Jaclyn Schaefer with Stephanie Cox-Williams | Stage Management by Colin Miller | Featuring Raife Baker, Dave Droxler, Jon Froehlich, Molly O'Neill, Noah Schultz and Rebecca Whitehurst


Photos byCarrie Leonard, 2013
(Click here if the gallery does not appear)

We're working hard to make sure that The Man Who Laughs has a future. Find out news about The Man Who Laughs and other productions by following Stolen Chair on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook.

For press inquiries on The Man Who Laughs please contact Emily Owens PR.

Thanks to everyone who came to The Bachelors' Tea Party!

Thanks to all who came to tea with Elsie and Bessie. A special thank you to Shawn & Scott and all the Lady Mendl's staff for all of their assistance during the run. Please help us show our gratitude by booking a tea now at Lady Mendl's Tea Salon.

The run may be over but The Bachelors' Tea Party has not totally disappeared. For command performances or touring inquiries please contact The Chairs.

Can't get enough tea party? Learn more about Elsie & Bessie and The Bachelors' Tea Party.

Enjoy a round-up of press on The Bachelors' Tea Party below.

NPR's Robert Krulwich (Co-host of RadioLab) says "This is time travel in the best possible way; You step into a room, the waiter serves you tea, 120 years evaporate, and right next to you, just feet away, are a pair of ladies about to change the world, and the crazy thing is, they do! Right in front of you. What actually happened is happening again; I was entranced."

Theatre Geek says "There are so many hidden gems to be found once you step away from the dazzling brightness of Times Square and this production is certainly one of them. Run run run (but be ladylike about it) to Lady Mendl's Tea Salon to catch this show before it is gone!" Read the full review.

History News Network's Bruce Chadwick joined us for tea and then raved about it in "Having the Wildest Tea Ever in 1901 with Two Eccentric New York Women about to Change History." He declares, "If you love oddball theater, lots of early twentieth century history and a good cup of tea, hurry over to Lady Mendls."

Tea time becomes a 'playfully perverse' take on the civilized ritual: Read Scott Stiffler's full feature in Chealsea Now

Martin Denton of NYTheatre.com says:

"[C]harming, witty, and extremely interesting

Clifford Lee Johnson III of Backstage says:

"As much of an event as a play.... the finest night of dinner theater [theatregoers] are ever likely to encounter"

The New York Times' Local East Village calls The Bachelors' Tea Party "ingenious" and "outrageously perfect." Read the full review.

Prolific playwright Clyde Fitch himself returns from the dead to interview Bachelors' 'star' Elsie De Wolfe at The Clyde Fitch Report. Confused? Check out the delightfully meta interview yourself to find how Elsie (and Clyde and director Jon Stancato) handles 5 Questions I've Never Been Asked.

"Tea Theatre" gets two scones up! The Bachelors' Tea Party makes The Advocate's Top Ten Off-Broadway!

Brandon Voss of The Advocate says:

"Jody Flader and Liz Eckert impress as interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe and theatrical agent Bessie Marbury, feminist pioneers and self-described New York "bachelors" who lived together during the early 20th century, in Kiran Rikhye's absurd light comedy. Cleverly staged like a child's tea party with porcelain dolls sitting in for the couple's social circle, the dainty show is made more satisfying by a tasty five-course tea service."

Jessica Doherty of New York Theatre Review says:

"[If] only all theatre included beautifully presented, deliciously decadent five course tea services.....As we got up to leave, a woman I had been sharing a table with exclaimed, 'Well that was just lovely'"

Eva Heinemann of HI! DRAMA says:

"It's the most civilized time I've ever experienced at the theatre or high tea...You don't want to miss this. It is fabulous!