Running NOVEMBER 15 - DECEMBER 8, 2024
@ 59E59 Theaters, Theater B
in association with Lynn Bartner-Wiesel and Elisha Wiesel
with additional funding from the Alliance for Jewish Theatre Regranting Program
and Yip Harburg Lyrics Foundation
14 Shows to see Off-Broadway this November
Cast set for Off-Broadway World Premiere of Docudrama Room 1214
"A powerful re-telling of the horrific school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS...it is a tight, gripping piece."
"Room 1214 is very powerful...Room 1214 is extraordinarily powerful."
- Peter Filichia, Broadway Radio (20:20 to 25:40)
"A match made in theatre heaven."
- Michele Willens, Chelsea News
"A play to remember...Room 1214 was an imagining of going back that was a meaningful, touching tribute to the victims in Parkland, and pulled at the heartstrings of audience members."
- Mason Pilevsky, Pages On Stages
"With maximum impact, Kholos Brooks’ Room 1214
hits gun violence out of the ballpark."
- Rachel S. Kovacs, Off-Off-Online
"Michelle Kholos Brooks’ really brought home the lingering pain and Sarah Norris sensitively directed this...this was very harrowing to watch in the perfectly recreated classroom."
"I cannot recommend this production enough. New Light Theater Project never disappoints...the powerful duo of Sarah Norris and Michelle Kholos Brooks delivers a heart wrenching 80 minutes of theatre.
A ncecessary watch for every American."
Please join us for a post-performance talkback featuring the following guests:
Saturday, November 23 at 2:15 PM moderated by Ken Cerniglia
Ivy Schamis, the history teacher whose interviews inspired this play
Sunday, December 1 at 2:15 PM moderated by Annabelle Gurwitch
Josh Koskoff, the first attorney to win a lawsuit against a gun company for the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School and Po Murray, co-founder and chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) and the Newtown Action Alliance Foundation
Friday, December 6 at 7:15PM moderated by Max Brooks
David Hogg, March for Our Lives Co-Founder, Student Survivor, and Activist
Room 1214 is inspired by an interview with a teacher who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. This is not a reporting of events. Rather, it is a theatrical imagining of a teacher returning to the wreckage of her beloved classroom. The names of the victims are fictional, and creative liberties have been taken for the purpose of storytelling. Everyone involved with this production has gone forward with the utmost care and deep respect for the families and friends affected by this tragedy.
MEET THE
ARTISTS
Click here to read the bios of our cast, creative + production teams.
Click here to read a statement from playwright Michelle Kholos Brooks.
Lily – Annabelle Gurwitch (she/her)
Nate – Ben Hirschhorn (he/him)
Hannah – Andrea Negrete (she/they)
Ellie – Thyme Briscoe (any pronouns)
B – Kleo Mitrokostas † (she/her)
G – Alessandro Yokoyama (he/him)
† indicates NLTP company member
Actors + Stage Managers members of Actors' Equity Association
Director member of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society
Written by Michelle Kholos Brooks † (she/her)
Directed by Sarah Norris † (she/her)
Scenic Design by Daniel Allen (he/him)
Costume Design by Kara Branch † (she/her)
Lighting Design by Elaine Wong (she/they)
Sound Design by Jennie Gorn (they/she/he)
Co-Projection Designers Jan Bentley † (they/them) + Andy Evan Cohen † (he/him)
Prop Design by Caitlyn Murphy (she/her)
Assistant Director/Choreographer Georgia Reichard (they/them)
Production Stage Manager Olivia Fletcher † (she/her)
Assistant Stage Manager Cat Copeland (she/they)
Wardrobe Supervisor Krista Grevas † (she/her)
The ROOM 1214 team, 2024.
ABOUT THE PLAY
Inspired by real interviews with a history teacher who experienced the 2018 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School firsthand, this stirring memory play, by the playwright of the critically acclaimed H*tler’s Tasters, follows as she returns to the school to teach one final lesson, asking what if you could rewrite history? She reunites with her students as they were – playful, funny, and full of life and potential – real kids with bright futures. Equal part memorial and essential history, Room 1214 overflows with truths both uncomfortable and necessary, offering a moving reminder that the best way to honor the past is to learn from it.
This production combines docudrama with a meta-theatrical sensibility (The Laramie Project meets Our Town) to provide a firsthand account of gun violence through the lens of survivors. Often, news coverage depicts students and parents grappling in the aftermath, but this play explores the heart and mind of a beloved teacher, giving voice to a community directly affected by America’s gun epidemic.
Production pictures by Hunter Canning