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Prosperous Fools
Prosperous Fools
Description
Written by and starring Taylor Mac, Prosperous Fools, loosely inspired by Moliere’s Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, is a brilliant and courageous exploration of philanthropy and its hypocrisies, a retooled comedy of manners for an age with no manners. The setting is a Gala for a not-for-profit dance company. The time is the present. This production contains some adult language and sexually explicit action.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission
Company: Sierra Boggess, Kaliswa Brewster, Aerina Park DeBoer, Megumi Iwama, Taylor Mac, Jason O'Connell, Ian Joseph Paget, Jennifer Regan, Cara Seymour, Jennifer Smith, Em Stockwell
Design by Paul Davis Studio / Paige Restaino
Starring and Written by Taylor Mac
Directed by Darko Tresnjak
Music: Oran Eldor
Choreographer: Austin McCormick
Scenic Designer: Alexander Dodge
Costume Designer: Anita Yavich
Lighting Designer: Matthew Richards
Sound Designer: Jane Shaw
Video Designer: Aaron Rhyne
Fight Choreographer: Rocio Mendez
Voice Director: Andrew Wade
Hair & Wig Designer: Tom Watson
Properties Supervisor: Jonno Knust
Production Dramaturg: Jonathan Kalb
Production Stage Manager: Shane Schnetzler
View the performance calendar.
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Artist Bios
Taylor Mac
Writer, Artist
Taylor Mac is a MacArthur “genius,” a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, a Tony nominee for Best Play, and the recipient of the Kennedy Prize, a Guggenheim, two Obies, two Bessies, a NY Critics Circle Award, a Drama League Award, and the International Ibsen Award. Selected works include: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (a musical adaptation of the non-fiction novel by John Berendt with music/lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Taylor Mac); Bark of Millions (a fifty-five song—and counting—parade trance extravaganza for the living library of the deviant theme, with lyrics by Mac and music by Matt Ray); Joy and Pandemic (a realism play about an abstract art school); The Hang (a jazz opera Passion Play about the final hours of Socrates, with lyrics by Mac and music by Matt Ray); The Fre (a queer children’s play about loving after bullying, set in a ball pit); Gary; A Sequel to Titus Andronicus (a tragedy determined to become a comedy); A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (a 24-hour performance art concert about communities building themself as a result of being torn apart); Hir (an absurd realism play about a changing America); The Walk Across America for Mother Earth (an anarchist adaptation of Three Sisters about activism, with music by Ellen Maddow); The Lily’s Revenge (a flowergory manifold about a flower who wants to be the center of the story, with music by Rachel Garniez); The Young Ladies Of (a paternal mystery); The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac (a ukulele confessional about the War on Terror); Red Tide Blooming (a freak-show musical about gentrification); The Last Two People on Earth (a two-man cabaret for seagulls about the joy of singing, created with Mandy Patinkin, Susan Stroman, and Paul Ford). Films include Whitman in the Woods (directed by Noah Greenberg, streaming on All Arts) and Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music (a concert doc directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, streaming on Max).
Sierra Boggess
####-###
Broadway: Harmony, School of Rock, It Shoulda Been You, The Phantom of the Opera (25th Anniversary and with Norm Lewis), Master Class, The Little Mermaid (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, Broadway.com Audience Choice Award). London: Les Misérables, 25th anniversary concerts of The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall, Love Never Dies (Olivier Award nomination). Other New York theater: The Good-bye Girl, The Secret Garden, Guys & Dolls at Carnegie Hall, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, Music in the Air (Encores!). Film/TV: Vulture Club with Susan Sarandon and the web series What’s Your Emergency, directed by Michael Urie.
Kaliswa Brewster
Intern
Kaliswa Brewster is a first-generation Liberian-American actress, producer, and educator based in New York City. She is delighted to make her TFANA debut with Darko, who cast her in her first Equity project at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. They have since collaborated on Romeo and Juliet (Juliet) and Macbeth at Hartford Stage, and a symphony production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. On-screen, Kaliswa has recurred on Billions, Time After Time, and Release, with appearances on Law & Order, Blue Bloods, and more. She is President of the Board of Molière in the Park and a 2025 Producers of Color (TPOC) cohort member. @kaliswa
Aerina Park DeBoer
Pot-Bellied Child
Aerina Park DeBoer is thrilled to be making her TFANA debut! Off-Broadway: Ragtime (NY City Center), The Hunt (St. Ann's Warehouse). National Tours: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Cindy Lou Who). TV/Film: Etoile (Amazon Prime), Wonder Pets (Apple TV+), The Calling (NBC Peacock), A Life, Lost (short film). Other: Grounded (Met Opera), Firebird (NYCB). Aerina studies dance at the School of American Ballet and BDC, and speaks Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. Thanks to her family, Leorah Haberfield, Mallory Levy, and her coaches and teachers. @aerinaparkdeboer
Megumi Iwama
Muse #2
Megumi Iwama, originally from Orange County, CA, now based in NYC, has performed a variety of works by choreographers including Donald McKayle, Charlotte Griffin, Maleek Washington, Candace Brown, and Bo Park. She holds a BFA-Choreography and BFA-Performance from UC Irvine. Off-Broadway credits include Company XIV’s Nutcracker Rouge and Seven Sins directed by Austin McCormick, and Ain’t Done Bad directed by Jakob Karr. Film/TV credits include Mean Girls. Meg is thrilled to be part of this production!
Jason O'Connell
$#@%$
Off-Broadway: Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy), Primary Stages; Happy Birthday, Wanda June (Harold Ryan), Wheelhouse/Duke on 42nd St; Judgment Day (The Salesman), Park Avenue Armory; The Light and The Dark (Cosimo), Primary Stages; Becomes A Woman (Max), The Mint/City Center; Sense and Sensibility (Edward and Robert Ferrars), Bedlam; A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom and Puck), The Pearl; The Seagull (Trigorin), Bedlam; and multiple incarnations of Jason's solo show, The Dork Knight (Joe’s Pub, Abingdon Theatre Company, Primary Stages, Bedlam). NYIT Award: Outstanding Lead Actor - Don Juan In Hell (Phoenix Theatre Ensemble). Regional: American Repertory Theater, Old Globe, Syracuse Stage, Two River Theater, Hartford Stage, Chautauqua Theater Company, Cape Playhouse, Kansas City Rep, American Players Theatre, Florida Studio Theater, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Great Lakes Theater, Arkansas Rep, Portland Stage, Delaware Theatre Company (among others). TV: Search Party, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent. For Kate.
Ian Joseph Paget
Prometheus Dancer
Ian Joseph Paget (he/him) is a multi-hyphenate performer and content creator, seen in Hulu’s Reasonable Doubt and Welcome to Chippendales from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel. His Broadway credits include Soul Doctor, Leap of Faith, and Mamma Mia!. Other theater credits: This Ain’t No Disco!, Paul in A Chorus Line, Arab in West Side Story, Escape to Margaritaville, and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Film/TV: Rock of Ages, Step Up Revolution, Mozart in the Jungle, One Life to Live, Lip Sync Battle, SNL. Ian co-hosts the GLAAD-nominated Tres Leches podcast. Thank you to Darko for bringing me on to this show! You can follow Ian on TikTok @ianpaget_ and Instagram @ianpaget.
Jennifer Regan
Philanthropoid
Broadway: Born Yesterday, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (standby). West End: The Lady from Dubuque (Royal Haymarket). Off-Broadway: The Wind and the Rain (EnGarde Arts/Vineyard), Straight Line Crazy (The Shed), How I Learned to Drive (Second Stage), Buffalo Gal (Primary Stages), Pig Farm (Standby, Roundabout). Regional: Sweat (Norton Award nomination, Huntington Theater); Girls (Yale Rep); An Octoroon and Troublemaker (Berkeley Rep); Twelfth Night (Hartford Stage); Lost in Yonkers, Resurrection Blues, and The Trojan Women (all at the Old Globe). TV/Film: Crossover Event: Chicago Fire, PD, and Med (NBC) The Good Nurse (Netflix), The Heartshe Holler and Neon Joe: Werewolf Hunter (Adult Swim), Law & Order: SVU, FBI: Most Wanted, God Friended Me, Elementary, Blindspot, Happyish, The Humbling, My Dead Boyfriend, The Normals, and The Winning Season.
Cara Seymour
Muse #3
Cara Seymour is a freelance dancer, producer, and performer. A graduate of The Juilliard school, Cara's past work includes: The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Spiegelworld, Company XIV, Tom Gold Dance, Brian Brooks Moving Company, White Wave Dance, Ballet Nepantla, and MOMIX, among others. Cara's dancing has been featured on Amazon Prime's Étoile, HBO's The Gilded Age, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She is also an avid cross-genre collaborator, working closely and collaboratively with a variety of photographers, visual artists, and musicians to bring their vision to life.
Jennifer Smith
Stage Manager
Jennifer Smith is a veteran of 15 Broadway shows including A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Anastasia, both directed by Darko Tresjnak. She is the recipient of a 2022 Connecticut Critic’s Circle Award for Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret at Goodspeed Opera House. A single cat lady, she is happy to travel anywhere in the world.
Em Stockwell
Muse #1
Em Stockwell is an Australian/American actor, dancer, singer and creative force. A graduate of Brent St (SYD) and AMDA (NYC), they have appeared in a number of productions at Company XIV, as well as in indie films and new works across the city. Em is passionate about bold storytelling, laughter and nightlife. They can also be found dancing and choreographing at The Stranger NYC. Follow their adventures @emstockwell_ Love to all of humanity!
Darko Tresnjak
Director
Darko Tresnjak (Director) won the Tony Award, the Drama Desk, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his direction of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. He won an Obie Award for his direction of Ionesco’s The Killer at Theatre for a New Audience. Darko also directed All's Well That Ends Well, The Merchant of Venice, and Antony and Cleopatra at TFANA. From 2004 to 2009, Darko was the Artistic Director of the Old Globe Shakespeare Festival. From 2011 to 2019, he was the Artistic Director of Hartford Stage Company. As a director of plays, musicals, and operas, Darko has worked at Joseph Papp Public Theater, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Royal Shakespeare Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Geffen Playhouse, Vineyard Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Alley Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Huntington Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre Company, Goodspeed Musicals, Geva Theatre Center, Westport Country Playhouse, Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Santa Fe Opera. Darko wrote the book and the lyrics, and Oran Eldor wrote the music for Ask for the Moon, a musical comedy that just premiered at Goodspeed Musicals’ Terris Theatre.
Gallery
Season Sponsors
Deloitte and Bloomberg Philanthropies are the 2024-2025 Season Sponsors.
Projection equipment provided by 4Wall Entertainment, Michael Lord Project Manager.
Special support for this production is provided by The Roy Cockrum Foundation.
Principal support for Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs is provided by the Bay and Paul Foundations, The Jerome and Marlène Brody Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Jerome L. Greene Foundation Fund at the New York Community Trust, The Hearst Foundations, The Dubose & Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, The Polonsky Foundation, The SHS Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Thompson Family Foundation.
Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs are also made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities; Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
