FREE EVENT • Limited seating is available for this event, we advise you reserve your seat on advance by clicking here.

What to expect Monday, Sept 1 at 5:00 p.m. at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT)

The People Versus Lenny Bruce
by Susan Charlotte A Staged Reading directed by Antony Marsellis

This will be a staged reading of the play performed by a stellar cast of actors:
Robin Bloodworth • Jonathan Fielding • Abe Goldfarb • Bob Kropf • Stephen Russell • Anna Marie Sell • Todd Scofield

Based on the famous 1964 trial of Lenny Bruce and his lawyer, the acclaimed freedom of speech attorney, Martin Garbus.

The audience is invited to attend a thought-provocative talkback and Q&A after the reading with members of the Cast, playwright Susan Charlotte, director Antony Marsellis and attorney Martin Garbus.

About Playwright Susan Charlotte:
Susan’s multi-faceted career started with Prism Blues. Based on her work as a prison counselor, the play earned her a place in Columbia’s MFA program and won the prestigious Joseph Kesselring Award. Her 60 full-length & one-act plays have been produced throughout the country. They include: The Shoemaker starring Danny Aiello, directed by Antony Marsellis; She’s Of A Certain Age; The Round Table (w/ Oscar & Tony winner Peter Stone), and When Truth Is Not Enough. Her play, Love Divided By, was produced by the Actors Studio and was made into a film with an original score by Philip Glass. The film reopened MoMA’s Titus II theatre. Her other films include: Something Like That, A Broken Sole, Come On (Hamptons Film Festival.) Her TV credits include; Did You Know My Husband? with Louise Lasser & Carole Shelley (PBS); The Comedy Zone with Patty Duke & Paul Reiser (CBS); Guiding Light and Loving (CBS).

Susan authored the acclaimed books Creativity and Creativity In Film and has written for NY Magazine and Playbill. She was also a professor at Columbia U., NYU, and City College. She is the founding artistic director of Food For Thought Productions and Cause Celebre.

Expanded Details and Background on this 1964 Trial:
In April 1964, Lenny Bruce appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with club owners Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance. On both occasions, Bruce was arrested after leaving the stage. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and Howard Solomon were found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon, the owner of the club where Lenny was arrested, later saw Bruce’s conviction overturned.

ALL THE COURT'S A STAGE is a series of plays based on several of the controversial cases of legendary lawyer Martin Garbus. The point of the series is to offer audiences both an emotional experience in the theatre and start a conversation about important issues.

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Recent Reviews: 

Jonathan Kendall, former NYT reporter and author of “La Capital”, said the following of the show:

"I was bowled over by the first two of the series based on your cases…I don’t think anything like this has ever been attempted. Bravo!"

Review by Alex Cohen—"Woman Around Town."

"Deft editing, interjections by Bruce, and editorial comments by Garbus (some written, others perceptive speculation) help playwright Susan Charlotte integrate history, law, justice, and theater. A beautifully written play, all the more timely for our current censoring of books and media. Antony Marsellis, director of the series, has drawn fine characterizations from his veteran cast..."