"Clever, fun, sexy. I found myself quickly attracted to the characters,
and I'm dying to know what happens next."
"Totally enjoyable. Funny and smart.
Simple, elegant production. Creative genius."
"A highly entertaining and engaging evening.
These plays should be called "The Crack Cycle. That's how addictive they are."
"It's amazing that the plays work independently, yet build on each other without
feeling repetitive. The connections are fascinating without feeling contrived."
"I thought it was mysterious, intriguing, funny and quite touching."
"An intricate theatrical puzzle... Highly recommended."
"The concept totally worked. It felt like something completely new."
"Amazing cast. Brilliant dialogue. Lots to think about. A lot happened in an hour."
"I missed Part 1 and I still got involved in Part 2 with no trouble."
What Goes Around... is the story of people in their 30's in the
city - their friendships, their marriages, their jobs, their families
and their sex lives. Time Out New York said, "Jeff Baron puts the
sex back in sextet."
It's a sextet because each play has 6 characters. What makes
this show unique is that they're played by only 3 actors. They
each play two very different characters without ever changing
their appearance in any way. So when you see a couple in bed, it
might take a minute to figure out if it's Paige and Carson, Paige
and Rick, Jordana and Carson or Jordana and Rick. It soon
becomes clear, but the temporary uncertainty is part of the fun.
Somehow, by the end of the hour, you've gotten to know all 6 of
these people quite well. And the extra attention you have to pay
pays off by getting you more involved with the story. It's the magic
of theatre, and it's cool how it works.
What Goes Around... is theatre - a fully rehearsed production
with excellent actors, sets, lighting, costumes and original music.
But each show is only an hour long, and can be presented
almost anywhere - a cabaret, a theatre lobby, a black box or a
traditional theatre space. The set is two chairs, a table and
tablecloth that become a cafe, a bedroom, a therapist's office
and various other places. Tickets cost less than formal theatre
(as does the production), and you can serve drinks or food. It
makes a perfect late night show.
What Goes Around... is actually a series of plays. The entire
series is 4 parts. Each part is a play that tells its own story and
doesn't require having seen any other parts. But from part to
part, characters come back, and you get to know them and their
relationships very well over time. You'll want to know what
happens next. Each part can play for a few weeks, then a new
part begins. There can also be chances to see the parts you
missed. Some venues may choose to present two parts in one
evening. It even works as a marathon presentation of all four
parts, though the opportunity to inspire multiple visits to the
theatre is part of the design of this piece.
writer-director
beginnings as a writer and director at Northwestern University; through his
weekly cable series, The Jeff Baron Show; to his Hollywood period, writing
for The Tracey Ullman Show and other fine network series; the sitcom
deals with TriStar, Twentieth Century Fox and Nickelodeon; the original
screenplays for Disney and others, he's always done this sort of thing.
He's spent the past few years writing theatre, most famously his play
Visiting Mr. Green. He has several new comedies in the works in far flung
places - Brothers-in-Law in Paris and Argentina; Edna and Joe Forever
(co-written with Moe Angelos) in Germany; and Mr. & Mrs. God, in Croatia
and Mexico, all in the local languages. His directing credits include the
award-winning film The Bruce Diet, and the world premieres of his plays
Mother's Day (in Sydney) Give 'em an Inch (in L.A.), and his mini-opera
Song of Martina (Carnegie Hall). www.jeffbaron.net
Paige calls Ilana and wants to get together. They were close
friends, but 8 years ago, Paige suddenly stopped returning
Ilana's phone calls and e-mails. No explanation.
Ilana doesn't want to get hurt again, and before agreeing to
meet, she goes to what some might consider extreme measures
to find out why Paige picked up the phone.
Part Two - Is This Job Too Good to be True?
A high level creative job where there are no meetings, no e-mail
and no phone calls? Working for a man who thinks you're great?
Paige couldn't be happier. Ilana is suspicious.
Rick and Susan are figuring things out, in and out of bed. Can a
marriage survive an affair? Can a friendship survive a rift?
What are the fix-up rules? Can a crazy therapist help you?
Carson's back in town, but his perfect setup - three women who
fill his every need and don't know about one another - is over.
He panics and does something he never thought he'd do. Pay
for it. Psychotherapy, that is. With a woman therapist who's
already heard an awful lot about him.
Ilana, who had decided a few years ago that she was through
with dating, a policy that was working quite well for her, has her
second and then her third date with Jeremy. Paige, who fixed
them up, is interested in Jeremy, too. As a business partner.
She says.
Part Four - The Sublimation Tango
Susan, who had moved her business and her life to Paris, has a
change of heart, which has a domino effect on the people she
knows and the people they know.
Carson's free-form therapy - it's never quite clear who's on the
couch - is affecting him in ways no one could have predicted.
Ilana takes extreme steps to restore her equilibrium. Paige is all
over the place. Love is in the air. Or is it sex? Or both?
for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. Recent credits
include Ariane et Barbe-Bleue at New York City Opera (dir. Paul Emile
Fourny); Compleat Female Stage Beauty at Philadelphia Theatre
Company (dir. Walter Bobbie); Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare on
the Sound (dir. Ezra Barnes); Full Circle with American Repertory
Theatre (dir. Robert Woodruff); Julie in Miss Julie; Margaret in The
Great God Brown and YeYe in Sarita on the experimental stage at A.R.
T.; Night in The Bluebird and Olga in Phoebe’s Got Three Sisters in
Cambridge and Moscow. Television appearances include Comedy
Central, Ed, and Hope and Faith.
Vienna in the European premiere of Doubt, and in Frankfurt, in her fifth
production of her award-winning performance in The Syringa Tree. She's
worked at theatres across the U.S including Yale Rep, Denver Center
Theater Company, Long Wharf, Shakespeare in Santa Fe and Lizard
Head Theater Company in roles as diverse as Dawn in Lobby Hero, Kate
in Taming of the Shrew, Millie in Picnic, Perdita in The Winter’s Tale,
Miranda in The Tempest and Cherie in Bus Stop. Her tv credits include
Law & Order:Criminal Intent, Law & Order:SVU, and Guiding Light.
Shannon has an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory.
starring in Jeff Baron's Visiting Mr. Green in Germany, which he also
played in separate productions in Denver, Vienna, Santa Barbara and
Red Bank. He was nominated for the Joseph Jefferson Award this
year as Best Actor in a Musical in The Immigrant. He spent five
seasons as a member of the Tony-winning Denver Center Theater
Company, appearing in Hamlet, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Wit, The Last
Night of Ballyhoo, and the world premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher’s Pierre,
among others. He was in the national tour of the musical Titanic,
spent two seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, was part of the
Sundance Theatre Lab, and has performed a wide variety of musical,
dramatic and comedic roles in regional theatres across the country.
musicians, Javier Lopez del Carril has accomplished a
lot in his still young career. He was the musical
director and arranger for Elena Roger's farewell
concert in Buenos Aires before her current triumph in
London as Evita. He produced the CD as well. He
composed the original music for the award-winning
Visitando al Sr. Green, now in its second year in
Buenos Aires, and his other original scores include
Parafernalia Infernal, and Según Zicka. He was the
featured guitar soloist for both the world premiere and
the recording of Oratorio de dos Mundos, one of the
legendary Astor Piazzola's last works. As a guitarist,
musical director and conductor, Javier has toured
Latin American and Europe many times with jazz and
tango artists as well as symphony orchestras. The
music you hear when you open this website is Javier's
opening theme for What Goes Around...
original music
his Masters in Media Studies at The New School. Born in
Buenos Aires, with a background in acting, screenwriting
and literature, he has been living in New York for the past
two years. He wrote, produced and directed two short
films, Romance Larghetto and Ten Steps, which was
recently broadcast in Latin America. He is currently
working on a screenplay for a feature film and a thesis
about film and philosophy.
Shannon Koob, Aaron Serotsky, Jeff Baron
contact Jack North - jacknorthnyc@gmail.com