A 62-year-old woman in an insane asylum closes her eyes and becomes a 28-year-old stand-up comedian with everyone in the audience being part of her imagination. Inspired by personal experience, the delivery (not material) of Dave Chappelle, Christopher Nolan films, Netflix's Russian Doll and HBO's Hacks, the show is an intimate blend of stand-up, theatre and time travel starring NYC comedian and actress Maria DeCotis* (Broadway, Vogue, Rolling Stone) as comedian Lynn T. Walsh. The show is dedicated to anyone, especially young mothers of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, who society wrote off as crazy instead of giving them an opportunity to live. Before The Drugs Kick In made its world premiere at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe to multiple five and four star reviews while being nominated for two of the biggest awards at the largest arts festival in the world, the BBC Writersroom Popcorn Award for Best New Writing and the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award. The play is written, directed and produced by comedian and playwright Mike Lemme. Content Warning: Before The Drugs Kick In contains distressing themes with strong language and mentions of suicide but it's also full of punchlines too. Dates + Time: Friday, 12/8 - 7pm Saturday, 12/9 - 7pm Sunday, 12/10 - 4pm Friday, 12/15 - 7pm Saturday, 12/16 - 7pm Sunday, 12/17 - 4pm Thursday, 12/21 - 7pm Friday, 12/22 - 7pm Doors open 15 minutes before showtime Runtime: 60 minutes Location: The UNDER St. Marks Theater 94 St. Marks Place (between 1st Avenue & Avenue A) New York, NY 10009 Note: the theater is not ADA accessible How to RSVP: Simply reply to this email with the date you would like to attend or use this form: https://forms.gle/GsyuanQz929vGyST9 Ticket Link: https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:508/
Cast and Creative team for Before The Drugs Kick In at UNDER St. Marks
Cast
Maria DeCotis
Lynn T. Walsh
Maria DeCotis is a NYC based comedian, actress, and writer from Fayetteville, Georgia where she famously Christmas caroled for Big Boi at age 12. She graduated with her BFA in Acting, Cum Laude from Boston University with a concentration in Playwriting and studied Commedia dell'Arte at the Accademia dell’Arte in Italy. She has been featured in Rolling Stone, Vogue, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, New York Daily News, Today, and many more. Her work has been shared by Ben Stiller, Stephen Colbert, Padma Lakshmi, Chrissy Teigen, Natasha Lyonne, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Maria recently completed her groundbreaking run during the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival where she starred in the original play LYNN T. WALSH: BEFORE THE DRUGS KICK IN as well as her own one-hour comedy special EMOTIONALLY UNREASONABLE. Her stellar performances in both shows received rave reviews. Maria's other recent credits include opening for Mike Birbiglia on Broadway, Comedy Central, HBO Women in Comedy Festival, and the New York Comedy Festival. She wrote and hosted a show for the New York Post called WIN THE WEEKEND and was the co-writer of the gameshow MEZU MONEY TIME. She has completed the most advanced level of study at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She is a ukulele singer-songwriter (iTunes and Spotify) and Lindy Hopper.
Creative Team
Mandy Gordon
Movement Director
Mandy Gordon is a movement director, choreographer, intimacy coordinator,
director and teacher based in London. She works across stage, screen, animation, opera, immersive and outdoor spaces. Her movement work aims to cultivate fully embodied, nuanced and clear physical languages, choreography and intimacy.
She creates safe and rich spaces for actors, dancers and animators, to enable their imaginations to fly. Trained: Brunel University, London Contemporary Dance School, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Mike Lemme
Writer, Director, Producer
Mike Lemme has spent nearly 20 years making his unique experiences relatable by revealing everything about himself through his stand-up and theatre pieces to sold out, and nowhere near sold out, crowds wherever, whenever he can. A former intern for Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon, Lemme's writing has previously appeared in
The New York Times.
SUBMIT UPDATES
UNDER St. Marks Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
UNDER St. Marks is at 94 St. Marks Place New York, NY 10009, New York, NY.
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