IRONDALE ONLINE

While the doors of Irondale remain closed amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, we invite you to join us for a virtual Sonnet Marathon to honor the 456th birthday of William Shakespeare!

Held over Zoom on April 23, the believed date of Shakespeare’s actual birth, the ensemble welcomed guest performances from Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes, Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright, comedian, actress and jazz singer Lea DeLaria, Tony winner Cady Huffman, Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega, Blue Bloods and The Sopranos actor John Ventimiglia, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, James Whiteside, and NYC downtown darling Kenyon Phillips.

With over 100 participants to join these guests, each read or sang a sonnet of their choice, the marathon was live streamed on Irondale’s YouTube page.

“We are all stressed by what we are living through and it may calm a few nerves, my own included, to hear the ‘eternal lines’ read by pros and non-pros alike,” considers Irondale Executive Director, Terry Greiss. “My own favorite sonnet has a couplet that keeps running through my mind: So long as men can breathe and eyes can see/So long live this and this gives life to thee. We will all get through this and when we do, art, music, dance and theater will be there for us to help future generations understand and make sense of what we are living
through today.”