Scarlett Dreams tickets

Playwright S. Asher Gelman revels in dissecting contemporary queer relationships to expose their hopes, ideals, and difficulties. In his critically acclaimed play Afterglow, he revealed the consequences of a seemingly sturdy couple opening up their marriage to a third man. More recently, in safeword, he toyed with the line between pain and pleasure in a relationship. Now, in Scarlett Dreams at the Greenwich House Theater, Gelman is diving into our relationship with technology in a time when it seems impossible to live without it.

Gelman has been creating modern plays for modern audiences for years and is unafraid to expose the parts of people and our relationships that are more difficult to discuss openly. As such, his plays are tantalizing — and often contain nudity and nuanced depictions of sexuality — but, more importantly, they are layered and richly vulnerable, testing their characters’ limits so they better understand themselves and their unique relationship to queerness.

What to watch for

• More and more plays are examining our relationship to technology. The Daniel Radcliffe-led Privacy, Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, and Jordan Harrison’s Pulitzer Prize finalist Marjorie Prime are just a few such recent ones, and now Scarlett Dreams joins their ranks.
• S. Asher Gelman writes and directs this play, and often artists who have a deep tie to their work will wear more than one hat. Robert O’Hara has also done double duty for his successful Off-Broadway play Bootycandy, and V, formerly known as Eve Ensler, often writes and stars in her works.
• The cast brings together New York stage vets, including Broadway performers Brittany Bellizeare (Flex), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Tuck Everlasting, Newsies), Caroline Lellouche (Annie), and Borris Anthony York (Pippin).
• The play’s venue, Greenwich House Theater, is a downtown gem located in the West Village. Greenwich House first opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1902 as a community center dedicated to supporting the area's immigrant population. To this day, the building still functions this way, offering a range of initiatives like the Barrow Street Nursery School.