John Patrick Shanley’s ‘Candlelight’ Premieres With Nylon Fusion Company

Candlelight, a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), will be presented by Nylon Fusion Company and run from November 27th through December 19th at The New Ohio in New York City. The play is directed by Kori Lee (The Waiting Room) and is described as a Nuyorican comic romance tragedy based in Brooklyn that tells the story of two ten-year-old kids who “fall into something deeper and more dangerous than love.” The show features actors John Cencio Burgos, Alfredo Diaz, Ivette Dumeng, Marc Reign, Darlene Tejeiro, and Christina Toth, as well as understudies Taylor Graves and Randall Rodriguez. Nylon Fusion Theatre prides itself on favoring plays that advance political, cultural and social awareness.

“A playwright’s work always begins at home, so initially, the isolation caused by the pandemic felt familiar. But then the intensity of the city’s silence brought something new out of me,” Shanley told Forbes. “A ten-year-old Nuyorican girl appeared in the center of my imagination, and the play Candlelight exploded outward from there. The play shocked me. It was like nothing I’d written, full of magic, music, and strange visitations. I contacted the Nylon Fusion Theater. I’d done a number of one-acts with them, and they were quite adventurous.” 

Nylon Fusion Theatre proceeded to set up a reading at Shanley’s Brooklyn apartment, which he says was a thrilling return to work after the COVID-19 lockdown brought theatre to a stand-still. “It reminded us that we are alive and how strange and beautiful that is. That’s why we’re doing it in full production, in Greenwich Village, the birthplace of Off-Broadway,” said Shanley.

Candlelight also marks Lee’s first return to theatre-making. Lee, who has been working with Nylon Fusion Theatre for a decade, told Forbes, “For most if not all of us, it’s our first post-March 2020 in-person rehearsal and performance experience—and we have been savoring it.” She has also been enjoying working with Shanley on this new script, saying, “having him in the room and directly involved—casting, developing, rewriting the play—has been an experience unlike any other in my career.” Like Candlelight‘s main character, Esperanza, children understand instinctively that there is magic in being alive, and love is the most powerful thing there is. I hope that our mostly-adult audience re-experiences the power of that childhood view of love and magic. But maybe, more importantly, this story is about the fragility of existence. John’s play is a powerful reminder that nothing lasts forever and none of us are guaranteed another minute.”

Interview excerpts have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Tickets for Candlelight can be purchased here.