Ever dreamt of touring with your favorite band or, better yet, dating the lead singer? Writer-performer Felicity Seidel takes audiences on a no-holds-barred, hilarious, 60-minute road trip through her crazy, adventure-clad youth as the girlfriend of Bob Weir of Grateful Dead. This autobiographical solo show is sure to leave you entertained, reminiscing about your favorite rock star moments and bad teenage decisions, and enjoying one helluva ride! Directed by Padraic Lillis, Lucky Chick heads into previews at the Paradise Factory main stage on Thursday, April 19, and Friday, April 20, opens on Saturday, April 21, and runs through Saturday, May 12.
From growing up navigating the streets of NYC to being plucked from the crowd by Weir at a show to going on tour with the Grateful Dead, Seidel’s wild ride includes Learjets, pythons, Hells Angels, badass ranchers, an unpredictable drug-kingpin boyfriend and more. She is one lucky chick to have survived it all without a scratch!
After premiering in 2015 to a sold-out show run at the New York International Fringe Festival and being invited to participate in an extended Fringe Encore Series, Lucky Chick moved on to a sold-out limited run at the Paradise Factory in NYC in 2017. With standing-room-only houses and returning audience members, from teenagers to 70-somethings, people have continued to clamor for the return of Lucky Chick.
Best known for her work in Donald Margulies’ Dinner with Friends and Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple (female version), Seidel artfully depicts an era of “sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll” against the backdrops of New York City; San Francisco; Red Rocks, Colorado; and Wyoming’s cattle country. Throughout she portrays a cast of memorable characters who guide the narrative, from drug-dealing, gun-toting boyfriends and famous rock ‘n’ rollers, to an unlikely group of ranchers.
The show includes scenic design by Zachary Sitrin, costume design by Natalie Loveland, lighting design by Katy Atwell, sound design by Andy Evan Cohen and projection design by Michelle Botticelli; Kate Harness is Lucky Chick’s animator.
An advocate of women telling their own stories, Seidel has formed a collaborative partnership with Girls Write Now, a nonprofit organization celebrating its 20th year of mentoring underserved young women to find their voices through the power of writing and community. Through this partnership, Seidel will serve as a guest artist for their spring 2018 playwriting workshop on Saturday, April 7, offering a fresh take on the period piece with her rockin’ ’80s tale. Additionally, the nonprofit’s participants and their mentors will receive tickets to the show and one mentor/mentee pair will review Lucky Chick on the Girls Write Now blog.
“What’s more powerful than finding your voice, however crazy, wild, funny, tormented, embarrassing or provocative it might be? For most women I personally know, that has come later in life. But think about the impact of empowering more young women to be bold and go for it early on,” said Seidel. “Storytelling is the ultimate way to express individuality and authenticity while binding us together in a common cause — celebrating, or at least considering, the range of human experience. So c’mon, ladies! It's time to get our storytelling on! You just never know who’s out there and needs to hear exactly what it is you have to say.”
Tickets to Lucky Chick are $28.50. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. at the Paradise Factory, located at 64 E. 4th Street, New York, New York 10003. To purchase tickets, visit www.luckychick.nyc.
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