Baryshnikov Arts in Partnership with the Abbey Theatre Presents: Ages of the Moon

ABOUT

AGES OF THE MOON, presented in partnership with the Abbey Theatre, the National Theatre of Ireland, is Sam Shepard’s 2009 tale of a 40-year friendship and all of its shenanigans, including a few shocking revelations. Originally commissioned, produced, and presented by the Abbey Theatre, this special reading is directed by its Artistic Director, Caitríona McLaughlin, features acclaimed actors Steve Buscemi and Aidan Quinn, and celebrates Baryshnikov Arts’ 20th anniversary.

ARTISTS

STEVE BUSCEMI is an actor, writer, director and producer who has built a career out of portraying some of the most unique and unforgettable characters in recent cinema. He starred in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, which garnered him a Golden Globe® Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy® nominations. His directing work includes the films Trees Lounge and Interview, and TV credits including The Sopranos, which earned him Emmy® and DGA Award nominations, 30 Rock, Nurse Jackie, Portlandia, and Love. Buscemi’s latest directorial effort, The Listener, starring Tessa Thompson, world premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival before making its way to Tribeca for its North American premiere. Buscemi starred opposite Daniel Radcliffe in the TBS anthology series Miracle Workers. He most recently joined the cast of the hit Netflix series, Wednesday.

AIDAN QUINN has starred in more than 50 feature films including Desperately Seeking Susan, The Playboys, Avalon, Benny and Joon, Legends of the Fall, Michael Collins, Practical Magic, Unknown, and the upcoming HBO/Disney+ series Rematch. Aidan started his career on stage in Chicago and played the title role in the award-winning production of Hamlet, he starred on Broadway as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and Off-Broadway in Sam Shepherd’s Fool for Love and Lie of the Mind in the original cast directed by Sam Shepard. Most recently he starred in Horton Foote’s The Man From Atlanta at Signature Theatre. His television credits include the groundbreaking AIDS drama An Early Frost (Emmy nom. for Best Actor), All My Sons by Arthur Miller, See You in My Dreams, based on Sam Shepard stories from Cruising Paradise and Motel Chronicles, Empire Falls, Weeds, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Emmy nom.), Elementary and the current HBO Max limited series The American Guest as Theodore Roosevelt. Some of his favorite films he’s done in Ireland are his brother Paul’s This is My Father, Aisling Walsh’s Song for a Raggy Boy (IFTA nom. for Best Actor) and Conor McPherson’s Eclipse for which he won the IFTA award.

CAITRÍONA McLAUGHLIN (Director) was appointed as Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre in 2021. She was born in Donegal and studied science at the University of Ulster before moving into theatre. She was awarded a Clore Fellowship in 2007 and subsequently spent six summers with LAByrinth Theatre Company in New York developing new plays for Artistic Directors John Ortiz and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, at their Summer Intensive. During this time Caitríona also directed a number of plays in New York including Killers and other Family (part of the OBIE award–winning Hilltown Plays) and plays at Atlantic Theatre, Rattlestick, and Bard Summerscape. She was Associate Director at the Abbey Theatre from 2017–2020, where her productions included: The Great Hunger by Patrick Kavanagh (with Conall Morrison); Citysong by Dylan Coburn Gray (ITTA nomination Best New Play); On Raftery’s Hill by Marina Carr (for which she won Best Director at the 2019 ITTA); and Two Pints by Roddy Doyle, which toured widely in Ireland and the USA. She also worked with theatre and opera companies on both sides of the border, including Wexford Opera, Hot for Theatre, INO, The Local Group, and Landmark, and she was the director on O’Casey in the Estate, a TV documentary shown on RTE. Prior to moving into directing, with Patrick McCabe’s Frank Pig Says Hello at the Finborough Theatre in London in 2003, Caitríona worked as a drama facilitator in Northern Ireland, working with young people and in conflict resolution. In London, she directed numerous productions, focusing primarily on new writing, and collaborated with the Royal Court in sourcing and developing a new theatre space.

SAM SHEPARD‘s first New York plays, Cowboys and The Rock Garden, were produced by Theatre Genesis in 1963. For several seasons, he worked with Off-Off-Broadway theatre groups including La MaMa and Caffe Cino. Eleven of his plays won Obie Awards, including Chicago, The Tooth of Crime, and Curse of the Starving Class. Other award-winning plays include Fool for Love, True West, A Lie of the Mind, and Buried Child, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1979. In 1986, Shepard was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received the Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy in 1992. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame two years later. As a screenwriter and director, he filmed Far North and Silent Tongue. As an actor, he appeared in numerous films, including The Right Stuff, Days of Heaven, and Resurrection. His final works of prose, The One Inside and Spy of the First Person, were published the year he passed away, 2017. 

ABOUT BARYSHNIKOV ARTS

Baryshnikov Arts, founded in 2005 by Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov, is rooted in the belief that artists hold irreplaceable roles in our world by shaping perspectives, offering new approaches, and initiating crucial conversations in complex social, political, and cultural environments. Our mission supports artistic freedom, providing multidisciplinary artists with opportunities for creative exploration and unique artistic expression, and allowing audiences to view the world in new ways. We offer performance and commissioning opportunities, artist residencies, rentals, and more. baryshnikovarts.org

ABOUT THE ABBEY THEATRE

As Ireland’s national theatre, the Abbey Theatre’s ambition is to enrich the cultural lives of everyone with a curiosity for and interest in Irish theatre, stories, artists and culture. Courage and imagination are at the heart of our storytelling, while inclusivity, diversity and equality are at the core of our thinking. Led by Co-Director’s Caitríona McLaughlin (Artistic Director) and Mark O’Brien (Executive Director), the Abbey Theatre celebrates both the rich canon of Irish dramatic writing and the potential of future generations of Irish theatre artists. Ireland has a rich history of theatre and playwriting and extraordinary actors, designers and directors. Artists are at the heart of our organization, with Marina Carr and Conor McPherson as Senior Associate Playwrights and Caroline Byrne as Associate Director.  The Abbey Theatre Resident Directors are Esosa Ighodaro, John King, Lianne O’Shea and James Riordan. Our stories teach us what it is to belong, what it is to be excluded and to exclude. Artistically our program is built on twin impulses, and around two questions: “who we were, and who are we now?” We interrogate our classical canon with an urgency about what makes it speak to this moment. On our stages we find and champion new voices and new ways of seeing, our purpose—to identify combinations of characters we are yet to meet, having conversations we are yet to hear. The Abbey Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Department for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
abbeytheatre.ie

BARYSHNIKOV ARTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dave Hattem, Chairman
R. Jarrett Lilien, Treasurer
Steven C. Dupré, Secretary

Mikhail Baryshnikov
Jamie Bishton
Sandy Choi
Frank Cordasco
William James Earle
Sandra Foschi
Jennifer Frautschi
Slavka B. Glaser
Rebecca Goldring
Sonja Kostich
Darryl Pinckney
Shelley Washington

STAFF

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Founder and Artistic Director
Sonja Kostich, President and Executive Director

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Nicole Proto, Business Administration Manager

PROGRAMMING
Sam Black, Artistic Associate

Ashley Baer, Program Manager
Pedja Muzijevic, Artistic Administrator
Alexandra Cook, Director of Education and Community Engagement

DEVELOPMENT
Chani Sebazco, Development Manager

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Lydia Murray, Marketing and Communications Manager
Victoria Zdunkiewicz, Box Office and Digital Marketing Manager

PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS
Tyler Benware, Director of Production and Operations
Natasha Bruno, Technical and Operations Manager
Jesse Campbell, Lighting Director

PRODUCTION CREW FOR AGES OF THE MOON
Jessica Choi, Head Electrician/Light Board Operator
David Perez, Carpenter/Stagehand

FRONT-OF-HOUSE STAFF FOR AGES OF THE MOON
Jennifer Rico, House Manager

Box Office Assistants/Ushers:
James Alt

Felicia Avalos

Gina Bonati

Janet Charleston

Elliott Cunningham

Kathleen Curran

Khadijah Danielian

Kymber Dodd

Rachel Ford

Dana Freeman

Lana Hankinson

Jenna Hernandez

Rebecca Kaye

Sandra Kitt

Peter McGarry

Braden Misiaszek

Rocky Nardone

Hannah Oren

Regina Pearsall

Peter Sciscioli

Patrice Smith

Sheryl Sutton

Felix Telsey

Berd Vaval

Christine Zeszotarski

CONSULTANTS
Andrew Julia, Director of Finance, AJulia Consulting, LLC
Stephen Viksjo, Graphic Designer
Eric Wolfram, Web Developer
Sean Regan, Perfect Balance Bookkeeping, Inc., Bookkeeper

Special thanks to our production crew, front-of-house staff, and volunteers.

BARYSHNIKOV ARTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Baryshnikov Arts is grateful for the contributions of its generous supporters.

Individual

John H. Abeles

Abington Family

Deborah and Charles Adelman

Michelle A. Auerbach

Joanne Barak

Marion Barion

Mikhail Baryshnikov & Lisa Rinehart

Douglas Baxter

Kent Becker & Rachel Miller

Ariel Bengio

Doris Bergman

Leo Biagini

Jill C. Birinyi

Jamie Bishton & Christian Kraus

Philip Boroff & Michelle Kaske

Harlan Bratcher

Kermitt Brooks & Barton Warner

Amanda M. Burden

Johanna Butow

Andrew Cantor

James Carlson

Pamela Ceglinski

Jesse Chin

Sandy Choi

Anya & Peter Cole

Amy Collins

Frank A. Cordasco

Richard Corton

Margo Crespin

Rupert de Laszlo

Allison Derusha

Jennie DeScherer

Elizabeth DeVita

Janet A. Dewan

Allan Dinkoff

Robert Dorf

Steven C. Dupré

William James Earle

Sofia Elizalde

Jane Epstein

Augie Fabela

Barbara G. Fleischman

Jennifer Fortner

Jennifer Fraustchi

Karen Freedman & Roger Weisberg

Alex Fridlyand

Norman Friedland

Nancy Fuchs

Peter Gallagher

Bruce Garetz

Paul Ghiz

Jane Gladstone

Slavka B. Glaser

Gabrielle Goedecke

Andrew Goffe & Jeffrey Levin

Rebecca Goldring

Sharon Gonen

Jerry S. Goren & Julia S. Coley

Nicholas Hare 

Dave & Rita Hattem

Gary Hattem & Fraiser Holloway

Andrée Hayum

Huong M. Hoang

Rodney Hobbs

Joan Hooker

Brody Howatt

Kelly Hubble

Jamie & Jeff Hurd

Robert Jetmundsen

Carine Joannu

Cathy Kadets

Steven Katz

Nunally Kersh 

Oona Keating

Leo M. Keegan

Madison Keesler

Karen Kochevar

Sonja Kostich

Olga Kovalishina

Larry Krantz 

Miodrag Kukrika

Tebby Kwok

Nick & Holly Lane

Linda Larson

Windy Lawrence 

Anton LeRoy 

Gideon Lester

Leonard Levie 

Jarrett & Maritess Lilien 

Nick & Cass Ludington

Kay Lustberg-Goldbeck

Cynthia Mackay

Blythe Masters 

Karen McLaughlin

Catherine & Bill Miller

LeConte Moore 

Mark Morris 

Yefim Natis

Fred Nazem & Susie Gharib

Marty Nealon 

Franci Neely

David Neumann

Nicholas Obolensky 

Adam J. Oestreich

Brian O’Leary

Brian S. O’Neil

Marylin Ornati

Jeffrey & Meredith Oppenheim 

Zaza Pachulia 

Lorenza Panero

Steven M. Pesner

Robert Petrizack

Liz Piccoli 

Darryl & James Pinckney 

Joseph Plocek 

Aidan & Elizabeth Quinn 

Kevin Rabinovich

Kirk Radke & Liz Gerring 

Dianna Raedle 

Laila Robbins 

James Roe & Gemsel Hernandez

Eve and Jon Rounds

Gerrit Ruetzel

Howard & Vesna Sacks

John Sansone

Laura Schoen 

Marty Secada

Mark Seliger 

Nancy Seltzer, Jr. 

Joel Shapiro & Ellen Phelan 

Wallace Shawn 

Lois Sherwin

Alexandra Shiva

Gary Silber

Sylvia Skratek

Leslie Smolan 

Genevieve Springer 

Matthew Steimel 

Christina Sterner

Glenn Stevens 

Angèle Surault 

Donald Sutton

Lisa Takemoto 

Michael Tersigni & David Palachek

Pamela Urueta

Julie C. Van Camp 

Reggie Van Lee 

Illiana van Meeteren 

Louis Venturelli

Marc Waldor 

Robert Wallace

Nicola Walter 

Deborah Ward

Shelley Washington

Maggie Waterhouse

Michael Wehman

Steven Weissman 

Jedediah Wheeler 

David N. White

Vicente Wolf

Matthew Yee

John Yonover

Janet Young & Jeremy Kramer

Andrew Zobler

As of January 1, 2025.

Institutional

Leadership support for Baryshnikov Arts has been provided by:

A G Foundation

Alphadyne Foundation

Apotheosis Events 

Arnhold Foundation

KK Auchincloss Creativity Fund

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Norris and Debra Bishton Foundation

Cyrus Capital Partners 

Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation 

Enoch Foundation 

The Marshall Frankel Foundation

Frieze 

Global Atlantic

Princess Grace Foundation- USA 

Howard Gilman Foundation

Goldring Family Foundation 

The Harkness Foundation for Dance 

The Irving Harris Foundation 

The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust 

William Talbott Hillman Foundation

Hudson Yards/Related

Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance 

Alex Katz Foundation 

Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation

Lanvin 

Mertz Gilmore Foundation

Omega Systems

Paula Cooper Gallery

The Jerome Robbins Foundation

The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 

The Shubert Foundation 

The Thompson Family Foundation

Weber Shandwick

As of January 1, 2025.

Baryshnikov Arts is grateful for:

Support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts

Baryshnikov Arts programming made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature

Funding of the Bloodlines Interwoven Festival made possible by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Yamaha is the official piano of Baryshnikov Arts.