Brooklyn College’s Tow Center Champions Equity in Performance with Reconstructing
The Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College is partnering to present Reconstructing, a new professional play that premieres on campus as part of the Under the Radar Festival. This production opens doors to high-quality theater for one of New York’s most diverse and underserved student populations, as well as the surrounding community, who may not often have access to such opportunities.
Reconstructing is a bold collaboration co-authored by 21 Black-, people of color-, and white-identifying artists, ranging in age from 29 to 99. The piece comes from The TEAM, an internationally acclaimed theater collective, and probes how, in the long aftermath of slavery, we might collectively reinterpret American history and steer toward a more equitable future.
Direction comes from two visionary theater leaders: Rachel Chavkin (founding artistic director of The TEAM and Tony Award winner for Hadestown) and Zhailon Levingston (Obie Award recipient known for the Broadway-bound Cats: The Jellicle Ball at the Perelman Performing Arts Center).
Performance dates:
- January 9 at 7:30 p.m.
- January 10 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- January 11 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Tickets: BUY TICKETS HERE (https://tickets.brooklyn.edu/eventperformances.asp?evt=498)
Following a recent run at BAM’s Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn College will host Reconstructing before launching its national tour to major university presenters. Onstage, the two-story house at the center of the piece acts as a post-flood ruin, a newly developed Tyvek-wrapped space, and a historic Southern mansion—evoking Tara from Gone With the Wind—as it transforms into an Airbnb rental.
This engagement at the Don Buchwald Theater marks a pivotal moment for the Tow Center. Since its 2018 opening, the Tow Center has become a cultural anchor for campus and community, redefining what it means to create art in Brooklyn. The Don Buchwald Theater’s intimate setting—just over 200 seats in a flexible black-box space—serves as a playground for imagination. One night it might resemble a Harlem jazz club; another, a dystopian courtroom. Its acoustics and versatility have earned praise from emerging and established performers alike.
Central to the Tow Center’s mission is art as a catalyst. The programming centers underrepresented voices and urgent social issues, drawing audiences from across New York City and beyond. The center’s inclusive vision has established it as a beacon for connection, creativity, and social impact.
These performances showcase a growing movement to bring professional-grade theater to students and nearby community members who might otherwise miss out—even in the global theater capital. They also offer a blueprint for other public universities seeking to broaden cultural opportunities for their students.
About the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts
The Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College is a world-class facility dedicated to fostering creativity, innovation, and excellence. It serves as a hub for performance, education, and collaboration, supporting a wide range of artistic endeavors with state-of-the-art spaces for theater, dance, music, and multidisciplinary work. Its commitment to artistic diversity, creativity, and access continues to shape the future of the performing arts.
About The Under the Radar Festival
The Under the Radar Festival showcases bold, boundary-pushing theater that immerses audiences in daring new works. Held annually, the festival features trailblazing artists whose work challenges traditional performance norms while engaging with pressing contemporary issues, bringing together some of the most exciting voices in global theater.
About The TEAM
Founded in 2004, The TEAM is a Brooklyn-based experimental theater collective described by The Guardian as “theatrical excavators of American culture, American dreams, and the American psyche.” The group collaboratively creates new works that examine life in the United States to spark dialogue about the nation’s past, present, and future. The TEAM’s 12 productions—including Mission Drift, RoosevElvis, and Primer for a Failed Superpower—have been presented at major venues nationwide and worldwide, including the Public Theater, PS122, Roulette, The Bushwick Starr, A.R.T., Walker Art Center, London’s National Theatre and Almeida Theatre, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, the Salzburg Festival, the Perth International Arts Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Credits
Created by: The TEAM
Directed by: Rachel Chavkin & Zhailon Levingston
Resident Director: Josiah Davis
Written by: Brenda Abbandandolo, Denée Benton, Eric Berryman, Vinie Burrows, Rachel Chavkin, nicHi douglas, Eisa Davis, Josiah Davis, André De Shields, JJJJJerome Ellis, Katherine Freer, Jill Frutkin, Amber Gray, Jeremy O. Harris, Modesto Flako Jimenez, Libby King, Ian Lassiter, Zhailon Levingston, Jake Margolin, James Harrison Monaco, Nick Vaughan, and Jillian Walker
Developed with: Marika Kent and Matt Hubbs
Composed by: James Harrison Monaco, Maya Sharpe, and Jillian Walker with Eric Berryman
Choreographed by: nicHi douglas
Featuring: Eric Berryman, Ato Blankson-Wood, Rachel Chavkin, Modesto Flako Jimenez, James Harrison Monaco, Maya Sharpe, Jillian Walker
Scenic Design by: Lawrence E. Moten III
Adapted from Original Scenic Design by: Nick Vaughan
Costume & Quilt Design by: Marla (Brenda Abbandandolo, Marika Kent, and Kristen Sieh)
Lighting Design by: Alan C. Edwards
Sound Design by: Mikhail Fiksel
Video & Projection Design by: Katherine Freer
Associate Choreography by: Nile Harris
Props Design by: Patricia Marjorie
*Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association
