BALLS - One Year Lease Theater Company

BALLS 2017/2018

OCT 3 - 29, 2017

59E59 Theaters, New York City

JAN 16 - FEB 25, 2018

One Year Lease Theater Company’s epic recreation of the 1973 Battle of the Sexes tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs with BALLS™, written by Kevin Armento & Bryony Lavery, commissioned and developed by One Year Lease.

Part sport, part disco, all carnival, Balls™ explodes across time, space and genre, fully embracing the circus atmosphere of the original event, and bouncing this most memorable tennis match of all-time off of the cultural debates it ignited around sexism, women-in-sport & equality. With these arguments still ongoing and as heated in our political climate right now as they were then, Balls is arriving at a perfect time!

True to OYL’s physical and high-intensity approach, the production features a moment-by-moment, shot-by-shot recreation of the enture tennis match in real time!

Creative Team

Written by Kevin Armento & Bryony Lavery
Directed by Ianthe Demos & Nick Flint
Movement Direction by Natalie Lomonte
Set Design by Kristen Robinson
Lighting Design by Mike Riggs
Sound Design by Brendan Aanes
Costume Design by Kenisha Kelley

Cast

Danny Bernardy
Donald Corren
Alex J Gould
Danté Jeanfelix
Zakiya Iman Markland
Olivia McGiff
Elisha Mudly
Cristina Pitter
Richard Saudek
Ellen Tamaki

Producers

Balls was commissioned and developed by One Year Lease Theater Company and is a Co-Production between One Year Lease Theater Company & Stages Repertory Theatre

Houston Reviews

Houston Chronicle

“Balls, its a gender thing (full review)

"Balls" approaches King's fascinating biography with glee and perspective and a tone that's both light-hearted and cutting throughout the show.

- Wei-Huan Chen

Houston Press

“BALLS at Stages Serves up Grand Slam Conceptual Theater” (full review)”Balls, its a gender thing (full review)

"There is no question, Balls is a production that comes to play. If by play one means throw down (spiritedly and with a sly giggle) on how women have had to fight, and not always win, the battle for gender progress."

- Jessica Goldman

Houstonia Magazine

“Stages’ Balls Serves A Frenetic Assessment of Gender Equality” (full review)

"a captivating, visceral spectacle from end to end" / "the physicality of the performance is staggering"
"it’s a thoughtful inventory of where we are and where we came from in terms of gender equality, and the play is just plain fun"

Birth. Movies. Death.

“The 1973 Battle of the Sexes Serves up a Winning Stage Production” (full review)

"Balls is an innovative play with the most impressive level of technical precision. It’s rife with humor, poking fun at the very concept of the battle of the sexes. Yet it gets reflective in ways I never expected, offering stark criticism and authentic heartbreak that blurs the lines between the gender wars. It’s poignant, physical, and - dare I say - ballsy."

- Meagan Navarro

Stages Repertory Theatre, Houston, Texas