Ms. Holmes & Ms Watson - Apartment 2B by Kate Hamill at the Dorset Theatre Festival /  by Francesca McKenzie

Currently runs August 11 - 26 at the Dorset Theatre Festival.

Fast-paced and wildly entertaining, this brilliantly theatrical take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth and sidekick re-examines the classic adventure stories you love through a bold new female lens. In this highly theatrical, small-cast escapade, oddball female roommates Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Joan Watson join forces to emerge from the pandemic fog as a deeply codependent, quasi-dysfunctional, Odd Couple adventure duo… careening from caper to caper until they come face to face with a supervillain who seems to have all of the answers. Get ready for a rollicking murder mystery that packs in non-stop laughs and hijinks galore!

"Francesca Fernandez’ plays her as a sexy and sultry femme fatale who lights up the stage with her sexiness and bawdy wit.... Ensemble work is excellent throughout.” - Rutland Herald

"Francesca Fernandez is truly marvelous and inventive in a trio of roles. As Sherlock’s housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, she is in a continual farcical panic. As the mysterious Mrs. Drebber she fully embraces a Jekyll/Hyde character. Fernandez is outstanding as the famous Holmes character, Irene Adler—she is completely in control of a character who is glamourous, sexy, and lethal."  - Berkshire On Stage

“It seems to me that she never for even a moment was still on the stage, but physically kept being seductive and comical and raw, all at the same time. I loved this actress’s work." - The Berkshire Edge


CAST

SARA HAIDER: Sherlock Holmes
NESSA NORICH: Joan Watson
MICHAEL FREDERIC: Lestrade/Moriarty/Monk
FRANCESCA FERNANDEZ: Irene Adler/Mrs. Drebber/ Mrs. Hudson

PRODUCTION TEAM

KATE HAMILL (Playwright)
ANEESHA KUDTARKAR (Director)
SARAH KARL (Scenic Design)
MARIKO OHIGASHI (Costume Design)
JACKIE FOX (Lighting Design)
MICHAEL COSTAGLIOLA (Sound Design)
CHARLOTTE BYDWELL (Movement Director)
JUDY BOWMAN, CSA (Casting Director)
ROBBIE ARMSTRONG III (Stage Manager)

Smart at Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) extends through April 30 /  by Francesca McKenzie

Ensemble Studio Theatre presents the play which explores the benefits and pitfalls of technology in the responsibility of caregiving. Previews began March 30 for the Off-Broadway work which opened April 6, and was set to run through April 23 and extended to April 30. Learn more about the show here.

Elaine is responsible for taking care of her cranky and ill mother Ruth. Ruth doesn't want aides in the house, but Elaine needs help so she can go to work. Enter "Jenny," a smart device Elaine buys to babysit and keep her mom company that gives Elaine a way to check on Ruth. Jenny becomes part of the family—but who else is listening? Starring are Christine Farrell, Francesca Fernandez, and Kea Trevett.

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Director - Matt Dickson
Playwright - Mary Elizabeth Hamilton
Production Stage Manager - Lauren Nicole Jackson
Scenic Designer - Ant Ma
Props Designer - Caitlyn Murphy
Lighting Designer - Colleen Doherty
Costume Designer - Megan Rutherford
Sound Designer - Josh Samuels
Casting Director - Stephanie Yankwitt, TBD Casting Company

“Mary's play is about new tech and privacy, about loneliness and connection in the city, about mothers and daughters—she ties those threads together with humor and warmth, and an ache that stays with you long after the play is over,” said EST's Co-Artistic Director Graeme Gillis in a statement. “We've been working on this play with Mary for nearly five years, but the story it tells is very much of this moment. It's very much a play about life right now."

Smart marks Hamilton's Off-Broadway debut. The play is so-produced with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It was originally commissioned and developed through the EST/Sloan Project, a program organized by the Off-Broadway theatre and the foundation.

Bald Sisters at Steppenwolf runs till January 15! /  by Francesca McKenzie

“BLINK ONCE FOR BURIAL. BLINK TWICE FOR A FRIDAY FUNERAL. BLINK THRICE IF YOU HATE MY GUTS.”

ABOUT THIS SHOW

Ma is dead; now what happens? Vichet Chum’s world premiere follows two sisters—at odds since birth—as they settle the affairs of their strong-willed, wise-cracking mother while reconciling their family’s Cambodian heritage with its ever-so-complicated American present. Where’s the will? A burial or cremation? And what do we do with Ma’s teeth? Bald Sisters is an irreverent, comedic and ultimately poignant examination of the ties that bind multigenerational families of immigrants together: history, spirituality and humor. 

Playwright Vichet Chum
Director Jesca Prudencio
Dramaturg Polly Hubbard
Scenic Design Andrew Boyce
Costume Design Izumi Inaba
Lighting Design Stacey Derosier
Sound Design & Original Music Pornchanok Kanchanabanca
Projection Design Mike Tutaj
Company Voice & Text Coach Gigi Buffington
Producing Director Tom Pearl
CSA Casting Director JC Clementz
Production Stage Manager Laura D. Glenn
Assistant Stage Manager Jaclynn Joslin
Script Supervisor Emma Sipora Tyler
Assistant Director Karina Patel
Assistant Lighting Designer Erica Lauren Maholmes
Assistant Projection Designer Parker Molacek
Fights & Intimacy Courtney Abbott
Fights & Intimacy Greg Geffrard
COVID Safety Manager Lauren Casson
Tech Cover Lauren Littlejohn
Run Crew Joe Creen
Cultural Consultant Sami Ismat, Thavary Krouch & Sophoan Khoeun

Cast
Coburn Goss
Jennifer Lim
Nima Rakhshanifar
Wai Ching Ho
Francesca Fernandez
Omar Bader
Cheryl Hamada
Jennifer Jelsema
Matt Miles
Stephanie Shum

Joel Moorman and Brandon Jones: Video.
Photo cred: Michael Brosilow

Video

Interview with Vichet Chum
Rehearsal Trailer
The Big Shave with Francesca
Audience Response

Reviews

Chicago Sun Times: “Multigenerational worlds collide in moving, funny and powerful ‘Bald Sisters’ at Steppenwolf Theatre” by Steven Oxman. Review

Chicago Reader: “Mourning and celebrating in the same breath” by Irene Hsiao. Review

Around the Town: By Alan Bresloff. Review

New City Stage: “As American as Buh-Bah Sok-Moin: A Review of “Bald Sisters” at Steppenwolf Theatre” by Tristan Bruns. Review

Chicago Theatre Review: “People are Bitches.” Review

Twelfth Night at KC Rep runs till September 25! /  by Francesca McKenzie

I am playing Viola in Twelfth Night at Kansas City Repertory Theatre this month, directed by the incredible Nelson T. Eusebio III! In my first full production back from the pandemic, I have the honor of serving this dream role with an incredible cast, team, and theatre. Here are some photo highlights of the experience. If you are in Missouri, come through!

More info.

Review in the KC Independent

Photos by Lia Chang:

...what the end will be at ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY opens June 2 /  by Francesca McKenzie

Francesca is understudying the role of Chloe in Mansa Ra’s new play …what the end will be at the Roundabout Theatre Company. In previews now, this exquisite story opens June 2 and runs till July 10. This is the first show to open in the Laura Pels Theatre since the pandemic, and is one of two venues at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center on W 46th Street in Manhattan.

In this new work commissioned by Roundabout, three generations of men live under one roof and grapple with their own truths of what it means to be Black and gay. It’s an exploration of pride, pain, and patience through the unflinching eyes of fathers and sons. Starring Keith Randolph Smith, Emerson Brooks, Gerald Caesar, Ryan Jamal Swain, Randy Harrison, and Tiffany Villarin. Tickets and learn more here.


...what the end will be BE CREATIVE TEAM

Playwright: Mansa Ra

Director: Margot Bordelon

Set Design: Reid Thompson

Costume Design: Emilio Sosa

Lighting Design: Jiyoun Chang

Original Music & Sound Design: Palmer Hefferan

Hair, Wig, and Make-up Design: J. Jared Janas

Stage Manager: Megan Schwarz Dickert

Assistant Stage Manager: Danielle Ranno

Production Assistant: Cynthia Caridad

Upcoming Virtual Events! /  by Francesca McKenzie

Here is a list of upcoming Virtual Theater events that Francesca Fernandez McKenzie will be performing in. The * means this event is a partnership with Stonehenge NYC as part of my Still Standing Artist Residency:

  • Not So Long,* Brooklyn College and the Wolfe Institute, Reading Wednesday 5/12 9:30a, by Cherry Lou Sy dir. Eugene Ma. Inquirer article about project. Register for tickets here.

  • Liébling, Cleveland Playhouse New Ground Theater Festival, Saturday May 15 4:00p & 7:30p ET, by Vichet Chum dir. Jesca Prudencio. Purchase tickets here.

  • Untitled, Tuesday 5/18 24 Hour Plays Viral Monologues, monologue written by Sung Rno dir. Victor Malana Moag on Instagram.

  • Sorry/Not Sorry,* Ars Nova ANT Fest show created by Nana Dakin and Nora Casey, Tuesday 6/22.

  • SYZYGY,* Two River Theater's Crossing Borders (Virtual) Festival, July 12-25, by Juliany Taveras dir. Dominique Rider

Stonehenge NYC Still Standing Artist Residency /  by Francesca McKenzie

Francesca is elated to return to NYC after eight months in the SF Bay Area as a recipient of the inaugural Stonehenge NYC Still Standing Artist Residency. From March 2021-February 2022, Francesca is commissioned to create a series of performances pieces in exchange for a free year of housing in Manhattan. Learn more about the residency here.

GLORIA: A LIFE streams on PBS’ Great Performances June 26 2020! /  by Francesca McKenzie

August 2018 I had the privilege of joining the original cast of GLORIA: A LIFE, an off-Broadway documentary play about Gloria Steinem by Emily Mann and directed by Diane Paulus. A recorded performance of GLORIA will air on PBS’ Great Performances this Friday, June 26 at 6p PST // 8p CST // 9p EST, and will be available to stream on Thirteen after! Learn more here.

GLORIA: A LIFE premiered October 2018 at the Daryl Roth Theatre, starring Christine Lahti. To meld my activism and art into one production for nine months was affirming and inspiring. Gloria Steinem is truly the boss. It was a life changing experience and I am honored to have been part of its inception. Learn more about the show here.