Special Milkweed Tickets
Written by
Sarah Ruhl
Based on the book by Sarah Ruhl and Max Ritvo
Directed by
Kate Whoriskey
LETTERS FROM
MAX
, a ritual
Now - March 19
+
Featuring
Jessica Hecht
as Sarah, with
Ben Edelman
& Zane Pais
The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre
A portion of ticket proceeds will support
milkweed editions
Signature Theatre presents the world premiere production of MacArthur Fellow Sarah Ruhl’s Letters from Max, a ritual directed by Kate Whoriskey, based on the book by Sarah Ruhl and Max Ritvo (Milkweed Editions). Ruhl adapts the 2018 epistolary book Letters from Max: A Poet, a Teacher, a Friendship, “a resonant and profound contribution from two fully formed artists to the literature of illness” (Slate), into a lyrical hybrid work that flows between full-hearted letters, poetry, music, and dialogue. With Letters from Max, a ritual Ruhl shares a personal correspondence, in the various forms it assumes between two people fervently pursuing, and offering one another the generosity of, higher expression. In these notes, verses, and utterances, her former student, the late poet Max Ritvo (Four Reincarnations, The Final Voicemails), openly discusses terminal illness and tests poetry’s capacity to put to words what otherwise feels ineffable.
“One of the most adventurous playwrights working today.”
– The New York Times
milkweed night at signature theatre
Wed, march 1
a celebration in honor of Max Ritvo’s legacy filled with poetry and dialogue
6:30 Literary Community Social Hour (Signature lobby bar & bookstore)
with Daniel Slager, Milkweed Editions Publisher and CEO
7:30 Performance (The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre)
9:30 Talkback with Playwright & Author Sarah Ruhl with book-signing (Signature lobby bar & bookstore)
Join us for a unique opportunity to discuss the power of ritual in art both on and off the page with Sarah Ruhl. The talk back will feature readings of Max Ritvo's work by Elizabeth Metzger and Suleika Jaouad. The evening will be a celebration in honor of Max Ritvo’s legacy filled with poetry and dialogue.
Milkweed Editions is an independent publisher of fiction,
nonfiction, and poetry. Our mission is to identify, nurture,
and publish transformative literature, and
build an engaged community around it.
We believe that literature has the potential
to change the way we see and live in the world.
Learn more and join our cause at milkweed.org.
A home for storytellers. A space for all.
Signature Theatre's world premiere production of Letters from Max, a ritual is supported by New York Life.
Letters from Max, a ritual is also supported by the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and is the recipient of The Edgerton Foundation Award for New Plays.