Naked Angels (theater company)

Naked Angels is an American theater company founded in 1986 and based in New York City. It was named after John Tytell's book about the Beat Generation, Naked Angels. The company has produced plays on controversial social topics, including the critically acclaimed Broadway transfer Next Fall, and has featured many Hollywood stars.

Naked Angels originated in a former picture-frame factory on West 17th Street in Manhattan which quickly became a prominent venue for a generation of emerging young actors and playwrights.^[1]

One of the company's longstanding initiatives is "The Issues Project", which focuses on socially relevant issues through plays, often in collaboration with organizations such as Amnesty International, The Center for American Progress, Project A.L.S. and The Culture Project. The company is also known for its "Tuesdays@9" cold reading series, where new playwrights, novelists, short-story writers, and actors gather to review works in progress.

In 2005, Naked Angels partnered with Fox Broadcasting Company to create Naked TV, an annual showcase of short plays by emerging playwrights. Based on these stagings, Fox executives chose to turn some of the one-act plays into pilot scripts for the primetime network.^[2][3][4]

Known for "glamorous parties" and "provocative productions", after the first decade the group seemed to have lost the focus on theater. In 1995 the venue on 17th Street (often called "The Place") was closed. By that time many of the early members had gone on to fame in Hollywood or on Broadway.^[1] Naked Angels runs New York City's longest-running cold reading series for new works-in-progress. Every Tuesday, excerpts of new writing is presented to an audience of fellow artists and supporters. The readings operates with an open submission policy throughout the year, and hosts an open casting session at the start of each week.

The theater company has a long list of co-founders and participants in its many productions over the years.^[1]

People identified as co-founders include:^[1] playwright:

• Nicole Burdette

Actors and directors:

• Jon Robin Baitz
• Paul Eckstein
• Ned Eisenberg
• director Nick Bompart
• director Jenifer Estess (Producing Director until 1993)
• director Pippin Parker (former Artistic Director)
• actor and singer Toby Parker
• actress Gina Gershon^[1]
• actor Rob Morrow^[1]
• actress Mary Stuart Masterson^[1]
• actress Helen Slater
• actor and producer Fisher Stevens
• actress Marisa Tomei
• actress Nancy Travis^[1]
• actor Gareth Williams
• actor Jeff Williams
• actor Bruce MacVittie

People associated with the company:

• actor Matthew Broderick and his wife actress Sarah Jessica Parker began dating at Naked Angels where Sarah's brothers Toby and Pippin were co-founders^[1]
• actor Chris Stack
• playwright Frank Pugliese
• playwright Kenneth Lonergan
• actor Joe Mantello
• actor Mark Ruffalo
• actor Will Arnett
• actor Spalding Gray
• writer J. C. Hopkins

• A Downtown Firmament April 19, 1993, Newsweek, By Marc Peyser

• Naked Angels Theater Company official website
• more on Naked Angels Tuesdays @ 9
• Naked Angels records, 1987-2013, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts