The Playwrights' Theatre of East Hampton will host a staged reading of "Zeph and Violet: A Race Romance," a play written by and co-starring Krystle N. Adams, at LTV Studios in Wainscott on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
During a blizzard, Zephaniah Rabinowitz (Alex Hanna) has broken into the bedroom of Violet Robinson (Ms. Adams), where he once found shelter and love as a teenager during Brooklyn's Crown Heights Riots.
Over 15 years later, Zeph believes he can rekindle that connection. Violet, however, must choose between her up-and-down engagement to a baseball player or a rekindled connection.
Told in three parts, "Zeph and Violet: A Race Romance" is a play that explores racial and religious differences, a traumatic past, betrayal, and the love that covers all of it.
Ms. Adams performed in a Zoom reading of "Zeph and Violet" with Jesse Eisenberg, whose performance as Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network" earned him multiple best actor nominations. Of that experience, Mr. Eisenberg said, "I absolutely love Krystle Adams's work . . . 'Zeph and Violet' is her most playful, probing piece. It's a serious exploration of topical cultural themes while also being intimate and personal. . . . Her skills as a writer are matched by her skills as an actress and it is that rare intersection that makes her play both personally dramatic and surprisingly and realistically humorous."
An actor, writer, singer, and director, Ms. Adams has appeared in numerous productions, including "Hairspray" (Motormouth Maybelle/Dynamite), "Gypsy" (Tessa Tura), "The Dining Room" (Third Actress), "Or Current Resident" (Jill Finch), "Fame!" (Mabel Washington), and "West Side Story" (Anita). As a writer, she was invited to present a portion of her play "Father Chronicles" for a reading at the Cherry Lane Theater; is an active participant in "Watch Me Work," Suzan-Lori Parks's communal work session at The Public Theater, and is a member playwright of the Actors Studio.
Mr. Hanna is a Juilliard-trained actor whose New York theater credits include "The Flick" (Playwrights Horizons) and "Your Hair Looked Great" (Abrons Arts Center). Regionally, he has performed at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Hartford Stage, and the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, N.Y.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.
Looking ahead, LTV will celebrate Halloween with a screening of George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Refreshments will be available at the concession stand, and those who arrive in costumes will receive free popcorn.
Tickets are $10, $5 for students and senior citizens. Table seating with a drink and popcorn is $30.
