gerstl took the easy way out by Lydia Blaisdell

This brand spankin' new play by powerhouse playwright Lydia Blaisdell  is a 85 minute dive into the infamous love triangle between composer Arnold Schönberg, Schönberg’s wife: Mathilde, and famous painter Richard Gerstl. Set in Austria in the raucous 1900s, this deliciously naughty comedy partners with Queer, non-binary, and Trans communities to challenge how we frame historical cultural narratives and interrogate who we center in those stories.

gerstl took the easy way out will present at New Ohio Theatre July 26-29. The Obie Award-winning New Ohio Theatre is concluding its acclaimed 30-year run with one last Ice Factory! Tickets available here.  Free community tickets are also available by emailing info@notchtheatre.org. 

The  play was developed through New George's JAM and first workshopped at The Eugene O'Neill Theater thanks to an ARPA grant from the City of New London’s Cultural District Commission

​Lydia Blaisdell

Lydia is currently part of the JAM at New Georges (where she started this play!). She’s a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers and an alumnus of the OBIE-award winning playwright's group YOUNGBLOOD at EST. She has been in residence at Yaddo, Marble House Project, and Ucross.  Her solo work, She Buried the Pistol, premiered at the Cincy Fringe in 2018 directed by Hannah Wolf. Lydia was awarded the Visionary Playwright Commission from Theater Masters in 2018. Her play, The Last Great American Bear Hunt, was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference (2016). Her play, The Silent Woman, won the 2015 Kentucky Women Writers Conference Prize (judged by Carson Kreitzer) and has made Honorable Mention on the 2016 Kilroy’s List. Her immersive solo adventure piece, Bear Eats Bear, has toured to Brooklyn, Toronto, Charlotte, Minneapolis, and Austin. Her short plays have been performed in Aspen, Austin, Lake George, NYC, and Paris, France. Her short, Donna's First Brazilian, is published and licensed by Samuel French, Inc. ​

Directed by and Developed with Ashley Olive Teague
​Graphic Design: Olivia George

New Ohio Theater production team:
Production Manager and Associate Producer: Carin Jennie Estey
Stage Management: Jenny Kennedy
Scenic Concepts: Bruno Pierre Houle
Costume Design: Susanne Houstle
Costume and Production Assistant: Erin Gruodis Gimbel
Lighting Design: William DeJianne
Assistant Director: Stewart Harrison
Cast: Amy Staats*, Nikomeh Anderson, Marcel Mascaró*, Anita Castillo-Halvorssen*, Eli Sebastian Wassertzug, Lou Griesman, Kathleen Mary Carthy*, Nyaira Jones.

Cast for the Connecticut Workshop: Haley Haupt, Marcel Mascaro*, Reed Northrup, Emma Palzere-Rae*, Andrew Reinhardt, Draya Wilbur

*Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association