(via Don Summa, Richard Kornberg & Associates.)
LA MAMA ETC
PRESENTS TWO-NIGHT-ONLY READING OF
EPSTEIN ORATORIO
BY KAREN MALPEDE
STARRING KATHLEEN CHALFANT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1 AND FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2
LANGUAGE OF THE EPSTEIN FILES
UNFOLDS AGAINST THE VIVID
STORYTELLING OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY
EVENT BENEFITS THE PUBLIC INTEGRITY PROJECT
ORGANIZATION SUING FOR RELEASE OF EPSTEIN FILES
La MaMa ETC announces that its two-night-only benefit reading of Karen Malpede’s Epstein Oratorio, directed by Alex Keegan, will take place on Thursday, October 1 and Friday, October 2 at 7pm at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4 Street. The reading stars Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Kathleen Chalfant.
The event, which has been organized by Evangeline Morphos, Michal Gamily, and Julianne Hoffenberg, will benefit the Public Integrity Project, which is currently suing the U.S. Attorney General for the release of the Epstein Files (https://
Poetic and darkly comic, Epstein Oratorio, an exposé of the ‘Jeffrey Epstein class,’ unfolds against the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Hades presides over both the modern and mythic worlds while a male chorus speaks in language drawn directly from the Epstein files and mainstream media coverage. The victims’ stories are based on real accounts. By weaving fiction and myth, the play confronts the trauma of sexual violence and imagines the possibility of change.
The readings of Epstein Oratorio will be followed by brief talkbacks with Substack journalists Wajahat Ali and Ellie Leonard, who have done extensive research and written commentary on the Epstein files. The play, published by Tough Poets Review, will be available for sale at the event.
Karen Malpede is the author of 22 produced and published plays, and co-founder with her late husband, actor/producer George Bartenieff, of Theater Three Collaborative, an Obie Award winner for its I Will Bear Witness, the diaries of Victor Klemperer. She is the author of the new memoir, Last Radiance: Radical Lives, Bright Deaths. Epstein Oratorio is Malpede’s fourth major collaboration with Kathleen Chalfant.
For over 30 years Kathleen Chalfant has been one of the most respected actresses on the New York stage. She is the recipient of Drama Desk, Outer Critics’ Circle, Obie, Lucille Lortel, and Drama League Awards for her groundbreaking performance in off-Broadway’s Wit, and of a Tony nomination for her work in the landmark play Angels in America. In 2025 she received Best Actress honors from the National Society of Film Critics for her performance in the film Familiar Touch.
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa’s 65th Season, ONENESS, focuses on creating solidarity and community, exploring ways to build connections for cross-sector coalition and inviting artists, activists, organizers and community members into the creative process. We build audiences that are integral to the creative process. Our local and global community members who gather in our physical, digital, and hybrid spaces to see new work are often the first audience for that work. La MaMa believes art is a force for change.
La MaMa has been honored with 30+ Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie Awards, Villager Awards, the 2018 Regional Theatre Tony Award, and most recently a 2023 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Citation. We are a creative home to artists and resident companies from around the world, many of whom have made lasting contributions to the arts, including Blue Man Group, Bette Midler, Ping Chong, Jackie Curtis, Robert De Niro, André De Shields, Adrienne Kennedy, Cole Escola, Bridget Everett, Harvey Fierstein, Diane Lane, Charlotte Brathwaite, Charles Ludlam, Haruna Lee, Tom Eyen, Spiderwoman Theater, Tadeusz Kantor, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Meredith Monk, David and Amy Sedaris, Stephanie Hsu, Julie Taymor, Kazuo Ohno, Tom O’Horgan, Heather Christian, Andrei Serban, Liz Swados, and Andy Warhol. La MaMa’s vision of nurturing new artists and new work from all nations, cultures, races and identities remains as strong today as it was when Ellen Stewart first opened the doors in 1961. For more information, visit: lamama.org.
Epstein Oratorio plays for two nights only—Thursday, October 1 and Friday, October 2 at 7:00pm at La Mama’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4 Street. The running time is 45 minutes. Tickets are $40 general admission and $25 for students and seniors. Tickets and additional information are available by visiting https://lamama.org/
