Aunt Dan and Lemon
In the final days of 2025, Sketchbook Theatre presented a private workshop reading of Wallace Shawn’s Aunt Dan and Lemon at Lethe Lounge. A formidable ensemble of seven actors performed the play in an intimate Upper West Side townhouse in Manhattan. Underscored by live music from Mark Ettinger, this piercing offering explored how even the most literate and “civilized” societies can slide, almost politely, into brutality. Shawn’s darkly brilliant storytelling — personal charm mixed with political horror — speaks to today’s global slide toward authoritarianism as urgently as ever.
Cast (in alphabetical order):
• Kate Abbruzzesse*
• Carlo Albán*
• Alyssa May Gold*
• Daniel Pettrow*
• Ana Reeder*
• Danielle Skraastad*
• James Waterston*
Production Team
Director: David Barlow
Composer / Musician: Mark Ettinger
Stage Manager: Ariana Michel
Producer: Bill Army
Producer’s Assistant: Nate Carovano
*Member of Actor's Equity Association