The Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company’s productions are an exciting new dramatic form. Many performances are based on landmark talks given by Eli Siegel on plays from world theatre—by Shakespeare, Molière, Sheridan, Ibsen, Strindberg, Eugene O’Neill, George Kelly, Susan Glaspell—and others. We also present Mr. Siegel’s critical discussions of some of the great novels of all time, with scenes enacted—from Jane Eyre, Huckleberry Finn, Père Goriot, and Hard Times, to name a few.

Each production is a rich interweaving of performance and comment, having us see the author’s intention, the motivation of the characters, and what these say about our lives today. Our performances have as their basis this great principle stated by Mr. Siegel:

All beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves.

Both personally and professionally, we’re grateful to Eli Siegel for his understanding of the drama, literature, and the selves of people, including our own. You can find out more about the education he founded, Aesthetic Realism, here.

Our company is also known for its stirring musical productions—with songs from Broadway, rock & roll, American standards, traditional ballads and union songs—performed and commented on by the cast.

And there are special two-part matinees featuring a theatrical piece and a musical performance with illuminating commentary by Barbara Allen on flute and Edward Green on piano/harpsichord. They speak about works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Telemann—and show that we can learn about ourselves from the very technique of a musical composition!

The company has performed regularly in the New York City metropolitan area and has appeared in New Orleans, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Billings, and other cities.

We are grateful to Ellen Reiss, the Aesthetic Realism Chair of Education, for what we are learning in the classes she teaches, and for her encouragement of our sincere expression in life and art.