Salvador Dali and Sigmund Freud Meet in Lisa Monde’s Play “Dali’s Dream”

Steve Carlsen and William Otterson, photo by Shane Maritch

(NEW YORK, NY) — Salvador Dali’s wish to meet the famous psychoanalyst comes true in a dream… where Dali finds himself at Dr. Sigmund Freud’s sanitarium and becomes part of the famous sessions conducted by the “father of modern psychology”.  All of this happens in Lisa Monde’s play Dali’s Dream. The limited engagement runs April 5-27, 2024 at The Gene Frankel Theatre in NoHo. The play is produced by MONLI International Company LLC and The Onomatopoeia Theatre Company.

Dali’s Dream was previously produced in 2016 at the 4th Street Theatre in NYC where this unique play-phantasmagoria was the winner of the 3rd Annual Radioactive Festival. A festival that celebrates female playwrights.

Salvador Dali worshiped the famous psychoanalyst – Doctor Sigmund Freud, ardently wished to meet him and discuss his own complexes as well as paranoia. One such meeting had occurred, but the exhausting imaginary conversations with Doctor Freud continued.

Once, in a dream, Dali visits a sanitarium, where he becomes witness to the sessions of psychoanalysis held by Doctor Freud and, eventually, the painter finds himself on the doctor’s couch!  So, who is he – a genius or a paranoiac? The surrealistic fog which envelops the figure of Dali starts to dissipate…

The cast features Dyllan Vallier as Salvador Dali, John Higgins as Sigmund Freud, Lisa Monde as Adolf/Adolfina Assange, Mac Stevenson as Pierre/Eva, Euterpe, Seth Andrew Miller as Frank, Ryan Wasserman as Stein, Sondrine Bontemps as Yin, Habin Kwak as Yang, and Leslie Renee as Coco Chanel.

Featuring original music by Lisa Monde (musical arrangements by Juan Carlos Rivera, and Eugene Drayer). The creative team includes: scenic design by Steven Kendall, costume design by Michael Gutierrez, lighting design by Thomas R Gordon, make-up design by Margie Bresciani, original poster design by Alexey Loginov.

Dali’s Dream runs April 5 – 27. With performances running Thursday’s – Saturday’s at 8:00pm, and Sunday’s at 3:00pm. Running time: 2 hours (includes intermission). Tickets are $25 (students/seniors), $35 (general admission) and are available at www.our.show/dalisdream. The Gene Frankel Theatre is located at 24 Bond Street (Between Lafayette & Bowery), New York, NY 10012. Subways: 6 to Bleecker Street, B/D/F/M to Broadway/Lafayette.

BIOGRAPHIES

Lisa Monde (Playwright, Director, Composer) began her artistic career in Europe. She is a proud graduate of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and the New York Film Academy. As a playwright and composer, Lisa is the author of eight staged musicals and seven plays, most of which were directed by her and produced in the US and overseas. Lisa is an award-winning author of several published historical dramas, including “I Know All Save Myself Alone” and “Saint Francis: Religion of Love”. Her most recent play “Dracula: Finding of a Shadow” has won the Broadway World Awards 2023 in the Best New Play nomination.  Lisa is also an educator, she teaches acting, as well as musical theatre at various performing arts schools. The author of multiple essays and articles on the development of musical theatre as a genre around the world, Lisa is one of the editors of the Theatre Times Magazine. Memberships include: SAG-AFTRA, Dramatists Guild of America, The Authors Guild, AFM, AGMA, NACUSA, SETC, CID (UNESCO), International Union of Writers.

Thomas R. Gordon (Director) is the leader of the motley crew that is The Onomatopoeia Theatre Company and a fighter for love and art in New York City. He is a graduate of Radford University and the NYU Educational Theatre Program. Before moving to New York Thomas worked as a director, actor, lighting designer, sound designer and theater teacher in both Virginia and California. Directing credits include: You Are Not Alone, Teach Me How to Die, Dracula: Finding of a Shadow, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Picture of Dorian Grey, The House of Bernada Alba, Of Mice & Men, Medea, Arsene Lupin VS Sherlock Holmes, Let’s Play: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and more. 

The mission of MONLI International Company LLC is to create theatrical experience that educates and entertains at the same time. Their main categories of spectators are those who love dramatic and musical theatre, students of musical/theatrical/ Film and TV departments (as we strive to combine various visual/audio and overall artistic techniques in our productions), representatives of the LGBTQIA community, a wide range of people who are excited about the history of theatre. They create high-level professional productions according to the interests of their target audience, at that getting inspired by important landmarks (such as anniversaries of famous literary characters, artists and performers.) They believe their shows possess a therapeutic orientation, they modify the esthetics of theatrical productions and implement gender-fluid casting, as well as use innovative technologies. MONLI always strives for a hint of magical realism and mystical drama. They are curious about the connection of the human consciousness and the outside world, the integration of the conscious and unconscious into the stories they tell.

The primary goal of The Onomatopoeia Theatre Company is to create theatre with sound.  Any and all types of sound! Whether it is music, noise or a symphony of emotions pouring from an actor’s soul we aim to create theatre that must be heard to really be seen! Their second goal is to use sound and technology to help push the boundaries of what live theatre can do. They aim to carry on the Off-Off-Broadway tradition of pushing boundaries and experimentation! The third and most important goal of The Onomatopoeia Theatre Company is to create theatre that fights for a positive view of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and “the underdog”.  They don’t want their audience to just talk about what they heard after one of their shows.  They want them to think about how they can make a difference in the world! They hope that their stories and words cause action in the real world!