Staged Reading of “Men’s Lives” at Parrish Art Museum

In conjunction with the current exhibition, Radical Seafaring, the Parrish Art Museum is presenting a staged reading of Men’s Lives by Sag Harbor playwright Joe Pintauro, based on the book by Peter Matthiessen. The reading, produced by Stephen Hamilton and Emma Walton Hamilton, who will direct, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the play. Featured in the cast are J. Stephen Brantley (Popeye), Matthew Conlon (Courtney, Fisherman, Senator), Stephen Hamilton (Peter), Diana Marbury (Alice), Cashus Muse (Nate), Joe Pallister (Lee), Josh Salt (William), and Harris Yullin (Walt). Jenna Mate (stage directions) is the production stage manager and assistant director.

Men’s Lives, which had its world premiere in 1992 as the opening production of the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY, tells the story of the East End baymen’s struggle as their centuries-long tradition of making a living on the water becomes threatened by economic and legal challenges, pollution, and overfishing. The plot pits a way of life against the interests of affluent summer residents and New York State, which under pressures from the powerful sports- fisherman’s lobby, outlaws haul-seining—a technique the Native Americans taught the baymen’s ancestors, and the only remaining method of catching saleable fish.