"If you're lucky, Kaplan will sing and play guitar, and then you'll laugh until you can't breathe."
-Time Out NY
What is a Scold's Bridle?
What is the song Delta Dawn really about?
Why are there no Jews in Whoville?
Cindy of Arc is a play about the problem men have with lying and where
that's gotten the rest of us.
It's the resistance show you didn't
know you needed, but you knew.
Think American Utopia but with expletives, politics, religion, dogs, Nazis, ten songs,
no David Byrne, and no Utopia.
And no choreographer.
And no money.
And it’s a comedy.
And we wear our shoes.
But otherwise, very similar.
Cindy of Arc was a finalist for the
2023 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater
Cindy of Arc was first produced as a concert film shot during the pandemic in a barn on Cape Cod.
It was shown at the 2021 Cinequest Film Festival.
It was workshopped on stage at Dixon Place Theater in March, 2022,
and at the Five Angels Theater in October, 2022.
Regional productions:
Nov, 2023, 50th anniversary season of Seattle's Tony Award-winning Intiman Theatre
May, 2024: Baltimore Theatre Project
Sept, 2024: Philadelphia Fringe Festival
May 2026: Bridge St. Theatre, Catskill, NY
Local productions:
Oct, 2023: NYC's historic Bitter End. Oct, Dec,
April 2024-25: Laurie Beechman Theatre @ West Bank Cafe
September 2025: The Evolution Festival NYC
Coming Up: The Wilde @ Gifford House in P-Town
9 Carver Street, Provincetown, MA
August 5th @ 7:15 pm
TICKETS
Cindy of Arc (Cynthia Kaplan) unequivocally ROCKS her audience with her music, identity and searing wit...Outrageously hilarious. -delcoculturevultures.com
Brilliant and blistering...Cindy of Arc is like a special blend of the poppiest of Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon’s Prairie Home Invasion political satire cuts, folded into Lauren Weedman’s comedic musical commentary and storytelling, whipped with the stalwart feminist political devotion of The Raging Grannies. There are a lot of comparisons, but it’s a unique result.What Kaplan brings that makes this a real show, and a clever one, is her unexpected pairings: of catchy and horrifying, insightful and obvious, playful and deadly. -NWTheatre.org
...A laugh-out-loud event... That stage is her bully pulpit and she knows it, making use of every square inch to demonstrate her deep talents. -Maryland Theatre Guide
Hilarious...The show gave me early 90’s riot grrl political anarcho-punk folk meets Violent Femmes-style pop-rock. -Baltimore Fishbowl
Raucously successful...A one-woman rock-n-roll tour through human history, mythology, literature, and more. -WBJC Radio, Maryland
Cynthia Kaplan is the funniest, funkiest white girl I've seen. Cindy of Arc takes you on a hilarious journey.
-Nancy Giles, CBS News Sunday Morning
The perfect convergence of rock and roll trop and middle class Jewish psyche…Witty, angry, sparkling…Transcendence happens. -Bob Garfield, Bully Pulpit
"TheMs. Kaplan is epically funny, and hyper-intelligent.-Folk Music Notebook Radio
Kaplan has always made me laugh. No small feat. -Comedian Lewis Black
Cindy of Arc is amazing. You are going to have a ball. Cynthia Kaplan is a genius. -Comedian Judy Gold
CYNTHIA KAPLAN (Writer/Composer/Cindy) has been performing comedy and music in clubs and theaters in NY and beyond for three decades, including the Knitting Factory, Joe's Pub, the Cutting Room, and the Bitter End, among others. Cindy of Arc was a 2023 Finalist for the Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. Kaplan has recorded two records with her award winning band, The Cynthia Kaplan Ordeal. She is the author of two acclaimed collections of comic essays, Why I’m Like This: True Stories (a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick and a Booksense bestseller) and Leave the Building Quickly, and her work has appeared in many publications including the New York Times and New York Magazine. Kaplan also writes for film, TV, and the 52nd Street Project, and is co-host of the long-running Ruthless Comedy Hour at Stand Up New York. And alumna of Circle in the Square Theater School, she has appeared in many plays and nine films. She has never appeared on Law & Order.
SCOTT STEIN (MD/keys/Mike) is an NYC-based pianist, composer, songwriter and music director. Recent highlights include conducting 300 members of the HaZamir teen chorus at David Geffen Hall, touring with American Idol and Broadway star Constantine Maroulis, music directing the off-Broadway run of Wicked Frozen, and the recent world premiere of his suite Kedusha for chorus and jazz quartet. He is also an acclaimed singer/songwriter whose latest album Uphill was released in 2022.
ZACHARY LARSON (Guitar/Mike) is a guitarist, banjoist, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in New York City. He has toured as a Classical chamber musician, on-board cruise lines, and with the musicals Finding Neverland and Escape to Margaritaville. Recent performance highlights include engagements with the Harlem Chamber Players, in Broadway’s Chicago, and a special presentation of LaBarr’s The River for concert choir and banjo at Carnegie Hall. Originally from a small Midwestern farm town, you will likely find him gazing upward at skyscrapers or asking for more ranch dressing.
GEORGIA MONROE (Associate Producer) is a dancer, singer, actress, choreographer, producer and assistant extraordinaire. As a performer her favorite credits include: Escape to Margaritaville (National Tour), and Rock of Ages (PCLO). She can be seen by Dani’s side on a multitude of projects at any given moment. Georgia is grateful to be a part of this kickass team. @georgiaemonroe
DANI DAVIS (Director): Dani is an Emmy award winning writer, a Tony nominated Broadway producer, a Helen Hayes Award recipient, a critically acclaimed theater and choreographer, a film director, a television producer, and entertainment entrepreneur. Direction Choreography: Cindy of Arc, (off-Broadway, regional, film); Handel's Messiah Rocks (7 Emmy nominations, 3 wins Sony/PBS, National Tour; Kenny Rogers, A Christmas Gift (Hallmark). Selected Regional: The UMPO Series Summer Blockbusters: Jaws at the White Lotus; Mama Mia (Broadway World Award-Direction); The Full Monty (Broadway World Award-Choreography) among others. Producing: Broadway and National Tours: Little Women, The Musical (2 tony Award nominations, Drama Desk nominations); The Lonesome West (4 Tony nominations); Billy Elliot (Helen Hayes Award for producing); Shrek, the Musical; The Wedding Singer; Flashdance; Little Women, the Musical.
ROB TAUBE (Keys/Mike) A former member of the Detroit rock band Scratch, Rob's credits over the years include gigs with major musical acts like Leon Russell and James Taylor. As a producer, Rob combines a rich background in analog recording with an up-to-the minute mastery of computer music software to create a unique sound produced in his East Village studio, Groove Garden. He writes songs with Simon Kirke, the drummer for band Bad Company, and several of their compositions are featured on Simon’s latest album and on Rob’s own record, Halfway Home. Rob has recently worked with Carla Torgerson of the Walkabouts, Nikki and the Human Element, as well as Mark Barnowski, Corey Lee Barker, and other active songwriters who place music in movies and television.
DAN BARMAN (Drums/Mike) is a powerhouse drummer and world champion percussionist who’s resume boasts collaborations with Grammy-winning producers, performances for Disney film scores, recordings and live concerts with acclaimed artists such as Bob Dorough, The Bones of J.R. Jones, Indie-Rock staples Food Will Win the War, and Grammy-winning artist Joanie Leeds as co-producer with her award-winning “Kindie Rock” band, Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights. A
EMMA FROELICH (Associate Producer) is is an NYC based actress, singer, and production and post-production assistant in documentary film. Most recently, she assistedProducer Robin Hessman with research, grant writing, and film festival applications on two documentary feature films, as well as general operational support for her organization, Global Neighborhood.
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More praise for Cynthia Kaplan
Hilarious. --The Village Voice
Striking a note somewhere between David Sedaris and Anna Quindlen, Kaplan spins traumas personal and professional for maximum laughs... a literary star.—People Magazine
Knee slapping hilarious... Fans of David Sedaris or Anne Lamott will appreciate (Kaplan's) quirky way of looking at life's intricacies.—USA Today
Quick-witted and unapologetically grandiose... in the spirit of Dorothy Parker... (Kaplan) renders weird and rowdy scenarios with style. —The New York Times
Often compared to David Sedaris, the actress/writer combines droll humor with hard-won sentiment.--Seattle Weekly
Alternately hilarious and poignant... Kaplan has a great ear for the spoken word, the cadence of modern speech.
—The Boston Globe