Monday, March 23, 2026 at 7:00pm
*Performers subject to change*
Roberta Colindrez replaces Louisa Jacobson, who is no longer able to participate in the reading.
LAST SUMMER AT
BLUEFISH COVE
by JANE CHAMBERS
Directed by CYNTHIA NIXON
CSC’s Producing Artistic Director Jill Rafson noted, “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove was a landmark achievement, putting positive portrayals of queer women on stage in a time when that was hardly the norm. Jane Chambers was able, with this piece, to give her own community the same gift that the gay male community had found through The Boys in the Band many years earlier. Yet this work isn’t given nearly the same attention as that counterpart, and this celebratory evening felt like a perfect chance to shine a spotlight on this classic of its genre.”
Director Cynthia Nixon shares, “Before this play, lesbian characters were all but invisible on stage. In those rare instances when they did appear they were either tragic, shameful or threatening (think The Children’s Hour or The Killing of Sister George). Bluefish Cove was truly a first of its kind, and it deserves to be seen by modern audiences, who will find these women vibrant, funny and wonderfully three-dimensional.”
THE ARTISTS
JANE CHAMBERS (Playwright)
One of the first playwrights to depict love between women as happy, healthy, and well-adjusted, Jane Chambers (1937-1983) changed the course of American drama with works informed by second-wave feminism and the burgeoning gay rights movement, including A Late Snow (1974), Last Summer at Bluefish Cove (1980), and My Blue Heaven (1981). A prolific writer, Chambers also authored novels, poetry, and essays in addition to penning scripts for film and television. She trained as an actress, at Rollins College and the Pasadena Playhouse, because female students were not admitted to writing classes, enjoying success as an Off-Broadway performer.
In 1964, Chambers moved to Maine where she worked for MWTW-TV as a content producer and on-air personality. During President Johnson’s War on Poverty, Chambers took a position as arts coordinator with Jobs Corp, creating theater with inner-city youths. While earning a bachelor’s degree at Goddard College, Chambers returned to New York, co-founded Women’s Interart Theatre with Margot Lewitin, and met her life partner, talent agent Beth Allen. During rehearsals for Kudzu, Chambers was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died in 1983. Her pioneering spirit is honored by an annual prize given in her name, The Jane Chambers Award for Playwriting, administered by The Women and Theatre Program. Chambers’ impact on American drama is also celebrated by a reading series at TOSOS Theatre (The Other Side of Silence).
CYNTHIA NIXON (Director)
Cynthia Nixon is an Emmy®, Tony® and Grammy® Award winner, who has been acting professionally since the age of 12 in film, television, and theatre. A lifelong New Yorker, she has been a longtime progressive advocate for better funding for public schools, abortion rights, and LGBTQ+ equality.
Nixon is best known for her work as Miranda Hobbes in HBO’s celebrated series “Sex and the City”, a role that garnered her the first of her two Emmy® Awards. She then went on to co-star in the two wildly successful Sex and the City films. The show’s sequel “And Just Like That…”, for which she also served as an Executive Producer, returned for its third and final season in 2025. In the first season, Nixon took on the role of director for the sixth episode titled “Diwali.” She also directed two back-to-back episodes for the second season. For her directing in season two, The Hollywood Reporter raved, “Kudos to Nixon for directing a top-notch episode that so effectively brings her character’s painful choices to the forefront.”
In 2015, Nixon simultaneously directed two New York City plays. The first was New Group’s Steve, which made its world premiere in November, starring Mario Cantone. Steve, followed Steven, a failed Broadway chorus boy turned stay-at-home dad. The New York Times raved, “This deliciously well-acted New Group production, which opened under Cynthia Nixon’s assured direction… portrays a group of middle-aged gay New Yorkers for whom life was once truly a cabaret.” The other show was Motherstruck!, a one woman play starring Staceyann Chin at The Culture Project. Motherstruck! set forth Chin’s personal journey to motherhood as a single gay woman with limited resources who was herself abandoned at birth by both of her parents.
In 2014, Cynthia made what Variety described as an “assured” directorial debut at The New Group with Joel Johnson’s Rasheeda Speaking. The play received Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations and cast member Tonya Pinkins won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play and Musical. Rasheeda Speaking was chosen to be broadcast on Channel Thirteen as part of their Theatre Close Up series.
Nixon has appeared in plays and films by such varied and distinguished directors as Sidney Lumet, Alan J Pakula, Milos Forman and Robert Altman.
Nixon lives in New York City with her wife Christine Marinoni and their children.
SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
Gold Sponsor
$3,000
- Includes 4 Premiere Seats for the Show
- Recognition in all event materials including program and CSC website
- Sign recognition at the event
- Photo opportunity with artists/ meet and greet after show
- Acknowledgement from the stage
- Swag bag / CSC Merchandise for each attendee
- 2 tickets to all 2026-2027 Donor events
Silver Sponsor
$1,500
- Includes 2 Premiere Seats for the Show
- Recognition in all event materials including program and CSC website
- Swag bag / CSC Merchandise