"The Bench"

"The Bench": Solo Show Explores Homelessness

Playwright/performer Robert Galinsky -- who the "New York Observer" calls the "downtown poet priest" -- inhabits five different homeless characters in "The Bench", now extending its successful run at the East Village Playhouse. Based on true stories and set amid urban decay and rubble, this one-man tour de force explores the emotional heartbreak of its displaced characters and the catastrophic hysteria surrounding the '80s AIDS crisis. Character actor Jay O. Sanders ("True Detective, JFK") makes his directing debut with this powerful piece, presented by actors Chris Noth and Barry "Shabaka" Henley.