The Grand Paradise

Specialties

A pas de deux of desire and death, a midlife crisis, a coming of age, and a search for the Fountain of Youth at the resort of the eternally brokenhearted.

Set in those hazy and culturally liminal years of the late 1970s becoming the 1980s, The Grand Paradise is a tropical resort that purports to be the home of the original, genuine Fountain of Youth whose waters promise to quench our deepest longings. Greeted with a tropical drink, a garland of flowers, and an overly-​cheerful activities director, visitors encounter the resort’s resident population; characters who embody the era’s shifting and blurring values — a rogue’s gallery of eccentrics, hustlers, eternal youths, gods, monsters, disco queens, and con men. Guests are invited to explore the resort and beaches, watch a floorshow, follow performers into one-​on-​one encounters, and trade their faded ideals for shiny new illusions.

History

Established in 2015.

Hailed as one of the foremost companies creating site-​specific, immersive and experiential dance-​theater in the United States, Third Rail Projects, led by Artistic Directors Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett, is dedicated to re-​envisioning ways in which audiences can engage with contemporary performance. They have made work in New York, internationally, and abroad for over 15 years, and their long-​running, award-​winning work, Then She Fell, was named as one of the «Top Ten Shows of the 2012» by Ben Brantley of The New York Times and acclaimed as one of the best theater experiences of 2013 by Vogue Magazine. The show has also garnered accolades from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and countless others. Third Rail Projects has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including three New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Awards for Then She Fell (2013) and Vanishing Point (2008).