For Immediate Release
Art, empathy, and mortality converge at the historic Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel on Thursday, November 6, 2025
New York, NY — October 29, 2025 — This November, New York audiences are invited to step into one of the city’s most unexpected performance venues: Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel (1076 Madison Avenue). On Thursday, November 6, 2025, Grief Dialogues, (along with Elizabeth Coplan, Dani Davis, and Merrie L. Davis) will premiere In the Wake of Life: An Immersive Experience, an innovative theatrical event about loss, love, and what it means to be human.
A Bold Theatrical Experiment in a Sacred Space
Staged throughout the chapel’s historic rooms, In the Wake of Life guides audiences through a constellation of short plays, live vignettes, and interactive art installations. Each room becomes its own act—a poetic encounter with memory, mourning, and meaning. Licensed grief professionals are present throughout, ensuring a supportive environment for all attendees.
“This is not grief as tragedy—it’s grief as transformation,” says playwright/producer Elizabeth Coplan, founder of Grief Dialogues. “By bringing theatre into a funeral home, we reclaim the language of loss and invite audiences to recognize themselves in it—through story, humor, and shared humanity.”
“Few productions balance artistry and emotional authenticity like In the Wake of Life,” adds Creative Director Dani Davis (Emmy Award–winning writer, Tony-nominated producer). “It’s theatre that heals while it entertains—exactly the work our field needs right now.”
Creative Team & Cast
- Producer: Grief Dialogues
- Director: Dani Davis (Emmy Award–winning writer, Tony-nominated producer)
- Associate Director: Merrie L. Davis (Tony and Olivier Winning Producer)
- In partnership with: Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel, led by William Villanova, President
- Playwrights & Poet: Leilani Squire, Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich, Daniel Guyton, Amy Judith Reuben, Donna Hoke, Elizabeth Coplan, Paul Atreides, Louisa Vilardi, and Poet Jenny Coates
- Ensemble: Clara Francesca, Cindy Kaplan, Jeffrey Doornbos, Amber Walker, Frank Williams, Jeffrey Grover, Indiana Robinson-Dawes, Jeremiah Porter, Izaak van der Wende
Performance Details
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025
Times: 2:30 PM and 6:00 PM (doors open 30 minutes prior)
Venue: Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel, 1076 Madison Avenue, New York, NY
Tickets: Free, very limited capacity due to the intimate format. Reservations by request: el*************@***il.com
Donations: Tax-deductible contributions to support Grief Dialogues: https://donorbox.org/grief-dialogues
About the Production & Organization
Transforming Grief into Performance Art: The immersive structure blends realism, metaphor, and ritual, transforming an active funeral chapel into a theatre of reflection. Audiences move scene-to-scene, encountering stories of love, humor, and farewell, and are invited to contribute their own reflections through creative prompts and dialogue circles.
A National and International Legacy: Over the past decade, Grief Dialogues has presented dozens of immersive productions across the U.S. and U.K., reaching thousands—including military families, social workers, nurses, medical students, and communities processing pet loss—using theatre to make grief tangible, relatable, and transformative. The premiere of In the Wake of Life marks Grief Dialogues’ ten-year milestone at the forefront of the “art-meets-empathy” movement, with future engagements planned, including Edinburgh Fringe 2026.
Interview Availability
- Elizabeth Coplan, Producer & Founder, Grief Dialogues
- William Villanova, President, Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel
About Grief Dialogues
Founded by playwright Elizabeth Coplan, Grief Dialogues is a nonprofit arts organization using live theatre to transform how people talk about death, dying, and grief. Through performance, education, and research, the company creates space for empathy, understanding, and collective healing. Learn more at griefdialogues.com.
Media Contacts
Press Inquiries (Rubenstein Public Relations):
Marlies Dikkers — md******@**********pr.com | (212) 805-3091
Production & Reservations:
Elizabeth Coplan — el*************@***il.com | (206) 930-9984 | griefdialogues.com
