Guest writer, Verner Dsouza, reviews Drama Book Shop’s event: “Sappho’s Garden”

What a wonderful delight the reading was. Carol Lee Campbell and Dominica Radulescu infused the evening with presence, humor, and mysticism, weaving ancient lyricism with modern feminine identity. The performance felt both timeless and intimate—Sappho’s voice echoing through the centuries into the struggles and triumphs of women today. Whether in the Middle Ages or the present, the feminine fight for expression, love, and autonomy continues, and this play gave it a vivid, poetic pulse.

Each character seemed to embody an aspect of womanhood as it exists now: Claudia’s strength and defiance, Cleis’s romantic and ethereal spirit, and Inez’s grounded optimism. The symbolism of the garden—growth, fertility, hope—was powerful, especially juxtaposed with the haunting image of the mass grave, a nod to Dominica’s Romanian heritage and the persistence of memory amid renewal. Tiny elements, like Sappho’s declarations being beautifully tethered to Cleis, allowed her softness to become a vessel through which Sappho could shine. And when Sappho appeared to Claudia and Inez at the end, it felt as though every facet of the feminine—the fierce, the tender, the hopeful—was finally seen and acknowledged. In that moment, the play reminded me that every part of the feminine self longs to be witnessed, and when it is, something sacred opens within us all.

Sappho’s Garden NOW Available for licensing!

Full Bio for our Cast and Crew at the NYC Premiere Reading of Sappho’s Garden in NYC

By Carol Lee Campbell & Domnica Radulescu

Directed by Rachel Tamarin 

The Drama Bookshop

266 W. 39th Street, New York, NY

October 16th 7:30pm

Cast

Stephanie Alvarez (Cleis) is a New York based actress and writer. She made her writing debut in 2012 with "Border Sweet Border", a play focused on immigration. Recent credits include "Exile is my Home," "Tales from the Narrow Bridge," "Big Dogs," and "That's Showbiz Baby!" She is thrilled to be working with Domnica Radulescu and Rachel Tamarin again!

Tjasa Ferme (Claudia) is the Founder and Artistic Director of Transforma Theatre Inc., known for creating interactive theatre experiences that blend science, consciousness, and ritual. She has produced notable works such as “The Female Role Model Project,” Ophelia’s Flip,” and “Wild Child in the City,” and recently blew everyone’s minds with her one-woman show, “I, Marlene”.

Selina Hernandez (Inez) is a performance artist and children's book author born and raised in NYC. She studied at LaGuardia HS for the Performing Arts and received her BA in Theatre and Mass Media Studies at Hofstra University. Selina is excited to work with Rachel and Domnica again.

Efi Kitsanta (Sappho) is a Greek actress, singer and teacher based in Brooklyn. She studied Acting in Greece and continued her studies in NYC attending workshops in Stella Adler, HB studio, the Juilliard School and more. She has participated in numerous performances in Greece, Italy and New York.

Creative Team

Rachel Tamarin is a New York-based director, producer, actor, and designer. She is the Managing Director of Red Monkey Theater Group and has worked with them to bring a myriad of classic and new works to their home at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum in the Bronx. Rachel is currently directing Red Monkey Theater Group's production of "Undead: A Dracula Story," which plays from October 4-12. She is thrilled to be working with Domnica and Carol to help them tell this incredibly moving story.

Carol Lee Campbell Carol is an award-winning writer, educator and performance artist living in the Washington DC area. Carol’s work is aimed at ending gender oppression. Carol’s first full length play with music, Chicks In Heaven, received a sixteen-show production as part of Bold New Voices Initiative at the Creative Cauldron in Falls Church, VA (April 2024). All music was written by Carol and her husband, award winning songwriter, David Graziano. Their band, Favorite Child, plays regularly in the DMV. A book launch of Carol’s historical fiction, The Rebel Rose debuted in May 2024 by Rebel Satori Press. Kirkus Reviews says it is “Beautifully written and charmingly relatable”. Carol currently teaches humanities at several community colleges in Virginia.

Domnica Radulescu is a Romanian American transnational fiction writer, playwright, scholar, and educator. She is the author of three critically acclaimed novels, including "Train to Trieste," which has been published in thirteen languages and won the 2009 Library of Virginia Fiction Award. Domnica's plays, such as "The Town with Very Nice People" and "Exile Is My Home," have been finalists for the Jane Chamber Playwriting Award. Her production of "Exile Is My Home" was nominated for the New York Innovative Theater Award and won the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast Award from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. Domnica is also a two-time Fulbright scholar and the founding director of the National Symposium of Theater in Academe. Most recently, Domnica released her newest novel, My Father's Orchards, now available from Histria Press. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592115918?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title).

Musical Contributions

The Music Box by Dave Kline (www.daveklineband.com)

Dave Kline is a composer and violinist creating original music for performance, recording and licensing. World, jazz, funk, blues, rock, folk are some of the styles / genres Dave fuses into sonic imaginations. To quote jazz legend Chick Corea:  "I love your musical universe ... it's so fresh and creative." 

Explore at www.daveklineband.com, spotify.com/daveklineband, facebook.com/daveklineband. Contact at dave@daveklineband.com for more info, commissions and upcoming performance information. Stay tuned for the upcoming new album!

I Remember you in Colors (words by Carol Lee Campbell. Music by Carol and Veronneau (www.VeronneauMusic.com)

Song of the Bones (words by Domnica Radulescu, music by Carol Lee Campbell and Veronneau (www.VeronneauMusic.com) 

Award-winning VERONNEAU take listeners around the globe, blending Bossa Nova, French chanson, Folk and Swing into a genre-defying musical feast. For VERONNEAU and for their fans, it’s all about the song, with vocals in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese…vocals that soar and groove on classic and original songs.

Their critically acclaimed and popular albums featured in the top 10 of the US Jazz and World music charts. French Canadian vocalist Lynn Véronneau, and British guitarist Ken Avis have been building an ever-growing international fan-base through their music streaming and tours in the US, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, UK and Sweden. www.VeronneauMusic.com