Local Stories To Be Performed Live At Newtown SPEAKeasy

NEWTOWN, PA — Stage United Founder Joe Montone is teaming up with ArtWRKD to bring another "SPEAKeasy" to Newtown.

On Saturday, Feb. 28, the public is invited to enter through a secret bookcase and listen as local storytellers take the mic at the ArtWRKD Exhibition Space located above Triple Sun Spirits.

"SPEAKeasy" is a monthly showcase of stories performed in song, poem, and personal narratives.

Acclaimed songwriter Sug Daniels headlines the evening. Daniels' work is as colorful, vulnerable, and
charismatic as her personality. The Philadelphia native thoughtfully combines elements of folk, rock, and soul to create personal and tender music interlaced with messages of truth and positive change.

Her self-released debut studio album, "I Believe In You," was released in September 2025.

Doylestown's own Clint Flack is the featured storyteller. A lifelong collector and lover of history, Clint
Flack joined the Mercer Museum as Exhibit Specialist in 2020. He is also a nationally-known expert on the history of the Doan outlaws of Bucks County.

As chief curator of Mercer Museum's "The Doan Gang: Outlaws Of The Revolution" exhibition, he has worked with several local and national producers on multiple documentaries, including a recent episode of the Discovery Channel's "Expedition Unknown."

Newtown poet Lynn Fanok kicks off the night. She has written two poetry collections focusing on aspects of her formative years. Her first book, Bread and Fumes, describes her late father, a World War II Nazi labor camp survivor, and explores her Ukrainian heritage, culture, and relations.

In her second poetry compilation, "The Weeds," she writes of childhood friendships and loss, natural disasters, and restoration. Lynn is a runner-up in the 2025 Bucks County Poet Laureate Contest and leads a monthly poetry series at Newtown Bookshop. Her work appears in "Painted Bride Quarterly," "Schuylkill Valley Journal," "Tiny Seed Journal," and elsewhere.

The monthly series has caught on with audiences as a casual night out with a deeper message — it's a space to discover new and unique voices from around the region.

SPEAKeasy is a collaboration between gallerist and curator of ArtWRKD Ashara Shapiro and Joe Montone, founder of Stage United. The duo also co-hosts the evening.

For tickets and more information, visit stageunited.org. ArtWRKD is located at 126-128 South State Street, No. 300, Newtown 18940.