Abingdon To Present NY Premiere of Brustein's Comedy 'English Channel'

Abingdon Theatre Company will present the New York premiere of Robert Brustein's comedy, THE ENGLISH CHANNEL, with previews beginning on Saturday, September 13, 2008. The production officially opens on Sunday, September 21, 2008 at the Abingdon Theater Complex, 312 West 36th Street. Daniela Varon directs.

THE ENGLISH CHANNEL examines the murky relationship between great writers and their proclivity to "borrow" ideas and material, tracing Shakespeare's relationship with The Earl of Southampton, the Dark Lady of the Sonnets, and Christopher Marlowe during the turbulent months before Marlowe's death.

Born in New York in 1927, Robert Brustein was educated at Amherst (B.A. 1948) and Columbia University (M.A. 1949 and Ph.D. 1957). He was the founding director of the Yale Repertory Theatre and the American Repertory Theatre and served for 20 years as Director of the Loeb Drama Center where he founded the A.R.T Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard.  He retired from the Artistic Directorship in 2002 and now serves as Founding Director. He is presently a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Suffolk University. His full-length plays include DEMONS; NOBODY DIES ON FRIDAY; THE FACE LIFT; SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK; and THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.

THE ENGLISH CHANNEL was given its first reading by the Shakespeare Society at the Players Club in May 2007, followed by readings at the Vineyard Playhouse and the Resonance Ensemble at the Samuel Beckett Theatre. It was produced in Boston and at the Vineyard Playhouse in the Fall of 2007, where it was a finalist for Best New Play outside of New York by the American Theatre Critics Association.

Daniela Varon is a New York-based theater director and acting teacher, and 20-year member of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. Her work has been seen in New York at Blue Heron Arts Center, The Culture Project, Ensemble Studio Theater, HERE, Joe's Pub, Lincoln Center Theater Directors' Lab, Mud/Bone, New Georges, The Public Theater, The Salon, 78th Street Theatre Lab, T.W.E.E.D., the Vineyard Theatre, among others.  Regional credits include Actors Playhouse of Coral Gables, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Connecticut Repertory Theater, Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company, North Country Center for the Arts, among others. Her recent productions include the premiere of Jodi Rothe's Martha Mitchell CALLING at Shakespeare & Company and its subsequent productions at Stageworks/Hudson and Actors Playhouse of Coral Gables; Week 14 of Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 DAYS/365 PLAYS (Drama League/Joe's Pub/The Public); Oni Faida Lampley's HERE TO PUT MY FATHER IN THE GROUND (Mud/Bone Theatre Collective); and a workshop of Melinda Lopez's GARY at Shakespeare & Company.

The cast features Brian Robert Burns, Rosal Colón, Sean Dugan and Stafford Clark-Price. Set and Lighting Design is by Mike Billings, Costumes are by Laura Crow. Original Musical and Sound Design is by Scott Killian.

Performances are Tuesday - Sunday. (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7PM; Friday and Saturday at 8PM; Matinees are Saturday and Sunday at 2PM). The opening night performance will be on Sunday, September 21st at 5:00 PM.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling SmartTix at 212.868.4444 or visit www.SmartTix.com. The production runs until October 5, 2008.

Abingdon Theatre Complex is located at 312 West 36th St, just off of 8th Avenue. Founded in 1993, Abingdon Theatre Company develops and produces new plays by American playwrights.  Artistic Director for Abingdon Theatre Company is Jan Buttram and Samuel J. Bellinger is the Managing Director.

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