Paul Rudd, Cynthia Nixon and Francesca Faridany Set to Lead DEAR ALBERT at World Science Festival on 5/28

Actors Paul Rudd, Cynthia Nixon and Francesca Faridany will open the 7th Annual World Science Festival (www.worldsciencefestival.com) with a performance of Alan Alda's reading for the stage, Dear Albert.

This humorous and provocative work examines the life and times of the world's most famous scientist, Albert Einstein, as revealed through his personal writings and letters. Directed by Obie Award-winning stage director, Mark Brokaw, this one-night-only performance takes place on Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at the New York University Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, located at 566 LaGuardia Place. After the performance, Alda and Festival Co-Founder Professor Brian Greene will lead an on-stage discussion about Einstein.

Tickets are available for sale immediately at http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/programs/dear-albert/.

Dear Albert delves into the treasure trove of letters written by Einstein, tracing an intimate and unfamiliar line across his life and work. Unquestionably one of the greatest - if not the greatest - minds of the 20th century, Einstein was as celebrated for his wit as for his Theory of Relativity. The work humanizes a giant in the pantheon of great scientists and sheds light upon his momentous scientific insights through first-hand accounts of groundbreaking discoveries.

"As I read through his letters, I was fascinated by him," said Alda. "This was the voice of Albert at his most intimate and passionate as he was courting his first wife, his second wife and a number of other women. At the same time, he was just as passionate about courting the cosmos. And the cosmos often came out ahead."

The cast is led by Paul Rudd (Broadway: The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Twelfth Night, Three Days of Rain and Grace. Off-Broadway: The Shape of Things) (Film: Clueless, Anchorman, This is 40 and I Love You, Man), as Dr. Albert Einstein; Cynthia Nixon (Broadway: Rabbit Hole, Wit, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Indiscretions, Angels in America, The Heidi Chronicles, and The Women), andFrancesca Faridany (Broadway: Macbeth, Man and Boy, The 39 Steps, The Homecoming. Off-Broadway: The NY Idea, Orlando, and The Stronger) play the women in Einstein's life.

This production of Dear Albert is directed by Obie Award-winning Broadway director Mark Brokaw (Broadway: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Lyons, After Miss Julie, Cry-Baby, The Constant Wife and Reckless). Dear Albert was written by Emmy-Awarding winning actor-writer Alan Alda (Broadway: Glengarry Glen Ross, QED, Art. Films include The Aviator. Television includes:M*A*S*H, and Scientific American Frontiers). The production is helmed by producer Tracy Day, co-founder of the World Science Festival.

The entire program lineup for the 2014 World Science Festival can be found at www.worldsciencefestival.com/events, where tickets for other Festival events can also be purchased.

Since its inception in 2008, the annual Festival has welcomed more than one million people to over 300 programs in locations throughout New York City. The five-day festival, which runs from May 28thto June 1st, celebrates science with original programming that includes free events for young innovators, scientists-in-the-making, and families - as well as discourse, debate, theater, exhibitions, and social experiences that transform the city and bring the world's leading scientists in direct contact with the broader public.

The World Science Festival is a production of the Science Festival Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in New York City. The Foundation's mission is to cultivate a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.

The World Science Festival has been made possible with the generous support of its Founding Benefactors: the Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the John Templeton Foundation.

The World Science Festival also gratefully acknowledges its major sponsors, Ann Ziff, Con Edison, The Kavli Prize; additional supporters Bezos Family Foundation, IFF, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books, Sony, Time Warner Cable; its media partners, ABC News, ABC Radio, WABC-TV, WNYC Radio, Scientific American, Popular Science, The Week, Mental Floss, Huffpost Science, IEEE Spectrum; and its university partners, New York University, The City University of New York, Columbia University, The Rockefeller University, and The Cooper Union.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos