Tavi Gevinson, Ben Foster, Natasha Lyonne, Piper Perabo and More Sign on for John Patrick Shanley All-Day Readings

Animus Theatre Company, in association with Circle in the Square Professional Workshop, will be presenting selected works by John Patrick Shanley as part of their 2nd Annual All Day Reading Series on Monday, November 2 at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. A ton of new talent has just joined the cast!

Joined by an all-star cast, Animus Theatre Company members will be reading alongside guest actors, including Jennifer Esposito (Blue Bloods) and Vincent Piazza (Boardwalk Empire) in the roles of Loretta & Ronny in Moonstruck, Ben Foster (The Program) as Rich in Sailor's Song, Tavi Gevinson (The Crucible) as Mary in The Red Coat, Natasha Lyonne (Orange is The New Black) as Janice in An Italian American Reconciliation and Piper Perabo (Lost Girls) in the role of Fifi in The Big Funk.

Additional featured guest actors participating in the day include: James Badge Dale (The Walk), Trieste Dunn (Banshee), Jared Gilman (Moonrise Kingdom), Margarita Levieva (The Deuce), James Madio (Band of Brothers), Debi Mazar (Younger), Steven Pasquale (Rescue me), Annabella Sciorra (Back in the Day), Aida Turturro (Law & Order: SVU) and more to follow.

Featured guest directors include Pamela Adlon (Better Things), Paul Schneider (Pretty Bird) and more.

Works being read will include: Moonstruck; An Italian American Reconciliation; Sailor's Song; The Big Funk; Women of Manhattan; Defiance; Savage in Limbo, Four Dogs & a Bone, The Red Coat as well as musical selections from Romantic Poetry, and others. The readings will span the entire day (11AM­11PM) and are offered as "An affordable day of art combining the linked works of one of the industry's finest writers with many of the brightest stars of stage and screen, all read in a Broadway theatre" - General Admission: $20 (suggested donation).

John Patrick Shanley a prolific playwright, screenwriter and director has authored more than 23 plays including the above mentioned works. As a screenwriter for films such as Five Corners and Joe Versus The Volcano, Shanley went on to receive much acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for the film Moonstruck. He made his Broadway debut with Doubt, A Parable, in 2005, for which he won both the Pulitzer and Tony Award for Best Play. Adapting and directing Doubt, A Parable, for the screen, the film went on to receive five Academy Award nominations.

Animus Theatre Company (Jonathan Judge­Russo, Artistic Director; Michael Neithardt, Managing Director) was founded in 2011. Previous productions include; Collected Shorts by Tennessee Williams (Theatre Row); Dutch Heart of Man by Bob Glaudini (Cherry Lane Theatre); Where's My Money by John Patrick Shanley (Cherry Lane Theatre) Their mission: to develop new work and realize the full potential of infrequently produced plays that explore the fragility and resilience of the human spirit.

For more information, details and casting updates visit www.animustheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride