Vineyard Theatre and Naked Angels announce that its world-premiere co-production of Zayd Dohrn's play OUTSIDE PEOPLE will extend one week, with performances now set to conclude on Saturday, February 4 at The Vineyard (108 E. 15 St.)
The play opened on January 10 to a host of positive notices, including from Charles Isherwood at The New York Times, who called OUTSIDE PEOPLE "an engaging and smart comedy of manners, and achingly true." NY1's Roma Torre said, "OUTSIDE PEOPLE is excellent, funny and tightly written. The excellent co-production from the Vineyard Theatre and Naked Angels merits a visit." AM New York's Matt Windman wrote, "It is an absorbing and mysterious journey." The New York Post's Elisabeth Vincentelli said the play is "stylish and well-acted." The New York Daily News' Joe Dziemianowicz called OUTSIDE PEOPLE "seductively sleek in any language." Scott Brown in New York Magazine wrote the play has "a fantastic bilingual cast and fluid direction by Evan Cabnet." And in his Financial Times review, Brendan Lemon noted, "The play has geopolitical resonance but its focus is a bittersweet tale of love across a linguistic divide."
Directed by Evan Cabnet, the cast of OUTSIDE PEOPLE features Matt
Dellapina, Nelson Lee, Li Jun Li and Sonequa Martin-Green.
Set in modern-day Beijing, OUTSIDE PEOPLE, Zayd Dohrn's darkly comic new
play is the story of a young American man, Malcolm (Dellapina) who falls in
love with a young Chinese woman, Xiao Mei (Li). But as his eyes open to the
subtle social, political and economic forces that inform their relationship,
he must confront his complex place in this foreign culture, the friendship
that brought him there, and his own deepest fears and desires.
A series of Talk Backs following performances of OUTSIDE PEOPLE have been
scheduled through January 24.
The schedule of Talk Backs and featured guests follows:
--Tuesday, January 17 -- A post-show discussion with the cast and
director Evan Cabnet
--Thursday, January 19 -- A conversation with playwright Zayd Dohrn
--Friday, January 20 -- Grab drinks with the cast at the theatre after
the show
--Tuesday, January 24 -- A post-show discussion with the cast and
director Evan Cabnet
Matt Dellapina appeared Off-Broadway in DREAM OF THE BURNING BOY, IN THE
FOOTPRINT, TELEPHONE and GONE MISSING. Nelson Lee appeared in the television
series "Blade: The Series" and "Oz." Li Jun Li appeared in the Lincoln
Center Theatre revival of SOUTH PACIFIC, and Off-Broadway in ROMEO AND JULIET
and I'M STILL ALIVE. Sonequa Martin-Green has appeared in the television
series "The Good Wife" and "Army Wives."
Scenic design for OUTSIDE PEOPLE is by Takeshi Kata (HORSEDREAMS, GONE
MISSING, ADDING MACHINE); costume design is by Jessica Wegener Shay (DREAM OF
THE BURNING BOY, NEXT FALL, THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE); lighting design is by
Ben Stanton (SEMINAR, ASCUNSION, ANGELS IN AMERICA); sound design is by
Jill BC DuBoff (OTHER DESERT CITIES, CRADLE AND ALL).
Zayd Dohrn is a playwright and screenwriter. His plays -- including SICK,
MAGIC FOREST FARM and REBORNING -- have been produced and developed across
the country, including at Manhattan Theatre Club, Berkshire Theatre Festival,
MCC, Marin Theatre Company, The Public (SPF), Naked Angels, South Coast Rep,
The Vineyard, Southern Rep, Kitchen Dog, The Lark, New York Theatre
Workshop, and San Francisco Playhouse. He earned his MFA from NYU and was a Lila
Acheson Wallace Fellow at Juilliard. He received Lincoln Center's Lecomte du
Nouy Prize, Theatre Masters' Visionary Playwrights Award, the Kennedy
Center's Jean Kennedy Smith Award, and the Sky Cooper New American Play Prize, as
well as residencies and/or commissions from Ars Nova, Alchemy Theatre, Dallas
Theatre Center, The Stella Adler Studio, and The Royal Court Theatre of
London. He is currently writing screenplays for American Film Company and Vox3
Films, a television series for HBO, and is a member of the WGA and the
Dramatists Guild.
Evan Cabnet recently directed ALL-AMERICAN by Julia Brownell and the world
premiere of David West Read's THE DREAM OF THE BURNING BOY (NY Times
Critics' Pick; Drama League Nomination for Distinguished Production of a Play).
Other NY credits include: Elizabeth Meriwether's THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE
and OLIVER PARKER!, Bekah Brunstetter's OOHRAH! and Mark Schultz's THE
GINGERBREAD HOUSE. Regional credits include: Michele Lowe's MAP OF HEAVEN (Denver
Center Theatre, world premiere), Donald Margulies' SHIPWRECKED! AN
ENTERTAINMENT (Long Wharf Theater, East Coast premiere), and his own adaptations of
UBU ROI and Salman Rushdie's HAROUND AND THE SEA OF STORIES (Williamstown
Theatre Festival).
One of the nation´s leading non-profit theatre companies dedicated to new
plays and musicals and bold programming, The Vineyard has consistently
premiered provocative, groundbreaking works including the Pulitzer Prize-winning
productions of Edward Albee´s THREE TALL WOMEN and Paula Vogel´s HOW I
LEARNED TO DRIVE, Tarell Alvin McCraney´s WIG OUT!, The Civilians´ THIS BEAUTIFUL
CITY, Nicky Silver´s PTERODACTYLS and RAISED IN CAPTIVITY, the Laura Nyro
musical ELI´S COMIN´, A BOY AND HIS SOUL, written and performed by Colman
Domingo, Adam Rapp´s THE METAL CHILDREN, Will Eno´s MIDDLETOWN and Christopher
Shinn's PICKED. OUTSIDE PEOPLE is the second production of The Vineyard's
2011-2012 season, following Nicky Silver's sold-out, critically acclaimed
play THE LYONS starring Linda Lavin and Dick Latessa. On November 30, The
Vineyard and The Actors Fund will co-produce a concert version of John Kander
and Fred Ebb's musical THE VISIT -- starring Chita Rivera and John Cullum --
at the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway. The world-premiere of
NOW.HERE.THIS., from the creators of [title of show], and a developmental lab production
of John Kander and Greg Pierce's musical THE LANDING will round out the
2011-2012 season at The Vineyard.
Vineyard Theatre is a recipient of the Tony Award for the musical AVENUE Q
and continues as producer of the musical´s current production at New World
Stages in New York. The Vineyard produced the world-premiere of the musical
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS -- with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb,
book by David Thompson, with direction and choreography Susan Stroman - in
March 2010 and on Broadway. The Vineyard also produced the musical [title of
show] both off and on Broadway.
Since 1986, Naked Angels has been committed to strengthening a community of
artists through the development and production of provocative new work. The
company has played a role in developing critically acclaimed new plays
including Jon Robin Baitz's THE SUBSTANCE OF FIRE and Warren Leight's SIDE MAN,
and producing the world premieres of Stephen Belber's TAPE and FAULT LINES,
Elizabeth Meriwether's THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE, the U.S. premiere of
Chloe Moss' THIS WIDE NIGHT and, most recently, Geoffrey Nauffts' Tony
Award-nominated play NEXT FALL. From New York to LA, the company inspires artists
to generate fresh voices to generate new work through its popular Tuesdays@9
(cold readings of plays, screenplays, stories and music in early
development), 1st Mondays (public readings of new full-length plays), and Angels in
Progress (weeklong workshops). The company's newest venture, Naked Radio,
brings the work of talented new writers from the stage to the digital airwaves
through weekly blogs and podcasts.
Mr. Aibel is Artistic Director of Vineyard Theatre, Jennifer
Garvey-Blackwell is Executive Producer, Sarah Stern is Co-Artistic Director and Rebecca
Habel is Managing Director. Andy Donald is Artistic Director of Naked Angels
and Renee Blinkwolt is Managing Director.
OUTSIDE PEOPLE will perform its regular schedule through January 29:
Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays through Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm and
Sundays at
3pm. Starting Tuesday, January 31 through the end of the run on Saturday,
February 4, OUTSIDE PEOPLE will perform Tuesday Jan. 31 at 7 pm; Wednesday,
Feb. 1 at 3 and 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m.
and Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3 and 8 p.m. Tickets for OUTSIDE PEOPLE range
from $20 (rush) to $70 - with premium tickets available for $100 - and can be
purchased online at www.VineyardTheatre.org or by calling 212-353-0303.
For more information about OUTSIDE PEOPLE, please visit
www.VineyardTheatre.org or www.nakedangels.com.
