Maggie Gyllenhaal Joins Brecht/Kushner Reading Oct. 13

Maggie Gyllenhaal has joined Monday's night staged reading of Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Sezuan, adapted by Tony Kushner and directed by Tony Speciale, as part of Classic Stage Company's, popular First Look Festival - a program of one-night only staged readings, performed by notable actors. This season, the CSC's First Look Festival is focusing on the works of Brecht, perhaps one of the most influential playwrights of the 20th Century. Brecht's plays redefined the very nature of theatrical presentation to address the most pressing concerns of his tumultuous generation. Joining Gyllenhaal in the reading are Jeremy Strong, Jayne Houdyshell, Jason Butler Harner, Ben Shenkman, Ryder Smith, Mary Shultz, Roberta Maxwell and Judith Roberts. Next week's First Look Festival reading, on Monday, October 20 at 8 pm is Life of Galileo, featuring Tony Award winner Richard Easton, and directed by Brian Kulick.

Now in its 41st season as one of New York's most exciting Off-Broadway theatres, CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imagining the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. CSC presents plays from the past that speak directly to the issues of today. As we return to works of the past, we endeavor to keep a clear eye on the future, particularly in terms of the next generation of artists and audiences. CSC's artists are the best-established and emerging theater practitioners working in this country. Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in New York and American theatre, CSC has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theatre awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and 1999 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work. CSC's acclaimed new production of Shakespeare's The Tempest, starring Tony Award winner Mandy Patinkin and directed by Brian Kulick, performed through Sunday, October 19.

Memberships to Classic Stage Company productions are available at various price levels, including the flexible Masterpass membership, which in addition to prime seats, entitles members to all CSC special series, including their sold out Open Rehearsal events.

For tickets to the FIRST LOOK FESTIVAL, call (212) 352-3101 or toll free at 866-811-4111 , on-line at www.classicstage.org, or in person at the box-office at 136 East 13th Street. Tickets are $30 for the general public; $25 for CSC members. A very limited number of tickets are available.