ALL OUR CHILDREN Featuring John Glover Comes to The Sheen Center

After an acclaimed run in London's West End, the Sheen Center for Thought & Culturewill present the American premiere production of Stephen Unwin's new play, All Our Children. Tony Award winner John Glover (Saint Joan, The Drowsy Chaperone, Love! Valour! Compassion! on Broadway; TV's "Smallville") is featured in a company including Jennifer Dundas (The Little Foxes, Arcadia on Broadway), Karl Kenzler (Fiddler on the Roof, You Can't Take It With You on Broadway; "Law & Order," "House of Cards"), Tasha Lawrence ("The Looming Tower," Hulu; "Royal Pains") and Sam Lilja (The Iceman Cometh on Broadway).

Directed by Ethan McSweeny (Gore Vidal's The Best Man, A Time to Kill on Broadway), All Our Children plays a limited five-week engagement, April 6 through May 12 at The Sheen Center (18 Bleecker Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street, NYC) in the Black Box Theater.

he official opening is Sunday, April 14 at 3PM. Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7PM, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8PM, with matinees on Saturday at 2PM and Sundays at 3PM.

Tickets are $50 during previews (through April13) and $65 and $80 for performances thereafter. Tickets are available online at SheenCenter.org, by phone at 212-925-2812, or in-person at The Sheen Center box office Monday to Friday Noon to 5PM and one hour before performances. Student rush tickets are available one hour before curtain.

It is Germany, 1941. A terrible crime is taking place in a clinic for disabled children. The perpetrators argue that it will help struggling parents and lift the financial burden on the mighty German state. One brave voice is raised in objection. But will anyone listen? All Our Children, Stephen Unwin's riveting new play memorializes this overlooked aspect of the Holocaust, remembering the 200,000 children and young people who died and the brave few who fought against this injustice. Karl Kenzler plays Victor Franz, a doctor who heads a clinic for disabled children, and John Glover plays Bishop von Galen, a real-life Catholic bishop who was outspoken in his opposition against the Nazis' treatment of these young Germans.

The American premiere production of All Our Children features scenic design by Lee Savage (The Dream of the Burning Boy, Roundabout Theatre Company), lighting design by Scott Bolman (Moment, Studio Theatre), costume design by Tracy Christensen (Souvenir on Broadway), and sound design by Lindsay Jones (The Burnt Part Boys, Playwright Horizons).

"We are proud to present the American premiere production of All Our Children," says William Spencer Reilly, executive director of The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture. "Stephen Unwin has created a provocative play that looks back to a dark moment in history, challenging audiences to examine issues that sadly remain relevant. Here at The Sheen Center, we strive to present our audience with unique cultural experiences that enlighten as well as engage, perhaps helping you consider new perspectives. With a cast lead by John Glover and Karl Kenzler, under the direction of Ethan McSweeny, All Our Children promises to be a special and inspiring event."

"I'm delighted that the Sheen Center is staging the US premiere of All Our Children and thrilled that Ethan McSweeney has assembled such a talented and distinguished cast." says playwright Stephen Unwin.

"All Our Children comes from a deep place. I am the father of a profoundly disabled young man, but also the son of a German-Jewish refugee and was brought up as Catholic. The story of the conservative Bishop's campaign against euthanasia and murder fascinated and moved me. I was shocked by the pseudo science and rationality that the Nazis offered in defense. How do we value those who are not productive? How do we support those who can't support themselves? How do we protect the most vulnerable? The challenges that the disabled face today are, thankfully, a long way from the horrors of Nazi Germany, but some of the philosophical and social questions that it raises are fiercely relevant today."