ANGELS IN AMERICA Extends Again Thru Feb. 20, 2011

Due to overwhelming demand, Signature Theatre Company (Founding Artistic Director James Houghton; Executive Director Erika Mallin) has announced a second extension for the first New York revival of Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, directed by Michael Greif. The production, originally slated to run through December 19, 2010 and extended once through January 30, 2011, will now play an additional three weeks through Sunday, February 20, 2011.

ANGELS IN AMERICA begins performances on September 14 and opens October 28 at the Peter Norton Space (555 West 42nd Street).

Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, the two parts of ANGELS IN AMERICA, will begin alternating in repertory from the start of performances.

Tickets for performances beginning December 21, 2010 will be $85. For the full performance calendar, to purchase tickets or for more information, please visit http://signaturetheatre.org/angels or call (212) 244-PLAY (7529).

ANGELS IN AMERICA features Robin Bartlett as Hannah Pitt, Christian Borle as Prior Walter, Bill Heck as Joe Pitt, Zoe Kazan as Harper Pitt, Billy Porter as Belize, Zachary Quinto as Louis Ironson, Robin Weigert as The Angel and Frank Wood as Roy Cohn, with Eric Bryant as Man 1 and Hubert Point-Du Jour as Man 2.

Scenic design is by Mark Wendland, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design by Ken Travis, projection design by Wendall K. Harrington, music by Michael Friedman and Chris Miller, hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe, dialect coaching by Deborah Hecht, fight direction by Rick Sordelet, aerial design by Paul Rubin, and make-up by Cookie Jordan. Production Stage Manager is Monica Cuoco and Stage Manager is Joshua Pilote.

The production of ANGELS IN AMERICA is made possible by a major grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Signature Theatre Company's 20th Anniversary season celebrating Tony Kushner also features the New York premiere of iHo: THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, also directed by Michael Greif and co-produced with The Public Theater; and THE ILLUSION, Kushner's freely adapted version of Pierre Corneille's L'Illusion Comique, directed by Tony Award-winner Michael Mayer.

The season will also include readings of selected other plays from Tony Kushner's body of work. Plays under consideration include A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY, TINY KUSHNER (A NEW COLLECTION OF ONE ACTS), IT'S AN UNDOING WORLD, OR WHY SHOULD IT BE EASY WHEN IT CAN BE HARD?, THE HENRY BOX BROWN PLAY, HYDRIOTAPHIA, OR THE DEATH OF DR. BrownE and HOMEBODY/KABUL.

Signature Theatre Company, founded in 1991 by James Houghton, exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright's body of work and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process. Signature is the first theatre company to devote an entire season to the work of a single playwright, including re-examinations of past writings as well as New York and world premieres. By championing in-depth explorations of a living playwright's body of work, the Company delivers an intimate and immersive journey into the playwright's singular vision.

Signature remains deeply committed to season-long residencies and during the company's tenth and fifteenth anniversaries, Signature introduced the Legacy Program. The Legacy Program invites past Playwrights-in-Residence back to Signature through two series: the Signature Series, which presents "signature," or more well-known works; and the Premiere Series, which presents New York and world premieres. Since 2005, Signature has been committed to presenting world-class theatre at an affordable price through The Signature Ticket Initiative, which will offer subsidized $20 tickets through the Company's twentieth anniversary season in 2011.

In October of 2008, Signature announced the creation of the SIGNATURE CENTER, a permanent home to open in late 2011. Designed by Frank Gehry Architects, the Center will comprise three theatres, two rehearsal studios, a café, bookstore, and offices all on one level - a configuration that allows the company not only the space to expand its programming, but also the proximity for natural interaction between artists and audiences of the different programs. In its new home, Signature will continue its Master Playwrights Residency and expand the Legacy Program. Signature will also introduce an Emerging Playwrights Residency that will feature early- and mid-career playwrights and guarantee them three full productions over the course of a four-year residency. This groundbreaking facility will offer a vital presence on West 42nd Street and will make it possible for Signature to collaborate with playwrights throughout the entire trajectory of their careers. For more information visit signaturecenter.org.

----

Tony Kushner (Playwright). Plays include A Bright Room Called Day; Angels in America, Parts One and Two; Slavs!; Homebody/Kabul; Caroline, or Change, a musical with composer Jeanine Tesori; and The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Capitalism And Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures. He has adapted and translated Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk, Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Sezuan and Mother Courage and Her Children; and the English-language libretto for the opera Brundibár by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols' film of Angels In America, and Steven Spielberg's Munich. His books include Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; The Art of Maurice Sendak, 1980 to the Present; and Wrestling With Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon. Kushner is the recipient of a Pultizer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award and an Oscar nomination, among other honors. In 2008, he was the first recipient of the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award.

Michael Greif (Director) For the Signature: Guare's A Few Stout Individuals and Landscape of the Body. Broadway credits include Next to Normal (Tony nom.), Grey Gardens (Tony nom.), Rent (Tony nom.), Never Gonna Dance. Recent work includes iHo: The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures (Guthrie Theater), The Three Sisters (Williamstown), The Winter's Tale and Romeo and Juliet (NYSF at the Delacorte). Off-Broadway: Satellites, f-ing A, Dogeaters (Obie), Marisol, Pericles, Casanova, A Bright Room Called Day, Machinal (Obie) at NYSF; N2N, Boys' Life, Spike Heels (Second Stage); A Very Common Procedure, The Distance From Here (MCC); G.G., Spatter Pattern (Playwrights Horizons); Mr. Marmalade (Roundabout); and Beauty of the Father (MTC). At New York Theatre Workshop (Artistic Associate), he directed Cavedweller, Bright Lights, Big City and the original production of Rent (Obie). Favorite regional productions include The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, Street Scene, Tonight at 8:30, Once in a Lifetime (Williamstown); and Our Town, Sweet Bird of Youth, Boy, Randy Newman's Faust, Slavs and Thérèse Raquin at La Jolla, where he was artistic director (1995-99).

Signature Theatre COMPANY (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) was founded in 1991 by James Houghton and is the first theatre company to devote a season to the work of a single playwright. Signature has presented entire seasons of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornes, John Guare, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson and the historic Negro Ensemble Company. The twentieth season features the work of Tony Kushner. Since 2005, Signature has presented world-class theatre at an affordable price through The Signature Ticket Initiative, offering subsidized $20 tickets through 2011. This program is made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc. Signature, its productions, and its resident writers have been recognized with a Pulitzer Prize, Lucille Lortel Awards, Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and AUDELCO Awards, among many other distinctions. Signature Theatre Company recently announced a new, permanent home beginning in 2012. The Frank Gehry-designed Signature Center on W. 42nd Street will feature three programs: the Master Playwrights Residency, which explores major bodies of work; the Legacy Program, which celebrates previous Signature artists, and the Emerging Playwrights Residency, which features early and mid-career playwrights. www.signaturetheatre.org.

Tickets for all performances beginning December 21, 2010 are $85.

Tickets for performances through December 19, 2010 are available for $20 through The Signature Ticket Initiative, which seeks to make great theatre accessible to the broadest possible audience. All regularly-priced single tickets ($85) are underwritten and will be available for $20 for every performance at The Peter Norton Space for the entire season, during a show's initial run.

The Signature Ticket Initiative is made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc. Generous support for The Signature Ticket Initiative is provided by Margot Adams, in memory of Mason Adams. For the full performance calendar, to purchase tickets or for more information, please visit http://signaturetheatre.org/angels or call (212) 244-PLAY (7529).

ANGELS IN AMERICA plays: Tuesday-Friday at 7:30 PM; Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; Sunday at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM. Visit www.signaturetheatre.org/angels for the full performance calendar.

ANGELS IN AMERICA plays at The Peter Norton Space located at 555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues). For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.signaturetheatre.org or call (212) 244-PLAY (7529).