Abigail Breslin, Matthew Hancock and Josh Hamilton to Star in BARD AT THE GATE's Presentation of KERNEL OF SANITY

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel will open the virtual play reading series she has created and curated - Bard at the Gate - with Kermit Frazier's play KERNEL OF SANITY, to be webstreamed on Thursday, June 25 at 7 p.m. on YouTube. The 90-minute play will be introduced by Ms. Vogel and Mr. Frazier, and will be followed by a live discussion with Ms. Vogel, Mr. Frazier and director Gregg Daniel.

It has been announced that Matthew Hancock (THE BROTHERS SIZE, WESTWORLD), Abigail Breslin (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THE MIRACLE WORKER) and Josh Hamilton (PROOF, COAST OF UTOPIA, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA) will perform the play, along with Miatta Lebile, under the direction of Gregg Daniel (Lower Depth Theater Ensemble). Emily Lehrer is stage manager.

To watch KERNEL OF SANITY on June 25, log onto http://paulavogelplaywright.comand link to BARD AT THE GATE on YouTube. To register to participate in the live post-show discussion on Zoom, visit http://paulavogelplaywright.com/bardatthegate. Participants will receive the login information 24-28 hours in advance of the event. The discussion will also be broadcast on YouTube.

Written in 1978 when Mr. Frazier was an actor, KERNEL OF SANITY was his first work as playwright. The play examines the close if imbalanced relationship between a young African American actor and an older Caucasian actor with whom he had previously appeared in a production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.

KERNEL OF SANITY was previously announced last month as one of the 4 plays to be featured in Ms. Vogel's BARD AT THE GATE series, and was expected to be the 2nd of the 4 plays to be produced online.

BARD AT THE GATE was originally set to open June 10 with Meg Miroshnik's THE DROLL (Or, a Stage-Play about the END of Theatre). Ms Miroshnik, director Devin Brain and the play's cast agreed to step aside during this galvanizing time in order that an overlooked work by an African-American actor-turned-playwright, Mr. Frazier, could kick off BARD AT THE GATE, a four-play series of plays, curated by Ms. Vogel, that shines the spotlight on overlooked and under-appreciated works.

THE DROLL will now be performed on Wednesday, July 15 at 7 pm (ET), followed by a discussion about the play - with Ms. Miroshnik and Mr. Brain - on Thursday, July 16 at 5 pm (ET).