Classic Stage Company (CSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, will present Tony Award winning actor Alan Cumming and Tony-nominated actress Jessica Hecht in a one night only staged reading of Tennessee Williams' THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY on Monday evening, May 9 at 8 pm at CSC (136 East 13th Street).
In an unspecified theater at an unspecified location, Felice and Clare relentlessly wait backstage for the curtain to go up on the opening performance of "The Two Character Play." Abandoned by the rest of their acting company and faced with an uncertain audience, brother and sister carry on with the show despite their desolate condition. Written in 1975, THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY is an existential mediation of Williams' relationship to his own sister, and to their shared experience of the theatrical.
For tickets and information, visit
www.classicstage.org or call (212) 352-3101, or visit the CSC box office at 136 East 13th Street, Monday through Friday 12 pm to 6 pm.
Now in its 44th year as one of New York's most exciting theatres, CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imagining the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. Led by Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, they recently presented by the acclaimed sold-out production of Chekhov's Three Sisters, featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Jessica Hecht, Juliet Rylance and Peter Sarsgaard, directed by Austin Pendleton. The company also recently presented David Ives' highly acclaimed Venus In Fur, directed by Walter Bobbie as well as Ostrovsky's The Forest, adapted by Kathleen Tolan, starring Dianne Wiest and John Douglas Thompson, and directed by Brian Kulick. In the previous season they presented three sold-out acclaimed productions: Shakespeare's The Tempest, starring Mandy Patinkin; Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, starring Denis O'Hare, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard; and Anne Carson's An Oresteia. Recent productions: critically acclaimed sold-out runs of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, starring Dianne Wiest and Alan Cumming; the world premiere of David Ives' New
Jerusalem, directed by Walter Bobbie; Hamlet, Richard II, and Richard III starring Michael Cumpsty and directed by Brian Kulick; and Zoe Caldwell in Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play, directed by John Turturro.
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. Founded in 1967, CSC has received wide recognition for its significant contributions to theatre as an art form through productions of classic plays, translations and adaptations and a long-standing commitment to the identification and nurturing of leading and emerging artists. Classic Stage's artists are the finest established and emerging theater practitioners working in this country.
Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in New York and American theatre, Classic Stage has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theater awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and the 1999 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work. 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 participate in CSC special series, including their sold-out Open Rehearsal events. For more information on Classic Stage Company visit the theatre's website at
www.classicstage.org.
CSC is currently presenting the world premiere of David Ives' new comedy
THE SCHOOL FOR LIES, directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, starring Hamish Linklater, Mamie Gummer, Alison Fraser and Jenn Gambatese.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos
