Atlantic Theater Company's INFINITE LIFE Begins Performances Tonight

Atlantic Theater Company is presenting the world premiere of Infinite Life, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker (Body Awareness) and directed by Obie Award winner James Macdonald (Cloud Nine). Infinite Life is a co-production with National Theatre.

Infinite Life will begin performances on Friday, August 18th, and will open Tuesday, September 12th, for a limited engagement through Sunday, October 8th, 2023 Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theater (330 West 20th Street).

The cast of Infinite Life features Marylouise Burke (True West), Mia Katigbak (Scenes From a Marriage), Christina Kirk (Clybourne Park), Kristine Nielsen (Tony Award nominee, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike), Brenda Pressley (The Lyons), and Pete Simpson (Is This a Room).  

Five women in Northern California sit outside on chaise lounges and philosophize. A surprisingly funny inquiry into the complexity of suffering, and what it means to desire in a body that's failing you.

Infinite Life will feature sets by dots, costumes by Ásta Bennie Hostetter, lighting by Isabella Byrd, sound by Bray Poor, makeup, hair & special effects by Alfreda “Fre” Howard, props by Noah Mease, and casting by Caparelliotis Casting, Joe Geary, CSA. Laura Smith will serve as production stage manager.

Biographies:

Annie Baker

(Playwright). Annie's other plays include The Antipodes (Signature Theatre, National Theatre), John (Signature Theatre, National Theatre, Obie Award), The Flick (Playwrights Horizons, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Obie Award for Playwriting, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons, Obie Award for Best New American Play, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Aliens (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Obie Award for Best New American Play); Body Awareness (Atlantic Theater Company, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play/Emerging Playwright); and an adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (Soho Rep, Drama Desk nomination for Best Revival), for which she also designed the costumes. Other honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Steinberg Playwriting Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, and the Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library. She is Associate Professor of Practice at the MFA in Playwriting Program at the University of Texas, Austin, and wrote and directed the upcoming film Janet Planet for A24 and BBC Film.

James Macdonald

(Director). New York: True West (Roundabout Theater); The Children, Top Girls (MTC/Broadway); Escaped Alone (BAM); Cloud Nine (Atlantic Theater); Love and Information (Minetta Lane/NYTW, Obie Award); c*ck(2010 Olivier Award, 2013 Lucille Lortel Award); King Lear, Book of Grace, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (Public Theater); Dying City (Lincoln Center); A Number (NYTW); 4.48 Psychosis (St. Ann’s Warehouse). Recent London work: What If If Only, One For Sorrow, The Children, Escaped Alone, The Wolf From the Door, Circle Mirror Transformation (Royal Court); The Welkin, John, Dido Queen of Carthage, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Exiles (National Theatre); Night of the Iguana, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Father, Glengarry Glen Ross (West End); Bakkhai, A Delicate Balance, Judgment Day (Almeida); A Doll’s House Part Two, The Way of the World, Roots (Donmar). Film: Caryl Churchill’s A Number for HBO/BBC.

Marylouise Burke

(Eileen). Broadway/UK: True West, Annie Baker’s John (London’s National Theatre), Fish in the Dark, Is He Dead?, Into the Woods. Off-Broadway includes Epiphany (Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel, and Drama League nominations), Everybody, Ripcord, Fuddy Meers (Drama Desk Award), Kimberly Akimbo (Drama Desk nomination), Savannah Disputation, American Sligo, The Oldest Profession, Imagining the Imaginary Invalid, and Love Loss and What I Wore. Regional includes A Parallelogram (Steppenwolf, Mark Taper Forum), Good People (Geffen), and The Importance of Being Earnest (Williamstown Theatre Festival).  Film includes Sideways, A Prairie Home Companion, I Know This Much Is True, Series 7, Must Love Dogs, Meet Joe Black, and Sleepwalk with Me. TV: Recurring on “The Blacklist,” “New Amsterdam,” “Prodigal Son,” “Alpha House,” “Longmire,” and “Ozark.” 2014 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance.

Mia Katigbak

(Yvette). Selected NYC: Romeo & Juliet (NAATCO), Out of Time (NAATCO); The Headlands (LCT3); Henry VI (NAATCO, St. Clair Bayfield Award); Scenes From a Marriage (NYTW); Awake and Sing! (NAATCO, Obie Award). Virtual: What If If Only (Caryl Churchill, US Premiere), Russian Troll Farm. Other NYC: Transport Group, Public Theater, Clubbed Thumb, PlayCo, Ma-Yi, New Georges, Soho Rep, Target Margin.  Regional: Long Wharf, Yale Rep, Humana Festival, Two River Theater, Berkeley Rep, Guthrie. TV: “How to Get Away With Murder,” “The Sinner,” “Chicago PD.” 2021 USA Fellow; Special Drama Desk Award 2019; 2017 Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement; Actor-Manager and Co-Founder, NAATCO.

Christina Kirk

(Sofi) has appeared in numerous productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway and regionally. Credits include: Clybourne Park (Broadway/ Playwrights Horizons), Well (Broadway), God’s Ear (New Georges/The Vineyard), and [sic] (Soho Rep). She is an affiliated artist of Clubbed Thumb and a founding associate artist of The Civilians. Film and television credits include: Fatal Attraction, Goliath, “Younger,” “Girls,” “The Newsroom,” Taking Woodstock, and Love Is Strange.  

Kristine Nielsen

(Ginnie) most recently appeared in Regretfully, So The Birds Are at Playwrights Horizons where she also appeared in Hir, Crazy Mary, Miss Witherspoon and Betty’s Summer Vacation. Broadway: Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Present Laughter, You Can’t Take It With You, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Jose’ Quintero’s production of The Iceman Cometh with Jason Robards among others. Nielsen has performed in numerous Off-Broadway productions at the Public/NY Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre and Lincoln Center and others. She has worked in many regional theaters and has worked in various TV series. Two-time Tony Award nominee. Two-time Obie Award winner and an Outer Critic’s Circle Award winner. She is currently in HBO’s “The Gilded Age” and recently finished filming Coup!, an independent film.

Brenda Pressley

(Elaine). Broadway: The Lyons, The American Plan; Cats; Dreamgirls (original company). Off-Broadway: Proof of Love, Surely Goodness and Mercy,  Almost Home, The First Breeze of Summer; Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles?, Seven Guitars, Fran’s Bed, Goodwill; Marvin's Room; And The World Goes ‘Round-The Songs of Kander and Ebb (Outer Critics Circle Award); Blues In The Night. Regional: we are continuous… (Williamstown), Flyin’ West (Westport), Skeleton Crew(Dorset), Intimate Apparel (McCarter), Having Our Say (Long Wharf/Hartford), Trouble In Mind (Two River Theater Company), Black Odyssey (Denver Center Theater Company), In This House (Two River Theater Company, Sundance Theatre Lab 2002), The Old Settler (Freedom Theater, 2000 Barrymore Award, Best Actress also McCarter Theater-world premiere- and The Long Wharf Theater); Blues For An Alabama Sky (Cincinnati Playhouse, The Old Globe); Jar The Floor (Syracuse Stage); A Raisin In The Sun (Ford Theater); To Be Young Gifted and Black (The Kennedy Center). Film: Third Street Blackout, Detachment, 16 Blocks, Cradle Will Rock, It Could Happen To You. Television: “The Path,” “Body of Proof,” “Law and Order,” “Deadline,” “Law and Order: SVU,” “New York Undercover,” “Daddy’s Girl,” “Harambee,” “Educating Matt Waters,” HBO’s “Lifestories,” “Brewster Place” (with Oprah Winfrey).

Pete Simpson

(Nelson). Broadway: Is This a Room (as Justin Garrick, a role he originated in prior productions Off-Broadway, including the Vineyard Theatre). A member of Elevator Repair Service, Pete appeared as Tom Buchanan in the multiple-award winning Gatz in NYC and internationally. Additional NYC theatre: The Seagull (ERS), Angelo in Measure for Measure (Public Theater/ ERS); Drew in Straight White Men (Public Theater); Mike Campbell in The Select/The Sun Also Rises (New York Theater Workshop); North Atlantic (Wooster Group, opposite Willem Dafoe); Lunch in Tincat Shoes and Dad in California(Clubbed Thumb); Edmund in Lear (Soho Rep). Pete is a vet of over 5,000 performances with Blue Man Group (Off Broadway and international tours, including writing/training/directing contributions). Regional: Denver Center, Williamstown, Westport Country Playhouse, NY Stage and Film. Screen: Marriage Story; Morning Glory; Lincoln in the Bardo; “Gotham,” “Law & Order.” 2017 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence. @peterksimpsonjr

ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY 

(Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director). At Atlantic, our aim is singular—to empower simple and honest storytelling that fosters greater understanding of our shared world. We are a family of artists dedicated to exploring essential truths onstage, be it a show at Atlantic Theater Company or a class at Atlantic Acting School. As a producer, presenter, and educator of theater, we are driven by the belief that theater can challenge and transform our ways of thinking and urge us to reflect on our role in society. From our Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning productions to our community-based education programs, we are committed to uncovering and celebrating the stories of our varied human existence. Founded as an ensemble of impassioned artists in 1985, Atlantic Theater Company has grown into a powerhouse Off-Broadway company. We challenge, inspire, and awaken audiences with truthful storytelling presented across our two venues, the Linda Gross Theater and the intimate Stage 2 black-box. As a producer of compelling new works, we are committed to championing the stories from new and established artists alike, amplifying the voices of emerging playwrights through our deeply collaborative programs and initiatives. We have produced more than 200 plays and musicals including Tony Award-winning productions of Kimberly Akimbo (David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori), The Band’s Visit (David Yazbek, Itamar Moses), Spring Awakening (Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik), and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Martin McDonagh); Pulitzer Prize recipients Between Riverside and Crazy (Stephen Adly Guirgis) and English (Sanaz Toossi); New York Drama Critics’ Circle winners for Best New Play The Night Alive (Conor McPherson) and Best Foreign Play Hangmen (Martin McDonagh); Obie Award winners for Best New American Play Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night (Rajiv Joseph); and Obie Award Special Citation recipient Skeleton Crew (Dominique Morisseau).

Schedule

Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 7pm, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm.

Wednesday matinee at 2pm on 9/20, 9/27.

No Sunday evening performance on 9/24, 10/1, 10/8.

Atlantic members receive first access and savings of up to 40% on tickets and exclusive access including a priority-booking period, unlimited exchanges, discounted guest tickets, no additional fees, and more. For information on Atlantic Memberships starting at just $50, visit atlantictheater.org/membership/ or email membership@atlantictheater.org.  

Atlantic is committed to connecting deeply and authentically with audiences from a broad range of economic backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, and perspectives. Its access ticket initiative makes $25 tickets available to every preview performance in the 2022|2023 season. Access tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis via Atlantic's website beginning 2 weeks prior to the first performance of each Atlantic Theater Company 2022|2023 production. $25 access tickets for Infinite Life are on sale now.

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